Jun did indeed not have any magic words that could just fix things. Not that I expected it, but a girl can dream. He was being very supportive, which did help, and I appreciated it a lot. Mom joined me for the trip to Australia which helped as well.
The tournament went surprisingly great. Not that I won or anything close to it, I did come in as an underdog, and the reason people like cheering for those is that they so rarely win. It wasn't like my theme song would magically kick in whenever I was in a pinch and somehow I would turn it around. Real life doesn't work that way.
Come to think of it I don't think my theme song would be appropriate for a badminton tournament. I don't want to compromise and change it since 'come a little bit closer, you're my kind of man, so big and so strong' really resonates with me. That part about Mexican Batman is weird, but nothing is perfect, so I'm quite happy with my choice.
Over all I'm satisfied with how it went as I did finish in an okay position. Not that I'm happy about losing, of course I'm playing to win, but I recognize that a tournament at this level is going to feature players who are likely to be future world champions. I'm not sure if that's me, even if I'm going to train harder, but I will try.
I had kicked up my training schedule again, though given how little time I had before leaving for Australia it didn't help me much for this tournament. I do hope that it will make a difference come winter.
Breaking up was a little odd, from a perspective of time. I had filled my every Saturday with badminton, which did help with keeping me occupied, but I still felt like I had too much free time. I didn't realize just how much space Noburo had taken up. Seeing him for lunch every now and then, seeking him out after practice every day, and the odd Sunday here and there was now free and I had to occupy it in a different way.
Part of me couldn't wait him to just graduate so I wouldn't have to see him every now and then in the halls or across the school grounds. That part got quieter as time passed. Part of me couldn't help but dread the day he graduated, since at least now I could see him from afar from time to time. He seemed to be doing fine. Once he graduated I didn't know if I would ever see him again. That thought was strangely uncomfortable, that someone I was so close to could become a stranger.
I did my best to put it all out of my mind and do my best to focus on badminton and homework. Jun was still dating Rin, and I didn't resent him for that, but it was a little sad that he couldn't spend all his time with me.
It got easier.
The months passed, and in November the leaves started turning brown. I'm really more of a summer person, but I still find it quite pretty, even though it is the herald of winter. Cold is something I don't handle well, and I don't enjoy winter much either.
It was a somewhat dreary Saturday as I walked to school for practice that I was finally forced accepted reality. Winter was truly coming, which meant I had to throw in the towel. All my lovely short skirts, sexy tops, shorts, and bikinis would be packed away. The sandals I wasn't too upset about waving goodbye to, but the rest really broke my heart a little. Instead it was all to be replaced by stockings, more modest skirts, and blouses.
I had done my best to dress practically, but my current wardrobe meant that I was still freezing my ass off. At least the walk to school was quick.
I was one of the first to arrive, and after I had changed Coach gave me his full attention.
"Today I want you to work on your backhand smash," seeing my nod Coach continued, "your wrist movement is important. Like this."
I carefully looked as he demonstrated, and after a few repetitions I went along with his movements. After a few small corrections he seemed happy.
"Now with the racket in hand. Your grip should be like this," he demonstrated.
I picked up my racket and went through the motions. Apparently I got it right on the first try because he nodded happily.
"Very good. Now it's important you are completely relaxed until the final moment for maximum power. The rest of your body should move like so."
Again he demonstrated. It looked a little goofy outside a match to be spinning around like this, but I obediently did as he told me. After some repetitions he seemed satisfied and gave me a nod.
"I'll be back. Continue doing that."
He left to put the rest of the class to work leaving me to my own devices. I didn't slack off though, since this was for my own good and the winter tournament was coming up. By the time he returned I felt I had it down pretty well.
"Alright, I'll lob you a few so you can try it out in action, after we've gone over some theory."
Theory wasn't too bad. It helped that Coach was rather physical, so even going over theory didn't last very long, mostly he talked about when and how to use it.
"Remember to relax until the last moment," he instructed, and I got ready as he picked up a racket and some shuttlecocks.
I wasn't immediately amazing. It went sort of okay? At least I hit it somewhat properly once, which in my book counts as a win. After a handful of shuttles we stopped and went back to theory and where I went wrong, then we started again.
I stayed focused, he would leave every now and then to help someone else, and then return to lob me a few more. By the time practice ended I was quite sore.
"Don't worry, we'll keep at it, and you should have it down in time," he smiled and gave me a friendly pat on, thankfully, my other shoulder, before I thanked him for his time and went to the locker room. Read the latest chapters at novelping.com.
I did not look forward to the cold trip home.
Next day I had made an agreement for Jun to come over. He thought he was coming over to hang out, but it was in fact so I could use him for manual labor. My machinations truly are beyond mortal comprehension.
I needed to pack my summer wardrobe into boxes and unpack some warmer clothes. Doing all this by myself would take hours and hours. With a dash of Jun applied it wouldn't quite take half as long since we would get distracted, but having a friend along made the dull work more fun at least.
"Does this look small to you?" he held up a red shirt, giving it a critical look while sitting on my bed.
"Gimme."
I gave it a good look as well, and to be on the safe side I pulled it on. I was only wearing a t-shirt, which wouldn't be an issue. The problem with the shirt became quite apparent very fast.
"It's a little tight," I admitted.
I had gone up in size since last winter, though I don't recall wearing this at all. Perhaps it was from the year before?
I pulled it off and put it in the pile for clothes to get rid of, then turned my focus back to folding skirts.
"That's the third you've had to give up on," he commented.
"Yeah, I think I might need to go shopping soon," I nodded, "the day is still young, so we could go shopping today?"
It was only a bit past noon, and we were already pretty much finished. Even if I was stuck finishing the rest on my own it wouldn't even be half an hour.
"Yeah, I got nothing better to do today," he shrugged.
"Great, it'll be fun," I couldn't help but smile. It would be nice to go out and have fun.
"Come to think of it, I don't really have any clothes to wear for a date that are winter appropriate," he added thoughtfully.
"Why not? You don't grow like, you know," I gestured towards my chest.
"I've grown taller," he sputtered.
"Really? Are you sure?" I gave him a thorough once-over.
"It's not my fault you're a giant woman," he crossed his arms.
"I, I'm not a giant, I'm barely 180," I refuted, then took a moment to find the right word, "I'm elegant."
"Elegant? Last Thursday you threw a bean paste bun at my face," he said with a raised brow.
"That was your fault for being a poor catcher!"
"You didn't even warn me!"
"I did! In my head," I nodded to myself with a feeling of great satisfaction, "it was a test of friendship. You failed, and it hurt my feelings."
"I'm not even going to dignify that with an answer," he said with a sigh, "besides, when did you last measure your height?"
I blinked at him in confusion while rapidly going backwards in time through my memories, though I came up blank.
"I don't know?"
"You're past 180. You're a giant," he teased me with an aura of dense smugness. You are reading on g.com, the official source.
I considered his response carefully. Then I threw a shoe at him.
We were interrupted ten minutes later by a knock on the door, and then mom came into the room. She looked at where Jun was on the floor with me sitting on his back and raised a brow at us.
"He won't call me uncle," I explained, and after a moment of thought continued, "he also called me a giant."
"I see," she responded in a tone that conveyed that she really didn't, "I came up to ask if you two wanted some lunch."
"That sounds great, mom," I smiled.
"That sounds lovely, ma'am," came Jun's muffled voice.
"It'll be ready in ten minutes. Don't worry, I'll come up with it," she turned and left, closing the door on her way out.
With some reluctance I let him go and sat down on my bed instead. He rolled around so he was now laying on his back, and we shared a comfortable silence for a little until he broke it.
"Akane, you know that upcoming tournament, right?"
"Yeah?"
It would be odd if I didn't.
"Rin has been selected to go as well," I already knew that, "and she is kind of maybe a little bit nervous. Well, I know she is nervous, even if she doesn't want to openly admit it. I'm kind of supposed to know these things, you know? I was wondering if maybe you could help her out. You know," he gestured vaguely with a hand.
It was honestly a pleasant surprise just how well those two were working out. Sure, it sucked that he would spend less time with me, but he was happy and I was happy for him.
"Don't worry, Jun, I got this. I'm very helpful," I patted my chest.
He turned his head to me and slowly blinked his eyes.
"That is exactly what I want, but hearing you say that makes me feel uneasy."
"What do you mean? I got a bunch of sagely advice," I protested.
"That only made it worse."
"Don't make me come down there again," I threatened.
He laughed, and it was oddly infectious. After a minute of catching our breath he spoke again.
"Thanks for looking out for her," he said with a smile.
"Of course. That's what best friends are for."
Any further conversation was stalled as mom arrived with noodles.
After we finished I cast a glance across my room, and though it was a little messy it wasn't a big problem.
"Shopping?"
"Shopping."
We grabbed our dirty dishes and went downstairs to return them to the kitchen, then we left. Playing dress up with Jun was going to be fun.