The end of class for the day couldn’t come fast enough after lunch. At the very least passing notes to Ayano helped time to go a little quicker, but even then the excitement of club kept her eyes on the clock. She was quick to spring up once the bell rang, slipping her homework into her bag Seika followed Ayano to the locker room. She changed into her gym uniform before heading out to the sports field. The day was hot, though the sun momentarily vanished behind wispy drifting clouds providing momentary relief. Seika offered. Smile and a wave with a few of the other club members glanced in her direction. She was a stranger after all, but hopefully they could all become good friends soon enough.
“Hello, I’m Yanagi Seika. I was hoping to join the track team, so I hope you’ll all look after me.[/i]” She said with a bow of her head and shoulders. She looked at Ayano, and grinned. “And I believe you said I’d need to run to show I’m fast enough, yes?
//... into the dark she stepped, but never did she feel free of the gaze...//
“Let’s start with some warm ups.” Ayano said. The rest of the team introduced themselves to Seika, and after stretching and warming up got in position for the race. Ayano and Haruhi, a freshman, watched from the side. “Ready? Set, go!” She pressed the timer and watched Seika run, hoping she’d be fast enough for the competitions.
Introductions done and the warmup stretches out of the way Seika made her way out onto the track. She rolled her shirt up her midriff as she walked, tying the loose cloth into a simple knot to keep it in place. Despite everything that had happened the last few days it still felt good stepping back out onto the track, even if she only really had an audience of one or two today. Seika pulled her long hair back as she stepped onto the starting line, using a scrunchie to hold it in a simple tail. She flashed a smile to Ayano and one of the underclassmen who were keeping time before sliding into position.
Seika drew in a breath as she shifted her weight forward.
“Go!”
Seika released her breath as she pushed forward. For a moment the heavy air seemed to cool as it rushed past her and her mind cleared. Nothing to worry about, no missing her old friends or feeling disappointed by Iwami. Two other girls vanished from her peripheral vision she they neared the first turn, another she could feel still on her heels. Seika picked up her pace as the rounded the first turn and entered the second straightaway, when she hit the halfway point she’d give it her all, though how much of that was making sure she made it onto the team and how much was her trying to impress Ayano, Seika didn’t quite know.
And, for now, she didn’t have to worry about it.
//... into the dark she stepped, but never did she feel free of the gaze...//
Ayano watched Seika run with a smile on her face. She wanted to run too, but as team captain, sometimes she had to stay back and watch.
“She’s fast.” Haruhi muttered, and the blonde nodded in agreement. By the time Seika got to the finish line there was a huge distance between her and the other girls. Ayano smiled proudly. “Ayano!” She looked down at the freshman, who had a worried look on her face as she looked down at her phone.
Seika slowed to a stop as she passed Ayano and Haruhi, resting her hands on her hips as she caught her breath. That felt like it had been a good run, it had to have been a good time, right? Seika looked back at the two girls with a wide smile as she stepped over to them.
“So, good enough for the team, Cap?” Seika said with a playful wink.
//... into the dark she stepped, but never did she feel free of the gaze...//
Ayano would be lying to herself if she didn’t recognize the uncomfortable feeling in her chest and the knot on her throat. Seika had beat her record by 1.5 seconds and it was only tryouts. How fast could she actually run if she put all of herself into it? She forced a smile, looking back at Haruhi, who waited expectantly for a reaction.
“It’s a good thing. Our team will do better in competitions.” She wanted to be happy about it, not only for the team, but for Seika. Her smile was genuine when she ran towards them, which added guilt to the mixed feelings that overwhelmed her. “You were great. Welcome to the team.”
She felt relief when the other girls joined them, complimenting Seika for her speed. Ayano tried not to look her in the eyes, so she wouldn’t see the jealousy in them. Seika didn’t deserve this, and Ayano didn’t want to be a bad friend.
“Thanks! I’m excited to run with you and everyone else.” a Seika said brightly, with a wide smile on her lips. She’d be lying if she said she didn’t notice that Ayano seemed to be avoiding her gaze. The arrival of the other girls kept Seika from having to wonder for too long about what might have been going on as she turned to accept the compliments with a smile and a laugh.
Maybe she was just reading too much into what was a little thing, Ayano could have just been distracted by something else when she came up very. Ayano had to be busy being the team’s captain after all, so Seika decided that she must have just been reading too much into things. First day jitters and all that. And, at the very least chatting with the other girls on the team helped her feel a little less lonely, despite being so far from home.
“What’s the plan for today?” An underclassman with short brown hair said, poking her head out of the group and looking to Ayano and Haruhi.
//... into the dark she stepped, but never did she feel free of the gaze...//
The rest of practice was business as usual, with more laps around the track. Ayano was able to push back her concerns about no longer being the fastest girl on the team, at least until later in the evening when she met Ryuu for coffee.
"... And you're gonna let her join the team?" He asked, after she'd told him what had happened. She furrowed her brows, confused by his question.
"Of course I will. She'll be a great addition to the team." Her boyfriend shrugged.
"If there was a new soccer player in town who was better than me I'd break his legs." He laughed, pulling Ayano in for another kiss.
It had been the longest conversation they'd had in a while. Ayano didn't think he was serious, but she understood where it was coming from. He, like her, wasn't one of the rich kids in town. Just like her, he depended on sports to stand a chance on the race for a scholarship - Ryuu's case was even worse, because his grades were terrible. He'd be lucky if he got a scholarship in one of the local universities, but Ayano dreamed bigger. And that's why she went out to run later that night, trying to beat her old record.
The next day, Ayano got to school late. Her legs were sore and not even make up hid the bags under her eyes.
Seika decided to take the long way home after club activities ended, everything around town was still unfamiliar and new to her so it was fun to scope out where vending machines or interesting looking stores were located. As she explored, Seika couldn’t help but think about Ayano’s bitter words when she had pulled her away during lunch, though she didn’t know if there was anything she could do about that. During club Ayano had seemed down about something too, but she hadn’t had a chance to ask her if anything was wrong. Maybe she could get Ayano’s number then she could send her a text about it right? The skin on the back of Seika’s neck prickled, and her heart fluttered high in her chest.
Thinking she might have been thirsty, Seika stopped at the next vending machine she passed and purchased a peach tea before heading back to her new home. Maybe she could ask about a new phone once they had everything settled?
The next morning Seika woke early, and went on a short run around the block. She returned home for a quick shower before she got dressed for school and had a small breakfast of toast and tea with her mother before leaving for the day. She arrived at school, perhaps a little disappointed she hadn’t crossed paths with Ayano deep down,and took her seat. She flipped through her notes from the day before as she waited for class to start, her eyes flicking up to the door every time someone entered, and finding herself disappointed each time. It wasn’t until after the first bell that the face she was hoping to see finally arrived, and Seika smiled as Ayano made her way over to her desk. Once she got close enough, however, Seika couldn’t help but notice the bags under her friend’s eyes. Seika flipped to a fresh page as Ayano took her seat, and quickly wrote a note.
You feeling ok this morning?
//... into the dark she stepped, but never did she feel free of the gaze...//
Ayano wrote, looking up at Seika with a smile. She had reacted badly at first, but so what if her friend was faster than her? She'd just have to push herself harder and be better. It'd be good for her to have some competition, she told herself.
Are you busy after school? Let me show you around.
That's good, but be sure to get plenty of sleep tonight!
Seika wrote, adding a little smiley face to the end. She leaned in to try to catch what Ayano was writing through her hand, but she didn’t catch much until Ayano finished writing anyway. A quick smile crossed her lips when her friend finally lifted her hand and Seika caught her eye.
I’m free, show me all the cool spots around town
//... into the dark she stepped, but never did she feel free of the gaze...//
Cool spots around town… There weren’t many of those. They could walk around the park with dry grass and broken cobblestones, visit the one coffee shop in town or the ice cream shop with five flavors of ice cream. Ayano was mostly looking forward to the company, and when the bell finally rang after biology class, she’d already planned a route that’d take them to not the coolest, but the least lame places in Iwami.
“What’s your favorite flavor of ice cream?” She asked on their way to the shoe locker. Strangely, their homeroom teacher was there, accompanied by the vice principal, and they were standing right in front of Seika’s locker.
“Yanagi-san, could you please come with us?” Fujisawa-san asked gently, while the vice principal eyed the new student with an angry stare.
“What’s this about?” Ayano asked, sensing trouble though she couldn’t understand why. She looked at her friend, a huge question mark plastered in her face. The teacher hesitated on saying something, but the vice principal wasn't as hesitant. He held up a small plastic bag with green buds in front of Seika's face.
“Favorite flavor? I’ve always liked cookies and cream.” Seika said with a grin as the duo neared the shoe lockers. Her smile soon morphed into mild confusion when she caught sight of their teacher and another adult standing near her shoe locker. Was there a problem with one of the lockers? The other man looked pissed, so Seika readied herself to ask if she could step by then to get her shoes when the teacher spoke first. “Huh? Was all Seika could manage before a baggie full of… marijuana?… was shoved in her face by the irate man.
“What? Why would I know?” Seika said, confused, turning her gaze to their homeroom teacher. “Fujisawa-san?”
//... into the dark she stepped, but never did she feel free of the gaze...//
It was clear as day that Seika was as surprised as Ayano, and the blonde thought it should be enough proof that it didn't belong to her.
"That's not hers. Anyone could've put it in there." She said, glancing between the vice principal and the teacher, who had her lips parted as if searching for the words to say.
"Why would anyone do this?" The vice principal asked, but it was rhetorical. "Our students don't bring drugs to school! I don't know how liberal your old school was, Yanagi Seika, but this is enough reason to expel you!" Ayano's chest tightened.
"Usui-san!" Fujisawa exclaimed, but before she could argue against it, he backtracked. "You're lucky you'll only get a suspension. Two weeks. And no more club activities for you."
"What?! That's unfair!" Ayano shouted. Some students had gathered around to watch the scene, that would've been bad enough if it had been happening in private.
“Two weeks? No clubs? What?” Seika repeated with a blink. The shock only lasted a few moments before Seika bristled as an air of defiant indignation took her. She set her jaw as she drew her shoulders back as she stared back at Usui-San. “Why are you punishing me when that isn’t mine? Shouldn’t you be figuring out who it belongs to instead?” Seika said, acid dripping into her voice. Her left hand caught a bundle of her skirt and she squeezed so tight her knuckles turned white.
//... into the dark she stepped, but never did she feel free of the gaze...//