CHAPTER 19

 Once upon a time in their flag ceremony, the directress came upstage and said her announcement.

 “Since our…ah, special students are going to leave at the end of August, we might as well start with our intramurals earlier then before.” She said and then the students cheered.

 They wait months for the intramurals. Usually (given the JUMPs aren’t around), they would start with the intramurals during September. Honestly, except the Christmas party and the Students’ Day, the intramurals is the only thing the students look forward to in school.

 There are different sports a student can join in. There is chess, volleyball, badminton, and table tennis. Since this is the first year the school’s swim center has opened, they decided not to do any swimming activities yet concerning the intramurals. Then there’s basketball, the most watched of all the sports in the whole intramurals. It is also the sport that Keito and Yuto had decided they’ll join in, and so will the others.

 “There was already word that the JUMPs will be joining the sport basketball.” The directress said. Girls kyaaa-ed.

 “BUT,” the directress continued as the crowd went silent. “they wouldn’t be allowed to form their own team. They will be scattered among the sections…so that would be seven sections having one JUMP and one section having two JUMPs.”

 (Author’s Note: Just to clear it all out, not just one section is sharing a JUMP, Actually, it’s TWO sections. There are four sections in each year level, making it 16 sections all in all. Now, two sections in each year level are being merged together during intramurals. The two merged sections will work together against the other two. Also, if you’re in section A and merged with C, you won’t be allowed to get teammates from B and D. Thank you. BACK TO THE STORY.)

 “EHHH???” Keito and Yuto said in risou synchronization. Their classmates—everyone looked at them.

 “Any problem with that?” the directress asked.

 “No ma’am. No problem at all.” Yabu answered back to the woman on the stage.

 Keito and Yuto looked at Kota in disbelief. Is he really letting this happen? He’s letting Hey! Say! JUMP be apart? They wanted to protest.

 “It’s just a game.” Yabu said, still facing the stage, as if reading their minds. “No need to worry.” Then he turned to face the two, “Unless you to are up to something.”

 That pretty much shut Keito’s and Yuto’s mouths up. (Ok, ok, they weren’t even talking, you might say…but I couldn’t think anything else to type in.)

 “So then it’s good.” The woman on the stage said, “Hikaru Yaotome and Yuri Chinen will join the same team in the first year level, Arioka Daiki will join the other. Ryosuke Yamada and Yuya Takaki for the second year. Kota Yabu and Kei Inoo for the third years. And lastly, Keito Okamoto and Yuto Nakajima for the seniors. You get to choose what team you wanted to join in your level, but if the team you chose was already taken by the another, then you should join the other.”

 At that note, a boy’s hand rose highly, obviously wanting attention.

 “Yes Jerome?” the directress asked.

 “I’m taking Nakajima.” The guy Jerome said as he grinned at Yuto, who stood just a few people away from him. “You won’t reject me, won’t you?”

 “Nope.” Yuto just agreed.

 “Great! Thanks!”

 “Everything’s settled then.” The directress smiled. “You may now proceed to the building.”

 The students went inside their respective classrooms. The flag ceremony had ended earlier than usual and their homeroom teacher arrives late most of the time so they had about 15 minutes of spare time.

 The JUMPs looked pretty excited for the intramurals, except for Yuto and Keito.

 The two guys were shaken up by this morning’s announcement. They’d been planning on being on the same team as the others and fight against Justin’s team…not because they were angry at him—they have no reason to be, he didn’t intentionally hurt Mia after all—but because they just felt the urge that they have to defeat him. Now everything’s ruined. The JUMPs are scattered into the different sections, and Chinen and Hikaru—the most childish ones—get to be in one team. Most of all, Keito and Yuto are both in the senior year level but they were parted. Yuto joins Jerome’s team while Keito ---oh, goodness—will fight alongside Justin.

 A hand was held out in Yuto’s face, snapping him out of his thoughts.

When he looked up, a smiling Justin was looking at him. “I hope you won’t take me being on the other team as yours seriously. But I hope you’ll take your playing seriously, I love basketball, and wonderful players. I think you’re a wonderful player.”

 Yuto took Justin’s hand and shook it. He got mixed up feelings about this. Like he wanted to befriend and be chums with this guy but at that very same moment Yuto also wanted to grip this guy’s hand so badly it would get squished like a mashed potato.

 They stopped shaking hands. Justin looked over at Keito and grinned.

 “Keito! I’m making you my vice-captain.” Justin said. “You agree on that?”

 “Of course.” Keito replied, and he faked a grin. He too wasn’t happy about this whole scatter-the-JUMPs thing but he couldn’t protest about it. It’s the school’s decision and plus, the students are already looking forward to it. What choice does he and Yuto have?

 But maybe, Yuto and Keito both thought. Just maybe… fate is trying to give them a hint that this isn’t about that Justin guy. It’s about them. Them having the friendly competition they had talked about. Maybe fate is hinting them: ‘This isn’t about Justin. Find a way to kick him out of the picture and get the girl.’

 Thanks to Justin. Now they’re even more determined to get Mia. Who knows? Maybe one of them will get her. No, not ‘maybe’. One of them WILL.

 But ONLY ONE.

                                               CHAPTER END

Banzai to me for writing two chapters in a single night!! WOHOOO!!

I've never thought it would come this far *sniffs*...

 Is this chapter boring? Just tell me. Gomen, gomen, gomen. I'm just not in the right focus...