Shiraishi POV

When the bell signaling the end of the school day finally rang, I shot up out of my seat and promptly banged my knee on the table. Immediately dropping to the ground, I clutched my now bruised leg and hissed in pain.

“Shiraishi-san, are you alright?” A concerned pair of brown orbs stared down at me. 

“I’m fine,” I grimaced. “Just got a bit too excited, that’s all.”

“Excited?” Nishino raised her eyebrows. “Is something happening today?”

“Ah, no.” I blushed. “Nothing in particular, but I’m just happy you’ll be there to watch practice today.” Real smooth, Mai.

She laughed. “That’s nothing to hurt yourself over, though. Be careful, okay?”

I nodded sheepishly. “Shall we go?” 

Nishino POV

I smiled inwardly at Shiraishi-san. She’s cute when she’s shy, too.

“Shiraishi-san,” I called. “Do you mind if I take these papers to the staff room first?”

“Sure, no problem. I’ll come with you.”

She suddenly leaned in towards me, taking me by surprise. Swiftly, she took the stack of papers out of my arms, smirking at me as she did so.

“Looked like you were struggling a bit with them,” She grinned. “Forgive me, but I think I’ve got a bit more muscle than you.”

Once again, I found myself blushing at the sudden act of chivalry. This time, however, a tinge of nervousness settled in. Almost like I was shy around her.

“A-are you sure you can carry all of them?”

Shiraishi-san nodded nonchalantly. “Yep, no problem.” Winking, she added, “Anything for you!”

I watched as she turned and started in the direction of the staff room, whistling cheerfully. Taking a deep breath to calm myself down, I glanced at my reflection in the window. My face was a dark shade of pink.

Shiraishi POV

Anything for you! I cringed internally at my own cheesy line. And a wink? Seriously? I needed a filter for my actions. I’d known the girl for two days, yet I was already trying to hit on Nishino.

I attempted to mask my embarrassment by whistling and walking, only noticing that Nishino was still rooted to her spot after I had walked a few feet.

“Is something wrong?” I frowned. “Ah, did I make you uncomfortable with that just now? Sorry about that.”

“No, no, don’t worry about it.” She frantically shook her head. “Just a bit distracted.”

That sounded suspicious. Smiling apologetically, I waved it off. “Nah, that was my bad. I won’t do it again.”

“No it’s fine.” Nishino smiled at me and I felt my heart skip a couple beats. “If anything, I liked it. It was very sweet of you.”

“O-oh, I see.” I was secretly ecstatic. Mental note to act cool around her as much as possible. “We should really get going though, or we’ll be late to practice.”

She nodded, jogging a bit to catch up to me. “Let’s go.”

We walked in silence, which resulted in my desperate attempt to start a conversation. “So, what are these handouts?”

“Hm, I think they’re for science class, but I’m not too sure.” She shrugged. “The teacher didn’t tell me much.”

I wrinkled my nose in disgust. “Ugh, science. That class is so hard.”

“Really? I think it’s alright.”

“Haha, you must be really smart, then, Nishino-san.”

“Not at all,” She shook her head. “My grades are pretty average.”

“Still better than me,” I laughed drily. “I always have Nanamin tutor me before tests. Ah, we’re here.” I slid the door to the staff room open and greeted the teachers inside. Our science teacher waved us over. 

“Thanks for bringing these over,” he smiled. “Must have been tiring, since there were so many.”

“Not at all.” Nishino and I bowed politely and made our way out of the room.

Once out of the room, I stretched my arms out above my head. “Time for practice. You got all your manga stuff?”

“Yeah, it’s all in here.” She patted here school bag affectionately. “Sketchbook and drawing pencils.”

“Alright, let’s go!” I felt the anticipation rise in me. Time to show off what I was capable of. I snuck a glance at my classmate beside me. Hopefully, I’d win a part of her over today.

Nishino POV

As we approached the softball field, a figure of a girl came into view. She stood in front of the dugout, conversing with the coach, but she didn’t have on a softball uniform like the rest of the team. Instead, she was a wearing a simple track suit, royal purple in color. Upon closer inspection, she hadn’t been at the practice yesterday, either.

Shiraishi-san, however, seemed to recognize the girl. As soon as she had spotted the girl in the track suit, she waved her hand excitedly and called out.

“Maimai! Long time no see!” Shiraishi-san ran towards the girl, who was smiling and waving back. 

They must be close friends. I quietly followed Shiraishi-san over to the dugout. 

“Ah, Maimai, this is Nishino Nanase-san. She’s here to observe us for a softball manga reference.”

I nodded politely. “Nice to meet you.”

The girl smiled back. She seemed very mature and level-headed, but her pale skin suggested that she wasn’t very athletic. “Nice to meet you, too, Nishino-san. My name is Fukagawa Mai, the manager of the softball team.”

“Maimai just came back from Shizuoka, so you didn’t see her yesterday,” Shiraishi-san explained. 

“Ah, I see. I’ll be in your care then.”

“Same here, I hope we can get along.”

“Alright girls!” The coach clapped her hands. “Let’s get to work. Shiraishi, hurry up and change.”

“Yes ma’am!” Shiraishi-san saluted her comically and ran off.

I made my way into the dug out, where Fukagawa-san was opening a cardboard box. “Fukagawa-san, is there anything I can help with?”

“Ah, don’t you have to work on your manga?”

“It’s fine,” I smiled. “It’s just a bit of sketching.”

“Hm, then can you help me sort these mitts by size?” She gestured at the ground. “You can just separate them into three piles.”

“No problem.” I knelt down into the dust and got to work.

Shiraishi POV

I glanced over towards the dugout and frowned. This time, Maimai had enlisted Nishino’s help, and she was preoccupied with sorting mitts rather than observing. I felt my excitement dissipate. Even though I was trying so hard to show off my best, Nishino wasn’t even looking my way. So much for that plan.

Resigned, I shifted my focus back to Nanamin, who was up at the plate. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Wakatsuki tense up in apprehension, afraid that Nanamin would hit the ball towards Nishino again. Jealously, I mirrored her, even though the fence in front of the dugout would block any incoming softballs.

I sighed and shook my head. Gotta focus. I narrowed my eyes at Nanamin and took a few steps back. Just cause Nishino wasn’t watching didn’t mean I could slack off. I had a responsibility to the team as well.

From the pitcher’s mound, Hori cranked her arm back and let it swing forward. The ball flew straight towards Nanamin, who leaned forward and swung the bat. A resounding crack filled the air, and I saw the ball zoom past me and into left field. Luckily, it landed squarely in the mitt of Itou Junna, who whirled towards me and threw the ball. Catching it, I turned towards first base and hurled the softball at Wakatsuki, who grabbed it out of the air and tagged Nakada Kana with it. A double out for Nanamin and Kana-chan. A fine play between Junna, Wakatsuki, and me. 

The coach shouted out an affirming remark as Wakatsuki tossed the ball back to Hori. Returning to my spot as shortstop, I smiled at Junna, who in turn smiled back shyly at me. She was a bit flushed, probably because it was so hot out. I wiped the sweat off my brow and snuck another peek at the dugout. The two girls inside had finished sorting mitts and were now deep in conversation; Nishino’s drawing pad set aside, untouched.

Nishino POV

“Woah, that was so cool!” I had just witnessed a feat of teamwork between Shiraishi-san, Wakatsuki-san, and another girl further out into the field. 

Fukagawa-san smiled proudly. “Wasn’t it? Maiyan and Wakatsuki and the pride of our team, you know!”

“Haha, I can definitely see that,” I nodded my head in agreement. “Who was the girl who caught the ball?”

“Oh," Fukagawa turned her head to look at the girl. “That’s Itou Junna-chan. She’s one of Maiyan’s biggest fans, so I imagine that she’s quite happy over this play.”

“Ah, so she wants to show off her good side?”

“Yep, kids are so cute these days.” She laughed and turned to look at me. “If you want to spot cool poses, I’d recommend paying close attention, because they move fast.”

“Oh, right.” I picked up my drawing pad, which lay next to me on the bench. “Thanks for the reminder.”

“No problem,” Fukagawa-san smiled. “Do you mind if I see what you have so far?”

“Sure.” I flipped the pad open to the pages I had worked on yesterday. I hadn’t drawn in any faces, but the positions and hair styles easily gave away who my models were: Shiraishi-san and Wakatsuki-san. I wondered if Fukagawa-san would notice.

Fortunately, she didn’t seem to see and simply marveled over the drawings. “You’re quite skilled, aren’t you?”

I smiled modestly, relieved. “Not at all.”

Fukagawa POV

I watched as Nishino-san flipped through the pages of her drawing pad. She lingered for an extra second on a drawing of a girl crouching over, focused intently in front of her. It looked like Maiyan. I looked up at the girl sitting next to me, whose gaze was focused on the shortstop—Shiraishi Mai.

No way. I smiled to myself. It looks like Maiyan’s got a new admirer. I took another look at the drawing. It was impressively detailed for a rough sketch. I smiled inwardly again, deciding to keep my newfound discovery to myself.

“You’re quite skilled, aren’t you?” Young love was so cute.