Monday was the bus trip toward Mihoshi. I had packed all my stuff the night before, and made sure to lock my apartment door up tight before heading to school. It was the first week of Golden Week, which is a lot like summer vacation, only it only lasts two weeks instead of three months like in America. Now I know why so many Asian kids transfer there. I wore my school uniform, not knowing if we were allowed to wear comfort clothes or not. When I got there, they were already loading up the bus. I climbed aboard with the guys and immediately got nervous. Where was I going to sit? I’d only been part of the team for a few days, and besides talking to Tajima, Mihashi, and working with Abe, I hadn’t formed much of a relationship with my teammates. I looked toward the back and spotted the bigger empty seat. I decided to sit there, rather than go through a rejection process. Once everyone was on and we headed off, the guys wouldn’t stop talking. I looked up once or twice and wished I could be included in their fun. I felt someone tap on my shoulder and saw that it was our supervisor. “Would you give these pills to Mihashi, he seems to be getting a little bus sick.” I nodded and moved up to Mihashi’s seat. His forehead was sweaty, and he put his head back. His eyes were closed, and he did look a tad nauseous. “Mihashi, wake up.” I said. He opened one eye to look at me, and then attempted to open the other one. I handed him the pills. “If you get car sick, you should have taken these before we left.” I said softly. He took them and thanked me. “I don’t usually get car sick.” He said, taking the pills with a bottle of water. I sat down and looked at him. “Why are you so nervous about this game?” I asked. He capped his water bottle and wiped his mouth. “I…played for Mihoshi in junior high. My teammates hated me because my pitching was so bad that we lost every game. They said I got the part because of Nepotism.” I looked at him confused. That was the first time I’d ever heard that word. He looked at me and noticed my confusion. “Oh, uh…my grandfather owns the school.” Now I understand. “So they thought you wore the ace number because of your grandfather’s position?” I asked. He nodded sadly. “Not because of your talent?” he shook his head. “The catcher even stopped giving me signs.” He said, like he was going to cry. I got a little mad. “I looked at the window to my left and watched the scenery. “What a bunch of jerks.” I said, unaware of how angry I sounded. I didn’t have to turn my head to know that Mihashi was staring at me. “T-Takizawa?” he mumbled. I turned my head to face him, and saw the happiness in his eyes. “I didn’t mean to say it that forcefully. I just think it was mean of them to give up on you like that.” His eyes widened. I looked up at the ceiling and closed my eyes, hoping he wasn’t about to cry. “I bet if they worked with you, instead of shunning you, you would have played in junior high as well as you play now. That’s all I’m saying.” I said. He was silent for a moment. Then I heard a sniffling noise. I opened my eyes and looked at him. He was tearing up. Aw man, don’t do this now. I thought. He started to wipe his eyes. “T-thanks.” He said. I looked at him surprised. He was crying because he was happy? I sighed and pulled on his cheek a little. “Owww!” he whined. I smiled and giggled. “If you’re happy you should smile.” I said pointing to my mouth. “See, this is what you do when you’re happy.” I let go of his cheek and made a fake sad face while rubbing my eyes in a ‘boo hoo’ motion. “This is what you do when you’re sad.” I said in a matching voice. He started to laugh a little, and so did I. I rubbed my eyes a little more with an even sadder face. “Mihashi, are you bullying Takizawa?!” a boy with a shaved head asked. Mihashi shook his head franticly, but the boy wasn’t convinced. I stopped my joke and put my hands up in defense. “No, he wasn’t bothering me! I was just trying to show him that he shouldn’t cry all the time!” I searched my head for the boy’s name. “Honest, we were just goofing around. I’m sorry Hanai.” I said with a quick head bow. I looked at Hanai again and thought I saw a pink flush on his face. “Well…cut it out, do you want to give people the wrong idea?!” We shook our heads. “So you’re gonna stop now, right?” we nodded our heads yes. “Good.” He said, turning around. Tajima joked around and called him ‘Dad’. I laid back in my seat. “Hanai’s kinda…” Mihashi gulped. “Scary.” He finished.

Keke, Akira seems to be taking over for Abe eh? I hope the Abe fan girls aren't mad at me (I am one too). Anyway, sorry this one is short, but I want to make as many chapters out of this word document as I can. Readers fighting! (for putting up with meX3)