53: Twenty Pounds in Six Hours
Her finger was twitching. It had been doing that for a few hours now. Emiko cocked her head to the side and tried to hold her fingers together. The tremors ran up to her wrists.
Maybe she shouldn't have had that energy drink at 11:08 pm. She definitely shouldn't have had another one at 3:34 am. Maybe she shouldn't have stood for 47 minutes under the icy droplets in the shower.
Maybe she should have eaten the breakfast cereal bar that her grand-mama shoved in her hands before she had to leave.
Most of all, Emiko should have stayed home today.
She had a routine for days like this. A check-list to follow that would ensure she'd be back on her feet with smarty-pants comments under her belt to tackle the next day.
She needed pillows. Many pillows. At least eight. She would need two blankets, one to sit on and cover her lower half with and another to throw over her head. The curtains would be pulled down, the only light in the room coming from her laptop screen as she watched a Marvel movie and hummed to the soundtracks she had memorized.
And snacks. She would need lots and lots of snacks.
It was the day of the semi-finals though, and she needed to support her team. Emiko sat down to work. Then, two energy drinks and 61 finger prickles later, she sat back and marvelled at the new Karasuno Banner she had sewed herself. Now, it was hanging from the railing above them. Delicate FLY lettered in white against an ominous black. The outline of their starting line-up just below it.
She had pricked her fingers with the pointed needle too many times. Maybe she had given herself nerve damage. Maybe her body was trying to get rid of the caffeine pumping in her blood. Maybe she was scared.
A warm touch on her hand pulled her from her thoughts. Emiko blinked and then drew her stare to the body sitting beside her on the floor of the city gymnasium hallway.
"Ew," she frowned, "Tobio you have cooties."
"You're shaking."
"Am not," she slapped his hand away. Emiko pulled her sleeves down and balled her hands into fists. "I might be possessed though. Recently, I was contacted by the Demon Queen so I might just be experiencing some side effects."
He blinked. "Demon Queen?"
"Don't say its name," she hissed, "are you trying to summon it?"
"Uh, no?"
"Good." Emiko nodded. "Smart choice."
"What are you doing?" he asked, shifting so he was sitting with his legs stretched out.
Emiko's gaze travelled to a bluish bruise that was coloured on his knee. She poked it. "How'd this happen?"
A strangled cry left his lips as he elbowed her. Emiko clutched her side and groaned, throwing a glare at him as he shifted away. "You have cooties too," he mumbled.
"No, only boys have cooties. Gosh Tobio, don't you remember anything from Kitagawa?"
"I remember a pretty girl who chased me with worms on a stick."
"Lies. You have no proof."
"I remember a pretty girl who made the guys flinch by just glaring at them."
"I'm pretty good at glaring, aren't I?"
"I remember a pretty girl in a pink tutu."
Emiko blinked. She scoffed and then bonked his head. "We agreed never to bring that up, Tobio. Some things are better left in the past- Why are you looking at me like that?"
Kageyama snapped his attention to the ground. "I'm not."
"Liar."
"I'm not."
She knew where this banter was headed, and the answer was nowhere. Kageyama had a tendency to go in circles and this verbal argument made Emiko feel as if her mental age had dropped by ten years. it was the equivalent of holding her finger one inch from her Uncle Keishin's face and saying I'm not touching you.
She sighed and looked away.
Mirae was talking to the middle schooler from Shiratorizawa who might come to Karasuno next year. They were surrounded by Coach Ukai and the third years. The other boys were sitting off to the side, taking a well deserved break.
They had won their match today against Date Tech and it was a tough game. Date's blocks were as effective as last time, but Karasuno stayed on the offensive and landed attack after attack.
Emiko was surprised by Shoji's role in the game today. He was like a secondary decoy the team didn't know they needed. In the back row, he aided in connecting the ball when it flew out of bounds. In the front, he tightened the blocks. In the three sets they played, he scored fourteen points.
When they stepped off the court, Mirae looked like she was going to cry.
And speaking of Mirae, Emiko sighed as she noticed that the Karasuno boys were watching her with softened expressions and gentle grins. Other random boys who were loitering in the halls had gone red-faced as they nudged each other and pointed.
Mirae didn't seem to notice.
She was combing her fingers through Shoji's hair as he leaned against her. Takita was sitting against her legs and munching on an energy bar. She was telling a story to Eito, Hinata, Noya, and Tanaka.
"Mirae is really pretty, isn't she?"
Kageyama followed her line of sight. "Yeah," he paused, "Hinata says its because her face is symmetrical."
"It's more than that."
"She's confident and shy. I don't know what that means but Tsukishima said it makes sense."
"She's actually kind of perfect if you think about it."
"I think it's her eyes," Kageyama continued. He looked up when Emiko pushed herself off the ground. "Where are you going?"
"Bathroom, you loser." She kicked his foot and before he had a chance to trip her, she skipped away.
Luckily for her, no one occupied the stalls. Emiko stopped in front of the mirror and watched her own reflection for a few minutes. Her eyes swept over her shoulder-length hair. Though it had been a few months since her last haircut, the longer strands framed her round face well. Her brows were thin and arched over her narrow eyes softly. Her skin was blemished with dark spots and bumpy pimples. All things considered she looked decent enough.
Her fingers reached for her shirt and she lifted its hem.
"What are you doing?"
She whipped her head around. "How do I lose twenty pounds by the end of the day?"
Mirae blinked. She moved her foot so the door would close behind them. "You don't."
"I have to."
"No, it's not possible."
"You're a nutritionist, aren't you? Damn useless if you can't help me lose weight."
"I can help you lose weight but not twenty pounds in six hours. What's got you so fixated on weight loss anyway?"
Emiko turned around and opened the tap. She ran her hands through the cold water, waiting for the numbness to settle in.
"Well?"
"My mom," she grumbled in response. "She- she wants me to send her my photos. No doubt to make sure I haven't gained weight. News flash, I have."
"As much as I find this situation hilarious, and believe me, I do, I think you're overreacting Emiko. You eat three times the amount of sugar you're allowed, you have no consideration for portion size, and your caffeine intake is disgusting. Still, you're healthy by some miracle. You're fine."
"The demon queen won't think so."
Emiko saw her roll her eyes from the mirror. The water wasn't cold enough. Her fingers were still trembling.
"You've never had to think about it because you're perfect."
The statement was startling to both girls. Mirae couldn't believe what she heard. Emiko couldn't believe what she said.
Her grey eyes narrowed. "Say that again?"
"It's nothing."
Emiko hastily ripped the paper towels from its holder and dried her hands. She briskly walked around Mirae but the older girl grabbed her sleeve.
"No, we are going to talk about this."
"There's nothing to talk about."
"Evidently, there is."
"This isn't Yua Loves Eichii. We're not going to have a moment in the girl's bathrooms and break down and hug each other."
Mirae made a face. "That never happened in Yua Loves Eichii. Not to mention I wouldn't hug you. No offence but you've been walking around and brushing shoulders with too many people today. The number of germs on both of us is disgusting."
"Great, so let's drop the topic and go back before my Uncle Keishin thinks I'm trying to break into a vending machine."
"I'll drop it for now," Mirae hummed as they walked towards their team. She gave Emiko a side glance. "But this conversation is far from over."
|Note|
The Demon Queen has done her damage... will this take its toll on Mirae and Emiko's friendship?
Emiko is self conscious. She knows she can never be the 'perfect' daughter that her mother wants. She's been moving from city to city every year and not once has she found people she can trust.
Mirae despises the fact that people see her as a pretty face and judge her based on her looks. Yeah, she knows she's pretty but people should appreciate her for more than what they see.
Can we also have a round of applause for Kageyama. We think he was trying to flirt but then again, maybe not? I mean he's trying, right? Akaashi has been giving him some pointers but there's only so much he can do.
Please don't forget to vote!
|End Note|
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