Kageyama stared at the vending machine with a nasty glare as he attacked the two buttons with his fingers, unable to decide which drink he should pick. Then again, he ended up with strawberry yogurt that seemed to be one of his favorites. He poked his straw on the carton and sipped on it like there’s no tomorrow. He’s irritated.

Hinata just told him that he got himself a date on Friday night with his crush, Shimazaki Minami. It got him jealous not because he likes the same girl as Hinata, he was jealous because: ‘How come Hinata can talk effortlessly with his crush while here I’m stuck with “just being classmates”’ he threw his milk box in the trash can and went back to his classroom, his forehead still scrunched up.

As he entered the classroom, several pairs of eyes were focused on his direction, but not because he was there. Sugimoto Hisano was about to exit the classroom, carrying a big fat goose in her arms. Kageyama stared at the bird and then at his crush who was enjoying in patting the animal. “You’re so cute” she blushed on its “cuteness”, sparkles around her area.

It made him irritated even more. ‘Even an animal can beat me in getting close with her!’ he felt hopeless.

“Oh Kage” Hisano noticed him and shoved the bird in front of his face. “Look, look! It’s Kokan! Kokan!”

“K-Kokan…? Sugimoto-san, isn’t this the class pet of 1-4? How on earth did you have hold of it?” Kageyama sweat dropped, his mouth forming a thin line. “If one of them finds out it’s missing and it’s with you, you’ll get in trouble with the teachers again” he warned.

“Eh? It’s not my fault their pet escapes the pen they made! Kokan likes it here~”

“But Sugimoto-san-” “HISANO!”

“Kuso where’s that damn bird?” Tsukishima cursed, looking through the bushes behind the school. Their pet bird named Nogi got lost again, and their class adviser kicked everyone out of class just to look for it. “I don’t know if sensei’s a teacher or a farmer” he continued on cussing.

“Complaining won’t do anything. Let’s just look for the bird, and we can continued having classes” Yamaguchi says, peeking through a window. It turns out it was Class 3’s where they saw Nogi in a brunette girl’s arm. “It’s Nogi!” exclaimed the freckled boy.

“Where?” Tsukishima glanced at the window. He didn’t have the chance to see Nogi though. The first one he saw was his friend and longtime crush, Shinobu, barging in the classroom and scolding the girl who was holding Nogi. Kajiwara was helping them in looking for the bird and happened to passed by class 3 when she saw Nogi in Sugimoto’s arms as she glanced at their window. “What is she doing making a scene like that?”

Sugimoto gulped. Kajiwara had caught her playing around with Nogi again. This wasn’t the first time this goose let loose and got class 4 in trouble.

Shinobu often catches Hisano stealing the bird from its cage and spending time with it the whole lunch. Tsukishima and Yamaguchi always asks help from her in looking for it, so it became a habit for her to go to brunette from class 3 whenever Nogi is missing.

“Hisano! Didn’t I tell you to stop stealing Nogi-chan?!” reprimanded Shinobu, snatching Nogi from her friend.

Kajiwara and Sugimoto have been friends since middle school. The two, together with Kageyama went to Kitagawa Daichi.

The blonde girl often scolds the careless girl for she acts childish all the time. “You’re getting class 4 in trouble again! When will you learn, seriously!” Shinobu hollers before turning her back at her friend and went out the class to deliver Nogi back to class 4’s possession.

“It’s not Nogi! It’s Kokan!” Sugimoto pouted, pulling her lips together. “Don’t worry Kokan! I’ll babysit you tomorrow again!” she shouted after Kajiwara who was carrying the goose away from her.

Kageyama just stared at the girl with a weird face. ‘For a second there, I thought Kokan glared at me…’ he gulped nervously. ‘Animals really hate me, don’t they?’ he sighed, defeated.

“Here” Kajiwara handed Nogi back to the class president of class 4, Narahashi Kado.

“Thank you so much, Kajiwara-chan! I’m really grateful that you always help us look for him!” thanked the president dearly.

“No problem! My friend just happened to take a liking on the bird, that’s why I always feel responsible in returning it to you guys” the girl replied, giving a kind smile. “Besides, I don’t want Tsukishima-kun and Tadashi-kun to get in trouble just because Nogi-chan is missing”

“True” Kado agreed. “Say, are you and Yamaguchi dating?” that question was suddenly blurted out, catching Kajiwara off guard.

“Eh? What made you ask me that, Narahashi-kun?” Shinobu blinked, taken aback. She never expected people to assume that. Yamaguchi was just a friend to her, nothing else. “Well you two seem to be really close and you call each other by your first names. So of course people will wonder. Besides, you’re one of the most popular girls in the first year. Many would want to know if you’re taken or not” Narahashi said, making her blush.

‘P-Popular? I really don’t want that…’ Shinobu sighed. “Sorry, but I and Tadashi-kun are only friends. Yeah, we call each other by our first names, and I even have a nickname for him, but we’re only friends. Nothing more” she cleared out before rumors scattered wrongly. “Besides, Tadashi-kun’s not the only one calling me by my first name”

“Oh, right. Tsukishima calls you Shinobu too, right?” Kado remembered. “But I can’t imagine him liking any girl. He literally rejects any girl who tries to get close with him”

“Tsukkin tends to do that. He’s really picky with people”

“Tch” “EH?!” Kajiwara flinched when he felt some scary aura from her back. Tsukishima and Yamaguchi were just behind her back, listening to the last part of the conversation. The blond middle blocker gave a glare to the girl before entering the classroom without even saying a word to her. “Tsukkin!”

“Tsukki, there you go again. Sorry about that, Shinobu” Yamaguchi apologized to the girl. ‘He’s just jealous because you’re talking to a guy…’ oh how he wanted to say that, but he’ll be dead before he could even yell another ‘Tsukki’. He proceeded to follow Tsukishima, leaving Kajiwara and Narahashi.

“Well, I should probably go back to my class. See you, Narahashi-kun”

“Un. Thanks again!”

“No problem”

‘I can’t believe I lost to a goose…’ Kageyama clawed his head and stole a glance at Sugimoto who was busy day dreaming about her favorite goose. ‘I can’t even talk to her in a real conversation… Damn that Kokan!’

That afternoon, the four freshmen headed to the gym together with their partners. Along the way, Tsukishima and Kageyama saw their crushes together since Shinobu and Hisano are friends. They stared at the two girls then at each other before looking away like coward tsunderes.

As they approach the gym, they noticed a happy Hinata skipping while practice and continuously chanting: “I’ve got a dart with Minami-chan~” irritating the two even further.

“YOU DON’T NEED TO BROADCAST IT OVER AND OVER!” hollered the two making Yamaguchi sweat drop.

‘Oh Tsukki…’

“Damn Kageyama! You’re just jealous because I get to hang-out with the girl I like!”

“Shut up!”