twenty one

paralyzed ocean

Beer pong is a sport that requires concentration, skill, practice and the flick of the wrist.

The sport of kings, Shuntaro used to call it.

My first experience with the regal sport of beer pong was when I was sixteen. My cousin Kazuma was turning eighteen, and some of his friends on the island threw him a party on one of the beaches. The table was smaller, but three guys had brought tables by mistake, so they had all been pushed together. Kazuma taught me how to play, but had expressly forbidden me from drinking. Perhaps my sobriety allowed me to have an extra edge over the son-to-be frat boys we were playing against, maybe it didn't. But I know for sure that I dominated the table at Sato for three years straight afterwards.

I stared down the length of the plywood table, red cups arranged in perfect triangles.

Just because it had been two years since I played didn't mean I had lost my touch.

On the picnic table behind Fujio, I could see Sakura sitting with Yasushi. She was talking to Tsukasa and Nakagoshi, which made me a feel a bit better. She was socializing.

"Don't tell me you're scared, Hanoaka." I chuckled, bouncing one of the orange plastic balls off the corner of the table. "I'm sure you're Oya's reigning champion of what, six months?"

"Yeah yeah." Fujio sighed "But you haven't played since you left school."

"How do you know that?"

Fujio grinned "Art majors don't play beer pong."

"On the Islands they do." I turned my attention away from Fujio, focussing on Nakagoshi for a second. "Hey Goshan, Sway is a part of Doberman Infinity! Check your facts before you question your seniors!"

Yasushi and Sakura burst out laughing, and I could faintly hear Sakura tell Nakagoshi 'I told you so'.

With a grin on my face, I turned back to my opponent. "So, Fujio. The ball is in your court now."

The younger boy laughed, pinging the small plastic ball of the table with a small flick of his wrist. The ball bounced back into the air in an almost perfect arc, bouncing off the rim of one of the solo cups. I smiled back at the younger boy, readying my shot.

With barely any movement from my wrist, I let go of the orange ball, watching contentedly as it bounced off the table, landing dead center in the middle of the second row of cups.

Fujio stared at me in amazement as the full-timers laughed and the part-timers cheered me on.

"Drink up, Hanoaka."

With a scowl, Fujio downed the beer, ignoring the jeers from Shibaman and Tsuji.

If there's one thing you should know about the full-timers, it's that they take their alcohol-based sports and drinking games very seriously. We went back and forth like this for at least another half hour, until we were down to four cups on my side and two on Fujio's. As he got drunker, his aim got worse. I was clearly winning, something everybody was likely going to mock him for, the Beer Pong King of Oya losing to a girl in a decidedly boyish sport. If you could even call beer pong a sport.

I mopped the floor with him.

I guess I was Oya High's Beer Pong Queen now as well.

___

A few hours later, and Nakakuki realized that he was going to have to drive everybody home himself. Poor guy, always unwillingly becoming the designated driver. He had left about twenty minutes earlier, set on dropping off Nakazono at his girlfriend's, Nakaoka and Kiyoshi at Hope Hills and a few other guys I didn't know at wherever the hell they lived.

The party had long since died down, Tsuji asleep face-down on a picnic table. The first years who were still standing sat in a circle in the corner, talking and laughing amongst themselves. Sakura seemed to be enjoying herself, sitting between Yasushi and Tsukasa. She seemed like a nice kid, and I hoped those idiots hadn't scared her off.

It was oddly peaceful as I danced with Murayama to the soft J-pop song playing on the speakers, Todoroki laughing at us as he shook his head, sipping from a solo cup.

I couldn't remember a time I'd had more fun, even if I was at a practically abandoned and graffitied public high school with a group of yakuza rejects.

Perhaps the highlight of the night was when a piss-drunk Kiyoshi tried to hit Nakabayashi and missed, the momentum of the punch causing him to trip over his feet and land face-first into a pile of plywood and drywall.

As I placed my arms around Murayama's neck, his hands settling on my waist, I rested my forehead against his with a content smile on my face.

"Are you glad I talked you into inviting me?" I chuckled

He grinned. "Definitely. The highlight of my night was watching you mop the floor with the guys in beer pong."

I laughed, moving to hide my face in his shoulder as my skin began to turn an unsightly shade of pale pink. Murayama chuckled, a small smile on his face as he planted a kiss on the skin just below my ear.

Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Sakura slinking towards the exit, swiping the sleeve of her jacket underneath her eyes. Yasushi ran after her, a small smile on his face.

"Alright." I said, turning to the full-timers. "Which one of you shitheads made her cry?"

"It was Fujio's fault!" Nakagoshi shouted, pointing at the other boy.

"What do you mean it was my fault? I didn't do anything!" Fujio defended

I let go of my hold on Murayama, sighing as I checked the time on my phone. "I'm gonna go check on Sakura, make sure everything's alright. Then I should probably head home. Mind walking with me?"

Murayama smiled "I'd like nothing more."

"You're whipped, broski!" A very drunk Furuya called from over by the speaker

"Shut up!" Murayama shot back as I vanished behind a corner to find Sakura.

Sakura sat on one of the benches outside Oya Kohkoh, one of the few places untouched by graffiti, likely out of respect for a fallen comrade. Yasushi sat next to her, Skaura's phone in his hand as he rubbed circles on her back.

"I am so proud of you, Sakura." The boy said. "I think they loved you."

Sakura chuckled, throwing her head back and wiping at some tears escaping from her eyes. "God, I've had enough social interaction for the next week."

I smiled softly, approaching the two kids. "Which one of those idiots was it? I'll throw them off a roof if I have to."

Sakura shook her head. "Nobody made me cry, thanks for the offer though. It's just an anxious reaction to social situations. My cue to leave."

"You did good out there." I said, reaching to ruffle her hair slightly. "I'm sure the kids love you. You should spend more time here." I turned to Yasushi next "Make sure she gets home alright, I'll tell Seki where you guys have gone. Call me when you get there."

"Yes, mom." Yasushi whined sarcastically. "See you in the morning, Midori."

One fist bump and a high-five for Sakura later, and the two teenagers were off for Hope Hills, a small smile on my face as I watched them pass through Oya's front gates.

I went back to the courtyard, where Todoroki and Shibaman were trying to figure out the best way to move Tsuji without waking him. The other first years, likely after being bullied by Todoroki, were working on cleaning up. I grabbed a few discarded Solo cups on my way over to Murayama, chucking them haphazardly in the trash bag a half-asleep Tsukasa was holding.

I patted the blonde on the shoulder as he yawned, my cellphone starting to vibrate aggressively in my back pocket.

I frowned as I checked the caller ID.

Hiroomi?

"Hiroomi? Is everything okay?" I said, panic seeping into my tone. Hiroomi never calls, especially if it's something he can say in a text message.

"Yeah, I'm at the site. It's not good, Midori. Where are you?" I could hear the older boy frowning, a bang and a muffled curse in the background, likely from Daichi

"I'm at Oya, they had a keg party for Furuya's birthday. Why aren't you telling me what's happening?" I frowned.

Murayama caught on to my agitation, mouthing 'are you okay' at me as I shook my head, gesturing to Nakabayashi to pass me the keys to his pickup truck.

"Maybe we should wait until the morning." Hiroomi sighed "It's late, and I don't want to ruin your night."

"Why would you ruin my night, Hiroomi? Is Daichi with you? Give him the phone."

"They trashed the site, Midori." I could hear the frown and anger on Hiroomi's face

My blood went cold "Who trashed the site?"

"The Mighty Warriors."

NOTES!

HELL YEAH IT'S GOING DOWN! Side note, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR 2K!! WTH THAT'S INCREDIBLE!! I love you guys so much, and we are so setting the view bar high for my other high and low books when i finally get to them lol.