「 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐫𝐢𝐦𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐑𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐫 」𝘸. 𝘶𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘫𝘪𝘮𝘢

vi | speechless

Sparrows chirp lively and the rustle of leaves being carried in the wind register in my ears. I groggily open my eyes a little and turn off the about-to-go-off alarm. I blink a few times and let out a sigh. Sitting up and yawning, I dry off the tears that have accumulated. I blink again a few more times and stretch, putting on my glasses.

With my phone in hand, I walk downstairs and turn on the kitchen lights. I eat breakfast and pack up my bento, making sure the hand towel is inside. I turn off the lights and walk back upstairs, picking up my heavy legs in the process. I put my things down and collapse onto the bed, arms and legs stretched out like a snow angel. I stay there for a little while, collecting myself. I get back up and brush my teeth while trying to fix my wild hair, attempting to tame it in a loose half up half down bun. I stuff the premade bento and phone into my school bag and then stare at my reflection, thinking to myself.

"Should I go to badminton practice? I could hit against the wall. But I don't want to walk in the cold. But the practice is good. But I don't want to," I argue with myself and settle on practicing for a little bit. I slowly change into workout clothes and make my bed. I grab my badminton bag, book bag, and turn off the fairly lights and room lights, closing the door behind me. I double-check the windows and doors, finally making my way to the front of the house. I wear my tennis shoes and carefully place my school loafers in my badminton bag. I stop in front of the locked door and breathe in the crisp air around me.

I'm walking to school when a sudden surge of wind crowds me, making me stop in my tracks. I tremble, gripping my school bag tightly. As I walk onto school grounds, I feel a light tap on my shoulder. I turn around and see the ace.

"Ushi- er, Wakatoshi, good morning," I stumble on his name.

"Good morning, y.n., I thought you didn't have morning practice on Tuesdays," Wakatoshi says.

"I don't, but I still chose to practice for a little bit," I rub the back of my head.

"That's a good habit to have. Consistent practice is good so your body doesn't get sluggish," I nod and am about to continue walking when Wakatoshi stops me.

"Y.n.," he starts. I turn back in his direction, waiting for what he has to say. He blushes and looks away from me, averting his eyes to the ground.

"Yes, Wakatoshi?" I look up at him, smiling awkwardly when words aren't being exchanged.

"Uh," this is the first time that I've seen him nervous. He always seems so sure of everything. I silently giggle to myself. He doesn't say anything, just keeps looking down at the gravel, shuffling his feet from time to time. I don't want to force anything out of him, and he isn't saying anything anytime soon.

"You don't have to tell me now if you don't want to," I start, interrupting the silence.

"Let's go to practice, shall we?" I ask, not moving away from my spot. He looks at me and nods a few times.

Side by side, we walk in comfortable silence. The gravel crunches under our footsteps, not too loud, but somewhat strange in the cold morning. He drops me off in front of the badminton gym.

"Good luck with practice today, y.n.,"

"Thank you Wakatoshi-kun. I appreciate it. Good luck with yours and see you later in class," I say in return and take out my keys. He walks away and I unlock the gym door, entering the empty building.

I place my equipment onto the floor and start cleaning the floors. With the large flat mop equipment in hand, I look down at my shoes as I push forward, cleaning the floors on autopilot.

Once completed, I sit down, taking off my sneakers when someone knocks on the doors. Riku pokes his head in and he waves at me. I wave back at him with my badminton shoe in hand and he laughs. I finish tying them and go over to the equipment room.