Teiko's basketball II: Second miracle

8: Luck

Chapter 8:

Luck

"You sure you have the time to drop me Yukiji-san?" said Sora.

"Yeah. Your home isn't so far from mine. Besides you look worn out."

"Fridays....."

And that was how Yukiji ended up accompaniying Sora.

"So it was an umbrella today huh? Your lucky item."

"Yeah. You know, this bet is getting just a bit irritating. Especially when the lucky item is sorta bulky."

"I get it.... Nae, are you really observing any changes?"

"Yeah....Maybe. Wait, don't tell Shintaro!"

"Sure." said Sora laughing.

The bus stop was a bit of a walk from the school gate. Sora and Yukiji were walking when a black cat crossed them. Yukiji tensed. Sora laughed again looking at her reaction.

"Come on, Yukiji-san! It's just a cat. Look, it's so cute....."

"Don't touch it. Please....Just don't."

"Okay..... But don't you have you lucky item? Surely that must count for something?"

"I don't know. But Sora-chan, I have a bad feeling about this."

The road was unusally busy that day. Several cars were zooming about.

"Wow. Today's busy."

"Yeah. I think there's some event or the other going on a few blocks away."

"Well, that's just bad news for us." said Sora grimly. "We have to cross here. And here comes the fun part.....there's no signal."

"You do this everyday, Sora-chan?"

"Well, yeah.... It's never this busy though."

So, the two girls waited, ready to cross the road. There was a slight gap in the traffic.

"Let's go." said Sora and darted across. She got through to the other side. Yukiji however, wasn't so lucky. Halfway across, she dropped her umbrella on the street. She hastily bent down to pick it up. Unfortunately, a car was right behind her. Yukiji just managed to grab the umbrella. She froze on the spot petrified. Luckily the car screeched to a halt in the nick of time. The driver began eloquently swearing. But Yukiji looked like she couldn't hear any of it. Sora dragged her away from the center of the street.

"Yukiji-san! Are you okay? You aren't hurt are you? There's a hospital nearby....."

"It saved me...."

"What?"

Yukiji slowly came out of the shock. "I think it saved me.... The umbrella. I just grabbed it and the car stopped...."

"Yukiji-san.... The umbrella nearly killed you." pointed out Sora.

"Sora-chan.... I think it does really work. Oha-asa."

Sora looked at Yukiji in disbelief. "Yukiji-san, I've nearly been hit once or twice too! This thing happens to almost everyone who crosses busy roads. Believe me, it has nothing to do with horoscopes. It was just an accident and you were lucky."

"That's the thing. I was lucky. Even after the cat....."

Sora sighed. "Whatever. I just hope you're okay.... Shall we go?"

"Yeah." said Yukiji, clutching her umbrella.