Damn, These Volleyball Boys

Chapter 1

*Bzzt bzzt bzzt*

"Ugh!" I grunt and roll to the edge of bed. With my eyelids still heavy with sleep, I feel around a desk until my fingers wrap around my vibrating phone. I quickly shut off my alarm and glance at the time.

"7 AM?! It's too early!"

Somehow, I resist the temptation to crawl back under my sheets, and instead motivate myself enough to go to the bathroom. I start my morning routine of brushing my teeth, washing my face, etc.

I feel a bit rejuvenated afterwards, so I decide to take that big leap: opening the curtains.

I brace myself for the harsh glare of the sun through the windows and throw the curtains open. Immediately, I get blinded.

"Yup, still too early."

Through squinted eyes, I make out where my closet is and start changing into my uniform that I laid out last night.

Today's the day. I'm going to Shiratorizawa...THE Shiratorizawa. After studying till my hairs turned grey in junior high and passing the insanely hard entrance exam, I'm finally starting my first year of senior high at Shiratorizawa.

"ALRIGHT! LET'S GO! I'M READY!" I shout to no one in particular, trying to hype myself up for the coming day.

Suddenly  my black-haired sister pops her head into my doorway to check out the commotion. "Looks like sleeping beauty finally decided to get up," Kiyoko teased.

"I bet you got up early 'cause you're excited to see a certain bald second year," I tease back.

"Not in a million years," she retorts.

I roll my eyes. My sister may seem a bit removed, but once you get close with her, she suddenly becomes really brazen.

"Have you eaten already?" I ask as I gather my bags.

"Yup, unlike someone I woke up at 6 and am all good to go!" she says as she helps me adjust my uniform.

I roll my eyes again. Sometimes I wonder how we're related when we're so different. She's tidy, I'm messy. She usually keeps to herself, I'm usually loud. She's always the first to get up, while it's a miracle how I make it to homeroom just in time every day. But maybe it's because we're so different that we get along.

"How do you wake up so early and not have any dark circles? Your skin is always sooo clear. It's not fair. You and niichan didn't leave enough good-looking genes for me," I complain.

"Well maybe if you actually put in some effort to clean yourself up you wouldn't think that," Kiyoko replies as she tries to button up my jacket and straighten me up. I swat her had away, but she just finds something else to do—comb my untamable hair.

"It's fine, I'll just put it up in a ponytail" I insist.

Kiyoko clicks her tongue as if I had proven her point or something. She then tries her best to domesticate the beast on my head. It's a tough battle, but she works her magic and gets it to at least presentable.

"There we go," Kiyoko sighs with a smile.

Our parents are usually overseas for business, so it was always our older brother Kenji who took care of us. But he soon left for Tokyo to go to university in hopes of starting his own sports footwear business (an entrepreneur just like Okasan and Otosan!) Because of that, Kiyoko had to mature at a young age. Now she's the strongest, most caring person I know! I usually followed Kiyoko wherever she went, but now I'm finally going my own way at Shiratorizawa. I would be lying if I said I wasn't a bit scared...

"Hurry and finish gathering your things, we have to go soon," Kiyoko nags, "I already packed your toiletries and some of your clothes. Be sure to check you have everything before we leave."