Smile! (Sugawara x Reader)

Chapter 23

Suga and I arrived on time. Everyone was sitting down. Suga gave me a kiss on the forehead. "Good luck, Sugar." I laughed, making me de-stress a bit. I told him not to call me Sugar again, but he just winked at me before he went to sit with the volleyball team.

The volleyball teams. Both of them. They were rooting for me. I could tell by their bright faces and encouraging smiles. They had seen me work and they believed in me. I felt like tearing up.

I had to sit in the front with the rest of the contestants. On my way, Ishida gave me a thumbs up and Kaneko gave me a confident smile. She was part of the photography club, so she was allowed to sit by my side.

More people than I thought had participated, which made me uneasy. I breathed in. The noise of the room quickly died when the organizers began to talk.

"Welcome, Karasuno High School, to the first photography event," said a woman. "We are very excited about this contest, since we're very happy to discover that young people enjoy the noble art of photography. Your projects were submitted three days ago and after long hours discussing, we finally found the winner of this edition."

Wow, straight to the point. I liked these people.

The woman passed the microphone to her partner on the table.

"Good morning, Karasuno," said the headmaster of the other school. "I won't add much more. Just say that the winner will receive an invitation to our prestigious photography school. Nevertheless, your work will be exposed and other schools and agencies will be able to see it."

"Well" I whispered to Kaneko," if I don't win, I'll still have a shot, as small as it may be."

"You are going to win," she whispered back, and looked at the front again.

"It was a very difficult choice, since all the projects are excellent and we are so glad to see such a good level among yourselves. We've had trouble deciding between two girls in particular: misses y/n and Yamada. Both were excellent, congratulations."

I swear my heart stopped beating for a second. Yamada looked happy, but I could see the murderous glare directed at me under that smile. I wondered for the first time what this meant for her. Was this her only chance like me? Probably not, I didn't know her parents, but I didn't imagine them denying her anything.

"So, without further ado, the winner of this first edition in Karasuno High School is..."

I held my breath and grabbed Kaneko's hand.

"Yamada Ayame," announced the man.

What happened next occurred like in slow motion.

My first thought was Ayame? That's her name? Haha it's ugly.

Then, slowly, I understood what her full name being stated meant. Kaneko squeezed my hand and looked at me. She spoke soothing words, but I couldn't hear them. My vision was blurred by tears, I felt a hole in my stomach and I had a lump in my throat.

My second thought: End of story. That was it. My career was over. Sure, agencies could see my photos, but that didn't mean anything. And, anyway, my parents would never let me do something risky like that. My only chance was by winning an invitation to the school. It was an ambitious and impossible goal. Of course I'd lost.

Yamada stood up to receive whatever diploma she needed. She looked delighted, red cheeks as she spoke with the people on the desk. She had the nerve to flash me a smug grin. I told you you'd lose, she seemed to be saying.

"Hard work has its reward and here is yours," said the man. "Miss Yamada, we would love to see you in our school."

"NO!" I bursted out.