𝐠𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐭 / 𝘪𝘬𝘶𝘺𝘢.

𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐞𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 / 𝘳𝘪𝘱𝘴.

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'you're slow.' natsuya stated, his usual cheery tone gone. 

asahi still couldn't do freestyle. makoto had overexerted himself that day. [name] couldn't even swim since the incident yesterday. both haru and ikuya were being stubborn.

'what do you think the reason for that is?' natsuya continued.

'our exchanges?' makoto asked.

'that's right,' nao confirmed. 'so then, what is the reason your exchanges aren't going well?' everyone looked downwards and [name] - who was sitting nearby - played with her fingers nervously. 'do you want to swim the relay?' he pushed. no one responded.

'we should all just do individual events,' haru proposed. his friends looked at him in shock whereas natsuya frowned. 'i'm fine with just swimming individual free.'

'haru...' [name] mumbled.

'i told you if you quit, then we won't be able to participate in the relay,' natsuya scolded.

haru glared right back. 'all of us think it's fine to just do individual events. there's no mixed gender relay or any other girls in the first year, so [name] can't even compete in a team event anyway.'

[name] looked to the side when she felt her teammates' eyes on her. 'you didn't need to point that out...' she muttered.

'well, it is impossible for us to do the relay with these members to begin with,' ikuya said, earning everyone's attention.

'don't say that! i don't think that at all,' asahi yelled.

'then try to cooperate with me a little! asahi! you just swim however you want!' ikuya argued. [name] rose from her seat and briskly walked towards ikuya, grabbing his hand before it got too far.

'shut up.'

'enough,' natsuya ordered. 'the reason your exchanged aren't doing well is because you all are just thinking about yourselves.' [name]'s grip on ikuya's hand tightened as they all looked away, ashamed of themselves but too stubborn to admit it. 'individual events and relays are different. think hard about what that means. all of you, go cool your heads.'

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asahi walked alone that afternoon. cars drove past, drivers ignored the boy as he dragged his feet along the path.