ROADSIDE FLOWERS ( t. kageyama )

vii. falling leaves

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roadside flowers.
chapter 7: falling leaves

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autumn has arrived with its rhapsody of reds and oranges, the warm air peeking through the cracks in the wall and the small distance between my windows and the sill. it tickles my curtains and my nose. i sit upright, muffling a yawn with my palms. it's the third week of september and i didn't expect the full blast of the season to arrive this late.
the month of august had been uneventful, the only things standing out being the usual basketball practices. we had a couple of practice matches with johzenji and even schools from outside the prefecture, but that was it.

i stumble out of bed, heading to the bathroom to take a quick shower. the winter cup is coming up soon and practices have become earlier compared to the norm. i've noticed that the upperclassmen have more or less become tense.

i do not blame them.

after all, it is the end of their high school basketball career.

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i arrive at school at 6 in the morning, a little late than i would have liked but acceptable since only yukari-senpai and taiyou-senpai are present. the two of them seem to be immersed in a conversation when i interrupt it by greeting them.

they both smile at me and yukari-senpai orders me to ready the basketballs and the water bottles.
afterwards, i participate in the small meeting they've conducted, giving my occasional inputs whenever i'm asked. i neglect to tell them my other observations.

if i'm not certain about the accuracy of my notes, i'd rather not say anything. whatever escapes my lips can and will affect the entire fate of the team, something i don't think either taiyou-senpai or yukari-senpai notice. perhaps i'm the only one that does- or maybe it is just another one of my delusions.

"so the starting lineup will consist of kirishima, nijimura, watanabe, okumura and me, we'll reserve yukimura and matsuoka in the second string. as of now, the sure bets are nijimura and me, kirishima is close, but i still have my doubts with watanabe and okumura."

"okumura is a second year, small forward, he's good, i won't take that from him, but his stamina is weak and his leaping ability is in the sewers, his rebounds are average," yukari-senpai intones. "he's good at passing, and his shooting accuracy is decent. he has experience too since he was on the first string last year, but i have my doubt with his abilities."

"maybe we'll just have to impose a stricter training regime on him," taiyou-senpai offers.

"in two weeks?" yukari-senpai asks, incredulous at okumura-senpai's ability to arise to the challenge. "maybe next year he'll be ready, but for now, i suggest putting in matsuoka."

"matsuoka is a third year. if we continue with this lineup, the team will collapse next year, we have to let the next generation gain experience so they'll know the whatnots next year."

"how about munakata? as a replacement for okumura? he's a second year and he played for us in the prelims last year," yukari-senpai suggests and i flip my notes for munakata-senpai's stats. upon perusing through the contents, i'm sure that taiyou-senpai will reject him.

"munakata is good, but his passes stink." he turns to me. "what can you say about munakata, teruko-chan?"

"munakata-senpai's plays have always been reliant on himself," i answer, peeking at my notes. yukari-senpai looks at me questioningly and i continue, "most of the practice matches we've put him in, he tends to keep the ball to himself and only passes when he notices that there's zero chance he'll get past the defense. and those passes have an 88 percent chance of being taken by the opponent."