At a gym six minutes away from Tokyo Tower Apartments, a girl finishes pulling her straight blonde hair into a ponytail and heads to the court for volleyball practice. Her teammates can tell that she isn't entirely focused on the sport today. For several minutes she stands in front of the door to the street, breathing in the afternoon air and letting the breeze ruffle her shirt. She sighs deeply when the coach blows the whistle for practice to start and jogs to her place on the court. They go through a couple of possible situations before her mind starts to wander. She sees a black haired girl sweeping the steps of the temple across the street. Suddenly, someone calls her name, and she looks up to see the ball beam her forehead. The coach sighs and rubs her temples in exasperation, jogging to the fallen girl's side.
"Where's your head today, Aino?" the coach asked as the girl stood up. "You've been out of it all practice. You missed five calls, you hit the ball out of bounds twice, and your serves have yet to make it over the net! You're one of our best players, but if you don't get it together, I'll have to pull you from the next game. Understood?"
"Yes, coach. Sorry, coach," the girl said, her eyes downcast.
"Don't apologize, Aino. Just go get the ball and get your head straight while you're at it," the coach said before turning back to the other players.
*'You're one of our best players.'* The coach's words ran through the girl's mind as she ran out the gym to look for the ball. *Of course I'm one of the best. I have to be.* She saw the ball across the street and looked both ways before crossing to get it. *After telling my parents that I'd rather play volleyball than be a model, I have to stay on top. If I lose my edge, they'll make me move back to England.* She stooped to pick up the ball. *They'll take my life away.* She stood up with the ball in hand and turned towards the gym, bumping into the black-haired girl she'd seen earlier. They bowed their heads in apology, then looked into each other's eyes for a moment before the blonde ran back to the gym. In that moment, they had seen in eachother the desperate need to prove herself before it was too late.
© Princess Driena, 2001