Chapter 28: Silence waits for Tomorrow

The sun rays fell on empty streets as I ran. Wind howled at my ears as my feet kicked off the ground. My lips curled into a smile when my eyes met the school gates.

Dashing through the gates, I ran towards the baseball court. Though I had slipped into a few morning practices, this was different. The dirt crunched below my feet. Taking a deep breath, I could smell the freedom.

"Okay, come on," The coach called out. A thrill ran through me.

After telling the team, they overjoyed. Soon after, we began the warmups. The team jogged around the court, below the warm morning sun. Clouds of dirt taking off as we ran.

"Just like old times right?" My teammate, Lila, called out. I grinned and nodded in response. Excitement got to me as I sped ahead. I couldn't help myself to restraint.

Once we finished warming up, the coach split us into teams. We're going to have a mock game.

"It's been awhile, how about you bat first?" Lila's words floated in her sweet tone. Everyone else on our team agreed, so I had no actual choice. Besides, I want to bat in the court again. It's all I want, to play baseball.

Walking over to the home plate I felt goosebumps crawl up my arms. My lips hung in a smile. Once in position I tightened my grip around the bat. Once I lifted the bat over my shoulder, it started.

The pitcher threw the ball. A white blur to any spectators. As it flew towards me, I swung the bat. But the second it touched the bat, I didn't hear the clash. That intense yet satisfying metallic clang. Instead, a piano resounded in my head.

As I ran to first base, one thought stuck to me. "It's all I wanted, right?"

***

Leaving the court, my eyes fell on the music room. Both Yata and Jishi popped up in my head. Drowning me in the melody of a silent piano and its shy pianist. Beside them, a calm violin and an eccentric violinist. A smile cuddled my lips. Their music ringing across my memories.

"Hey Ray, you okay? You've been out of focus for a while," I jumped hearing Lila's voice. Her blue eyes peered at me worriedly.

"Ye-Yeah, I'm fine" Stuttering a bit, I tried to brush off her look. It didn't work, she kept insisting.

"But you spaced out during practice too, are you sure?" Her voice poked at me annoyingly. I tried to ignore it, but she kept insisting until we reached our respective classes.

*Ugh* a sigh of disgust fled my lips as I looked at the board. Math class first hour, this'll be a doozie.

The bell rang, waking me up from my mid class nap. I stretched after spending 3 hours of class 'half' asleep. Dragging my backpack along, I dash up to the roof. From beyond the door blasted a thundering laugh.

"Jishi" I sighed, a smile on my face. Opening the door, my eyes met Yata and Jishi. They sat in the usual far end corner of the roof. Yata's snow white hair fluttered with the breeze, while Jishi laughed uncontrollably.

Yata waved a small hello at me. A pale smile hung up on his lips, as he returned to cuddle himself. While Jishi tried to regain his composure.

"Yo~" he said before breaking into giggling again.

"Whats so funny?" My voice a bit concerned after seeing Yata.

"Oh nothing, I just showed this guy one of those jump scare videos. His reaction was golden. He flew off the ground and almost flipped in the air." His voice pitched in between his laughs as he turned on the floor.

"Hey aren't you his friend, be nicer."

"I know, but you would have laughed too. His eyes practically popped out of his skull." He continued to laugh as I sat next to them.

"Oh right, I get to practice again, I talked it out with mom and it all went well." Trying to lift Yata's mood, I tried delivering the good news.

"Yeah, we kn- I mean, really that's great." Jishi interrupted himself as he spoke. That was sketchy enough, but Yata turned his eyes away. These guys couldn't have made it more obvious if they tried.

"You saw, didn't you?" I sneered at them. Jishi twitched as he nodded. *Sigh* I don't know what I expected. They chased me to the batting center out of worry. So it wouldn't be beyond them. Thinking about it that way, I couldn't help but smile.

"But that means I can't go to the music room anymore," Putting the thought into words, it hurt. Like something inside me didn't want to part with them yet.

"Don't worry about us, go play all the baseball you want. We won't go anywhere." Jishi's voice echoed gently across the roof. But my heart still tightened over the thought.

"But..."

"We-we'll wait for th-the to-tomorrow you come again," Yata's voice brought with it a strange sense of security. A feeling that no matter what, they'll be there. And I couldn't help but trust that sentiment.

"Yeah, but I still want to see you both in all my matches," A grin painted over Jishi's face, Yata smiled at me too. At that point I couldn't help but smile too as we ate away under the clear blue sky.