ABSENCE ACCOUNTED FOR

The sunlight shone brightly, and the breeze blew through the branches of the trees, creating a crisp morning atmosphere as students made their way to school.

"Hey, Naomi, good morning," said Sachiko as she tapped Naomi on the shoulder.

"Ouch! That hurt," Naomi winced in pain.

"Eh? What's wrong? Are you alright?" asked Sachiko, concerned.

"My muscles are aching so badly. Training was intense yesterday. Coach was so hard on us. I even woke up twice last night because of cramps."

"Oh, I see. You guys have a track meet coming up, so that's to be expected."

"Yeah, I guess you're right. If we want to put Toshigawa Academy on the radar in the track world, then we have to win as many events as possible," said Naomi.

"Yes, you're right," Sachiko agreed as the two walked through the door of class 1T.

"Wait… does something feel off, or is it just me?"

"What do you mean?" asked Sachiko, confused.

"Normally, there would be a lot of loud shouting. Which means Noboru isn't here. I bet he's skipping again, that lazy, obnoxious punk. Well, on the bright side, at least today will be a peaceful day."

"Kawaguchi isn't here either. I wonder why."

Makoto yawned, covering his mouth with his hand, then glanced over at Shino's empty desk.

"Good morning, everyone," said Hayami-sensei as she walked into the classroom.

"Good morning, Mrs. Hayami," the class responded as they stood up and bowed.

"You may be seated."

"Sensei, it seems that Noboru, Kawaguchi, and Katsuragi are absent," Naomi pointed out.

"Oh, those boys have a basketball practice match today, so they are excused," Hayami-sensei explained.

"Wait… Noboru joined the basketball team? No way! I thought he wasn't serious about it and was just joking around," Naomi muttered in shock.

"So, Tetsuo is playing basketball now? This is bad. How will I convince him to join the student council now? I'll have to take this situation to Student Council President Yoshida because I don't know what to do," she thought to herself.

"So, Katsuragi has a match today. I really wanted to watch him play, though. I guess I'll just support him from where I sit," Rie sighed, disappointed.

"A practice match, huh? I wonder which school they'll be playing… then again, that's not my problem," Makoto thought as he leaned back in his chair.

"Alright, let's get started on the lesson," Hayami-sensei announced.

"Today is the day my older brother finally plays his first game in a long time. I'm so happy for him. In this game, I know he'll score at least thirty points, and his teammates will make up the rest by scoring sixty points combined, making it ninety points. There's no way he'll lose. The kiss on the cheek I gave him will definitely make him win for sure," Usagi thought to herself, smiling as she doodled in the back of her book.

"Haruko is out today. I wonder if she has a cold… Will she be able to meet up with us at the café today, or should we cancel?" Sayaka wondered.

The president of the newspaper club entered the club room with Airi to gather all the equipment needed to take pictures and record the practice match.

"Wait… the door is already open," Kanae muttered as she pushed it open and spotted Yuri relaxing with a book in hand.

"Don't you have class right now, Yuri?" she asked.

"Yes, I do, but it was so boring, so I came here to relax for a bit."

"Then you don't mind tagging along with us, do you? We'll be taking photos for our article on the basketball team. They have a practice match today."

"Sure, I'd love to come. But what about Rie? She's a first-year. I wouldn't want her to miss classes just yet," Kanae said.

"So, which school are we going to?"

"We'll be going to Yokonan High School."

"What's taking Noboru so long? Doesn't he know we have a game to get to?" Nanaho asked, frustrated.

"I'm sure he's on his way. He probably just slept in," Yukio replied.

Shino was shaking like a leaf under the pressure of the upcoming match. To try and calm him down, Hayato placed a hand on his shoulder, making Shino jump, startled by the sudden touch.

"Relax, Shino. We're not even there yet. It'll be okay," Hayato reassured him.

"There's no need to be nervous," Takahiro added.

"I-I'm not n-nervous," Shino stammered, trying to walk but stumbling to the ground due to his nerves.

"He totally is," Takahiro and Hayato thought to themselves.

As Shino got up and chuckled nervously, he noticed that Tetsuo managed to maintain his composure despite this being his first match.

"How can he be so calm? Isn't this his first basketball game?" Shino wondered.

"Your savior is here! Sorry for the wait," Noboru announced.

"You sure took your sweet time," Nanaho remarked.

"Yeah, well, I slept well for the match."

"Honestly, I don't know what I'm going to do with you," Nanaho sighed.

"Since everyone is here now, let's go," Yukio said.

"Wait a bit," Tetsuo suddenly interrupted.

"What's wrong, Tetsuo?" Nanaho asked.

"She's almost here."

Haruko spotted Tetsuo in the group and ran towards them.

"I made it," she said with a sigh of relief, catching her breath.

"Yeah, and just on time too," Tetsuo said.

"Tetsuo, you sly dog! I didn't know you got a girlfriend. Why were you holding out on me?" Noboru teased.

"Who is she?" Yukio asked.

"My name is Haruko Takahashi," Haruko introduced herself.

"She's here to watch our match and learn something new. She's on the girls' basketball team at Hachioji Academy," Tetsuo explained.

"Oh, I see. Nice to meet you. I'm the captain, Yukio Hamaguchi. I hope you'll be able to learn something new from us."

"Yes, I'm looking forward to it," Haruko replied.

"Don't worry, Takahashi. Once you're done watching me, you'll be flabbergasted by my skills," Noboru said confidently.

"Shut up, or I'll make you start on the bench," Nanaho snapped.

"You're joking, right? No way… you can't be serious!" Noboru panicked as everyone burst out laughing.

"Well then, team, let's go win this!" Yukio said.

"Yes!" his teammates responded in unison.