DESPERATE TO IMPRESS THE ONE YOU'VE LOVED

As everyone was chatting in class, Noboru rested his head on the desk, irritated and trying to get some sleep. "Damn, they are so annoying. Can't they see that I'm trying to sleep? Waking up so early for training is not an easy task," said Noboru, with eye bags under his eyes.

"Naomi, the track meet is in two weeks. How are you feeling?" asked Sachiko.

"I'm alright, just a little anxious, that's all. I mean, it's my first time competing at the high school level," said Naomi.

"That's true, anyone would be nervous," said Sachiko.

"No, I'm actually not nervous, just curious about my competition, that's all. Plus, my new hundred-meter record is ten point two seconds, so I'm feeling really confident," said Naomi with a smile.

"Whoa, that's amazing!" said a girl in the class.

"You'll definitely do well in the race. Have more confidence, Naomi!" said another girl.

"You're incredible, Naomi. I'll be cheering you on from the stands. Go break a leg, not literally though," said a boy.

"Thanks, everyone," Naomi said, smiling genuinely.

"She's so cute when she smiles," said Noboru to himself, gulping. "Wait, what am I thinking? I can't revert back to my old self. It would seriously cause her trouble like back then, but I can't keep lying to myself forever. Being so far away from her made me so miserable."

"So tell me, Sachiko, what's it like being the vice president of the student council? It must be pretty amazing working alongside Hitomi Yoshida. She's so beautiful and well-educated," said a girl in the class.

"To be honest, it's actually fun, but it's a lot of paperwork. Not only do we have to find ways to mitigate issues faced in the school, but we also have to file reports to both the head of the department and the principal. It's really tiring," said Sachiko.

"Don't worry, you'll get used to it after some time," Naomi reassured her.

"When did the two of us become like this? We were much closer before," said Noboru as he reminisced about the past.

"On your mark, get set, go!" shouted a man as a group of seven boys and a single girl took off running around the track.

"Wow, that girl is fast for her age," said a teacher watching.

The girl then passed all of the boys and finished in first place.

"Naomi Nakamura, she surely has a bright future ahead of her," said a man, smiling.

"She's so cool," said Noboru to himself, blushing in astonishment. "Hey, you there, what's your name?" he asked curiously as he approached her.

"My name is Naomi Nakamura, and you?" she asked.

"My name is Noboru Takemoto. Um, how can you run so fast despite being my age? You're even faster than the boys."

"Well, that's simple. I'll be the fastest woman in Japan, just like Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce. Just you wait and see," Naomi said with a bright smile.

"Whoa, she's so amazing." From that moment, I fell for her. I joined the track team to get closer to her, but I wasn't athletic, so I fell behind the others. But just seeing her every day was enough for me to not quit. After a while of hanging around her, I realized how much of a baker she was, so I decided to join the baking club she's a part of, in an attempt to impress her. However, I immediately realized how horrible I was at it, so I quit after three days.

In junior high, I kept up with my track training even though it sucked, just so I could see her every day. However, she spent most of her free time after training hanging out with a guy named Takumi, who played basketball. She seemed so happy playing with him, and it made me jealous.

So, I decided to take up basketball even though I didn't know a single thing about it. Eventually, I got good enough after practicing and researching for a month, so I decided to try out for the basketball team, and I made the starting lineup.

"Noboru, catch!" shouted a player as he threw the basketball to Noboru, who caught it and scored a layup that swished.

"Whoa, this guy is amazing. He scored twenty-four points already," said a player on the opposing team, intrigued.

"Nice one, Noboru. I'm really glad you're here. We're up by thirty-eight points," said the captain.

In the end, I scored thirty points just from running fast breaks, and we won the game 73-39. All of my teammates were happy, but I wasn't because she didn't come to the match to watch. Somehow, that made me lose all of my motivation.

A couple of matches later, we were playing in the third round against one of the best junior high schools in the country. That day, she came to watch, but I soon realized that it wasn't for me. It was for the guy she hung out with—our opponent.

"Rebound! Noboru, catch!" shouted the captain as he passed the ball, which Noboru caught and scored a layup.

We scored the opening basket, but that was the only point we scored that game. The guy she came to watch was a monster. He was scoring shots that your average junior high school student couldn't even imagine, dunking the basketball, and making our team look like a joke for the entire game.

Never in my life have I felt so hopeless and outclassed, like I had zero talent or affinity for basketball. We ended up losing 104-2 on our home court. My teammates were devastated, and I was too. However, I felt it much worse because, after we lost, she was smiling and talking with that bastard, congratulating him on his victory.

From that day onwards, I decided to quit all the sports clubs I had joined. It was all for nothing. No matter what I did, I couldn't get her to notice me. My seniors wanted me to stay but eventually respected my wishes. I spent the rest of my junior high years wasting away at school or at home, doing nothing, until one rainy day, I got an unexpected visitor.