chapter 64: It's a start

They hate me. They all hate me. The glares all morning during the morning practice. The bus ride over where I sat alone. And now, we split up watch the different teams and of course. I am on my own.

But my family is here too. They spilt up as well, keeping tabs, taking notes. Nationals is becoming a family goal I see.

Well, no. This family supports everyone's goals.im in this family, they'll do what it takes to help me reach it.

My sister and KJ stay with me, watching a game go rather quickly. Too quickly. This is concerning, because the both teams are good. But, one team just can't seem to land a solid hit. This girl, she's not that tall, she doesn't jump that high, but her blocks, they're calculated down to every angle.

I find myself playing with the chain around my neck. The golden owl charm rolls between my fingers as I watch their spikers. Almost all of them of control in the air. They have to, they've been training with a blocker like her. Making plans and working through problems rather than making excuses.

My eyes are locked on the court but snatched away when KJ nudges me, "Thinking about your Birdy boy?"

I give my cousin only a glance before looking back to the court with a grin. "More like trying to think like him. I'm gonna have to if this is our final team. Getting around her is not gonna be easy."

"She's not even shutting any of those spikes down, they just-"

"Soft blocks," I say, "She slows the ball enough to get an easy up for her team. Then her team is strategic enough to actually do something with that opportunity rather than just hand them the ball back."

"Sounds like good teamwork," Mira said, peeking up from her stack of sports magazines that she's been instructed to study up on, "That girl, she's right under you, number five for national level blocker."

A small voice came from behind us saying, "So nothing you can't handle, right?"

I turn to see Aimi, looking so small, with her head down.

"Aimi," I say, shocked at first, but I try to keep it casual, "Um, yeah. But one person can't take down a team like that. We need to actually move as a team."

"We used to be good at that," last year.

"Well sorry to mess up the flow," I say, turning back to the game, "Did you need something?"

"I um… I wanted to apologize."

"Because my mom told you to," KJ said, not even looking at her but waving his phone in the air, "My twin tells me everything."

"Well, I wanted to apologize anyways-"

"For?" I and my sister asked together. She genuinely doesn't know.

"Well… um…"

Mira was the only one to actually look at Aimi, KJ and I kept our backs to her. We're used to this, but Mira shouted, "Well spit it out."

"For being afraid," she finally spat out, "And for caring more about what Hina thinks of me than defending my friends."

"We never asked you defend us," I say.

KJ took over saying harshly, "All you had to do was be there, and you couldn't even do that."

"I'm here now!"

"Why now?" I asked.

She was quiet for a while before saying, "Nothing got better for anyone. I thought maybe… maybe-"

"That's what happens when you do nothing. Nothing changes."

"So, what are you gonna do now?" KJ asked.

Mira looked sharply to us, asked, "Is there a reason you guys are being so harsh with this girl?"

I might have explained it more gently but, KJ spoke first, ice chipping down from his cool tone as he spoke, with only the slightest bite beneath his cool. Someone who doesn't know him wouldn't be able to tell. Wouldn't be able to see his anger, his disgust, his pain.

"This girl here claimed to be your sister's friend, even though she really was just trying to get with Bokuto but that was Z's fault. Tried to make her happy, so she'd actually set to her at a decent height. But hey, Aimi benefits again, she gets some setting tips from Bokuto's friend Akaashi. Then to get Aimi off of Bokuto's case, the family sent in me." He gave a bit of a smile as he watches the game, he winced a bit but laughed, "And of course with my irresistible charm, she fell just like I wanted her to. Then my dumb ass thought, hey she's not a showy rice kid so, maybe. So, again, Aimi benefits. Then Aimi abandons Z at a sleepover filled with a house of racist ass-holes, so obviously Z got attacked. Z loses. And every single time something goes wrong, Aimi says nothing, Aimi leaves, Aimi is scared. Except for when Aimi's with us, no with us she gets what she waits, says what she waits and can be who she wants. Aimi benefits.

And frankly, I'm sick of being stepped on so people like Aimi can benefit without even offering my a fucking hand of help.

But it's fine right. We're rich, we're black, we're strong. We always got it.

Yeah, always got it.

So we don't need you, but love to see what you do to show us that you want to be here."

"So, Aimi, what you gonna do?" I asked.

"Besides get slapped," Mira spat.

"Play nice big sister."

"I'm not you," She snaps. She's right, she's not me. She wouldn't have lasted as long.

We all look back to Aimi to see what she does next. And she says nothing. She just steps closer and she sits between me and KJ.

KJ smiled, "Well alright then." And we watched the games, taking note and comparing. And Aimi stayed. Even when Hina looked, Aimi states. With her head down, head still down. But she stayed. It's a start.