Place in the Sun

Ichiro found it impossible for him to focus at that moment, no matter what he did to entertain his mind.

What his teacher was trying to teach him at that moment didn’t matter as his thoughts continued to swirl. So instead of doing his best to clear his head and attempt to pay attention, he turned his face out the window of his classroom. The bright spring daylight flooded the classroom, capturing his gaze.

With eyes transfixed, he looked out the window towards the track field in the courtyard of the school. Though his seat was nearly in the dead middle of the class, his view was practically unobstructed as he watched another class running laps for their gym period.

Some runners struggled to maintain pace, nearly tripping over their own feet, while others effortlessly surpassed them, leaving them in their dust. As the gap between them grew wider, a disgusting taste began to creep up his throat.

“Ishii.”

He couldn’t explain where this nauseous feeling was coming from, but he pushed it down the best he could. Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes and desperately tried to enter a zen-like state to let the remaining minutes of the day tick by as quickly as possible.

“Ishii?”

But no matter how much he tried to suppress it, certain thoughts kept festering at the edge of his mind. Especially one thought in particular.

“Ishii!”

“Yes, Sir!”

Startled, Ichiro jumped to his feet the instant he realized he had been called on several times. Snickers rippled throughout the classroom as the teacher, Mr. Sato, tried to reclaim the attention of the classroom by clearing his throat.

“Having trouble focusing, Ishii?” Mr. Sato asked in a gentle tone, seeking understanding rather than admonishment.

“Uh, yes, sir,” Ichiro sheepishly answered, casting his gaze down to where his arm was still cradled in a sling, “It's… kind of hard to pay attention when I can’t take notes.”

“I see,” Mr. Sato nodded in agreement, “Well it's fortunate that your friend, Uchida, agreed to make copies of his notes for you. But for now, please try to keep up with the lesson. Go ahead and take your seat. Alright. Ueno, please read for us instead.”

As the girl behind him rose to read, Ichiro returned to his seat timidly. The boy next to him leaned over towards him just after he was fully seated.

“Hey, you OK?” the boy asked, concern evident in his voice. “You haven't been yourself since… well, you know. Everything alright, man?” As he questioned Ichiro, he nodded towards the sling.

Ichiro found himself hesitating for a moment. Catching himself, he shook his head lightly and waved the other boy gently away with his good hand. “Yeah, I’m… fine. Just… can’t get my head in the game, you know?”

Takuya’s eyes watched him for a moment, causing Ichiro to gulp, hoping his facade hadn't been broken so quickly.

“Alright,” Takuya sighed and leaned back over his desk, “Just know the whole team is worried about you. We don’t want our star pitcher to be out for the entire season over this. Plus, Hina hasn't calmed down either. Shouldn’t be letting your girlfriend get so upset over nothing.”

With one pointed finger to just behind the two of them, he caused Ichiro to flinch and hesitantly turn his head around. Standing as she was called to read by Mr. Sato earlier, Hina Ueno was engrossed in her task. Ichiro watched the prim and poised girl elegantly read the poetic text out loud from her text book.

But unbeknownst to the rest of the class, she was looking just over her book and directly down at Ichiro. Her eyes were soft and filled with worry as she kept her gaze solely locked on him. A pang of guilt crossed over his body as he knew that his self-pitying was making a close friend of his to be distracted from taking care of herself.

They had known each other for years now and hung out all the time, so Ichiro could instantly tell what that look meant. Mustering up as much bravado as he could, he showed a small smile and waved over his shoulder at her. Instantly, her eyes sparkled with joy as her cheeks flashed pink. An eager smile of appreciation was her answer to him as she finished reading for the class and returned to her seat behind him.

Believing this was enough, he calmed his nerves as nonchalantly as he could with a subtle sigh.

Resetting his face to one of determination, he redirected his sight back to his friend beside him. “I won’t be out for that long,” Ichiro confidently nodded, “Two weeks of physical therapy, then two weeks of light practice, unfortunately no matches. But then I will be back to 100%. Just in time for the first round of the qualifying rounds.”

As he finished speaking, Ichiro extended the hand of his non-injured arm, clenched into a fist, towards his friend. Takuya smirked as he looked between the fist and back.

Sighing while shaking his head softly, he nodded and bumped his fist back with his own fist. “Sounds good, man. Enjoy your break for now. Though I wish I could have one for classes right now.” After the fist bump, Takuya leaned back in his seat and crossed his arms behind his head, eyes closing as if he could fall asleep right there.

That peaceful moment was abruptly interrupted when a sharp PWAPT  resonated from the top of Takuya's head, causing him to jolt forward with hands over his forehead.

“Stop falling asleep in my class, Uchida,” Mr. Sato's frustrated voice cut through the mostly muted grumblings of Takuya nursing his forehead. The teacher patted his lesson plan, still fresh from reprimanding Takuya, on his shoulder as he continued, “Please, take notes for Ishii as you promised. Don't let him fall behind because of your negligence.”

Once again, laughter erupted in the classroom as Takuya tended to his bruised head. Even Ichiro couldn't help but smile and join in the amusement at his friend's expense before his attention was drawn back to the view of the track field.

The runners were apparently finished with all of their laps. Even the ones who were falling behind had collapsed at the edge of the track breathing heavily while the more physically fit students casually chatted amongst themselves, heading back to the lockers to change early.

High above, the sun beat down on them, making the nearly cloudless sky sparkle in its brilliant blue hue. Resting his head on his hand, Ichiro gazed out the window, taking in the entire view, sky and all. His mind began to wander once more as he watched the few clouds hang high.

“Would this sky be ‘beautiful’ to her?”