The ball was suspended in the air for what felt like centuries. It spun in slow rotations and could've fell on either side of the net. Until, finally, it plunged.

"Slam it!" somebody on the opposite side of the net yelled.

I reacted before they could. With three gigantic steps, I leapt into the air. The ball fit snugly in my palm. I thwarted it between the two males who jumped to block me. It hit the floor with adequate impact to bounce over the heads of the other boys and smack the back wall.

For a solid three seconds, the gymnasium was silent. But the moment I landed, I was whacked on the shoulder.

"What a spike!"

"Beanstalk saves the day!"

My teammates chanted with unbelievable vigour before joining the front lines to send taunting looks and insults to the losing team. The energy was playful as they bickered back and forth. Insults about my beanstalk status being the deciding factor were thrown around too. However, paying them no mind—more so when our gym teacher blew the whistle to break it up and head to class—I grabbed my water bottle laying off to the side.

Across the gym, girls were passing the balls between each other. Nonchalant smiles painted their faces, their laughs echoing for miles. None of them paid me any mind. Not that it was anything new. At this point, I belonged here.

"Shiina!"

The call startled me. Lowering my bottle from my lips, I faced the individual who bounded to my side. His grin, like his green hair, was unbelievably bright.

"The ball just flew. And you hit it! And everyone was like, shocked! And it was all, wow! And awesome!"

I couldn't fight a chuckle at his display, especially as he frantically flailed his arms. "What're you on about, Hachi?"

"You were amazing, Shiina!" he exclaimed. "I've thought so for a while, but you're super athletic. No matter what sport we play, you're our ace!"

"Really?" I stared ahead at the huge circle of guys. "Everyone brushes it off as luck. Excuse it's because I'm a magical beanstalk."

"That's because they're too arrogant to admit an honest defeat from a girl!"

"And you're saying you can?"

"Oh, totally! You beat me fair and square! I can only dream of holding a candle to your level of skill!"

I snorted.

Hachiko Ogami. If I could describe him in one phrase, it was happy-go-lucky. Often, you'd find him springing from the walls, shouting in that over-the-top, megaphone-level tone of voice of his. It was a mystery how was one of the class representatives of my class. Not to mention the smartest student in the whole grade.

On many occasions, he quieted my classmates' beanstalk taunts whenever they got out of hand. He was the only one to ever compliment me during gym class, too.

He made it impossible to dislike him.

Got along with anybody and everybody he interacted with.

If I had to name one reason I was particularly fond of him over everyone else at school, though, it was because—

"Hachi, you bastard! I'm never forgiving you for this!"

Igarashi stomped towards us with the nastiest scowl. I'd typically be consumed with disgust on sight. However, all that filled me was pure hilarity.

Hachiko, sharing that sentiment, burst out laughing. "T-T—Toru—" He couldn't even formulate the words between snickers. Hunched over, arms wrapped around his abdomen in hysterics, he darted an accusatory finger. "Your—your face! What happened?"

Igarashi's face was definitely a spectacle to behold. Bright red and with an imprint of a volleyball. It was pure luck that his nose wasn't bleeding by how cherry red his complexion was. If something good did come out of it, I'd say that it was that the colour complemented just how much anger had swelled inside his tiny body.

"Don't friggin' laugh!" Igarashi exploded. "You nearly killed me with that last serve. Hit me right across the face without the slightest remorse."

"Rudolph!" Hachi wasn't listening. He clasped my sleeve, panting as if he was doing his all to stand. "Shiina, it's Rudolph! He's come two months early!"

"YOU—!"

I doubled over in guffaws soon enough. Hachi and I laughed until the world blurred and our lungs felt like they would cave from the pain. With every scream from Igarashi to quit it, it only got harder for us to stop ourselves from busting a gut.

When we finally got a hold of ourselves, Igarashi glared at us with his arms crossed over his chest. "Yeah, whatever. You two are hilarious. Finding amusement in someone else's pain."

I wiped a tear. "I totally forgot the reason that ball I hit ended up in the air is because your face sent it up there."

"Toru's face is our true ace for the day," Hachi agreed, airily snickering under his breath. He patted his shoulder. "Thanks for your service."

Igarashi nearly ripped his arm out of its socket. He proceeded to hiss like a cat to which Hachi feigned fear.

If I had to name one reason I was particularly fond of Hachi over everyone else at school, it was because he taunted Igarashi as much as I did. It was enjoyable, watching that midget get chewed out by someone who wasn't me. And even if Hachi's tease was playful the majority of the time, it felt great watching Igarashi lose his temper because of it.

"You're finding joy in this aren't you, giraffe?" Igarashi scoffed. "Don't get cocky. The only reason you even scored a point is because your long neck distracted the rest of us."

My eyebrow twitched. "At least I scored a point! Stop being sour just because the only time you touched the ball was when your ugly face got hit."

"Who're you calling ugly, you damn ostrich?"

"Obviously you, pissant!"

It was almost like yesterday never happened, where we exchanged smiles and laughs. This was the Igarashi I knew all too well. A single evening wasn't going to change our dislike for one another.

The slam of a ball against the gym floor seized my focus. Both the girls and boys of my class were beginning to disperse and the next class had begun to enter one by one. Some of them were already tossing volleyballs back and forth.

Although that was a sight in itself to behold, what actually caught my focus was the individual on the other side of the net—the one who had spiked the volleyball.

Kamakiri coolly glanced at the individual who'd passed the ball, already preparing to toss a second. Kamakiri jumped high—higher than I'd ever witnessed. His palm connected with the volleyball. It hit inside the paint flawlessly. A brilliant spike, yet, to Kamakiri, it looked like nothing more than a walk in the park.

The ball rolled along the floor, knocking against the toe of my sneakers. I hadn't expected it. Kamakiri raised his head to address who I was.

Our eyes met.

My heart skipped an unintentional beat.

"Oi." Igarashi's call was static in my ears. "You're not going to argue back? I called you an ostrich, you know."

I wasn't listening. To the miffed Igarashi. To Hachi who excused he was heading to class and slipped right past me. I couldn't tear my gaze from Kamakiri. How his eyebrows rose an inch in recognition. How his first instinct was to avert his gaze. Time moved in slow motion.

"Kamakiri!" a shout rang out.

I peeled my attention to the circle of boys who approached Kamakiri. I recognized them from the other day—when Kamakiri saved me from traffic. They weren't exactly friendly faces. Piercings. Bleached hair. They were an intimidating bunch, for sure. Part of me assumed they were calling out to somebody else—that we'd misheard them—but Kamakiri didn't hesitate to wave back.

Their ear-splitting smirks were pinned entirely on me. In voices too low to overhear, they chatted amongst themselves. One of them smacked Kamakiri's back, shoving him forward a couple of steps.

It took me a good while to process he was headed towards me. Fleeing was out of the question. My legs wobbled. I veered my focus up and down, cursing my rampant heartbeat. Eventually, I scooped up the volleyball from the ground and used it to shield my face.

Kamakiri reeled to a halt in front of me.

"Thanks."

As he collected the volleyball he served—removed the single obstacle between us I was using to hide—he uttered one, simple word. Yet, here my pulse was spiking as if I'd run a marathon.

A smile graced his lips—a gift from the heavens themselves. "I haven't seen you in a while."

Oh, gosh. Even his smile was dreamy.

I didn't realize I had started playing with my bangs. Or when I murmured under my breath, "Technically Tuesday at 8:05 AM but who's keeping track."

"Did you say something?"

"Nothing!" I cleared my throat. Ignoring the warmth blazing my cheeks, I beamed wide. "Thanks again for the tickets. The concert was awesome. The best night of my life."

"Don't mention it. My brother's been really down that he couldn't go. I'm sure if I tell him you enjoyed yourself, he'll feel better."

I giggled—something I never, ever thought I'd do. "Your brother sounds nice."

He ran his fingers through the backside of his hair. "Too nice, maybe."

It runs in the family, then? Both brothers were secretly angels in disguise? Amazing.

"Well," Kamakiri said. "Nice seeing you—"

"W-wait!"

He'd spun around, intent on returning to his simpering friends. Stock-still, he looked back at me, minimal confusion reflected in his eyes. My complexion bled with colour. Even if this conversation ended much quicker than I expected it to didn't mean I couldn't try to stall him for a bit longer.

With his head cocked to the side, his red bangs draped over his right eye. My nervousness doubled.

"I. . . I, uh. . ."

Spit it out. He definitely thought I was a weirdo.

"Beanstalk. Giraffe. Ostrich."

A nerve within me snapped. I swerved left, fist raised. "I'm trying to think of something to say, bastard! What do you want?"

"A reaction, actually," Igarashi replied, a wide smirk upturning the corners of his mouth. "That one was perfect."

I grounded my teeth. Why did this midget always get in my way?

"If you don't have anything to say," Kamakiri interjected, "I'll—"

"L-let me repay you!"

Kamakiri's astonishment resurfaced. Igarashi, stunned as well, gaped.

"Huh?" Kamakiri finally asked.

Blushing hard, I grappled for words. Okay. We were going with it.

We were going with it.

"For the tickets," I spitballed. "It doesn't sit right with me to have taken them for free. Let me repay you."

"You don't have to. I was desperate. And my brother got them from a contest."

"Please!" I clasped my palms together. "It doesn't have to be monetary. I'll do anything!"

He was at a loss for words.

"Anything?" he said.

"Anything," I replied.

Kamakiri paused. His smile was long gone. The indifferent look in his eye was difficult to decipher. Either way, my lungs could hardly function, not when my mind scrambled with thoughts that could've potentially been dancing around his mind.

'Such a pain.'

'Can't she get the hint that I'm not interested'?

'Leave me alone.'

I wasn't being very kind to myself, that I knew. But my anxiety was flaring.

After what felt like centuries, Kamakiri steeled his resolve. His soft brown eyes locked with mine and a grin as brilliant as the summer sky made an appearance on his handsome face.

"Then. Give me your company."

I couldn't breathe. Speak coherently. "Wh—what?"

"There's a carnival that recently opened. I've been meaning to go this weekend but was having trouble figuring out who to invite. Those kinds of places are more enjoyable with others, right. So, if you aren't busy, you should come. At least. . . for me."

My eyebrows darted to my hairline. Was I awake right now? I was convinced he'd turn me down. Despite that, he was asking for my company? At a place outside of school? On our day off? Wasn't that, like, a date?

"I-I'll go!" My lips hurt from how broadly I beamed from ear to ear. "I'll give you my company! I'd love to!"

"It's not any trouble?"

"Not at all! I'll be the best company you've ever had. I'll make sure you have more fun than anyone else there. I promise!"

Oh, God. What was I saying?

Despite my mortifying outburst, Kamakiri merely chuckled. It was just as entrancing as the first day I'd heard it.

My heartbeat galloped against my chest, loud, hard, and deafening. When had I gotten so fortunate? Kamakiri was a prince. My very own prince. . . !

I was in such a lovestruck daze as I goggled Kamakiri. So much so, that I barely registered his companions' incessant cackles from a foot away.

So much so, that the disgruntled frown Igarashi had aimed towards Kamakiri slipped my radar entirely.