August 13th, Sunday, Carnegie women's dorms 5:02 am "Al, don't you have practice in half an hour?" "Mm-hmm. Just a few more minutes..." "You stayed up too late last night, didn't you? But I guess that's my fault. It's not fair for your Coach to expect you all to wake up so early on the weekend! That's the one time people get to sleep in! Now that I think about it, I'm really feeling groggy myself. Maybe I should just forget about practice and play hooky today. I'd rather be watching you guys anyway." "Mmm, thanks. What time is it?" "Five after. You should really ask her to reschedule. You know, push it back a little. Make it like...nine or something. Five is too early for a Sunday." "Isn't yours the same?" "Yeah, but I've always been a morning person. Another quirk of mine. Well, you may as well get up. Come on, I'll help you find your clothes. You know, you were really great last night, considering we went to bed so late." "It was that movie. Damn them for showing those movies..." "I didn't hear you complaining before, and it was pretty sexy. I'll have to buy it later. Okay, get up. Here's your panties. ...Uh, Al? ...Alice? ...Yo, Hawthorne, wake up! You joined that team for a reason, right? Time to get up and prove yourself! Don't make me throw you in a cold shower! HAWTHORNE!!" And people dream dreams that transcend time Held in the arms of a still sea As they looked up at the birds and clouds It set their ephemeral souls on fire on a thousand mornings I bet they're taking flight to where the light is headed Now is the time to launch your dreams Off into the frontier that is carrying boundless dreams Farther and farther, dive in the sky "Long Way to Go" Because Amy Nguyen did not attend the double feature last night, she was the first one to arrive at the field on Sunday morning, and the only one coherent enough to understand what was going on. Nearly everyone else had stayed up to watch both movies, and paid for it with brief, restless nights. Shannon was fairly perky, however, but also very anxious: she wondered if it would be all right to skip Mass today. Fleur was completely unaffected by sleep deprivation, and waited impatiently for everyone else to catch up. "I don't mean to preach," she muttered to her teammates, "but this is what happens when you act unprofessionally. If you're going to be like this all season, then we may as well disband the team." "Who the fuck put you in charge?" Alice grumbled. She was especially grumpy; she had barely gotten four hours of sleep and had been snapped awake from a particularly good dream. Rain had assured her that she'd be grateful eventually, but right now, Alice just felt miserable. "So what happened to your discipline?" Leena wondered, pacing before the line of groggy, yawning, disheveled girls. "If this is going to continue, then we won't have any chance of winning. If you don't want to win, I suggest you leave the team at once and stop wasting our time." "Sorry, Coach," Terra yawned drowsily. "I think we all stayed up watching those movies at the Lily Club. They ran until after midnight." "Then you have to decide what's more important: your movies or your rest. I understand you all have a social life, and I've tried to accommodate that with my schedule, but I can't bend over backwards for everyone." Unfortunately, Alice thought. The only reason she had bothered coming was that she had a huge crush on Leena, and this would be the last chance she'd see her for awhile. She said aloud, "Can't you just change the schedule? It'd be easier for everyone if we got here at seven or eight." "Yeah, getting up this early is bullshit," Lauren grumbled, and several women agreed with her. Leena sighed and thrust her hands in her pockets. "If I move the schedule back later, that means we'll be finishing later. Instead of one or two in the afternoon, it might be three or four. Either that, or we meet every day for a few hours instead of twice a week for a lot." "That actually sounds better," a handful said. "No, I couldn't do that, I have to work," others said. "God, will you all shut up?" a few cringed. Leena became upset and blew her whistle until everyone was quiet. "Clearly we have a problem here, and if we're going to accomplish anything, it needs to be resolved right now. You all heard my three suggestions, and it sounds like we won't get a unanimous vote, so polling is out of the question. Apparently you all have one thing or another conflicting with this schedule, which is why I tried to move it as early as possible over the weekend. However, if this isn't going to work out, we only have three options left: one, you all straighten your priorities out and get here on time; two, we do this every day and give you the weekend to catch up; or three, we admit to Fitzgerald that this was a bad idea, and go our separate ways. Is anybody in favor of that last option?" Nobody moved a muscle. The reality of the situation was like a splash of cold water. "That's some good news at least," she sighed. "Now comes the hard part. All those in favor of holding two nine-hour sessions over the weekend, where we start at six and leave at three, and where you get a free breakfast and lunch, raise your hand." Six hands went up- no, seven. "All right, all those in favor of holding a meeting every weekday for a few hours, where you have to fend for yourself if you get hungry, and where you use the weekend to get caught up, show of hands." Eight hands went up. The vote was called. "Majority wins," Leena pointed. The others grumbled, complained, and glared at their teammates. "I'm sorry for the rest of you, but we need to have practices every week, and we need to do them as a team. I understand that you all have other things to think about, but it was either one or the other, and it's been decided." "Why can't we just come in latah on Sunday and practice all day?" Shannon asked. "That's too long," they grumbled. "Yeah, there's no way I'm staying here all day." "Let's all settle down!" Fausta shouted. "If we're going to be here every day, we need to agree on three hours where we can meet. The best way to do this is to make a chart and mark the times when you're not doing anything." "I've got the chart!" Freya exclaimed, pulling a rather impressive cardboard paper from her belongings. On it was a 15x5 grid, representing the days of the week and the players on the team. "She really is prepared for anything," Terra murmured in awe. "You're on the ball today!" Jen exclaimed. Everyone wrote their schedules down on the grid, but as it turned out, there was no time where everybody was free, not even half an hour. "So much for that," Felicity muttered. "No, wait, we can ask for change in work times," Nadia said. "Flower girl said she only needs us for end of week, da? We say to work there all day and will have other time for games!" "That's why I took the weekend shift," Fausta said to Terra. "You should ask Robin to do the same. Don't worry, she's pretty accommodating." "I'm already working part-time, so it's not like I'll be affected," Elisa murmured. "I don't even have a job!" Alice snorted. "Lucky," Shannon muttered. "I guess I could change my schedule around, too. It's not uncommon for a student to do that." "All right, so is everybody going to ask for the weekend shift?" Leena said. "Good, that will make things a lot easier. I really wish we could've kept the other schedule, but whatever works is fine with me. However, this doesn't mean you're off the hook today! Since you're all here, I'd like to run through a few drills. Don't complain, I'll let you out early. Get dressed and come out here ready for action. And ladies- I expect to see you all here on Monday, or I'm enforcing the other schedule. Is that understood?" "Yes, Coach!" - Jennifer Andre, DOB: April 18th, Aries, defensive midfielder- Since fourteen of the girls qualified as players, Leena decided to first split them into two groups of seven, dividing them as evenly as she could so they could play against each other and get a feel for the game. On one side was Lauren, Terra, Elisa, Fausta, Nadia, Jen, and Felicity; the other had Valencia, Shannon, Arina, Amy, Alice, Fleur, and Kasumi. They jogged three laps and did some warm-ups before the real test began. "Since we don't have twenty-two players, you won't be able to comprehend the scope and complexity of the game, but this ought to give you a good idea. We'll be playing a mock-game, one team versus another, so I want everyone to play seriously. I'll give you some pointers occasionally, but the rest I leave to you. Felicity, you won the coin toss, so you get the ball first. Play well, everyone." Felicity quickly took the ball and went on the offensive, dribbling past Alice and Fleur and passing to Jen. Andre took the ball around Alice and Arina, lost it to Amy, and chased it with Fausta covering her. They recovered it but Shannon intercepted them, stealing it and flying out far until she met Kasumi, who took the offensive as she signaled for Fleur to cover her. Valencia panicked as the women charged after her- it reminded her of the Running of the Bulls back home- but she was saved as Terra came in and blocked the shot. Fausta quickly moved in to recover the ball and blasted it to Elisa, who frantically tapped it to Felicity, who quickly went in for the kill. Leena was right, and the veterans noticed the difference. With fewer players surrounding them, they felt exposed, but also freer with their movements. The defensive net wasn't so constricted, and many goals were attempted, more than would be in a normal match. "Hey Amy, go ask how Val's holding up," Lauren said. "Worry about yahself," Shannon said bitterly. "Hey, I'm doing just fine over here. I do have some prowess. It's Val I'm worried about." "Are you going to act this way during the real games?" Shannon grunted as she bopped an incoming ball with her head. She shot it to Lauren, who missed it. "Theah, see? You got distracted and ya missed!" "It's cuz' you're so fucking wild with it," she grunted, tossing it back to Terra. "People will do that in a real game," she warned her. Fausta confirmed it, and quickly caught the ball with her chest before it could approach the goal. "Ask her once we get a break! KEEP RUNNING! GO LONG! Shit, why's Berkeley so slow? Even Hawthorne's starting to speed up. HERE! God-damn it, catch it, Elisa." "Go easy on her, ghibli," Lauren muttered. "Elisa's just a beginner. You can't expect everyone to be hardcore like you." "This is no place for beginners- or slackers," she muttered. "I think you should all stop chattering, but that's only my opinion," Arina said as she passed them by. Valencia got pummeled and the score rose even higher. Essylt cast a glance at her friend and said, "She does look a little worn-down." "Aw, hell, I hope she gets better soon." "Are you concerned about her, or her skills?" Fausta said, jumping up to intercept another shot. Kasumi was really on fire today, and Fleur and Amy weren't letting up either. "I'm just concerned, bitch. Cheese, have a heart." "Funny, I could've sworn you were about to say you'd work harder so Durante wouldn't have to. I might have actually admired you if you did." "Go suck dick," she grumbled, holding up her middle finger. Fausta suddenly turned around and shot into her own goal, but Lauren jumped out and caught the ball, crashing on the ground hard. Leena blew her whistle and stopped the game. "Forget which side you were on, Nazario?" "No Coach, I just wanted Miss Ofdensen here to stop talking." "Were you encouraging her? If you were, you're partly to blame. Take two laps and sit out for awhile. Ofdensen, you take two as well. The rest of you, make do with your losses." "So who's going to be our goalie?" Terra asked. Leena called for Fleur and put her on the spot, and dismissed Arina, who looked like she was about to collapse. "That should even things out. Resume!" Lauren and Fausta exchanged a disgusted look before they started running around the field. Leena sat back down, drank some water, and washed her face, hoping her team would be able to get past all this conflict in time for the practice games. As a Coach, there was only so much she could do to alleviate the friction: the rest would be in their hands. "A moment, Coach?" Freya said. She noticed Leena's condition and became solemn. "Oh, goodness, are you all right?" "Just a little tired of the fighting. It'll only get worse, I'll bet. What can I do for you?" "Well, I don't mean to be presumptuous, but doesn't it look like Jen is having difficulty? I mean, she's a remarkable player, but don't you think defensive midfielder is wrong for her?" "I have been thinking about that," she admitted, noticing how tired Jen appeared. "I'd like to put her as a left midfielder and keep Berkeley as a reserve, but then I wouldn't have anyone I can trust in her position. If it came down between her, Hawthorne, and Essylt, I would choose Jennifer every time, but at this rate, I may be forced to come up with an alternative." "And you really can't switch anyone else?" "They all seem to have found their rhythm," she said. "Even the beginners are starting to warm up. It would be a waste to switch them now. No, Freya, unless a miracle happens, I'm afraid things will stay the way they are." - Valencia Durante, DOB: August 20th, Leo, goalie- Rain arrived at Fitzgerald's fencing school early, just as she was expected to, and was out on the floor ready to teach and exercise almost immediately after. She had a myriad of medical, psychological, and personal issues to overcome, but she wouldn't be late: she woke up early for a reason. She spent a good deal of time sharpening her skills, but now she felt emptier and more alone than ever. The encounter with Alice- and to a lesser extent, her teammates- had opened Rain's eyes and made her realize how profoundly isolated she was. Having Fleur as a friend and bedmate was different: you couldn't get close to her even if she liked you; there was an impassable, impenetrable barrier surrounding her inner being that even Rain couldn't get through. After so many years of personal turmoil, spending time with Alice and everyone else was unsettling. Those people shook Rain, throwing her whole system out of whack- or perhaps repairing it once and for all- and they made her feel real pain, real joy again. That was why she slept with Alice, and that was why she missed seeing her. "Damn, now I really do want to watch their game," she muttered. But fencing tolerates no distractions, and she paid for her split focus when one of her own students- a beginner, no less- disarmed her. "Are you all right, Howlet?" she asked. "You've been really sloppy lately. You're usually not this careless, especially at this time of day." "I got distracted," she answered flatly, removing her mask and mopping her face. "Then go take a break and get your act together! The regionals are just around the corner!" "I know, I know. I'll be fine. I just need a drink." But water would not sate her thirst; she required something with deeper sustenance. Storing her epee in her locker, she slipped out the back door, sprinted across campus, and approached the soccer field, where her shining star glowed. Rain felt herself becoming whole again as she discreetly perched on the bleachers and watched Alice flailing around with everyone. She had been missing something before, but now she found it. She couldn't really say if this was love, affection, admiration, or any number of sensations that draws one person to another, but Rain felt...better now- better than before, anyway. "She's improved," she muttered to herself. "But that's no surprise. I see her jogging around campus all the time, and she's really been hitting the gym. She may be out of her league, but she's taking this seriously. How about the others..." Fleur was predictably precise and efficient on the field; she surprised people with her athletic skill. Most people in her clique are thought to wander around shopping malls all day, complaining about their weight and starving themselves into skeletal shells, suffocating under the most expensive and garish flavors-of-the-week, with clusters of like-minded, dim-witted companions surrounding them, each one reliable only as long as the credit cards hold out. What made Fleur different was that she was a sportswoman who viewed everything with stark nihilism- and she could be just as intense as Fausta, only on a colder spectrum. Ah, Fausta! There was nary a more complicated woman than her. Full of pride, spite, passion, selfless drive, arrogance, sexual energy, and the desire to prove herself, Fausta could be the Hercules of these modern-day Argonauts, a demi-goddess amongst mortals, powerful and egotistical. Compared to her and Fleur, Hawthorne almost seemed silly, but Rain didn't want a Titan or a Queen: she just wanted someone as twisted, intelligent, and bittersweet as her, an Alice for the March Hare. "Break time!" the coach exclaimed as she blew her whistle. The women returned to the sidelines for a breather, and water bottles were passed around; they even shared lunch. Rain couldn't hear what Leena was saying to them, but she was positive it was meant to be encouraging. "I see that some of you have been working hard," she said, smiling at Alice. "You're taking what I said yesterday to heart and have really begun to improve. I don't think you're ready for a real game just yet, but you still have plenty of time to polish your skill. Tomorrow we'll work on passing: that seems to be the only consistent problem. In the meantime, I have a homework assignment for you all. Stop groaning; it's for your own good. I want everyone here to walk or jog at least one mile every day- that's about one and a half kilometers. That includes you, Freya: a little exercise won't hurt you. I also want everyone here to start dieting properly. I don't mean excluding any foods or taking any pills, just eat smart. Lots of fruit, lots of greens, a few almonds, whole-grain bread, water, that sort of stuff. I don't want anybody drinking soda or eating too many sweets and fatty foods while you're here- we can save those for victory night. And hold each other accountable: I can't stress that enough. If you don't know everybody on the team by now, I suggest you start. You don't have to be friends, just look out for each other." "That's some motivational speech!" exclaimed a rather nosy middle-aged man. It had been awhile since Arthur Warren interfered in Leena's business, so perhaps he felt he was due for a visit. "Sup'," he waved, smiling wryly at the ladies. "Long time no see. Hey, Kasumi! You're looking healthy this morning!" "Grow up," she growled, crossing her arms and turning away. Warren stepped back cautiously. "Whoa, it looks like somebody didn't get their balanced breakfast. Hey, before I forget, Miss Kasumi, I got a letter here from your old man. Turns out the slugger misses his daughter." Kasumi jerked around at the mention of her father, the adrenaline surging as she saw Warren reach out an envelope for her. She snatched it away, glaring at him. "Did you read it?!" she snarled. He held his hands up defensively. "No, no, of course not! Hell, I don't even read my wife's mail. I just got a phone call from him, that's all." "Why would he call you?" she grumbled, perplexed. Warren chuckled slyly. "I guess I made a good impression on the old fox! What can I say, we older gentlemen understand one another! Anyway, I just dropped by to stick my nose where it doesn't belong." "Doesn't Bracton need you?" Leena asked. "Nope," he snorted. "That guy's a genius or I'm a frog. Just you watch, Leena: his boys are gonna go all the way. Of course, I'm not ruling out you ladies, either!" "Thanks for the mention," Kasumi muttered. "Be nice to him," Terra said, giving her friend a gentle push. "I like Mr. Warren. He actually makes history fun." He smiled boyishly. "Well, what can I say: once you've been there, you...uh, never mind. Anyway, I'm sorry I interrupted. I'll be leaving you now. Uh, hey, Leena, it looks like you've got an observer." He pointed to Rain, who had gone unnoticed until then. She timidly waved, and Alice waved back. "She's all right," Leena said. "Say hi to your wife and kids for me, okay?" "Will do. You behave yourself now, Kasumi!" Warren walked away guffawing; Kasumi snorted and shoved the letter in her gym bag. As anxious as she was to hear about her father- she had yet to mail him her first letter, the one where she finally admitted her sexuality- that could wait until later, when she could read it in privacy. As Warren left the field, Leena waved at Rain and invited her down. "You're more than welcome to sit closer, Miss Howlet! You can even help us out if you want! Don't worry, I won't tell the Chairman." "Uh, thanks, but I'm fine." She did move a little closer, though: the inclusiveness made her feel warm all over. Several girls smiled at Rain as she drew near, and she couldn't help but wonder if Alice wasn't the only one who liked her. "You may as well help us out," Fleur said impatiently. "You know you want to, Rain. Come on, admit it: deep inside that labyrinthine heart of yours burns the stubborn desire to royally piss off Mr. Fitzgerald." "Nobody knows people better than you, Fleur," she said ironically, resigning herself to her desires. - Fleur Lacroix, DOB: November 3rd, Scorpio, right midfielder- As soon as everyone finished their lunch, Rain was given some cleats and put right to work. Although Leena had no delusions about recruiting her for the team, she did want to pit the girls against Rain's skills as a fencer, as well as her innate unpredictability. She made plenty of rookie mistakes- she used her hands, she passed to her opponents, she went past the sidelines- but everyone could appreciate her talent. "Drive the ball to the goal and try not to let anyone stop you," Leena instructed her. "Beckett, Tu, Khovansky, your job is to liberate the ball and bring it back to your side. Durante, make sure she doesn't score. We're pretending this is a real situation, ladies!" Rain smiled and pretended the ball was the tip of her epee; that would enable her to concentrate better. She ran, thrust, swerved, hopped, and danced around the field, and only Nadia and Kasumi could keep up; Terra was quickly left behind by her erratic movements. Nadia went on the offensive and tried to steal the ball away, but Rain quickly launched it in the air and smacked it with her palm. Valencia caught it and Leena blew her whistle. "Good! But don't use your hands, Miss Howlet!" "Sorry, force of habit," she grinned. "So what now?" "Change of roles. Andre, Berkeley, Velur, I want you to drive the ball to Lauren's side. Miss Howlet, try to prevent them from scoring. Treat this like a real game!" Poor Elisa feared she'd make a fool of herself even though this was a training exercise, and acted too cautiously and too timidly as she gave the ball over to Jen and covered Felicity's flank. Jen playfully batted the ball back to Felicity, who ran straight for the goal, her teammates by her side. Suddenly, Rain swept in, waved impishly, and sliced hard, jarring the ball away. Elisa squeaked and stepped back, while Jen confronted her. Rain was too nimble, though, and easily weaved around and hit the ball back to her side. "Wonderful!" Leena exclaimed. "Excellent footwork, everybody! Berkeley, you need to be more tenacious than that. This isn't a tea party, ladies!" "Sorry, Coach," she muttered, heavily embarrassed. Elisa mentally chastised herself and vowed to try harder next time. Next, Leena called Fausta, Amy, and Shannon to hit long shots across the field, and Rain would intercept. The roles switched after she caught only one ball (again with her hands), but this time, Rain couldn't get anything past them. Leena made careful observations of her strengths and weaknesses, and looked over them while Howlet took a break. So when it comes to maneuverability, Rain's unbeatable, but she's fairly poor at interception and offense. She's aggressive without being violent, and once she gets going, her focus stays sharp. We could really use someone like her! She'd be perfect as a defensive midfielder, but it's unfortunate she hasn't shown any interest in joining. Besides, the Chairman would have to be insane to let such an outstanding fencer leave him. Still, it's something to consider. "You want her, don't you?" Kathlyn said, Leena smiled coolly at her beloved. "Am I really that transparent? We have an excellent offensive lineup, but our defense is average at best. Half of them are just raw beginners. I wish we had found her first." "So you're not going to try and seduce her?" she giggled. Leena smiled morosely. "I'm not the kind of person who likes changing people's minds. I just take volunteers and make the best of it. If Rain really does join us, she'll do it of her own free will. In any case, I'm sure I can shape up the others in time for the practice games. They may not have her reflexes or her intuition, but they're all solid athletes. They just come from different sports, that's all." "And in that might be our advantage," Kathlyn said with hope- "or our downfall." Rain had become fairly popular amongst the other girls in the meantime. She was weird without being over the top, realistic without being too dark, tough without being impenetrable, and nice without being a pushover. She could talk to Fleur just as easily as she could talk to Amy (they actually got along fairly well), and was constantly cracking jokes, usually at her own expense. Her earlier theory also seemed to have some grounds to it: Lauren was definitely trying to flirt with her, and even Elisa and Terra seemed to melt in her presence. Life was good. "Excuse me- pardon me," she heard someone say. Everyone turned around and saw another man on the field, his impatience brimming as he stared at them intently. He had ashen-blond hair and sharp, angular features, a beautiful but stern face, and eyes like cold crystals. Although even he could not tower over Alice, his very presence was intimidating to all but the bravest people, and though he spoke softly and politely, his words were frayed with sharp thorns. This was Helmuth Fitzgerald, Chairman of the board, a powerful man on and off campus, the greatest opponent to the team's prosperity, and a master politician and fencer. He had come for Rain. "I had a feeling our stray had wandered here," he said, focusing his attention on her. "If you were anybody else, Miss Howlet, I would not kindly overlook your indiscretion. However, you can be...flighty at times, thanks in some small part to your condition. You had best not abuse those medical defects of yours any more, though, or you shall see how stern I can become. Kindly return to the school so that we may resume practice. You have wasted enough of our time with this searching." "I'm sorry she troubled you," Leena said. "She wasn't doing any harm here." She wanted to say more- what she really felt towards the Chairman and how he was treating his student- but it wasn't her place, and to be fair, Rain really had no right to be away from her class. "You needn't apologize," Fitzgerald said dryly as he ushered Rain away from her new friends. "I understand it's not entirely her fault, so I'm prepared to be lenient. She does get distracted often. But if this persists, I'm going to have to discipline her." "Hey, who do you think you are, ya bast- " Lauren was ready to bite his head off, but Alice and Fausta held her back, and Arina covered her mouth. The Chairman stared at her for a moment, wondering if she had anything else to say, then turned around to leave. "Miss Howlet sacrificed a great deal to be enrolled in my school, and I have tried to repay her with my instructions. I do not think she would readily give all that up. If you will excuse me, we each have our schedules to maintain. Of course, once her time with me is over, she may engage in whatever pleasantries she sees fit. Good day, Ms. Parkin-Katajisto, ladies." A few of the girls shuddered as he left them: it felt like winter had just passed through. "W-was that th-the Chairm-man?" Amy murmured. Fleur nodded. "Yes. Cuts quite the image, doesn't he?" "He's s-so c-c-cold. He could've w-waited for R-Rain to come b-b-back." "Don't be so naïve," she snapped. "If anyone's to blame, it's our dear Shower Girl. She's the one that forgot her duties and decided to sneak out. She only has herself to blame. I'm sure we've all wanted to annoy Mr. Fitzgerald at one point or another, but he's a great man, and there is a line." "You would like that asshole," Lauren snorted. Leena calmed them down before they could start another war. "All right, ladies, that's enough. You can talk about the Chairman on your own time. We still have a lot of work to do, so if you're through with your break, get back on the field." As Leena sat down with her staff and made notes on the performance, she couldn't help but wish that Rain was a part of the team. She brought out the best in so many people, and in spite of her quirks, she seemed like a nice enough girl, the perfect addition to balance everyone out. But a wish is just a wish. - Rain Howlet, DOB: April 9th, Aries, no position- Eventually, Kasumi told herself as she got on her bike and headed home, she would be comfortable showering with everyone, and wouldn't be so tempted to look around- or maybe not. It was bad enough being there with everybody (amidst the steam, skin, laughter, and playful flirting): Valencia really seemed into Kasumi, and she liked the way the attention made her feel. No woman had seriously been interested in her before, at least not one as fun and beautiful as Val, and it made Kasumi excited and anxious. Her mind actually wandered to the lovely Spanish woman as she waited for a red light: how beautifully clumsy she was on the field, how strong her determination was, the intimate knowledge of fashion she had, her arresting figure, her warm eyes, her full lips... "Maybe I should start showering at home," she muttered as she rubbed her face. The light turned green and she pedaled her way home, ready to just lie down and veg out for the rest of the day. Felicity would probably be at Lily by now, so she had the place to herself. After taking her shoes and socks off, Kasumi grabbed all the mail she had been ignoring and leafed through it. Most of it was junk- advertisements, coupons, credit card offers, church pamphlets- but then she remembered the letter Mr. Warren gave her. "That's right," she murmured, "I still haven't sent dad my first letter." She opened her dresser drawer and took it out, contemplating the kind of impact it would have. Except for a tiny change of subject where she rocked the world by officially admitting her homosexuality, the letter was as normal as they come, and she felt bad for holding onto it. Kasumi and her father called each other, of course, but she preferred the personal touch of a hand-written letter. "I really should send it," she whispered, tapping the paper thoughtfully. "He deserves to know. I guess I'm just afraid that he'll look at me differently...and treat me differently. He'll probably compare me to mom, too." But there's no sense in running from the truth, she convinced herself. We've always been close; we don't have that many secrets. If I'm really comfortable with who I am- I mean, if I'm okay with it- then I need to tell him. No matter what happens, he's still my father. It'll be okay. She put her flip-flops on, stepped outside, and walked down to her mailbox, where she opened the door and shoved her letter inside. She closed it and walked back to her apartment, no turning back now.
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