-Serial Joe's "Should Have Been Mine"
Although Haruka had been watching Koby closely, she found herself startled when she looked down to see who had bumped into her and had seen Koby's lightly freckled, apologetic face.
"I'm so sorry. I just wasn't watching where I was going," Koby was saying, but Haruka wasn't listening. She was studying Koby's face, taking in every detail as if she couldn't believe that Koby was really standing right in front of her.
'All that searching and planning and she walks right into me,' Haruka thought, amazed. "It's okay, really," she said reassuringly, waiting for Koby to meet her gaze. 'Come on, look at me,' she urged mentally. 'I need to know if it's really you.'
Just then Koby's eyes met Haruka's and Koby gasped unconsciously.
"What's wrong?" Haruka asked as she happily thought 'It is you!'
"Oh, it's nothing," Koby said quickly, shaking her head. "I just thought that I recognized you for a minute there, that's all. But I don't think I've ever seen you before." Koby smiled briefly and glanced over her shoulder at the varsity players who were going through their warm up routine.
"No, you probably haven't seen me around before," Haruka agreed. "I don't go to Richmond."
"Well you definitely aren't from St. Peter's," Koby joked. "If you were you probably would have killed me for walking into you. Their fans are really vicious towards our players. They're just mad that our school beat them in the state championship last year." Koby suddenly stopped laughing and said with all seriousness, "This is the part where you assure me that you're not from St. Peter's and save me from looking like a fool."
Smiling broadly, Haruka said, "Don't worry, I'm not from St. Peter's. I'm not from Delaware actually. Just visiting a friend. I heard that a soccer game between Richmond and St. Peter's was always worth watching so I decided to check it out. And, if you look anything like your photo in the program that I bought, you're Koby Simmons, the JV team's star goalie."
Koby blushed and looked at her feet. "Ah, well..." she trailed off into an embarrassed silence. "I hope you liked the game," she finally managed to say.
"Oh we most certainly did," a new voice, light and musical, joined the conversation.
Koby looked up to see who the newcomer was and felt the same pang of recognition she had felt earlier when she ran into the tall, blond girl. The new voice belonged to a woman with long flowing sea green hair and kind, inviting blue eyes. She was much shorter than the taller woman and dressed in a more 'lady-like' fashion. Her companion dressed in the same tomboyish style that Koby would have loved to dress in if the school would allow it.
"Well, I'm glad you enjoyed it. I sure did. I don't know about the Spartans though," Koby kidded, trying to shake the strange feeling of uncannyness that was creeping slowly up her spine and raising the hairs on the back of her neck.
The pair laughed lightly at her joke and Koby felt slightly more comfortable.
"I'm Haruka," the taller woman said by way of introduction, "and this," she placed a hand on the shoulder of her green haired friend, "is Michiru. We're both from Japan."
"Japan? Cool. I'm taking a beginner�s Japanese course this summer for school. Maybe you can give me a few tips before you go home," Koby said with an innocent look on her face and a suggestive tone in her voice. "Well Haruka and Michiru, you already seem to know my name, but I'll give it to you again because it's just so much fun to say. I'm Koby and it's great to meet you both and even better that you're not Spartans." Koby extended a hand to them and they shook it in turn, Haruka first with a firm grip, then Michiru with her soft and delicate hands. "Are you staying to watch the varsity game?" she asked politely.
The pair nodded.
"Well then we had better go grab seats." Koby gestured to the stands, which were so full of people that you couldn't see the seats. "There are still a lot of people coming in and this is one game you won't want to miss."
Koby lead her newfound companions up into the stands and sought out a space where the 3 could sit together.
"Save my seat," Koby said once she had found an open section of the wooden seats large enough for the three of them. She dropped her bag onto her chosen spot and began rummaging around in one of the side pockets. A moment later she pulled out a few crumpled dollar bills. "I'm going to go buy myself some dinner."
Haruka and Michiru watched Koby push her way through the throngs of high school soccer fans crowding the bleachers as she headed for the already busy snack stand.
"You know," Haruka remarked as she put her arm around Michiru, "finding her was easier than we thought."
Michiru nodded and slid closer to Haruka's body. "She's very trusting. We've only just met her and she's been very friendly towards us."
"I think it's because she feels like she knows us from somewhere, she's just not sure where. But in any case it was a stroke of pure luck that she walked right into me."
"A little weird too," Michiru pointed out.
"No, what's weird is having her so close in age to us. Only a six-year difference this time. What was it last? Eighteen?"
Nodding solemnly, Michiru said, "Perhaps it's for the best. If it were a twenty-one year gap between us, she'd be too young or we'd be too old to fight what is coming..."
"You're right," Haruka admitted resignedly. "I'm just going to have to get used to not being able to carry her around. She was such a cute baby."
"Better hush up, she's coming back," Michiru warned Haruka as Koby removed her bag from the seat and sat down next to Haruka. She was holding a foil wrapped hot dog in her hand and a can of Coke in the other.
"What were you two discussing in such a low tone of voice?" Koby asked lightly as she unwrapped the hot dog.
"Nothing much," Haruka said, brushing a loose strand of hair from her face. 'It's getting too long again,' she thought. "Can I have a bite of your hot dog?"
"Trust me, it tastes like crap," Koby warned, but handed the hot dog over anyway.
"Thanks." Haruka took a bite of the hot dog and grimaced. "You were right," she admitted as she handed it back. "How can you eat that thing?" she asked as Koby proceeded to shove half of the hot dog into her mouth.
After swallowing her enormous bite, Koby replied, "Because it's all I'm going to get for dinner. And I don't trust their nachos and cheese. So how old are you guys? You don't look like high school students."
"We're not," Michiru said, peering around Haruka. "We're 21."
"Wow." Koby raised her eyebrows. "That's like, 6 years older than I am. Cool. Oh, check it out, the game's starting." Koby pointed out at the field where the Tiger�s varsity squad was preparing for the kickoff. "I'm telling you, if you thought that the JV game was good, wait 'til you see this one!"
Koby had been right. Haruka and Michiru were both blown away at the ferocity of the seemingly innocent high school game, and by the time the final whistle was blown (Richmond 3, St. Peter's 1), they were staring open mouthed at the field.
"Those are high school girls?" Haruka asked, astonished, as they stood up to leave.
"Yeah, those are high school girls. Richmond's number one in the state, and we have been for the past 4 years," Koby announced proudly. "Well, it's been great meeting you guys. Maybe I'll see you at another game if you're around. I've got to go beg one of the varsity players for a ride home. My mother has this strange idea that I just magically teleport myself home and she doesn't have to pick me up." Koby rolled her blue gray eyes and waved goodbye.
"Wait," Haruka called to Koby, "I can drop you off at home if you want. I don't mind, really."
"She means it too," Michiru said. "I think she loves driving more than she loves me."
Koby paused and frowned. "Loves you? Are you like, sisters or something?"
Michiru bit her lip. "Not really."
"We can explain a bit more if you let us take you home," Haruka added.
'Hmmm,' Koby thought. 'They are nice people, but I did just meet them... but there's no guarantee that one of the varsity players will be able to drive me... well, I guess I can trust them.' "Okay," Koby finally agreed. "I live just off of Route 82, do you know where that is?"
"I've got a pretty good idea," Haruka said, "you can help me out though. Well, let's go. From the looks of things it's going to be a battle to just get out of the parking lot."
Wind whipped through the hair of the three girls as they sped along Route 82, which was no more than another one of the countless backroads in Delaware. Haruka drove her yellow convertible skillfully, handling each of the unexpected turns and sharp drops like a pro. Michiru and Koby both sat calmly in their seats, enjoying the ride.
"You're awfully calm Koby," Michiru called back to Koby as they braked suddenly to take a turn. "Most people who get in the car with Haruka are screaming to be let out."
"My dad used to drive like this," Koby answered, "so I'm used to it."
"He used to? What happened to him?" Haruka asked, slowing down slightly so that they could hear each other over the wind.
"He died a couple years back. Had a heart attack behind the wheel one day, lost control and crashed into a tree." Koby's voice was distant as she recalled the day that she had first learned of her father's passing.
"Oh. I'm sorry." Haruka slowed down a little more. "So, you want an explanation for what Michiru said earlier?"
"Yeah, that'd be nice."
Haruka was silent for a moment, as if thinking of the best approach to the situation. �Well,� she finally said, �I want to be as honest as possible with you. Michiru and I do love each other, but we aren�t related in any way. You see, Michiru is my girlfriend. We�re partners.�
Both Haruka and Michiru seemed tense, as if waiting for some kind of outburst from Koby, but none came.
"That's cool. And you're from Japan. You guys have got to be the neatest people that I know!" Koby exclaimed as if the news thrilled her.
"Well," Michiru said slowly, "that's the strangest reaction we've ever gotten."
"If there's one and only one thing that you learn about me, it'll be that I'm a strange girl who will always surprise you," Koby said proudly. "Next left Haruka, that's my house."
"Okay." Haruka spotted the driveway and turned into it. By now the night had grown quite dark and the stars were out.
"You have a nice house," Michiru complimented. "It's quite romantic, tucked back behind the trees."
Koby smiled. "Yeah, the forest makes for some nice adventures. Thanks for the ride. Did you want a schedule for the rest of our games?"
"Sure," Haruka said. "That would be great."
"Okay." Before she got out of the car, Koby opened the same side pocket containing her money and began rummaging again. "Here you go. It's just a little crumpled... well... a little is an understatement. But you can still read it," she admitted apologetically. "Thanks again for the ride."
"No problem," Haruka said. "See you at the next game."
"See ya." Koby jumped out of the car and waved goodbye. She turned around and walked into her house without looking back. "Now I get to do a fun Biology report," she muttered as she found her key and unlocked the front door. "It's gonna be a long night."
Chapter 3
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