Rising Shards

I had only had a bit of contact with Mahina Koridia previously, but even those brief encounters and chats showcased her big character. I just talked with her when Zeta had a sleepover at her daughter's house, and a bit when we ran into each other at school. She was super nice and incredibly funny, but so sociable that it was almost intimidating.

"I'm not holding back even if it's just practice," Mahina said as she brandished a ball for mat ball (a mat ball ball?) like it was a powerful weapon. In her hands, it probably was.

"That's what I want to hear," Caya said.

I didn't have that kind of intensity, but I was having fun already just being at the practice.

We were all in gym wear provided by the school; even if I didn't go to Rising Shards, it felt nostalgic to be in the uniform, and to be with a group all in white t-shirts and emerald shorts. Evy was unsurprisingly rocking the look. Evy smirked at me, probably understanding by my stare that I was hoping we'd get to keep these outfits, because we could have some fun with them back home.

While I was getting distracted by that idea, Pippi stretched beside me, looking intense too. I figured she'd get along with Mahina and Caya if she kept the sporty energy up and didn't let the shy energy win.

"I could really use a win against Kitty," Caya said. "But I don't want to make this practice too intense."

"Then we might as well throw the game now." Mahina said. "After that D-tier singer tried to get me off the team, I want her to go down. Not that life hasn't been handing it to her one after another with the failed albums, losing her Haven governor role, the Kilander show getting cancelled, and those sorts of things. But I've been given the opportunity, in a mat ball sense, to add to that pile, so I'm making the most of it. If you need me to take over, I can win this game for the team."

Caya grinned. "If you're ready, then I'll give it my all too."

"That's more like it." Mahina said.

"Ah boy." Evy muttered under her breath when she saw how amped up they were getting and how seriously they were taking it.

"Let's just try and have fun?" I said.

"Yeah, for sure."

Caya and Mahina decided they should split the group into two teams so we could have a practice game, with each being their team's captain. Unfortunately, Evy and I were promptly separated, with me ending up on Caya's team and Evy ending up on Mahina's.

"Aw, bummer." Pippi said when she noticed we were separated. Caya raised an eyebrow, and Pippi shot me a panicked look. I just shrugged. "Bummer that...your shoes are untied?"

"O-oh, yeah, for sure." I said, pretending to re-tie them. Caya didn't say anything, which was nice because I was kinda banking on Evy making a big scene of it when she told Caya, and Pippi accidentally saying something didn't feel like the way to go.

Caya went first as kicker, with Mahina pitching. I imagined that these two were probably like this when they were in school too, making a simple game into something more more intense just out of sheer competitiveness. Mahina took forever to pitch, sizing up Caya for a while. When she finally rolled the ball Caya's way, Caya punted that thing like it was a live grenade, launching it practically into the ceiling. She was able to get to third base before the ball even started to fall to the ground. It hit me then that I was next to kick, and that the talent gap between us (in mat ball, at least) would be astronomical.

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