No Warm Up

 

G

reen Day arrived in a flash.   

 

I only had one event today which was volleyball, I was still the captain as far as I know of. My height has always given me a great advantage as the blocker, and I have been playing since I was in primary school too. It was a sport I have enjoyed and love. 

 

I still had an hour left before the game begins so I roamed around the school, checking out the different activities that were happening simultaneously. I found Nathan giving out orders to the other committees of Green Day. He seemed a little stressed out, but he was still giving out the orders in a nice way. 

 

"Cana," Tony called out.

 

"Yeah?" 

 

"They are calling out to the Volleyball players already." 

 

Tony was wearing a blue jersey which had the letters IOTA printed boldly on it. There was a number 2 below it. His ruffly brown hair was pulled back by a headband. He looked like an athlete despite the fact that he was not. 

 

"Your headband looks cute," I laughed at his Nike headband. He rolled his eyes at my comment and just pulled my arm to follow him. I was laughing as I came along. 

 

When we reached the Indoor court, the rest of the players were already there. Abigail, Jennifer, and Ceasar were representing Beta while there was Tony, Jeremy, and me for Iota. On the other court, the players of Kappa and Zeta stood.  

 

I was pretty sure the competition was going to be a close match. Normally it was tough winning against Beta and Zeta but since we were teamed up with Beta maybe things would be a little easier. Of course, that is if we will be able to work well with Beta. 

 

I was already calculating everything that could happen, trying to strategize the best play.

 

"Do your best," a familiar voice came from behind, it was Anne. She was wearing a blue jersey t-shirt and shorts. She had blue and red pompoms; the colors clashed but she did not care about it. She continued to scream, shout, and cheer. 

 

I waved at her a little before joining the team. 

 

I started to explain the best strategy I came up with but the people from Beta could not care less. I sighed but continued to explain it anyway. 

 

"Are you guys even listening?" Tony asked the athletes from Beta. 

 

Abigail raised an eyebrow, "We play the way we play, just don't get in our way." 

 

I placed my tongue at the side of my teeth, suppressing my annoyance. I looked at the other side only to find Kappa and Zeta communicating well. Kappa gets along well with all the houses, their teamwork with Zeta was going to be great.  

 

"You know what, fine. Play the way you want," I threw my hands in the air.

 

I was the first server, Ceasar was the setter. 

 

We made sure that the rotation was favorable for the two houses. If I was the wing spiker, the setter was going to be Tony, someone from the same house. If Abigail was the spiker, Ceasar was the setter. Easy as that.  

 

The ball went in and as I had expected, it was a service ace. 

 

The only libero in the other team was Geoff from Zeta, he was at the far right, so I made sure to aim the line at the left. I wanted to gain a huge difference in score with my service so I could play at ease but after scoring 4 points, the streak was broken.  

 

The other side was able to gain back the points quickly. Our team was so uncoordinated, Beta always fought for the ball. 

 

The score was now 21-17, Zeta-Kappa was in the lead. The crowd was growing, I could hear cheers from everywhere, but Anne was still overpowering them. 

 

I stood at the service line, breathing deeply before I aimed my ball. I wanted to finish the game with my services because whenever the ball comes back, we always end up fighting for it. There has not been a single spike from our team. 

 

I had told those from Iota to give back the ball immediately whenever we touch it, setting it up was going to ruin the play anyway. 

 

I managed another three service ace which almost tied us up but on the forth service I messed up. I was too focused on getting the ball over, it went out of line. 

 

"Nice one,” Abigail commented sarcastically. 

 

"Oh, as if you hadn't missed about three balls since the beginning," I bit back. 

 

I got so annoyed; I was not able to hold back my comment. 

 

"Cana-" Tony was about to warn me but I raised my hand in the form of "T", I needed a time out. 

 

We all needed a time out. 

 

"If you cannot even work with us as a team, you might as well quit. Not just in this game but as an athlete," I stepped close to Abigail who was drinking. Tony held my arm, but I shook it off. 

 

I was so pissed. 

 

I have never been pissed in this game all my life, but these idiotic players were on another level, they seemed to be getting on my nerves. 

 

"Blame it on yourself, who was the last one who lost a point? You can't even serve, and you call yourself a volleyball player?" She laughed. 

 

I was about to take Abigail by her collar when someone tall stood in between Abigail and me.  

 

"Gail, this is a team sport. Get along well,” Ace spoke in a calm manner but there was something about his voice that seemed sharp. It felt like a threat instead of some advice.

 

I was taken aback by his sudden appearance. I still had a lot more to say but I decided to hold it back. Ace continued to speak to the other three, he was not mad, but his voice still frightened me. 

 

"What's the plan Cana?" Jeremy asked. 

 

"We'll see how it goes." 

 

We got back to the court. I was able to receive the ball but instead of giving it back like how I usually did, I tried to give it to Ceaser to see if he was going to set it up.

 

He did and Tony who was in front was able to spike it over. 

 

I glanced at Ace who was at the side. He was looking at me, I knitted my brows as if I were asking a question, but he just left.  

 

The rest of the game became easy. Beta started to coordinate well, they even called out our names. They were fierce opponents, so as a teammate they were beyond good as well. 

Zeta-Kappa may have taken the first round for themselves, but we were able to take both rounds two and three.

 

We had won. 

 

"Great game," Abigail was a little reluctant to say. 

 

"You too," I smiled.

 

Anne was the first to approach Tony and me. She hugged us both despite the fact that we were both sweating. 

 

"You guys are so great!"  She shouted. 

 

How was she able to scream for almost an hour and still have a voice? It was as if she has the energy of a child, well, she was a child to us.

 

Since I had no other games for the rest of the day I decided to change to another shirt. I wore a blue shirt with the word 'Iota' on it and tied my hair up with a blue handkerchief. I was still wearing my Nike shoes and shorts. I headed back to the school indoor court; the next game was basketball. 

 

I was making my way back to the court when Nathan called out to me. He seemed to be a little flustered when he asked if I could help out with the committee for a little bit. I accepted it wholeheartedly. 

 

I wanted to see how the basketball game went but I was too busy running up and down the school to help the Green Day committee. I was on the way back down to the court to announce who had won in the pottery-making competition when I felt my leg muscle cramp up. 

 

Fuck. 

 

I immediately fell on the floor, clinging tightly on my thigh, trying to push it down. 

 

So much for no warm-up, Cana.

 

I was pushing on my thigh tightly to ease the pain a little, but it was not working. I wanted to scream but barely anyone uses this staircase. I was on the way down from the conference room of the executive, which means that only the executive committee was allowed to go up here. 

 

“Help! Is anyone there?" I screamed as loud as I could. 

 

There was no footstep, the whole hallway was silent. I bit onto my hand to prevent myself from crying. The pain was excruciating, I felt like I was going to faint anytime. 

 

Stupid Cana. 

 

My toes were curling down now, I could not reach it, I could not move. I was starting to lose consciousness.

 

Damn.

 

"Anyone..." 

 

Darkness finally engulfed me. 

 

***

 

I was awakened by the strong smell of antiseptic.

 

I had to blink a few times before I could adjust to the room's bright light. I managed to place my hand on top of my eyes, the light was blinding. I rubbed my eyes before I was able to adjust. 

 

Where was I? 

 

The infirmary? 

 

I tried to recall what had happened before I woke up. I was supposed to be giving out the results in the court. I was on the way down when- shit. I had leg cramps. 

 

I jolted up to sit down which struck a pain straight to the head. 

 

"You like hurting yourself, don't you?" Someone commented from my side.

 

Ace was sitting on the stool next to the infirmary bed. He was still wearing his red jersey which had the number 1 on it. His black hair was a little greasy due to the sweat he probably had just now.  He stared at me as if he were scanning me. It made me conscious, so I tugged on the infirmary blanket up a little.   

 

"What are you doing here?" I sounded accusingly. 

 

"Well, yes Vandia, I was the one who carried your heavy ass up here and you're welcome," he sarcastically stated. 

 

Was he the one who bought me here?

 

"You found me? At the stairs?"

 

"Yes, right before you totally lost your consciousness. I got to say Vandia, the staircase is no place to sleep. My arms would be a little better," he smiled. I smirked and knitted my brows. 

 

"The last remark was not necessary," I rolled my eyes and rubbed my temples. 

 

"It is for me." 

 

I sighed before I looked back at him. I was about to get out of bed when he stood up and pushed me back down. 

 

"Rest, I bet you didn't do your warm-up before the game. Maybe you had intake too much alcohol or is always dehydrated," Ace sounded like a doctor despite the fact that he was not yet one. 

 

"Don't order me around, I still have a lot of things to do. I still need to help the committee and check on my housemates," I tried to push his arm away, but he held my shoulders firmly. 

 

"I told your Vice-President to take over for now. I told him you had other private things to attend to,” he seemed frustrated. 

 

"As if he would believe you," I rolled my eyes. Tony was not the type to believe others that easily. He was born to be a detective. He was always so doubtful of anything that happens around him.

 

"Of course, he will, I used your phone." 

 

My eyes widened when I saw him swipe my phone from the infirmary stand. 

 

"Don't fool me, I have a password." 

 

"Which is your birthday, nice choice," he cocked his eyebrows. 

 

I felt my face flush at how easily he guessed my password. 

 

Wait, he knew my birthday? 

 

I took my phone to check on the message he sent to Tony, he had copied the way I messaged. He even placed my smiley emoji at the end. 

 

To Tony: I will take a rest for a little while, help me take over. Thank Youu :"))

From Tony: Sure, I got you. 

 

I still felt restless. I cannot possibly rely on Tony for the whole day, it was barely 3 pm. There were still a couple of activities left, the events would only end at 6 pm. 

 

"Don't overwork yourself like that," he muttered under his breath. 

 

"As if you actually care," I rolled my eyes. 

 

"I don't."

 

Silence took over for a short while. That was not the answer I was expecting so I found myself dumbfounded. 

 

"But I also don't like carrying unconscious girls from the fourth floor all the way to the first," he ran his hand through his hair before sighing. His veins could be clearly seen. 

 

"Did you guys win?" I raised a brow. 

 

"Why won't we? I'm the Ace, am I not?" He was always so full of himself. 

 

"Congrats," I congratulated him reluctantly. We were still on the same team anyway. 

 

"Congratulations to you too. I did not know you were great at service. Still, I would have defended that quite easily," he boasted, and I rolled my eyes. 

 

Cocky asshole.

 

I was about to stand up again when he continued to hold me down. 

 

"Let go, I feel better," I forced my way up, but he did not let me. 

 

I used my other hand to push him away, but he just held it with his other. I tried to use my body weight to push him this time but the next thing I knew I was pinned on the infirmary bed, both my hands at each side of my head. 

 

My eyes widened at the maximum size of his face. 

 

His bare face was so clear. It was light yet tan. I could see how luscious his eyelashes were and how bushy his brows were. His hair fell on his forehead as he stared down at me with his deep azure blue eyes. His jersey was sleeveless so I could see how his arm muscles tensed up when I tried to break free. 

 

I felt myself bite on my lower lip. 

 

"You are so stubborn Vandia," he muttered. I felt how warm his breath was, he was that close, I began to feel more conscious.

 

"I would report this if you don't let me go," my voice was getting louder.

 

"Go ahead, I'd like to see you try and explain how we got to this situation."

 

"How cocky can you get?" 

 

"This is only ten percent," he smiled revealing his straight white teeth. His breath smelled sweet as if he just ate a candy.

 

I forced myself to look at the side, "Let go."

 

He was about to say something again when suddenly the infirmary door slammed open, revealing Tony. 

 

He looked as if he just ran a whole mile, he was sweating a bucket. I could see his arm veins popping. His greenish-brown eyes looked sharper than ever. His brows turned sharp as he gritted his teeth. His fist begun to bald up when he saw what was happening. 

 

"Get your bloody hands away from Cana."