Member
Hitman
sassy1085
Izurich
Infinite Cosmos
Duoya
Mixtape Ghost N
Rabidporcupine
Crimson Flame
“You know, we really could have eaten somewhere nicer.”
An and Chu Hua sat in the back of a divey ramen joint, knees uncomfortably squished together underneath the small, sticky table. The restaurant, aptly named “Bong’s Ramen”, was in the part of the Middle Ring where Chu Hua’s team played and, coincidentally, near where she had grown up. It was just how she liked it- the tables shoved together, the floors slightly dirty, and a strange smell emanating from the kitchen. It was cheap and classic. And the food tasted great.
Chu Hua chuckled at her fiancees comment. An had a taste for the hipster and high-class: tea shops where they grew the herbs on the roof, restaurants where the dishes weren’t greasy and were mostly full of salad. This place was the opposite of that. “But it’s so good, babe! And I really need to carbo-load, so can it? For me?”
An rolled her eyes, the ghost of a smile on her lips. “I don’t like it when you tell me to shut up. But fine. I won’t tell the nutritionist you’re eating like shit the day before the game.”
“Atta-girl.” Chu Hua winked and sipped at her taro boba tea.
The two, especially An, looked highly out-of-place here. Chu Hua wore workout gear: a loose jersey with a black hoodie thrown over it, tight black shorts, sneakers, her black hair tied up into a ponytail. An, meanwhile, looked like she had come straight from the office, which of course she had. A sheer, collared white blouse hugged her frame, and she wore black slacks and kitten heels. Her black hair was down, brushing her shoulders, and her makeup was immaculate. Most people here were just trying to go about their business, but a few pointed and stared. That, though, was not about their outfits. Already two people had come up to ask Chu Hua for a photo or an autograph, and while she was happy to oblige, Chu Hua could see her fiancee slowly growing weary of all the interruptions to their conversation. Such were their lives.
The food eventually came, and was set down in a businesslike fashion. Chu Hua, feeling her stomach immediately ramp into gear, grabbed her chopsticks and went to town on her bowl. An picked at hers as she stared out the window.
“So. Your mom called me.” An turned her gaze back to Chu Hua. Whatever interested her had seemingly passed by.
“Oh?” This was said through bites of ramen. Damn, this shit was good. She might need seconds…
“She wants to know when we’re moving back in. After the season ends,” An said, rather pointedly. She looked at Chu Hua with a flat gaze.
“Oh. Uh. Probably after the wedding, moving all those boxes would be a pain in the ass while we’re still planning…” Chu Hua moved to flag down the waitress for a second bowl, but paused at the icy look. “Babe, why are you looking at me like that?”
An crossed her arms. “I thought we were staying in the apartment for a few months after the wedding. Did you tell your mom we were moving back into the house?”
“Um, maybe, yeah. I don’t remember. Are you… mad?”
“No. I mean- no, no. Just, maybe… I don’t want to live in your parents’ house when I’m a 28-year-old newlywed.”
Chu Hua fully set down her chopsticks in her bowl. “One: it’s my house. I own it-”
“-but your parents sleep in the master-”
“two: I thought you liked my parents.”
“I do! I just don’t want to move right back in with them after the wedding. I don’t want to fight, either. Can’t we just have our own space? I want some privacy.”
Chu Hua finally flagged down the waitress, signaling for another bowl. She sighed, massaging her temples. This would be a tough one. Her parents were so excited to have them back, and she didn’t want to break their hearts. “Sure. You know I’d do anything for you, An. Just let me tell them, alright?”
An smiled, pleased at the turn of events. Chu Hua smiled, too, looking lovingly at the woman she was going to wed in only three weeks. Gods, she was lucky. Sure, her fiancee was willful and stubborn. But wasn’t that one of the things she loved about her? On impulse, she leaned forward to give An a peck on the lips. The other woman squeaked, surprised, but it was over as soon as it began. The second bowl came to the table, and as Chu Hua began to eat, An pulled out a tablet.
“So, the tuxedo guy called…”
Game Day was always rather anxiety-inducing, but today was something else. It was Nationals, for one. Every man, woman, and child had their eyes on the TV screen, and the competition was hot. No one had any idea who would win. Would it be the underdog Badgermoles, or the unbeatable Wolfbats? Chu Hua wasn’t sure, and Chu Hua was usually confident in her ability to win or lose. And all eyes were on her. It was exhilarating- but terrifying. What if they lost? What if something awful happened? She had a good feeling about today, but if everyone set the Badgermoles’ wins at her feet, would they set this loss at her feet too? And, number two: it was Centennial Day. The one hundredth anniversary of the end of the Great War. The streets and the stadium were even more crowded than usual, and Chu Hua had had to sit through an hour of traffic coming into the stadium where it normally would’ve taken ten minutes.
She eventually got to the stadium around 10 AM, making a beeline down to the locker rooms. Fans screamed her name as she walked past the main entrance, and the screams only intensified when she shouted, “GO BADGERMOLES! WE’RE GONNA FUCKING WIN THIS THING!” Chu Hua then went to greet her teammates.
“Yo! Li, Fei, Hiti! What’s up?”
“Good,” chimed in Hiti, a young woman with brown skin and dark brown hair. She was sitting in a chair, meditating. The locker rooms in this stadium were incredibly nice- equipped with a weights room, a sauna, showers, and even a bath. It was nicely lit and modern.
Every stickball player had their own game-day routine, and Chu Hua was no exception. She stretched, did some laps on the treadmill, stretched again, did some aggressive chanting with her teammates, ate a healthy and light lunch… and then it was 2 PM. The roar of the crowd was, at this point, deafening, even from inside the locker room. At this point, all the women were suited up. Chu Hua wore the helmet, jersey, and protective gear required of all players and gripped her stick in hand as she marched onto the field alongside the others.
The screams of fans felt like they would shatter her ears, but all those voices only lifted her up. A buzz began along the base of her spine, a high. So many names were being shouted, but hers was chief among them all. She managed to keep her mouth shut as they walked, along with the Wolfbats on the opposite field, towards the bedecked royal box. They all bowed, deep and long. It was a ceremony repeated every game, for every stadium had a royal box, although the king was seldom there. But, as Chu Hua raised her head… there he was. The king. He met her eyes, just for a second, but a jolt went through her. A similar one went through the rest of her teammates. None of them had expected he would be here. The king never came to the Middle Ring. But on Centennial Day… well, it was good symbolism.
Chu Hua glanced to the girl beside her, Li- a rookie, looking extremely nervous. As they waited for the anthem to start, she patted the girl on the shoulder. “It’ll be alright,” she said, conspiratorily. “We’re gonna win this shit, just you see.”
