The following day after Coach Qi Na had approved of letting her document the team, Jia Li found herself speed-walking through the flight of stairs. Her hands were gripping the straps of her bags; braided hair bouncing on her right shoulder as wisps of it began falling on her cheeks. She hurriedly wore her Photography Club ID to easily distinguish herself from the other students roaming around the court. It was her first day of documenting and she didn't want to appear lousy through being late. Thankfully, Coach Qi Na and Si Yang, the team's captain, hadn't arrived yet, giving her a slight chance to fix herself. Both then arrived just a few seconds later.
Outside, Jia Li took note how the tennis group was divided into two — the freshmen and the main players. Both groups were practicing in swinging their rackets back and forth. She watched as Coach Qi Na retrieved a tennis ball stuck on a pole effortlessly, laughing quietly at how the one of the freshmen was shocked.
"Everyone gather around." The three of them headed towards the second court where Si Yang had called them all over. Jia Li hid behind Coach Qi Na.
Jia Le noticed his sister hiding but didn't bother to call her out, pretending that he didn't see her. "Coach! You're back!" Jia Li glanced at the freshman who had a disbelief look on his face.
"Let me introduce her," Si Yang firmly stated. "This is our coach, Qi Na. She has returned to coach us this semester for the upcoming National Junior Tennis Selection."
Coach Qi Na then began encouraging them to fulfill their aim to win the National Championship. Jia Li peeked through her bangs, watching at how attentive the players were. "But for the main players, studying comes first. Only those, who passed their examinations are qualified to join the main team."
Jia Li silently chuckled at her brother's reaction, knowing fully well at how his current grades were failing.
"Oh, before I forget," Coach Qi Na placed both hands on Jia Li's shoulder and arm, pulling her in line to the front. "This is Jia Li and she's going to be documenting the team for the entire year. So be nice since she'll be staying a long time with us."
"Hi! My name is Qiao Chen!" A main player chirped, which made Jia Li flinch hard. He had light brown hair and a dreamy expression painted on his face. He seemed friendly, she hoped.
Two pairs of eyes instantly glared at Qiao Chen. Da Yong and Jia Le were activated in an overprotective brother mode whilst Zhuo Zhi simply looked at him before diverting his attention to her with an unreadable expression. Si Yang noticed the three as his eyes were quick enough to catch up with the situation. He cleared his throat and stared at the main players, "You're scaring her away, Qiao Chen."
"Oh, I'm sorry." The brown-haired boy apologized with a smile.
"Anyways," Si Yang interrupted, pulling away Da Yong and Jia Le's attention from Qiao Chen. "The grouping details will be posted later. By then, you can have a look. But for now, keep practicing!"
Everyone then scurried off to their respective positions, resuming their previous trainings. Coach Qi Na then encouragingly placed a hand on her shoulder, before leaving Jia Li to her project.
This is going to be a long day.
-☆-
The shutters of her camera echoed lightly as she hurriedly captured Qiao Chen's 'Vertical Smash' against a freshman, winning the match with a score of 6-0. A few feet away from her, Da Yong and another main player were seated on a bench, watching the remaining games as they had already finished theirs.
Qiao Chen grinned and turned towards her, who looked up from viewing the photos in her camera, "Hey, Jia Li! I hope my photos looked good!"
Jia Li only returned a small smile before placing her backpack besides Da Yong, who glanced briefly at her before returning his gaze at the scoreboard. Suddenly, two girls arrived, supporting the freshman named, Lu Xia. They were squealing and chanting his name over and over.
"Hey! Why is he popular among girls?" Qiao Chen pouted and faced her, "Jia Li, you should have cheered for me, too!"
She awkwardly clutched her camera and glanced at Da Yong, who noticed her discomfort and shooed the poor guy away. Once Qiao Chen had moved to the other side, Jia Li readily positioned her camera as Lu Xia and Zhang Bai Yang, a main player, faced each other for the qualifying match. Both guys had fierce and blank facades, showing how both were eager to win this game. From the corner of her eye, Jia Li saw Yan Zhi Ming, a data-tennis main player, fish out a notebook and began scribbling whilst watching the game in complete focus, fixing his glasses occasionally.
The match started when Lu Xia served first and was easily returned by Bai Yang. For a while, the ball kept swinging back and forth across the court until Bai Yang performed a lob shot. Lu Xia was unable to hit it back due to his short height as a disadvantage. He then switched his racket to his left hand, which Jia Li noticed was definitely his dominant one. He returned a lob shot as well, which Bai Yang missed.
As Jia Li adjusted her shutters due to the increasing speed of the two's movements, she saw Zhuo Zhi and Si Yang watching the game by the entrance, hands tucked inside their pockets. Zhuo Zhi squinted his eyes to view the score before resting them upon Jia Li's figure, who was busy taking photos of the current match. The edges of his lips twitched upwards at seeing the girl fully focused.
Everyone seemed to be too engrossed in watching the game, moving their heads left and right as their eyes followed the ball. Jia Li gasped in awe as Bai Yang performed his 'Snake Ball' move. However, the second time he used it, Lu Xia was able to hit it back, much to Bai Yang's utter disbelief. Their movements became heavier as both struggled with exhaustion and sweat. But both still proceeded on, increasing their speeds. Everyone anticipated with excitement until Lu Xia suddenly used Bai Yang's 'Snake Ball' move, finally winning the game. Bai Yang left the tennis court with a scoff and Qiao Chen took this as an advantage to annoy the hell out of him.
"Hey, Bai Yang!" Qiao Chen yelled, "Does it feel like a nightmare?"
Bai Yang grunted and began hitting balls angrily, which made the three freshmen watching, flinch at every hit. Jia Li's gaze followed Lu Xia's disappearing figure, wondering how he had managed to learn a new trick whilst playing.
Where had she last seen this kind of player before?
YOU ARE READING
𝙋𝙝𝙤𝙩𝙤𝙜𝙧𝙖𝙥𝙝 ➝ Zhuo Zhi
FanfictionIn every tennis game Jia Li had witnessed, she believed that whenever a ball comes bouncing to your court, all you had to do was return it. But after transferring to Yu Qing for her last two years of High School, Jia Li realized there's more to it i...
