One More Chance

Chapter 15: An Unexpected Turn of Events

*Make a change while you still have the chance, because there comes the time that there will be a lot of changes but no more room for chances.

"Okay, class. Today, we're going to play dodge ball!" The girls' gym instructor, Shizune Yamanouchi, announced.

Some of the girls in Mikan's class groaned in frustration. Even Sumire and the others weren't quite excited.

"Aw, come on guys! Dodge ball is a lot of fun." Mikan tried to cheer them up.

"Easy for you to say, Mikan. You're the athletic type." Sumire muttered.

"Geez, don't worry about the game you guys! All we have to do is to dodge the ball."

"And avoid getting pummeled to the ground." Nonoko muttered.

Mikan rolled her eyes.

"You guys are too pessimistic. Just trust me. This. Is. Going. To. Be. Fun!" She emphasized each word. The others just grumbled in frustration.

They were each given a colored jersey that signified the team that they were in: the red team or the white team. Mikan and the others all received a red jersey.

"This is so great! We're all in the same team." Mikan cheered. The others couldn't help but smile at her enthusiasm.

"Yes, isn't it great? I get a chance to embarrass you in front of the whole class by beating you at your favorite game." Someone cackled behind them.

Mikan immediately recognized that voice. She turned around and faced Luna Koizumi, who was wearing a white jersey, a smirk etched on her face. Mikan was tempted to punch her right in the face. After all, even though Natsume looks cooler and more handsome when he smirks, Luna just looked like a witch who had a seizure.

"Oh, really? Are you sure that it won't end up the other way around?" Mikan snickered.

"Of course it won't." Luna sneered. "After all, you will always be the loser." She cackled again.

Mikan couldn't help but laugh.

"Is that so, Koizumi?" She raised an eyebrow. "If I were you, I wouldn't be so arrogant."

"And why not?" Luna challenged.

"You, of all people, wouldn't want a repeat of what happened the other day now, do you?" Mikan grinned.

Anger flashed in Luna's eyes, but she managed to calm herself down.

"I was just taken by surprise. I could've avoided being splotched on the face by that cake." She leered.

"Really?" Mikan laughed out right. Then suddenly, her expression turned serious. "Well, unless you want another cake splotched on your face, don't ever cross my line."

Luna flushed in embarrassment. Mikan and others left her and went to the left side of the court. They immediately put on their jerseys. Afterwards, Coach Yamanouchi, who will be their referee for the game, blew her whistle.

And thus the game started.

Both teams immediately grabbed the balls in front of them and threw as hard as they could. Mikan ran around the left side of the court as fast as she could, dodging balls and catching a few ones along the way.

Sumire was also good (although she said she didn't like the game). She was fast on her feet, almost catlike, dodging two balls that were aimed at her and simultaneously hitting three players at the other team. Nonoko and Anna played side by side, using the lob and drill attack (refer to Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide J). But where was Hotaru?

Mikan almost stopped on her tracks when she saw her best friend sitting on the sidelines.

"Hotaru, what the heck are you doing there?" She yelled.

Hotaru looked at her.

"I'm tired." She simply said.

"Typical, Hotaru." Mikan fought the urge to throw the ball that she was holding at her best friend. But instead, she placed all of her concentration on winning the game.

After a few minutes, each team only had two members left. Mikan and Sumire stood on the left side of the court, while Luna and Wakako stood on the right. Sumire immediately threw a ball and was able to hit Wakako. But unfortunately, Luna also managed to hit her in the process.

And then there were two.

"See if you can catch this, Yukihara!" Luna threw the ball at Mikan as hard as she could, directly aiming at her face.

But Mikan was too fast. She ducked and extended her hands upward, catching the ball in the process. She grinned at Luna's shock-filled face.

"See? I caught it." She said, bouncing the ball for effect.

Coach Yamanouchi blew her whistle.

"Game over. Red team wins!" She announced.

Cheers were immediately heard from the other members of the red team.

Mikan was soon enveloped in a sea of hugs. Luna flushed in embarrassment. Then she let out an ear-piercing scream.

"That. Was. Just. A. Fluke!" She yelled, and she stormed out of the gym as fast as she could.

Mikan and the others just ignored her and continued to celebrate their victory. Afterwards, they went to the locker room to shower and change. But the moment Mikan opened the door, a dodge ball came flying out of the room, barely missing her face by an inch.

"Oops, sorry." Luna sneered.

Mikan's good mood was immediately spoiled. Frankly, Luna wasn't intent on giving up. But before Mikan could do anything about the situation, Luna was hit across the forehead by none other than the baka gun.

"Oops, sorry." Hotaru said, although she didn't look sorry at all. Mikan and the others burst out laughing.

After a long period of nothing but a boring lecture on the history of the quadratic equation from Jinno, the group finally had lunch.

They were having an animated conversation while eating, when suddenly, Hikari Nishizawa, a student from Class 2-B, approached their table.

"Yukihara-san, Jinno-sensei wants to see you immediately." She said.

"Jinno?" Mikan whined in frustration.

"Maybe you failed your quiz again, baka." Hotaru said.

"Damn, what could he possibly want from me?" Mikan muttered. She quickly grabbed her bag and ran towards the math lab.

But when she got there, she noticed that no one was around.

"Jinno-sensei?" She called out.

No answer.

Thinking it was probably just a practical joke, Mikan turned around to leave. But before she had the chance, someone hit her hard on the head and she lost all consciousness.

When she woke up, she found herself sitting on a wooden chair, her hands bound behind her back, and her feet tied together. There was a tape placed over her mouth.

She looked at her surroundings, and she was sure that she was in the school's storage room. She tried to loosen the ropes on her hands, but they were too tight. Suddenly, a voice spoke behind her.

"So glad of you to finally join us, Mikan Yukihara."