Picture Us [discontinued]

twenty-three

s e l f - r e a l i z a t i o n

Nam goes to practice before her twin. Both had agreed that she shouldn't always wait for him, and Xia was glad that he could get the chance to squeeze in a bit more sleep without his pestering sister.

-

Nam is with Zhuo and Jiale, who are sitting at the bench for a break. She frowns as she sees all the extra paparazzi at practice.

"Zhuo Zhi, the cameras are really annoying. They are so close. We can't practice. It's not nice like Nam's photography. How many spies are there?" Jiale says, while striking poses for the paparazzi.

"Does it matter?" Zhuo questions.

"Of course. The closer they are, the better pictures they get. How about this? Let's pose for a photo," Jiale says.

"Jiale... if you wanted to pose... you could've asked me... Am I not enough?" Nam asks.

"Lu Nam, I mean no offense," Jiale apologizes.

"The stardom is getting to him. Don't worry," Zhuo reassures.

"I kind of feel like... they're in my space... Ah, sorry... that sounds stupid," Nam rambles.

Zhuo softly chuckles. "We appreciate you," he says to Nam, leaving her with a deep blush. He then redirects his attention. "Jiale, go practice if you have nothing to do."

"Ah, right," Jiale says, while suspiciously eyeing Zhuo Zhi and Lu Nam together,

-

After practice, Nam changes to her hoodie, keeping her leggings. Most students are wearing their uniforms, still, but Nam refuses to wear that skirt if she doesn't have to.

Xia was going to meet Mu after school, so Nam is left on her own after practice.

She decides to walk to Wong's. Fortunately, it's not as crowded today, so Nam orders an iced tea and sits in a booth. She pulls out a notebook from her camera bag, the same one that she takes tennis notes in.

Nam relaxes as she records stunts done by other players, and tries her best to replicate them in her drawings. Taking these notes don't have a purpose, she knows that Yan already has a lot of data for the team, but Nam has always liked to draw the stunts the way she sees them in her head. Something magical about the players that she just wants to capture in as many ways as possible.

Nam works on the Swallows Return, the stunt the Zhuo has pulled. Next to her note, she sketches a bird flying over the net, trying to replicate how the ball rolled on the opponent's side.

Despite her sugary drink, Nam dozes off slightly, daydreaming about Zhuo Zhi. She thinks about how cute she thinks he is, how skilled he is, how he always talks to her, how he gave her a team jacket. She wonders what it'd be like if he were sitting across from her in the booth. And despite being introverted, Nam starts to crave what a hug from him might feel like- Her own thoughts are enough to jolt her awake. I guess... I officially like someone? Nam thinks. What am I supposed to do with that?

A/N- this was weird :/