"Damn dude, you gotta tell me your workout regime." Steve said, seemingly admiring his physique.
The compliment made Ken feel a little weird, but he tried to shake it off, thinking the guy was just being nice.
Then Steve took his shirt off, showing a well built frame. He was lacking a bit of definition, but Ken could see that the guy was in good shape.
But he didn't comment on it, not wanting to seem weird.
Soon enough, they were changed and walked into the gym together.
"Yeah so as I was saying, you gonna try out for the varsity team?" Steve asked, seemingly having a vested interest in the subject.
"Mmm, we had to go through a lot of work with the UIL to ensure I could compete in the varsity team." Ken said.
Just remembering all of the waivers and documents he needed to sign was giving him a headache. There was talk about him having to wait a full year before being allowed to complete, but thankfully that was cleared up a few days ago.
"Oho? If you went through that process than you must be rather confident in your abilities." Steve said, a mischievous grin planted on his lips.
It might have seemed arrogant, but Ken nodded. "Yeah, I like my chances." He replied matter-of-factly.
"Well, you'll have to get through our Ace pitcher Alan Romero first. He was in the all-state team last year." Steve replied, doubt clearly written on his face.
'Alan Romero?' Ken tried to search his memories, but he never heard of this player now or in his previous life.
"How is he compared to Ryan Smith?" Ken replied, his expression sincere.
Steve's jaw dropped, not expecting such a question.
"R—Ryan Smith? You mean the U18 Ace Ryan Smith?"
"Mmm."
"I—Err. I guess you could say they aren't on the same level…"
Hearing this, Ken let out a confident smile, "Then I have full confidence in taking the top spot."
"Sure man…" Steve replied.
"Do you play on the varsity team?" Ken asked. Since the guy seemed pretty knowledgeable about the team and players, it would make sense if he was also a player.
"Yeah, I play catcher and bat 6th."
Ken's face lit up, "Wow no way. Did you want to catch some of my pitches later?" he asked excitedly.
"Oh… Sure."
They walked into the indoor gym and were met with Mr. Johnson of all people. He was wearing a whistle around his neck, almost completely hidden by his well structured beard.
"Alright gather around everyone." He said, gesturing for the class to come closer.
Only when everyone arrived did he begin, "We're gonna do some warm ups first then we'll break into teams of 6 for some volleyball."
At the mention of volleyball, a few people groaned in response. Ken however, didn't mind. Though he hadn't played much of volleyball, he still knew all of the rules.
"Let's jog around the gym for a while until I blow the whistle."
Another groan rang out, but Ken grew excited. He quickly got into position and began his jog, entering a rhythm shortly after.
Steve easily kept up, jogging shoulder to shoulder with him.
"So who did you play for in Japan?" He asked casually.
"Yokohama High School."
"Oh, cool cool cool. Did you guys win anything?"
Though it was obvious the guy had no idea who or what Yokohama High was, Ken decided to humor him a little.
"Yeah we won the National tournament the year before last."
"Huh? Really? Like out of all of Japan?" Steve seemed rather gobsmacked, almost falling behind Ken while they jogged.
"Mmm, it was great."
Steve was silent for a while as they continued to jog. Before long they began to pass the stragglers, lapping the other students who weren't taking things seriously.
"Did you ever play in the representative teams?" He asked cautiously.
"Representative team? Like National team?"
"Yeah that one."
"Mmm. I competed for the U18 at the world cup in 2018." Ken responded nonchalantly.
"HUH!?"
This time, Steve stopped in his tracks, his jaw wide open as he stared at Ken's jogging figure getting further and further away from him.
FWHEE
It just so happened the Mr. Johnson blew the whistle shortly after, causing everyone to also stop. Ken frowned a little, feeling like the warm up was a little too short, however he made his way back to where the teacher was without complaint.
All the while, Steve stared at him as if he'd grown another head.
"Alright, break into teams of 6. We'll be beginning soon."
At these words, Ken was almost bombarded with people who wanted to join his team.
"Hey new guy, let's make a team."
"Derrick! I saw him first."
Not only that, a group of girls approached him, their faces red with embarrassment.
"Hey Ken, would you like to join our team?" A girl asked.
Ken looked at the group of girls and instantly felt odd, even in Japan he wasn't this popular. However, someone came in and broke up the awkward situation.
Steve arrived, his face wearing a smile. "Ladies, don't worry. Ken and I will join your team happily."
The girl in the lead rolled her eyes, "No one wants to be on your team Steve… Come on girls." She said, walking away.
However, she was the only one who ended up walking away.
"That makes 6. I hope you boys can carry us to victory."
Stephanie who had just walked away blinked a few times, not believing what she was seeing. It looked like her posse had just committed mutiny, abandoning her for a pair of hot guys.
She grit her teeth, but quickly harrumphed and left.
Steve's eyes followed her figure for a while, an unknown look in his eyes.
"Alright, has everyone got a team? Let's get underway." Mr. Johnson said, wheeling over a bunch of volleyballs.
"We'll have 2 teams on this court, and another 2 on here." He said, pointing around and directing everyone.
Ken walked onto the court and saw his opponents. A few boys were wearing glasses and did not look athletic at all, it was likely this would be an easy game.