Thankfully, it was rather harmonious after the small tiff, allowing the other three to relax. With good food and good company, they were soon having a grand time.
"Okay done…" Coach Wyatt closed his laptop and let out a deep sigh. Now that he'd updated Ken's player profile on the website, he could relax.
He checked his watch, only to see quite some time had passed.
"I better get some food." He muttered.
After another 30 minutes, everyone was finished with their meals and started to filter out of the restaurant. Many of the players were nursing a full stomach, yawning every now and then.
Ken especially felt like taking a midday nap on the bus.
Once everyone got on the bus, it was silent for the whole trip. Everyone was clearly tired and ready to go into a food coma.
They soon arrived back at the fields and parked up in the bus.
"Alright guys, we still have around an hour until the match. You're welcome to stay in the bus for another 20 minutes, but after that I'll need you guys in top form." Coach Wyatt seemed to understand how his players were feeling, giving them the best news of the day.
With that, he left the bus, leaving majority of the players where they were seated. Only a few got up and followed after him.
Ken stayed in place for a few moments, working up the strength to get up. There was something about American food that made him feel lethargic after eating, especially with his appetite.
If he had eaten the same volume of his mother's cooking, he would have already felt better by now.
'Maybe I just don't have the stomach for it.' He thought.
He got to his feet after some internal debate, heading towards the exit.
"You going already? Coach said we still had 20 minutes." Steve called after him.
"I need to go move my body so I'm ready to pitch." He replied, not even turning back to respond.
With that, he left the bus and felt the heat bear down on him. It was around 1pm now, and since it was summer, Ken felt like he was back home with the crazy heat.
'I should go sweat off this food.' He mused inwardly.
He soon broke into a leisurely jog, not enjoying the bouncing of the food in his stomach. However, he pushed through the first 5 minutes, finally feeling his energy return.
After 20 minutes had elapsed, Ken already had a sheen of sweat on his body. Remembering that the Coach wanted him at the field right around now, he made his way over.
"Ah… What field is it again?" He muttered, looking around with a lost expression.
"Excuse me, are you Ken Takagi?" A soft voice called out to him, causing him to turn around.
What he saw left him speechless. A woman dressed in a low cut white sun dress and wearing a straw hat smiled at him. Her long blond hair reached her waist and her beautiful tanned skin looked flawless.
"Um… Yes." He responded after catching his bearings.
Ken tried his best to keep his eyes directed at the woman's face, but due to the height differences between the two, he could see directly in between the two peaks. He gulped, wanting nothing more than to leave as soon as possible.
"Oh cool. I came out here from Florida to watch our 18U team compete." She said, flashing him a brilliant smile.
"Ah right… Well, I better—"
"Have you thought about what College you'll be attending?" She asked, cutting him off.
At this point, Ken felt that something was a little off. "Not yet, I'm still not eligible for official visits until September this year." He said warily.
"Oh that's a shame. I go to University of Florida, go Crocs!" She replied, giving a little pump of her fist which caused her peaks to jiggle mesmerizingly.
Ken was physically unable to comment, too engrossed in the spectacle before him. However, he soon felt a cooling sensation spread throughout his body, snapping him out of his stupor.
'That was close…' He thought, inwardly thanking his Dauntless trait for settling him down.
Yet before he could extricate himself from the situation, she moved towards him. "You know, we have a really good catcher in the team. Leo Cameron. Have you heard of him?"
Ken's eyes widened at the mention of this name. How could he forget Leo Cameron? The player who had given him such a hard time in the U18 World Cup almost 2 years ago.
'So he's going to UF huh?'
"Ken! There you are." A voice called from afar, clearly out of breath.
Ken turned his head to see Steve running in his direction, eliciting a sigh of relief. He turned to the forward woman and bowed slightly, "Well I better be off. Nice to meet you."
With that, he jogged off, meeting Steve halfway.
"Dude, I've been looking for you everywhere." He said, trying to recover his breathing.
"Mmm, I got lost on my jog."
Steve's face froze, noting that this was not the first time Ken had gotten lost while exercising. "Who was that girl?" He asked, leaning around Ken's frame and seeing the retreating back of the figure.
"I think she was sent by one of the staff at the University of Florida…"
"What? What do you mean?" Steve asked in confusion.
"Nothing, don't worry." He replied, throwing an arm around his friend's shoulder and beginning to walk. However, his expression soon turned cold.
Once he'd calmed down, Ken was able to understand what was happening. Since no coach's or scouts could reach out to him until September, it seemed like they had tried to use other means to lure him to UF.
Unfortunately for them, Ken was not a naive teenager, at least in the traditional sense. After almost being beguiled by the woman's beauty, this only served to piss him off.
'You lost whatever chance you had…'