Rise

An Xin walked up the stage. The audience fell silent. They’d watched her walk up those steps twice before, but this time was different. They could tell. The tension and focus had disappeared from her posture. There was a slight hop to her steps, her arms moving loosely by her side. She walked with purpose, with intention. The game always starts before the game starts. I know Zeng Rui’s watching. The more confident I look, the more he’s going to question himself! An Xin knew that the only way to beat someone like Zeng Rui was to turn his own strategies against him. And getting him so worked up that he lost his calm.

Out in the audience, there was one student who had something completely different on his mind as he watched An Xin walk across the stage. An Xin… A pretty name for a pretty girl. EVERYTHING ABOUT HER IS CUTE! He watched An Xin walk across the stage without blinking. His eyes burned and watered, but he didn’t want to blink and miss a second. She looks so stern… So domineering... So hot! Butterflies danced in his stomach. His heartbeat jacked up to Mach 9, screaming out his adoration of this goddess with every beat. He could feel his heart beating in his eyeballs! He wanted to whisper the secrets from his screaming, beating heart into her ears. Mmmm…. her lovely ears. I’d smell her hair as I whisper... Is this what love at first sight feels like?

He bit down on his lips, forcing back the urge to get up and run to her. I wonder if her armpits are shaved? What would it taste like if I licked them? WAIT! No…. she’ll think I’m a creep! Maybe there’ll be a chance later… He shook his head quickly to bounce all the deviant thoughts out and went back to staring at her. His face was plastered with a foolish smile as wholesome dreams from puppy-dog love played in his mind. Dreams of a future where he’d wifed up An Xin. Three kids? Or four? No, definitely just three! And a nice summerhouse on the beach… An Xin in a bikini… NO!NO!NO! Not that! An Xin making dinner… wearing just an apron with nothing underneath… SHIT! I did it again! Not this! NONO! Wholesome, not degen! Think about waking up with her by my side, this is better. We’ll go for long walks on the beach...

As far as he was concerned, time itself had slowed down. He watched her raven black hair billow out behind her as she walked. In slow motion. He could see the individual strands undulating out in perfect detail. The ends wiggled and tickled his soul. I love her black hair so much. I just want to bury my face in it! He licked his lips. He imagined her hair in such vivid detail that he could feel it brushing across his lips. He could almost taste it! His eyes moved down to her slender waist, and his heart stopped beating.

Her lithe waist curved to the left, then curved to the right, all in slow-motion to his eyes. The afterimages he saw traced a sultry bessel function in the air. His pupils dilated, and An Xin became even more radiant. His eyes continued further down, and he saw the curve from where her hips flared out. That single, sexy curve tantalized him, stroking his already ardent passion! He was a tiger, roaming through a jungle wreathed in the flames of infatuation! And An Xin was the gazelle, one with lovely bounding hindquarters, he was stalking. In his mind, time held no meaning or purpose. He was locked in this single moment for all of infinity, and all he wanted to do was wrap his arms around that sylphlike waist!

Then all at once and with no warning at all, time went back to normal for him. The student saw his hand in front of him, reaching out for An Xin. He yelled out, “H-hey Coach!” But his voice was drowned out by the din of the crowd. She can’t even hear me! But… can she feel me burning up here? Then he saw her skirt, with its hem that swished with every step she took. And time slowed down again. That was completely acceptable, as far as he was concerned. He could stare at her willowy legs all day, modestly ensconced in her thigh-highs. There was just something about thigh highs that drove him wild. And An Xin’s legs in those thigh highs amped it up even more for him. There was just something about the way the svelte fabric silhouetted the lusciousness of her thighs, seducing and teasing him. An Xin is the girl of my dreams! She’s my everything! I need her to know I’m here! He called out again, “AN XIN, AN XIN, OVER HERE!”

Most of the audience was up on their feet, clapping and cheering for Shanghai High School. Every attempt he made to get An Xin’s attention was lost in all that clapping and cheering. If she could hear me… see me… she’d know what I’m going through! She’d see what she’s doing to me… and the— He lost the ability to form words. An Xin had finally reached the steps to the raised platform where all the players sat, and right before climbing up she turned around to smile and wave at the audience. He’d finally gotten a good look at her face, and it took his breath away. Stole every rational thought and word and all coherence from him for an eternity. She’s got such a pretty smile… ARE THOSE DIMPLES? Dimples are so hot! And that white blouse that’s almost too small… Please let that button pop, please! Oh my god, her breasts will destroy society!

He was just short of drooling as he pushed off the balls of his feet, trying to get a better look at her. At her skirt and her long legs that went on for so long that he couldn’t see where they ended. Why is it so warm here…? Oh god, she’s so sexy… I just wanna… I just wanna’ rock her body! He looked around the audience, annoyed that their noise was the only thing keeping him and An Xin apart, and then back at An Xin. She’s all the way over there, up on the stage. How do I get her to notice me? I need her to notice me! IF SHE JUST LOOKS AT ME ONCE… I JUST NEED TO GET HER ATTENTION!

There were only a few short minutes left before the start of the third game of the Finals! An Xin was climbing up the steps, and soon she’d be done and sitting. The student knew he had to do something quickly. If I don’t do something now, I might never see her again! I GOTTA DO SOMETHING! He started waving his arms, flapping them in the air. But he realized right after he started that it wouldn’t work. An Xin wasn’t facing the crowd, so she couldn’t see anything he was doing. I GOTTA GET HER TO TURN AROUND! BUT SHE CAN’T HEAR ME BECAUSE OF THE CROWD! BUT I GOTTA GET HER TO TURN AROUND! HOW DO I MAKE HER HEAR ME? He saw his perfect future, his happiness, everything that he could have with An Xin and more, all disappearing with every second that ticked by. The door was closing.