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“Oi, Furuya! Why are you so slow at tying your shoes?” Sawamura complained, kicking at the dusty ground with his already-tied sneakers, laces surprisingly neat and double-knotted. “If you don’t hurry up, I’m leaving without you!” he threatened.
“‘M tired,” Furuya mumbled, fumbling with his laces sleepily. “Too early.”
“Don’t complain,” Sawamura retorted. “You’re the one who wanted to go on a morning run. Your stamina sucks, after all.”
Furuya closed his eyes, ignoring the other boy. Maybe he could sleep while tying his shoes. When the laces slipped through his fingers, he opened them again tiredly. He knew he had to work on his stamina, but he didn’t think it’d involve waking up before the sun even rose to go on three-kilometer runs with the loudest person he knew. There was nothing like a wake-up call than Sawamura pounding on his dorm room door, shouting “Wake up, Furuya!” and being glared at by his roommate.
After practically dragging himself through his morning routine, the two of them were ready to run. Well, Sawamura was ready, energetic at any time of day, while Furuya still struggled keep his eyes opened. The sun barely peaked out over the horizon, golden rays timidly lighting the dark sky. The early morning breeze felt nice and cool, and Furuya welcomed it gratefully. He knew the heat would get worse as the summer day wore on, hence why they were running in the still-cool morning. With a sigh, Furuya stood up, his shoes finally tied.
“I’m ready,” he said, more to himself than to Sawamura.
Sawamura grinned, smile bright as the rising sun. “Finally! Let’s go!” Without another word, he took off, Furuya following a second later. The two of them settled into a comfortable jog, running side by side on the well worn path. If Furuya seemed to be even half a step in front of him, Sawamura would immediately run faster, refusing to let the other boy beat him. Normally, Furuya would also be competing to pass him, but this morning, he didn’t have the energy. Jogging nearly half-asleep, the world was a blur of brown and green around him.
The sun gradually rose, its rays warm against Furuya’s back. They had been running for about a kilometer, Furuya following just behind Sawamura as he concentrated on putting one foot in front of the other. He was breathing a little heavily now, lungs filling with warm summer air. He hated running to build his endurance, especially in hot weather.
But I have to do this, Furuya thought, gritting his teeth, pushing himself forward. I have to get stronger, better, faster —
A spot of color in the corner of his vision suddenly caught his attention. Furuya blinked. Along the trail, he could see patches of light blue and lavender that dotted the green grass around them. Flowers, he realized.
“Ooh, hydrangeas,” Sawamura pointed out, not sounding the least bit tired (to Furuya’s envy). “Aren’t they pretty?” His head was turned, admiring the flowers around them.
“Pretty,” Furuya echoed. They were just flowers, weren’t they? But he slowed his pace, wanting to look at them more carefully. Dainty, pastel blooms clustered in domes of soft powder blue and purple, framed by bright green leaves. Their tiny, heart-shaped petals stirred in the slightest breeze. They were pretty, Furuya had to admit. Absentmindedly, he stepped off the path, his hand reaching down to pluck one of them from its bush.
A hydrangea, Furuya reminded himself of the name, feeling the soft sky blue petals and slim stem under his fingertips as he twirled it between his thumb and forefinger.
“Oi, Furuya! Don’t slow down!” Sawamura yelled from ahead, startling him. “Don’t tell me you’re tired already?!”
Furuya didn’t reply, still examining the flower in his hand. He wanted to keep it, but realized he didn’t have anywhere to put it while he ran.
Jogging back towards him, Sawamura demanded, “Why’d you stop?” He looked like he was about to give Furuya an earful, but when he saw the hydrangea in his hand, he instead laughed loudly. “You went flower picking? Didn’t know you liked flowers!” he teased. Furuya shrugged, but Sawamura had already turned and started running again. Holding the flower stem gently in his hand, Furuya followed.
“How did you know its name?” he asked Sawamura once he’d caught up to him. Furuya was surprised there was any room for anything but baseball in his head, much less flower names.
“Know what’s name?” Sawamura said, confused. Furuya held up the hydrangea as explanation. “Oh, we have them in our garden at home!” Sawamura declared. “They’re my mom’s favorites!”
Furuya glanced down at the cluster of petals in his hand, bobbing up and down slightly as he ran. He liked the color and the shape of the flower, the way all the blossoms were clumped together in a dome. Furuya had never given much thought to anything besides baseball before, let alone flowers. But, maybe, he thought, smiling faintly, hydrangeas could be his favorite too.
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“Almost there, Furuya!” Sawamura called, three kilometers later. Furuya was breathing heavily, sweat trickling down his neck, shoelaces loose from his half-asleep tying. It had been an aggravating morning run, Sawamura constantly urging him “Run faster!” and “You’re too slow!” as Furuya did his best to keep up. He breathed in relief at the sight of Seido’s campus, the Tokyo sun reflecting against chain link fences.
“We made it!” Sawamura crowed, pumping his fist triumphantly in the air (where did he keep all that energy?) while Furuya slumped against the cool metal fence, still carefully holding the flower. Surprisingly, it had remained intact during the run, though the petals were slightly ruffled and windblown. He combed through them carefully, trying to straighten them out.
“So, how was the run?” Sawamura asked eagerly. Without waiting for a response, he continued, “I thought you gonna pass out by the second kilometer! Let’s go on another one tomorrow!”
Furuya frowned, wanting to refuse. But stamina had to be built over time, he reasoned. Going on runs with Sawamura was logical. He nodded.
“Great! I’ll come get you at six!” Sawamura said brightly, turning to leave. Suddenly, he paused. “Also,” he said, looking at the flower, “if you want that to live, put it in a cup with some water. By a window, too. It won’t live for very long, but it’ll make it last a little longer.” He smiled, then waved goodbye to Furuya, dashing away to the dorms.
Furuya’s fingers stilled. More flower advice from Sawamura, he thought with a faint smile, watching the other pitcher disappear into his room. Sawamura never failed to surprise him.
Straightening up, Furuya went to the cafeteria in search of a cup.
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“Furuyaaaaa! Time to run!” Furuya could hear Sawamura calling, rapping on the door. He opened his eyes blearily, the room slowly coming into focus — rumpled clothes slung on chairs, snack wrappers littered on the floor, his roommate still asleep in bed. Furuya let his eyes fall shut again, wanting to savor the last moments of his sleep.
“I’m waiting five minutes, and if you don’t come out by then, I’m coming in!” Sawamura yelled, knocking one final time.
Tired, Furuya thought blearily. Sighing, he slowly pushed himself up to a sitting position, running a hand through his sleep-mussed hair. Vaguely, Furuya wondered if Sawamura ever had an indoor voice. With a yawn, he swung his feet over the side of his bunk, then quietly began to dress for a run.
Tired but ready, Furuya moved to silently peer at the windowsill. Easy to miss in the messy dorm room, bathed in weak morning light, was a blue hydrangea in a clear glass. Periwinkle petals reached up to the sun, green leaves flaring brightly beneath them. Pretty, Furuya thought with a smile. He touched the petals gently with a finger, then walked to the door, opening it. Sawamura was leaning against the wall, impatiently watching the door.
“Finally!” he sighed when he saw Furuya. “You take forever! Let’s go!”
“I still have to tie my shoes,” Furuya muttered.
Sawamura huffed. “Of course you do. Hurry it up, sleepy boy!”
Sleepy boy? Furuya puzzled over as he tied his laces. That’s a new one.
The moment he stood, Sawamura quickly turned and ran to the trail. Furuya quickly followed. Like the day before, the sun was warm but the breeze was cool. The only sounds between them were their shoes slapping on concrete and morning birds chirping in trees. When they ran, Sawamura surprisingly didn’t say a word.
Ahead of them, Furuya could see patches of lavender and periwinkle dotting the grass, bunches of petals and leaves stirring in the breeze. He smiled. Morning runs weren’t that bad, Furuya had to admit. The weather wasn’t so hot, he could build his stamina, and Sawamura was quiet for once. It was peaceful.
Running past the hydrangeas, he added, I can see my favorite flowers too.