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It was overcast, flat-ironed gray clouds sullenly covering the sun and blue sky in a wet, gray blanket. Strangely warm winds brought a little animation to the otherwise still landscape, but for the most part, everything had the feel of an old photograph, flat and dull.
Qiu Tong was walking home. She seemed oblivious, impervious to the dreary weather, and almost seemed to carry an aura around her that freshened the stale, gray air. Jauntily clacking the umbrella she held in her hand on the sidewalk, she hummed a tuneless song and decided on visiting Sun Jing at her basketball practice. A small smile lifted the ends of mouth as she did, imagining the other girl’s flustered face and blinding smile at her unexpected visit. Qiu Tong had originally planned to stay after-school today to get some extra help on homework from a teacher, but impending weather forecasts had prompted her county to cancel all after-school activities for the day. It would be a nice surprise, Qiu Tong thought, to then stop to talk to Sun Jing.
She took a turn, and the basketball court that Sun Jing used came into view. Without quite realizing it, her footsteps became lighter, and she walked a little faster towards the court. She could see the flapping ponytail of the other girl, and she realized that she arrived not a minute too soon, because all the other players seemed to have gone home already, even that mop-headed guy that always hung around with the younger girl. She couldn’t help but be pleased, however. It was always nice to get time alone with the taller girl.
Then she heard it.
A smooth tenor voice, in its last stages of deepening from puberty, was singing. It wasn’t the caliber of anything you’d hear on the radio, but it was pleasant to listen to nonetheless.
“Saturday morning, jumped out of bed-and put on my best suit.”
Peering out from behind some shrubbery that lined the fences of the basketball court, Qiu Tong muffled a giggle as she saw the other girl mock straighten an imaginary suit as she sang, still holding a basketball in one hand.
“Got in my car and raced like a jet-all the way to you” Sun Jing shot the basketball as she sang the last word, putting an extra little flourish with her hands as she did so. The ball made it in, and Qiu Tong bit her lip to keep from smiling too wide as the other girl jumped up excitedly with her hands held high while making a “Woop!”
“Knocked on your door with heart in my hand-to ask you a question. ‘Cause I know that you’re an old-fashioned man, yeah-h-h” The black-haired girl made a lazy twirl.
“Can I have your daughter for the rest of my life? Say yes, say yes, ‘cause I need to know.”
Qiu Tong cocked her head at this new development. She never would’ve taken Sun Jing to be someone who listened to such sappy romance music. She wouldn’t have expected Sun Jing to listen to romance music at all. Although, she thinks, she should’ve really trust her judgment with what she thinks Sun Jing would or wouldn’t do, seeing as Qiu Tong had originally thought the other girl had wanted to beat her up when first meeting her. Imagine her surprise when the frowning, red-faced girl had instead stammered that she wanted to be friends!
“You say I’ll never get your blessing ‘til the day I die. Tough luck, my friend, but the answer is ‘No’” Sun Jing, still dribbling the ball, took in a deep breath, exhaled, looked up to the sky as she belted out the next stanza, strong and lively.
“Why you gotta be so rude?” She spat out the last word, slinging the basketball at the hoop. It bounced off the backboard with a loud clang. “Don’t you know I’m human too? Why you gotta be so rude? I’m gonna marry her anyway.” She ended decisively, flinging her ponytail over her shoulder.
“Marry that girl; marry her anyway. Marry that girl, yeah, no matter what you say. Marry that girl, and we’ll be family. Why you gotta be so. Ru-u-u-de.” Sun Jing crooned the last word, soft in comparison to the harsh way she sang the other parts of the song.
Qiu Tong breathed in deep, just realizing that she had been holding her breath. Her eyes were wide, and it didn’t occur to her to make her presence known to the singing girl. She belatedly realized that Sun Jing had been singing to a girl, not bothering to change the pronouns, and it didn’t sound like it was just because that was the way the song was written.
“I hate to do this, you leave no choice. Can’t live without her.”
The girl hidden behind the bushes felt herself blush a little, gaze focused on the animated girl in front of her. She distractedly rubbed at her warm face.
“Love me or hate me, we will be girls, standing at that altar”
Oh, now that was definitely a purposeful change to the lyrics from “boys” to “girls.”
“Or we will run away, to another galaxy, you know, you know she’s in love with me. She will go anywhere I go.”
Sun Jing seemed to have gotten over what bad thoughts the middle portion had conjured, and she now sang with careless abandon, barely staying in tune.
“Can I have your daughter for the rest of my life? Say yes, say yes, ‘cause I need to know. You say I’ll never get your blessing ‘til the day I die. Tough luck, my friend, ‘cause the answer’s still ‘No’”
Qiu Tong realized as she scratched herself on some thorns hidden in the bushes that she was still hiding, crouched, and began to get up, making her way silently towards the dribbling girl in the center of the court.
“Why you gotta be so rude? Don’t you know I’m human too? Why you gotta be so rude?”
Before Sun Jing could finish the stanza, Qiu Tong stopped maybe a yard behind her and sang in her higher voice, “I’m gonna marry her anyway”
“HOLY SH-”
Qiu Tong snorted as Sun Jing jerked and wildly missed her shot. The taller girl twirled around, face red, and exclaimed, “Qiu Tong! I-um,”
“You sing well.” The shorter girl said simply, trying not to laugh for her friend’s sake. Her success in this particular endeavor was debatable.
If possible, the other girl flushed even darker, and said, smiling, “Th-thanks.”
“So, what are you doing here?” Sun Jing continued as she walked back to her gym bag, ball still in hand.
“After school got cancelled for me today.”
“Damn, lucky! My county didn’t bother.”
“They were probably right to do that. I mean,” Qiu Tong looked up at the stormy, yet so far peaceful, sky. “It looks more like it will rain than anything else.”
“Ah, that’s true. But a girl can’t help but hope, right?” sighed Sun Jing as she hiked her backpack up. Her face was still a little flushed, Qiu Tong noticed.
“I guess so.”
“Yeah. So let’s get home before any of our predictions come true, right?” smiled Sun Jing.
Qiu Tong looked at the sweaty, grinning girl. She felt a large smile come to her face easily, and she was glad that she at least had an umbrella handle that she could grip in lieu of something softer (though probably calloused by the pebbled surface of a basketball) that she wanted to hold instead.
“Right; that sounds good.” She replied, feeling something warm in her unfold as she saw how the other girl blushed again at her smile. “To do anything else would be rude, wouldn't it?”