Synchronicity Girls 373

‘Come on, Shirley! We can't compete against stronger teams unless you work hard,’Jessica said.
‘Sorry. I said what I wasn't supposed to say,’Shirley said and tittered.
‘You must have gained confidence as you got muscles. You know, you have to lead the team as captain sometime if you don't like it,’Jessica said soberly.
‘No chance,’Shirley said, shaking her head firmly and looked into a city skyline.
‘I can't help thinking of Sandy at this time of the year. I believe she'd play in the upcoming tournament if she were alive,’she added abruptly. That reminded Jessica of one sentence after another in Sandra's diary.
‘I wonder how the game will be if Sandy takes on Liz ,’Shirley said to herself. Jessica looked up at the sky Shirley was watching.
‘Ooh, I'd love to see that,’Jessica said. Shirley's eyes fixed on something far in the distance.
After Jessica was told by Shirley that she looked like Sandra, she had a sense of affinity with Sandra like she wasn't an utter stranger. To read Sandra's diary again, Jessica's tears wouldn't have still stopped. She wished she had met Sandra.

Synchronicity Girls 372

They earnestly spent three months practicing for the East division tournament to be held in Boston next January. And the regional preliminary matches was going to begin before long. They got through the intensive training on every Wednesday and Saturday and some dozen practice games with the men's team, and were making final adjustments. Now they were concentrating on some swift attacks chiefly.
After their club activities, walking through the school gate, Jessica got nervous as if she suddenly remembered. While a lot of time passed since then, she was still half afraid and half expected that the detective with Layla's photo might be waiting for her. Once she knew he wasn't there, she was at once relieved and disappointed.
‘What's the matter with this place? Your mind's somewhere else when you come to the gate,’Shirley said. She was already aware of it.
‘Oh, really? I'm sorry,’Jessica said apologetically.
‘Oh, well. You've got so much pressure from Chet to win the championship, right? In that respect, I haven't a care,’Shirley said, looking up into the sky.

Synchronicity Girls 371

(I wonder if I should tell her I might be Layla Hodges right now. I haven't yet talked to Emmy about that, though. But I have some hesitation to know who I am. Is it because I have a comfortable life like I'm at home, or I have fear and anxiety that may be not really there?)
‘Are you OK?’Shirley asked, anxiously.
‘Oh, sorry. My story was boring, huh?’Jessica said.
‘Not so, I've always wanted to hear more from you. I think there seems to be some reason,’Shirley said. Though Jessica didn't make up her mind about telling her of Layla, she intended to do so in the near future.
‘Thank you for today. Oh, Emmy's gonna come pick us up soon,’she said. She asked Emily to drive Shirley home on her mobile before entering the shop.
‘Thank you for the meal,’Shirley said, having a pleased look on her face.
‘Not at all. I'm glad to have talked with you. Let's keep doing our best together,’Jessica said happily.
‘You look likely to work like a demon in the future, I guess. But I've made it this with your help,’Shirley said and raised both her arms and flexed her muscles like a bodybuilder to make her laugh.

Synchronicity Girls 370

Since Jessuca was told to hide that Emily worked for a research company, she didn't say that. But they seemed to try to establish her identity secretly.
‘It costs a lot of money,’Jessica said.
‘How's a missing person report?’Shirley asked.
‘We checked it to make sure, but in vain,’Jessica said and reckoned her disappearance hadn't been reported to the police probably because of some kind of slip-up. She was going to be as optimistic as possible. However, she got pessimistic once in a while due to an ambiguous uneasiness.
‘I wonder if they have their complicated reasons,’Shirley said.
‘Maybe so,’Jessica replied in a low voice. The mood became kind of dark.
‘It's gonna be all right if you keep on playing volleyball,’Shirley said as cheerfully as she could. Jessica didn't know how to reply and nodded vaguely. She was thinking about something different.

Synchronicity Girls 369

‘Emily and her friend helped me run away from there. That was my first meeting with her,’Jessica said.
‘Seems like a drama. A pretty girl almost got into the devil's hands,’Shirley said as if she uttered her lines.
‘What are you saying? I was so scared as to shake. I imagined I was targeted by a criminal gang. 'Cause I lost my memory and had no clue what was going on,’Jessica said wryly and looked back on that time.
‘I think, they might be private detectives. I bet your parents hired them to look for you,’Shirley said easily. Jessica fell silent.(I see. That's likely enough. I was so frightened Emmy didn't seem to think so. For their behavior and appearances were quite weird.)
‘It may be true, but, anyway, they looked so suspicious. I can't believe they're detectives. Look like...’Jessica said and grinned at Shirley.
‘Sounds like...men in black?’Shirley said with a grin, too. Jessica had a fit of laughter.
‘We're just thinking the same thing. But, mind you, I'm safe 'cause I've never encountered a UFO, maybe,’Jessica said.
‘Hey, how about asking a detective for help?’Shirley suddenly said with a straight face.