High School Baseball, My Friend, and a Handmade Pouch

I love watching baseball. I especially love high school baseball, and during the spring and summer Koshien tournaments, I watch it on TV from the morning.

Although I had been watching it since I was little, it was the summer of my second year of junior high school when I started to like it and watch it actively on my own. The trigger was seeing the great success of the PL Gakuen KK duo, Kuwata and Kiyohara.

PL Gakuen back then was just too strong. They managed to make it to Koshien five times while the KK duo was there, which is harder than winning at Koshien itself in Osaka. They showed overwhelming strength at Koshien as well.

I loved watching them play baseball. The overly strong PL Gakuen had many fans, but I imagine they had many haters too. Even so, I loved the baseball played by the strong PL Gakuen.

I have a personality where I get hooked once I start liking something, so I would buy and read baseball magazines, and I even made desk mats featuring high school players instead of idols.

There was a friend of mine who was even more hooked on high school baseball than I was. Her name was Sen-chan, and we were in the same class often since the third grade of elementary school. We became closer after entering junior high school than we were in elementary school.

Sen-chan and I were in the same class again in our second year of junior high. She was the class representative type who was smart and good at piano. But she also liked funny things, and we somehow hit it off.

In the summer of our second year of junior high, after we learned about PL Gakuen, we talked to our hearts' content about their charm. Since Sen-chan was smart, she might have been even more hooked than I was. She even joined a high school baseball circle that was recruiting in a magazine.

Sen-chan, who joined the circle, told me about their activities. Even though it was called a circle, it seemed to be more like a fan club in practice because the members were all over the country. There were newsletters, photo sales, and so on.

I also bought a few photos through Sen-chan. Kuwata, Kiyohara, players from Toride Daini High School, and so on. Even now, those photos are pasted in an album. When I look at those photos, I remember those days when I was so enthusiastic.

Well, we reached the summer vacation of our third year of junior high. We had retired from our clubs, and entrance exam preparation had become serious. Even so, we were naturally still watching high school baseball. Of course, the two of us were enthusiastic about it.

Even during summer vacation, third-year students had to go to school for summer courses once the Obon holiday passed. When we were chatting at school, Sen-chan said to me,

"Hey, [my surname]. You're good at handicrafts, right? Could you make something like this for me?"

"Something like this" was something like this.

It was a pouch shaped like the PL Gakuen uniform.

Thinking simply, I thought I could just appliqué a square pouch and attach sleeves. I thought that, but we were, after all, students preparing for entrance exams. I couldn't help but wonder if I had time for such things. However, Sen-chan is an important friend. I decided to accept it, saying it was fine if it wasn't urgent.

I happened to have both white and black fabric at home. All I had to do was buy a 20cm zipper and black felt. For now, I bought the zipper and felt. But it was too hot to do any handicrafts, and I didn't feel like it. Besides, I had homework piling up, and I was going to cram school, so the summer of my third year of junior high was quite busy.

I wasn't feeling motivated and couldn't get started on the work. Then, Sen-chan started prompting me with, 'Still not done?' I finally managed to get moving and started making it.

I cut the fabric and did the appliqué. I attached the zipper, joined the sleeves, and sewed it all together. And I did it by hand, too.

I loved handicrafts back then, but my skills were still a work in progress. Still, I made it with all my heart for Sen-chan. Somehow, I managed to finish 'something like this'.

When I gave it to Sen-chan, she was so happy. It makes me happy too when someone is pleased with something I've made. I felt glad that I had put in the effort.

Sen-chan and I went to different high schools, but we kept in touch and hung out occasionally. We also talked about high school baseball. After that, Sen-chan went to a university in Tokyo, so the last time I saw her was when I waved her off as she boarded the bus to the airport.

After graduating, Sen-chan returned to our hometown from Tokyo. But we haven't been able to meet up. And now, by coincidence, Sen-chan is living in the same city as me. She's just a little over ten minutes away by car. Even so, we still haven't met. We exchange New Year's cards, but we barely ever email or call each other.

I wonder when we'll finally be able to meet. Maybe I'll try to see her when we're a little older. When that time comes, I'll bring the album with the photos we took back then. And I hope we can talk about high school baseball again while laughing our heads off.