Aware that he was approaching her, Mao resolved to not give away that she had noticed. Pretending that she wasn't paying attention she continued her warmup as if the presence of the two boys was inconsequential to her. Under the surface, Kei and Rocco showing up did tear away a bit of her focus, but she had spent years working on her poker face. After taking up the identity 'Zen' she had to build her ability to lie and act cool or she would have been found out ages ago by her parents or the media as she has been asked about her opinion of the artist in interviews. Awkwaaard. Though no one seemed to be suspicious of her having a connection with the artist so she assumed she honed the skill well enough. As such, despite her slightly elevated heart rate and fatigue from her injury, Mao appeared to be as cool as a cucumber.
“Hey, not bad."
Hearing him, Mao looked to Rocco with a raised brow. She knew that she wasn’t 'good' either at this point. She had a lot of catching up to do if she wanted to keep up with the rest of the team. The whole reason she was practicing on a day off was to prevent herself from being deadweight during a real game. The last thing she wanted was to drag her team down, “Thanks...” she responded skeptically, not sure that she believed him. Mao wasn’t one to judge a book by its cover, thus she held a healthy level of skepticism toward nearly everyone she met. No one was exempt, not until she felt she had a proper read of them. She held a huge secret, she couldn’t trust just anyone, letting them close would potentially expose her nighttime activities and that could easily get her a criminal record, possibly earn her expulsion from Airdalen to preserve the school’s integrity, and if it made the news that she was Zen, the artist openly opposing her father’s political views... she would bring immeasurable shame to her family.
Instead of looking to see if Rocco’s shot made it, Mao did not avert her gaze. It would imply discomfort, looking away would make her appear to have a submissive nature and that was not the impression she intended to give. With one hand on her hip, she awaited the result of his cocky move, her own golden eyes sharp and unwavering, although she had to admit she was a little surprised by how quickly his personality shifted. This, people like him were the reason she refused to accept others at face value. Although she’d give him credit, he revealed this darker side of his personality rather openly, he wasn’t making a huge show of hiding it from her.
"I can't wait to see the rest of you."
However, her composure broke when his words left his lips, the echo of the basketball hitting the shiny gymnasium floor. Biting her bottom lip, at first Mao appeared nervous, but not even a second later it became apparent that she was fighting laughter. Her hand came to her stomach and she bent her torso over slightly, her short dark locks falling over her features, but not especially so as her hair was on the longer side of a pixie cut. Composing herself, Mao smirked this time, “The rest of me? That’s easier said than done.” She responded confidently. She wasn’t the type of girl to shy away from bold flirtation despite her inexperience. It only became difficult when she felt singled out, but his choice of words was more sexualizing than it was genuine. She could handle that. Despite her shitty luck with boys, the media had been sexualizing her for a little over a year. It was to be expected given she was the daughter of a politician and she had to learn to overlook it.
...Not to say she wasn’t a bit flustered, but she was raised in a body-positive home, Mao was confident in her appearance despite her lack of romantic experiences. With that, she motioned for his friend to get ready to keep score, and the game began. Mao gave it her all despite her injury, working even harder than she had on her own. She doubted she would best him, but that didn’t mean to half-ass it. W-Why am I suddenly getting hit on at this school?! I wasn't hit on by the boys at my other schools!
Just as she landed to take a break, Mao hissed a bit, sore as hell after pushing herself too far the day before in an attempt to at least put up a fight in her impromptu match against her teammate. So she wasn't thrilled when his buddy appeared before her. Mao was clad in a long sweater and baggy pants, both dark in color. She wore old tennis shoes as she was simply going to abuse whatever shoes she wore to skate in anyhow.
It's not like there was anyone in attendance that she felt the need to impress anyhow. She didn't plan to run into any of her fellow rich kids over the weekend... so what the hell was this one doing here? She noticed that he was carrying stuff, her head tilting curiously. Was he seriously spending his weekend on charity? Now you've got my attention, rich boy. Mao smirked to herself, looking him over. She could tell despite how much he tried to hide it. The high-quality fabric that his clothes were made of immediately gave him away to her trained eye. Despite their casual first impression, she was certain his outfit cost a hefty penny.
”Hey! We sort of met yesterday, well, you met my friend, Murray-san. I never really introduced myself. I am Watari, Kei. Nice to meet you. Do you come here a lot?”
Sitting her skateboard aside, Mao rubbed her shoulder very gently as she deliberated on his question. If she answered honestly, he might come around more... or he could tell his friend about it... but if she lied and they began bumping into each other regularly... ugh. Honesty is the best policy, right Dad? Mao thought to herself sarcastically before brushing her messy dark locks out of her eyes. Despite the chill, she'd worked up a light sweat, “Yeah, you could say that. I'm Nozomi, Mao. Nice to meet you, Watari-san. Officially, anyway." With that she began to walk toward the building across from the skate park. She doubted he would get the door open with everything he was carrying and he already recognized her. She was stuck with him for the time being, else she'd risk being rude and causing a scene in front of her skater friends, "I'll get the door for you." Mao mumbled softly, sighing afterward. It was her idea, but she wasn't the best when it came to openly expressing her kindness, she often came across as if everything she did for others was a huge pain in the ass and she couldn't be bothered.
Athleticism: +1 to Mao