Sprinter

My footsteps fell one by one on the dark sidewalk. If not for the streetlights reflecting off of my neon jacket, I don’t know if I’d ever be able to see where I was going. It was hard enough to run in the dark, but when people didn’t de-ice their sidewalks like they were supposed to, I was a single misplaced step from slipping and breaking my tailbone.
“Keep going, Alice,” I told myself as I turned the corner. “You’re almost there.”
At least now I was turning back into a residential district. While most houses were still dark, a couple left their Christmas light on all night long, giving me the slightest bit of illumination. I silently thanked them and turned back down my street.
“Another day, another mile,” I said, wiping my brow as I entered my cool down. The winter track season had already entered full swing by now, though I couldn’t participate in it because of the conflicts with my therapy appointments. But the spring track season would come before I knew it, and I had to start running every day if I wanted to get my team some points in the distance events.
I entered the house through the back door, trying to steady my breathing. Alison sat in front of the television with her gamepad in her hand.
“You’re gonna get fat sitting like that all day,” I said, hanging my coat up on its hanger by the door.
She shrugged. “I haven’t had to do anything special all fall, so I doubt it.”
“You were cheerleading all fall. The football team’s out of the playoffs now, so you won’t be burning calories with that anymore.”
Her character fell off a cliff. She threw the game controller and folded her arms. “Well, maybe I’ll join the swim team or something. You’ll never see me out there running. You know how much my legs hate it.”
I turned to head up the stairs. “Well, do something. I’d hate to see my twin sister have to wear a one-piece next summer to cover up her flab.”
I hopped into the shower and let the hot water run down my body. It still seemed weird to say “my twin sister.” Only four months ago, I had been an only child. My parents always doted on me, and I was certain to soon get Paul as my boyfriend. But after all of the events in late August, I was left with a twin sister who had taken him away from me, leaving me to try and find someone else to take to the winter formal.
Worse yet, Simon had seemingly started to eye me again. I really should tell him that I really don’t feel comfortable with him touching my arms and legs all the time, but I really couldn’t find the strength in me. I supposed that was why he got the wrong message the first time, but at least it ended quickly.
“Paul…” I said, letting my fingers drift southwards. I know I shouldn’t be doing something like this thinking of my sisters boyfriend, but I liked him first.
My mom drove us to school, thanks to a prediction of flurries in the air. “You’ll catch a cold with your hair all wet like that!” she chastised me.
“I can’t go to school without a shower,” I said.
“Take one at night like your sister.”
Alison stuck her tongue out at me so my mom couldn’t see. “I need to run, mom,” I said.
My mom turned the curve in front of the school to drop us off. “I know you do,” she said. “But maybe you could take a shower at school instead or something instead of making me worry all the time.”
Alison and I went into school our separate ways. She headed towards her English class, and Paul for that matter, and I got to begin the day in French. At least French was a great chance to catch up on some missed sleep.
I walked past the gym, and just as I was about to turn to my classroom, a sign crossed my eye.
“Winter Sprints,” I read, walking up towards it. “Cash prizes, open to all students.”
I nearly crumpled the paper up then and there. They always had events like this. Unfortunately, they always were for the sprinters. Not once had I ever seen an event for a long distance runner. Best I ever saw was a 400-meter tournament.
“Oh, you’re interested too?” I heard a voice behind me.
I spun around, and there he was in all his glory. Paul’s beautiful smile illuminated the corridor, and his hair had been perfectly slicked back, shining with two pounds of hair gel.
“I thought it’d be for me,” I said, letting the paper go. “But it’s another one of those sprinting events. It’s like they have one of them every other week.”
Paul studied the paper. “You know, I think you could do well with it.”
“How?” I asked. “Look at my legs. They’re not meant for sprinting.”
“You can do anything you put your mind to,” he said. “I mean, sprinting really is long distance running, only for a shorter distance and faster. And I guess it involves using the balls of your feet a bit more…”
“Balls of my feet? You mean like wearing high heels?”
“I guess,” he said. “But, if you don’t want to do it, you don’t want to do it. I’ll be participating though, and Alison’s coming to cheer me on. I’d be quite happy if you could as well.”
I clenched my fist. That girl was always one step in front of me with Paul. She asked him out hours before I had planned on it, and any time I had a plan to do something with him, she got involved before I could blink.
Well, this time I wasn’t going to let her win. She could stay in the stands cheering all she wants. “I won’t be joining her,” I declared.
Paul tore off the tag at the bottom with the phone number to call. “Shame. Well, I’m sure she’ll tell you all about it.”
“No, I’ll know what’ll happen, since I’m gonna run it.”
Paul grinned. “That’s great! Remember to keep your faith up and you’ll do fine.”
An idea popped into my head. “Hey, Paul, are you doing anything after school today?”
He shrugged. “Not much. Maybe running a bit to train for the festival. Why? Do you have any plans?”
I grabbed his hand between my own – careful not to come across as touchy feely as Simon. “Can you help me?” I asked. “I want to learn how to sprint.”
He stared down at my hands and then back to me. “I doubt I could teach you all you need to win… the competition is on Saturday.”
“I’ll do anything,” I said. “Even if it means staying with you until bedtime, I’ll do it.” Oh, wouldn’t that be a dream come true. I did my best to avoid smirking, thinking of Alison. She’d be stuck going home to her beloved video games while Paul and I would get to run around outside, training together. Maybe he’d finally realize what a fool he had been for choosing Alison over me, and decide that he’d rather break up with her to date me.
He checked the clock. “I’ve got to get to my class,” he said. “But sure, you can hop along, I don’t mind. I’m only planning to practice for two hours after school today, though. Can’t work too hard these next three days, or we’d be dead come Saturday morning!”
I could hardly pay attention in class that day thanks to the excitement of that afternoon. I cursed that I didn’t put any real thought into my outfit today. The more I looked at it, the more I realized it didn’t match at all. Not to mention, I hardly had time to do my makeup before my mom had yelled at us to get in the car, so my face would be so awful, and I even had a chip in one of my nails’ paint!
By the time the promised hour arrived, I felt like I had already run a half marathon from the sheer stress of the meeting. What should I say to him? What should I do?
If the competition was a sprint from my final classroom to the locker room, I’d have beaten any competitor who’d dare challenge me. The girls from the last block’s gym class weren’t even out yet when I stormed in and threw off my clothes to get changed.
Oh, right, I guess my outfit didn’t have to match since I’d be wearing gym clothes anyways.
I ran to the gym exit and laid my backpack and gym bag down. I must have broken some sort of record. School let out at 2:40, and here I am at 2:43, ready to go.
Paul didn’t even arrive to the gym until 3:00, and it was another 15 minutes for him to get changed. He went in with Simon, so I suppose they were chatting and laughing it up in there. If there was one negative about Paul, it’d be his continued friendship with Simon even after he saw what Simon did to me.
“Oh, hi Alice,” he said as he walked towards the exit. “Sorry for taking so long. Were you waiting?”
“Oh, no, I just got here,” I lied, giving a small giggle. “Got caught up in girl drama, you know.”
“I see…” he said. “Well, let’s get going.”
We headed out towards the long hill outside of the high school. Well, Alice, this is your time to make your move. “It looks good on you,” I said to him.
“What? Did you say something?” he asked.
Stupid wind! But, I wasn’t about to let a bit of wind take over my chance at romance. “I said it looks good on you. You know, your outfit.”
He looked down at his body. “Alice, it’s a ten year old t-shirt and knit shorts. I thought girls had more style sense than that.”
My heart twisted, feeling my plans backfire. “Well, let’s get running,” I said, trying to change to subject.
“You go first,” he said, pointing down the hill. Oh, downhill, this would be easy. From cross country in middle school, I knew the key was in taking long strides and conserving my energy.
I began my run.
“Stop!” yelled Peter.
I jumped to the side, thinking that a car was coming at me. But the street remained as barren as ever. “What’d you stop me for?” I demanded.
“Your form is terrible,” he said. “What are you doing, taking those long strides?”
“Well, it conserves energy and…”
“You’re sprinting, Alice. You won’t need energy.”
I folded my arms. “Then let me watch you do it.”
Paul nodded and steadied himself. “Ready, go!” he yelled. His legs became a blur as he ran down the hill, not once letting his heel touch the ground. When he got to the bottom, he gasped for air, panting all the way.
“Why do you do it like that?” I asked. “I doubt you could go another step without collapsing.”
“Do I need to?” he asked. “Listen, Alice, the idea of sprinting is that you need to put in an entire mile’s worth of energy into 100 meters. And when your legs are off the ground, you’re putting no energy into your run. Your energy – your sheer muscle – is what allows you to run fast.”
I imagined myself running down that hill. “I’ll give it a go,” I said. I positioned myself on the top and closed my eyes. Let’s make Paul proud. If he was happy with me, maybe we could stop practice and extend our date somewhere else.
I opened my eyes and let my feet run wild. I could feel the lactic acid building up with every step as I rushed down the hill, but that was all I needed. I passed Paul’s resting spot with ease soon after.
“Well?” I asked him, breathing hard.
“You looked like a drowning weasel,” he laughed.
“Hey!” I scowled, hands on my hips.
“Better that than a dead one. Come on, let’s go back up.”
We continued sprinting for the better part of an hour.
“No, no, no!” said Paul as I finished. “This isn’t a distance race. You shouldn’t be slowing down ever in the entire distance. You should be speeding up.”
I breathed hard. “Sorry, I’m just… a little… tired…” Sprinting was extremely hard work compared to running around the neighborhood. I supposed this was why they always had shorter practices than we did.
Paul walked over to me. I tried to make myself small, afraid he was going to hit me. I probably deserved it for being this weak. It hadn’t been even an hour, and I barely felt like I could go another step. He raised his arm, and I closed my eyes, expecting the worst.
But he patted my head. “Sorry, Alice,” he said. “I forgot. You’ve been doing great, and did a great job today. So, why don’t you go home and get some rest?”
I stretched. “Why don’t we go somewhere first?” I asked. “I don’t have any homework tonight, so I’m free all night. Maybe, how about I take you out to dinner as a thank you?”
He shook his head. “I have some leftover spaghetti in the refrigerator that’d go bad if I don’t have it soon.”
That’s not the point. You’re supposed to say yes, and then we can get all romantic and talk about breaking up with Alison and…
I shrugged. “How about we go to your house then, and we could sit around and chat for a bit. I hardly get to see you anymore.”
He shrugged. “Sorry again, but I have a raid in my MMO tonight. I had blocked the time out a week ago.”
I clenched my fist. Damn Alison and her gaming habits, rubbing off on him! “With Alison?” I asked.
He nodded. “She’s our healer.”
All my plans, gone to ruin. How was I supposed to spend time with him if she was always going to be butting her fat head in my way? If all I could do with him was sprint, then how could I even get any closer to him?
“What about tomorrow?” I asked.
“Tomorrow? What about it?”
“After we practice, do you have anything planned?”
He stopped to think for a moment. “Well, not exactly. Though we do have that book report due on Friday, so I suppose I’ll have to work on that.”
“Forget the book report,” I declared. “I’ll write it for you, and we’ll go out tomorrow after practice.”
“Huh?” he asked. “No, Alice, you really don’t have to do that. We can just do it some other time and…”
“No, it has to be tomorrow. I’ll write that book report for you tonight, we’ll practice tomorrow, and then after we’ll head out to this nice restaurant down on main street together. The specialize in Mexican food. How’s that sound?”
He bit his lip. “Not interested.”
“Not interested?” I demanded. “Come on Paul, don’t you like me?” I had to be careful. I almost said love. And even worse, he could interpret that! “… as a friend,” I added in as a caveat.
He shrugged. “It has nothing to do with that.”
“But you said you have nothing else going on!”
“I don’t. I just don’t want Mexican.”
I felt my heart wrench. Food was more important to him than me? Very well then, I can play this game. “How about the pizza parlor then? My treat.”
“Ah, yeah, some good carbs for the competition. I’m in.”
Finally! A crack! If I could build upon that crack tomorrow, maybe I could convince him to leave Alison and come back to me. Then life really would return to normal once and for all.
That night, I didn’t get to bed until two in the morning. Since Paul had been a part of a separate reading group than mine, I had to spend a couple hours on the computer going over the notes on his book to get a general idea of it. As I read the summary, I realized how lucky I was that I didn’t have to read “The Secret Life of Bees.” Anybody would’ve fallen asleep reading this hunk of junk!
The next morning I woke up to Alison banging on my door. “Come on, Alice, get up!” she shouted.
I rubbed my eyes and checked over at the time. Yeah, I guess I better. Even if I only got five hours of sleep, I couldn’t stay in bed any longer without missing class. I grabbed my clothes and walked straight from my bed to the bathroom and into the shower.
When I got in the car, it took me a few minutes to realize Alison’s legs were bare. “Did you forget pants?” I asked.
“Oh, no,” she said, pulling up her jacket to reveal a pair of pink knit shorts. “See?”
“You’re gonna catch a cold,” I said as we turned the corner.
“You’re wearing them too, and you have no problem,” she laughed.
“That’s because I’m going to be running after school. Really don’t feel like lugging my gym clothes around all day, so I’m wearing them instead.”
Alison smirked. “And why do you think I am?”
“You? Run?” I laughed loudly as we got out of the car. “Give me a break. Didn’t you say you wanted to swim?”
“I’d rather just game,” she said. “But I have a sprinting competition on Saturday.”
I froze in place. “You… what?”
A grin spread over her face. “Don’t think I didn’t know what you were doing yesterday, Alice. I heard all about it from Paul while we raided. But, don’t worry, he was very happy with the idea of having me come along to your little ‘training session.’ I do hope you don’t mind me joining in.”
She waved as she headed towards her entrance, leaving me standing there as a cold wind blew around my bare legs. This was going to be a long day, wasn’t it?
The morning dragged, with every minute seeming like an hour. When it finally hit the lunch period, I was shocked that I wasn’t dead from boredom and anticipation. Forget paying attention in class, the only thing I could focus on was the inevitable battle at the end of the day.
When lunch came, I sprinted to the cafeteria. I grabbed a quick hamburger from the shop and slid in next to Paul.
“Hey Paul,” I said as I applied my condiments to my burger. “Are we still game for the dinner after tonight?”
“What?” he asked, picking his head up from his drink. “Oh, yeah, sure. Why not?”
He could be so thickheaded at times. Then again, I suppose that was part of his charm. I leaned over and took a bite out of my burger.
“By the way, your sister asked if she could join in,” he said. Ketchup splattered out the back of my burger and onto the foil.
“No,” I said. “She’s not a sprinter.”
“Neither are you,” he said. “Yet you’re training with me anyways.”
I put my burger down and folded my arms. “That’s different. I’m a runner, so at least I have a general idea about what I’m doing. Alison… she hardly knows her left foot from her right. She’s only going to slow us down.”
“This seat taken?” asked Simon, walking up next to me.
“Yeah,” I scowled. “Alison’s sitting there. You sit with Paul.”
“Huh?” asked Paul. “No, Alison’s sitting next to me. You go ahead, Simon, I’m sure Alice won’t mind.”
Maybe he was a bit too thickheaded…
“Alice, you know you’re slowing me down, right?” asked Paul. “I would’ve sprinted a lot faster yesterday if I weren’t training you. So why wouldn’t you want to do the same thing for Alison?”
“You didn’t have to slow yourself down for me,” I said. “But I appreciate it.” Come on, just a little more and I can get him in my grasps. I need to get him to see me as the better sister. “But you need some training too. I can push you, she can’t.”
Paul folded his arm. “Well, if you won’t let her come, then I guess I’ll train on my own.”
My heart could have shattered at that moment. Damn that Alison, always getting in the way! Why did she have to come to this world and push her way in front of me? Why did she have to ruin everything?
“Fine,” I said. “We’ll all train together.” At least it’d be better than him spending time alone with Alison.
“What about me?” asked that bitch as she walked up to our table, her yogurt in hand.
“Isn’t it great?” asked Paul. “Alice said she’d love it if you joined in on our practice. So, right after school, all right?”
I did not! But I didn’t dare say anything out loud in hear of Paul threatening to go alone again.
Alison grinned. “How nice of you.” She was mocking me. She was totally mocking me. “So, Paul, wasn’t that Besh run yesterday exciting? We almost got it too, but your tanking really could use some work.”
For the rest of the period, I couldn’t get a word in. If only I knew a little bit more about games, I might be able to chat, but Alison had completely monopolized the conversation by turning it to that. I clenched my teeth together, trying my best to not flip out on her. She wasn’t even in this world four months ago, so how could she be so close to him as to render my years of love obsolete?
“Hear that, Alice?” laughed Simon, taking the opportunity to put his hand on my thigh.
“Get off of me, you creep,” I growled, swatting his hand away.
“Sheesh, I was just playing,” he said, holding his hand away from me. Thankfully, Paul didn’t notice.
The day drew to a close, and it came time to practice. Alison stood outside, jumping like she was doing some sort of a cheerleader warmup.
“All right, ten runs up and down the hill,” said Paul. He turned to Alison. “Now, remember, you’re going to want to only use the balls of your feet when you run. Nothing else.”
“What part of my feet are the balls?” she asked.
He got up on his toes. “Just imagine it like you were wearing high heels without the heels.”
“Oh, you’re so smart!” she laughed.
“Let’s go,” I scowled, trying my best to keep my temper in.
We took off down the hill. Paul, as he promised, didn’t hold back for me. He really was an amazing sprinter when he gave it his all. My heart beat as I watched his hair dangle in the wind.
I was a full two seconds behind. I was a complete fool to think that I could ever win at one of these competitions. But then again, the competition never was about running. It was about…
“Wait for me!” cried Alison. She was still running down the hill in one of the worst forms I had ever seen. Her arms were not synched with her legs, and her legs were bending so much at the knee, almost every step she took used the same energy of two steps.
“Seriously?” I asked as she came down twenty seconds after I did. “Were you even trying?”
“Of course I was!” she said. “Running’s hard, and you’ve been doing it all your life.”
I sighed. “Go home. I’ll teach you how to run after the competition.”
She crossed her arms. “You don’t teach a mathematician how to add. You teach child.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” I demanded.
“You won’t benefit from being here,” she said. “But Paul can teach me all sorts of things. Can’t you, Paul?” She wrapped her arms around him.
“But I have the best shot to win!” I said, running up to him. I didn’t dare touch him though, after knowing what it felt like on the other end with Simon.
“Enough. Both of you,” he said. “You both agreed to train, so we’ll train. Come on.”
We glared at each other and puffed out our cheeks. Who the hell does she think she is, interrupting my private time with her nonsense?
“Up the hill,” he said, pointing up.
“What? But it’s so high!” complained Alison.
“You don’t have to run it if you don’t want,” I said. “Just head home and climb some hills in your video games.”
“Oh, I am so sick and tired of you!” Alison growled. “Just because I haven’t doesn’t mean I can’t!”
As if to prove me wrong, she began to charge up the hill.
“Your form is terrible!” I shouted up at her.
“As if yours is any better!”
Paul put his face in his palm.
And so, the training continued. Alison made a total fool of herself with her complete lack of ability, and I completely outclassed her in every way. There was no way Paul could love her after this fiasco. He should see what a selfish girlfriend he has, and come crawling to me.
“Well, great job,” he said, looking between us. “For one of you, at least.”
“Which one of us?” I asked, folding my arms in pride.
“Alison,” he said.
My jaw dropped. “What? But… how? She was terrible!”
“The point of training is to improve, and she certainly did improve today.”
“But… she was still bad!”
“At least she tried,” said Paul. “You just kept running the same style no matter what I told you.”
Alison stuck her tongue out at me while Paul was facing my direction. That bitch. I’ll kill her tonight in her sleep if I have to…
Paul shrugged. “But, enough about this. Come on, I’m hungry. You promised me a pizza, didn’t you Alice?”
I nodded. “My treat, of course. Come on, let’s go.”
I wrapped my arm around Paul’s, and began to drag him away from Alison.
“Wait,” said Paul. “Isn’t Alison coming?”
My eyes narrowed. “Why would she? I invited you.”
“Oh, she said that you invited her last night. I thought it was what any good sister would do,” he said.
I wanted to cry. Even my pizza plan had failed. Alison stuck out her tongue at me again. That girl with her victory gloating made me want to throw something at her.
I should have said no to her. I should have taken Paul for myself. But, if I did that, Paul would think me to be a bad sister. Sheesh, I really was stuck between a rock and a hard place now.
“Fine,” I said. “Come on, Alison.”
We got to the parlor, which was pretty empty. We went up to the counter to order the pie, and the down into the seating area. I slid into one of the booths and patted the seat next to me. “Come have a seat, Paul.”
Alison slide into the one on the opposite side. “Don’t sit there, sit with me.” She patted the seat next to her. “You’d be happier next to your girlfriend, right?”
“This is a track team event,” I said, patting next to me. “He should be with me.”
“I don’t care what kind of event you think it is. If anything, you shouldn’t be here. The two of us are in love, and you’re not.”
I stood up and clenched my fists. “Teammates before lovers! You know the rule, on the track we’re all equal. Nobody gets a head start.”
“Ugh, I hate you!” Alison slammed her hands on the table. “Every day, you’re always so jealous of me!”
“Jealous? Of what?!” I demanded. “Your atrophying muscles thanks to you putting them to waste?”
“Enough,” said Paul. “I get it.”
“Stay out of this!” we both snapped at him.
He zippered up his coat. “That was my plan. Until you girls can calm down and start to love each other like sisters, don’t even bother talking to me. You’re giving me a headache.”
He turned and walked towards the exit.
“Wait, Paul!” I said.
“I said don’t talk to me.”
“We’re still dating, right?” asked Alison.
“Sure, if you want,” he said. “But don’t expect another word out of me until you fix your problems.”
The door slammed as he left. Alison and I settled into our seats. We glared so hard at each other that if anyone crossed our paths, they probably would have died from them.
“This is all your fault,” I growled. “You know if you hadn’t tried to butt into my private time with him, we’d be happily eating pizza right now.”
“My fault? Who was the one who tried to steal Paul from me right under my nose? Stop acting like a goody two-shoes, Alice.”
“Well, you stole him from under my nose in the first place,” I said. “Surely you can remember that.”
The pizza arrived along with our drinks. I grabbed a slice. Alison, as she always did, cut off the hot end with her fork and knife. “If only you weren’t so slow at it, you’d have him,” she said.
“We were going steady, not slow!”
She shrugged. “Slow and steady mean the same thing. Face it, Alice. You had an opportunity and you missed it. Don’t go blaming it all on me when it was clearly your fault.”
“I don’t recall asking your opinion,” I ripped off a piece of my pizza and ravaged it, imagining it to be my twin sister’s head. “I like going slow.”
“Which is why you dated Simon when Paul was going too slow for you, wasn’t it?”
I clenched my glass so hard, it was a shock that it didn’t shatter. No, taking your rage out on the glass does nothing. Taking it out on Alison does all the better. I splashed my soda on Alison, and it hit the target perfectly. Her perfectly white shirt should be see through it a matter of moments.
“You bitch!” she shrieked.
I shrugged as I got up from the table and put the cash down for our bill. “Too bad you forgot to wear a bra today. Or maybe you were hoping it’d rain so you could give Paul some service, you slut.” I stormed out of the restaurant and headed straight home.
The day of the race arrived. Alison and I were numbered 1056 and 1057, naturally, since we shared the same last name. Which meant, unfortunately, that I had to deal with sitting next to her the entire time.
“Just you wait,” she said. “I’m going to beat you so badly that Paul will declare me his only true love.”
“You’re doubting it?” I asked. “You’re his girlfriend, so shouldn’t you be positive he loves you?”
“Of course I am. But when he rubs it in your face, life will be so much better.”
“Runners, 1043 through 1050, please report to the marshalling area,” said the judge.
Alison smirked. “Just you wait. When I beat you, everything will be that much better.”
The gun sounded, and another heat of runners went off. This first round shouldn’t be too bad for me. The competition was set up so that the first round would be a 400 with the winners advancing, the second round a 200 with the winners and top speeds advancing, for a total of 24, and then 3 8-man semifinals followed by 1 8-man final. The 400 was the mixed distance race that wasn’t quite a sprint or a distance event, so it should be fairly easy for me.
“Go Paul, go!” shouted Alison, jumping up and down as the boy’s sprint raced by. She paid no heed at all to her bouncing boobs. Then again, considering she neglected a bra again, I suppose she didn’t exactly care.
“Paul was in that heat?” I asked.
“I don’t know,” she said. “But I have to cheer for him anyways!”
This girl…
“Runners 1051 to 1058, please report to the marshalling area.”
I got up and walked over, hoping Alison wouldn’t be following me. Yet, sure enough, she took her seat right next to mine.
“I can’t wait to win,” she said. “Paul’ll shower me in kisses, and you’ll have no choice but to watch.”
I didn’t speak to her, already well into my warmup routine. I did some squats, and stretched out my legs to avoid shin splints.
The marshalling went quick, and soon, we were in our starting positions. The judge surveyed the field and nodded. “Set,” he said. And then, the gun blasted.
I always loved starting in lane 1. While I had to start further back to compensate for the curves, I could see everyone in front of me. Most specifically, I could see Alison as she stumbled right from the get go. The crowd groaned. Oh, this is perfect. She’s making a total fool of herself.
I rounded the corner, narrowing my distance on her. Her form was so sloppy. It was like she was taking two steps with her left foot for every one on her right. The rest of the heat passed her by, and I was about to do the same. Next curve, I’d have her and the heat.
Wait a second. She did look like a fool training, but never this much of a fool. And in fact… is she walking? No, not even. Her face gritted with pain.
I looked ahead at the heat. I could catch them. I had time. Paul would be waiting for me, ready to congratulate me.
I slowed down to a halt and crossed my lane, over to Alison. She had completely stopped, and breathed heavily. “What happened?” I asked her as the judge lifted his red flag to disqualify me.
“I… Something popped, but I had to keep going and…”
I knew that feeling. I had that in middle school. She was in for quite a few months of pain rehabbing a torn ligament in the knee. “Come on, put your arm around mine,” I said. “We’ve got to finish.”
“What? But your race…” she said.
I smiled. “This race didn’t matter. It’s the race to Paul’s heart that does. And I’m glad that I have a good rival for it to keep me honest.”
Alison smiled back. “You know I won’t lose.”
“Neither will I,” I said. Together, we hobbled around the track. Not once did I let Alison break her lane, and in the end, she finished to raucous cheers and applause. Paul stood on the other side and ran up to her to hug her.
“Are you all right?” he asked.
Alison nodded. “But you should be hugging Alice. She’s the real hero here.”
Paul smiled. “I guess you girls are all right.” He threw his arms around me, and I felt my heart accelerate. This was worth a million of these competitions.
---
I sat at my computer and slammed on the buttons. “This game is such crap,” I complained. “What’s the point? All you do is hit the stupid big thing with arrows over and over until it dies.”
“Don’t you understand the mechanics?” asked Alison, adjusting the brace on her leg. Thankfully, it was only a minor ligament and a partial tear, so she’d only need to wear that for a few weeks. “You have to dodge so I don’t have to keep healing your butt.”
“I don’t get it,” I lay back. “I give up.”
Alison shrugged. “You’re the one who said you wanted to try gaming with Paul and me.”
I grumbled. “I think I’ll invite him to a dinner tomorrow. This is too boring for me.”
“Ooh,” said Alison. “Can I come?”
I folded my arms and gave her a stern look. But when her lip pouted, I let the joke pass. “Of course you can. He is your boyfriend after all.”
Alison’s face went to a total smile.
I walked out of the room and smirked. “… at least for now.”