It had been several days since the academic session ended, and this was the second-to-last day of the sports competition. Things had progressed pretty much the same as before.
They'd found out that there was no high jump or long jump in the competition. Several sports had already started, like handball and volleyball, while tennis had been concluded. The sports competition wasn't a single day affair. For sports like handball and volleyball with multiple rounds, they were started early, with only the finals scheduled for the last day alongside the race, march past, javelin, and shot put.
According to Joseph, Liam was a natural athlete—there was no current sport in the school he wasn't good at, even though he wasn't necessarily the best. Naturally, he was part of the handball and volleyball teams, but they didn't make it to the finals due to perhaps partial refereeing.
But who cares? Not Liam.
It was something he'd witnessed before. Even in the original timeline, things that didn't affect him alone and also had no meaningful impact were not something he troubled himself with.
Currently, he was at the small field behind his hostel with his housemaster, the HPs, and several students, including Anthony. This would be their last practice race to determine who would represent Ashford tomorrow in the competition.
He and Anthony were set on their marks. Although he knew he'd won in the original timeline and would probably win again—due to their last matches where he'd won more than half and drawn the rest—he was hesitant about what decision to make.
He was caught between letting Anthony represent Ashford instead, or just sticking to the plan and perhaps trying to get 5th position instead of 7th. Getting anything higher might change something else in the future.
In the end, he decided to just run. Whatever happens, happens.
"On three!" Joseph's voice rang out, causing Anthony and Liam to get into position.
"3…"
"2…"
"1…"
At the count of one, both Liam and Anthony sprang forward at full speed, each running to win. The initial gap was negligible and would soon be a tie. However, a few meters from the finish line, Liam was now ahead by a little margin and won the race by a few inches.
In the end, Liam decided to play it safe and win. Changing too many things would be a wrong decision.
"Good! So Liam, you'll be the one running for us," the housemaster said. "But I noticed your form wasn't efficient."
Liam frowned inwardly. Of course, it wasn't bad advice—but it just wasn't meant for him.
"So when you're on your mark, you should get as low as possible to the ground while placing your strong leg firmly in front to give you kicking power when starting. Then, when you hear the starting signal, put as much force into your strong leg, giving yourself explosive power to start at a higher initial speed!"
Liam simply nodded his head.
Of course, when he'd tried it in the original timeline, he'd actually sprained his ankle, and that had cost him the race—even going as far as taking last position. Of course, it could simply be that he just didn't perform the technique well, or something else. But he didn't plan to find out this time around.
After that, everybody went their separate ways, each going to do their own thing.
Tomorrow would be the day he'd scratch an itch.
The Next Day, 12:00 PM
The finals for handball and volleyball had already taken place, as well as shot put. The only things left were the race, javelin, and the march past.
Looking at the representatives for the javelin competition, Liam couldn't help but laugh, remembering what happened in the original timeline. Desmond had been their representative, and out of the three throws he made, each was not only zero points but funnier than the last.
The first round of the javelin competition started, and only four out of seven had scored a point. The remaining three had no points since the javelin had landed flat on the ground. Among the three who hadn't scored a point, Desmond was one of them.
The second round was almost no different, except this time only two had scored no points—including Desmond and one of the people who had also scored no points in the first round.
As for the third round, the person who, alongside Desmond, hadn't scored a point up till now decided to sacrifice distance for accuracy. He threw it carefully, landing it only about two meters from him.
Desmond, on the other hand, did the opposite—attempting to get it as far as possible. However, due to his bad form and throwing posture, the javelin never even reached his front. For some reason unknown, the javelin somehow collided with his back with a loud sound and fell backward.
If he were to be given a score for that, it would be in the negatives.
It was no surprise that Ashford got last position in the javelin competition.
It was finally time for the race, and Liam planned to change his fate.
As the starter called the signal, Liam and the rest of the six runners immediately sprang into action. Liam started in 6th position initially before moving toward 5th, then 4th, then back to 5th again. Just as planned, he managed to escape last place without overly changing much.
Of course, having 5th position didn't change things in the grand scheme of things—only the first three were awarded points. But it was better than taking last place.
The rest of the sports competition progressed smoothly, with Ashford taking 4th position overall. It was no surprise. Even in the sports competitions during Class 5, and even the next two after graduating, the house who always came out in first place was none other than Silverwood House.