"Are you excited for your track and field competition?" Soriel asked as she wrote in her notebook.
It was a Thursday and we were in Spanish class for our last period.
The classroom was peaceful and we all just sat and translated questions we were given in our notebooks.
"Yeah I definitely am. I really want to win," I replied, also writing in my notebook.
After school, my first track and field competition was going to start.
I wasn't exactly ready, but a part of me was shivering with excitement.
Once I finished writing, I looked up from my paper to see Soriel staring at me.
"Hm? Why're you staring at me?" I asked, slightly flustered.
Sorrel just smiled and turned her head away.
"Mmph!" She quietly exclaimed, turning her head back to me.
I had tickled her slightly.
"That's what you get for ignoring my question," I commented snarkly.
She sighed.
"Sorry, sorry. I won't do it again."
"Good. Now as compensation for your disrespect, you owe me ten gold coins," I declared.
"I shall give it to you tomorrow, your highness," Soriel replied playfully.
We went back to studying and paying attention to the lesson.
Soon later, the class period ended.
"I'll walk you outside. I'm not staying to play piano today," Soriel said as we exited the classroom.
"Sounds good to me."
'Is she okay, now?'
I had been wondering for a while about whether Soriel had actually recovered or not.
She had begun to talk to me about her feelings again, but that wouldn't stop me from worrying.
I just…
"It's okay. I'm alright now."
Soriel's voice snapped me out of my thoughts.
"I'm a bit anxious about the funeral and a bit worried about my dad. But I'm okay," she said.
Her words weren't filled with confidence.
They weren't faking warmth.
But they were honest.
"Good," I responded.
A smile crept upon my face.
Once we exited the school building, Soriel and I parted ways.
She began walking home while I walked over to our coach who was surrounded by a few other track and field athletes.
"Hey Coach," I greeted.
"Hey Elliot," he replied back.
Soon, Austin and a group of other boys came, joking and laughing.
"Let's get going you guys," Coach announced.
Together, we began to walk towards a nearby high school where the competition was taking place.
It wasn't a long walk and the weather was nice so I didn't mind.
Eventually, we reached.
'There's a lot of people here…'
As I looked around, I noticed a lot of different teams, from a lot different schools.
Some of them were practicing, others were joking around.
And we were gonna start practicing too.
"Alright, put down your stuff on the bleachers and let's get to practicing," Coach said.
We all did as we were told and quickly began.
We only did light warm ups, if we did anything else we'd get tired too quickly.
"Man, I'm hyped. This is gonna be fun!" Austin exclaimed as we walked to the benches.
Now that we finished our warm up, it was time for the competitions to start.
We sat at the bleachers, watching the other competitors.
First, there were the field events like the shot put, high jump, and triple jump.
Our team did exceptionally well, the athletes in the field had obviously practiced for a long time for them.
Then, we moved onto the part I was most interested in, the running events.
"We're up El," Austin said with a grin.
We were doing the 4x800 relay together.
I had no idea why I was picked but it didn't really matter.
While we all got into our positions, I got a little nervous.
Austin was last while I was second to last.
"Runners set."
The announcer spoke.
And then the shot fired.
Pow!
The runners began to dash as fast as they could to their teammates.
It wasn't long before our runner handed it to the second runner who began to dash towards me.
'Focus…'
Taking a deep breath, I prepared myself.
Then, the baton slipped smoothly into my grip.
'Now!'
I ran as fast as I could, propelling myself off the ground.
I quickened with every step, accelerating over time.
Two other racers fell behind a bit but one stayed ahead.
I quickened my pace even further yet I still couldn't reach him.
So instead I called out.
"Austin!"
"Yeah, yeah. I know."
When I put the baton in his hand, he whispered.
"I'll win."
Austin sprinted like a bullet, speeding far away from the other two racers behind him.
And in only a few seconds, he was tying with the person ahead of him.
'He did it.'
Passing the other racer, Austin won.
'I gotta win.'
A few more events passed by.
Hurdles, 100m dash, 1600m run, 4x100m Relay.
Eventually, the 400m dash came.
My second time competing.
I got in position, ready with 8 other runners.
The rocky texture of the ground at my fingertips, the metal at the sole of my feet, I took in every sensation.
"On your marks," the announcer said.
"Get set."
Pow!
We all began running with every part of our being.
The wind blew past my face and dug itself deep into the ground with every step.
I passed one racer, then another, and another.
'What?'
I ran faster.
Yet, I didn't catch up.
The other racers still were ahead.
I ran faster.
And faster.
But I wasn't fast enough.
"Damn it," I muttered.
The race soon ended.
And I got 4th place.