Chapter Eighteen - The Cross Country Finally Arrives

“Well, well, well,” she laughed. “How are my badboys doing?”

The girl had her head cocked to one side, one arm on her hip. Something about her looked very familiar. Awfully familiar. Way too familiar to be a coincidence, but I couldn’t put my finger on what it was.

“Is this legal?” Ace asked.

“Sure it is,” she replied.

“You don’t even go here,” Hunter exclaimed.

“Well, I had to come see Carla off,” she smirked, walking towards the group.

“You know, if you try to attack me again, I will flip you without hesitation,” Ace warned.

“I know, I know. You tell me every time I’m within two metres of you.”

She stopped when she noticed the short figure – ie me – behind them. She looked at me strangely, as though studying a new specimen of bug. “Hi, I’m Riley,” she grinned.

“Hi, I’m Cathy?” I replied uncertainly.

“So what exactly are you doing here again?” Dean asked.

“Carla was moving here, and I thought it’d be the perfect opportunity to see my baby brother,” she smiled.

“You’re a minute and a half older than me. What the hell are you on about?” Dean snapped.

So that was why she looked so familiar. They didn’t look alike enough to be twins though; their eyes were similar but that was about as close as they got. She had that same air of mischief, but personality wasn’t really part of it. They were fraternal twins. I didn’t even know Dean had any siblings, let alone a twin. In fact, I didn’t know much about any of their families. Without saying a word, Dylan left the group. Riley’s eyes followed after him for a bit, but she quickly focused her attention back to the other guys.

“Dylan’s same old Dylan, huh?” She said quietly, almost to herself. No one said anything and it was a while before Dean piped up again.

“Why don’t you get your ass to school? We’re going in soon, and visitors are not welcome,” he said.

“That’s no way to treat your big sister. But yeah, I need to get going. Things to do, places to go, people to see. I’m sure I’ll see you guys soon,” she said, waving. She looked at Hunter. “Oh come on, you know you want a hug,” she laughed.

She swung an arm over his shoulder and he swung one over hers. There was a semi brief hugging thing before they parted and she gave each of them one, except Dean, whom she gladly punched in the arm.

Visiting time was over and classes had started. Carla was only in my chemistry class, but for some reason, it was bothering me. I got to class on time, as usual, only to find her already perched in my seat.

Holding back my glare, I smiled casually and walked down to the back bench where Archer sat. “Does anyone sit next to you?” I asked.

“Nope,” he replied, pushing his books to the side. I took the seat next to his and opened up my books. “So, how’ve you been?”

“Pretty normal. Nothing exciting. You?”

“Same old, same old,” he said. I nodded, even though I knew that life for him definitely wasn’t the same old. As usual, Hunter and the rest of the badboys were late. I watched the looks of surprise on their faces when they realised my seat was occupied by Carla. Hunter’s eyes darted to the empty seat beside me. I quickly pushed my books over to cover that area of the table.

“Hunter, sit down,” Mrs Smith said.

Archer didn’t talk much for the whole lesson, even after Mrs Smith finished teaching us. He never said much. Usually, I’d be furiously involved in a stupid argument with the punks, or just fending off their stupid comments, and for some reason, I missed those dumb things. It was either that, or I just really needed something to do other than draw diagrams of carbon compounds. The silence was eerie.

By the end of the day, it felt as though the world had started to tilt so weirdly that even gravity didn’t quite feel the same. Dean and Ella waited by the gate, laughing. They both waved when they saw me approach. “Where are the others?” I immediately asked.

Dean pointed to the group walking towards us. Carla was flanked by Hunter and Ace. “And where’s Dylan?” I mumbled, just to make it not seem weird.

“I think he’s avoiding me,” Dean said.

“Why?”

“Riley.”

“What?”

“Don’t ask.”

“You’re kidding! She actually jumped over the fence?” Carla laughed. “You jumped over the fence?” She exclaimed when she saw me.

“Uh yeah?” I replied.

“Never would have guessed. You’re in the cross country tomorrow, right?”

“Yeah.”

“So am I!” She said cheerily. “I asked the coach and he immediately let me on the team.”

“She’s the one who took out Sarah’s first place two years in a row,” Hunter explained.

“That was you!?” I accidentally exclaimed. Sarah was the fastest runner I knew. She could run laps around me; I couldn’t even keep up during her warm up. Carla smiled.

“You guys doing anything after school?” She asked.

“Alright, I should get going,” I said, gesturing to the gate to show I was leaving. They nodded and briefly waved.

“Wait, wait a bit I’ll walk with you!” Hunter exclaimed.

“Nah, I’m leaving,” I said.

“Fine,” he sulked.

I walked off, resisting the urge to glance back. But I did. Luckily, no one was looking at me. Perhaps, part of me was hoping they’d all surprise me by running after to annoy me.

The next morning, I was up well and early to get to school at seven thirty. The venue for the cross country was half an hour away. All the early morning trainings amounted to this. My goal was to not come last, which was pretty achievable.

By the time I neared the school, there was a trickle of students arriving. The darkness was intimidating. The lone, tall lamps were the objects of horror movies and slasher flicks where the girl walking alone at night would be cut into pieces. Having people around always helped – at least your chunks of flesh wouldn’t be lonely.

Ace was standing underneath one of the trees, stretching. He was in the school’s track uniform – a black school singlet, black shorts and a white and black jacket. “Hey,” I said walking over to him.

“Cold?” He asked, obviously noticing my chittering teeth. The jacket really wasn’t helpful; it was like having a layer of paper around your body. He took off his jacket and threw it over my head. I could feel the friction that resulted in my baby hairs standing on end.

“You’re not cold?” I asked, hesitant to deprive him of insulation.

“Nah. I’ve been jogging.” I watched the skin on his arms, trying not to look like a creep, ensuring that there were no goose bumps.

I loosely draped it around my shoulders, jogging on the spot to warm up. It was strangely warm after five minutes and I took of his jacket, swinging it over my left arm while continuing to jog. “Ready to win?” He asked.

“Um yeah. No.”

“Hey guys!” Carla exclaimed, jogging over. Her slender legs looked perfectly sculpted and even her bright neon sport shoes looked agreeable on her. “You holding jackets?” She laughed. She took off hers and swung it over Ace’s. Suddenly, I felt like a midget umbrella holder.

The team had pretty much assembled and Sarah was giving the other members a pep talk. “Hunter coming?” Carla asked.

“He should be,” Ace replied. “You stretching or what, nerd?”

Feeling strangely uncomfortable, I walked over to where he was and copied his stretches. We reached the hamstring stretches and he suddenly whacked his hand onto my shoulder. I jolted slightly but managed to raise my hand to his shoulder without showing obvious signs of complete and utter embarrassment.

We swung our legs back and forth until I noticed Carla’s lazed stance and the slight impatience in her expression as she watched us. Her forehead was more creased than usual and she was leaning more on one leg than the other.

I noticed Hunter running from around the side of the gate and found the perfect opportunity to detach myself from Ace before bad blood brewed between me and Carla. She was intimidating in a weird way.

I jogged over to Hunter who finally made it to the gate, puffing. “Why so late?” I grinned.

“Why so many jackets?” He scrutinised.

“Great. You can take them errand-boy.” I dumped the two jackets into his arms and walked ahead before he could return them. Upon catching sight of him, the coach immediately began roaring and ushering everyone onto the bus.

We filed in one by one and took our seats, filling up the seats at the back first. I avoided sitting next to any of the guys like I would avoid the plague, and wound up sitting next to Sarah. Hunter and Carla sat in front of us while Ace sat behind.

“Are you guys excited?” Carla chirped, turning around.

“Why am I holding your jackets?” Hunter whined.

Sarah avoided all eye contact with her competitor. Even though they were technically the ‘same team’ now, it obviously didn’t feel that way to both. Carla’s words were laced with confidence, seemingly intended to taunt Sarah.

I sat silently, as did Ace while we let Hunter and Carla chirp away.

On arrival, we got off and rushed into the tents. The first race was the senior’s – ours. We were immediately given our tracking numbers and pinned them to our shirts. I was number three hundred and seventy four, Ace was number four hundred and two while Carla donned a three hundred and seventy seven.

There were at least fifteen other schools. The starting line was packed. We stood shoulder to shoulder, struggling to complete our stretches. My heart was pounding. School photographers took several shots and teachers were giving last minute tips.

“Yeah, go guys!” Hunter cheered lamely.

Carla tightened her ponytail and did a few lunges before standing upright. Ace stood there like a brick, and I pretty much did the same, but in a more tree-like manner. Carla and Ace were both next to me and Sarah was at my other side. The schools stared each other down, silently declaring war. The physical competitions were always very intense.

“Ready, on your marks, get set…” The announcer called.

I kept my right leg in front of the left, ready to spring off, although it wouldn’t be an intense spring.

“Go!” The whistle sounded and we were all off. A blonde girl from some other school took off like a bullet down the track. I kept my head up and started jogging. We were all still so close; most of the runners were in a pack. My shoulders were rubbing against those beside me and some had begun to squeeze in front and behind.

Right leg. Left leg. Right leg. Left leg. Left arm. Right arm. Left arm. Right arm. My movements were synchronised and I controlled my breathing. Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale. The cold wind whipped my hair around and dried out my mouth.

All of a sudden, my right leg faltered and the ground came rushing up below me. I threw out my arms and skidded to a halt on my knees against the track. The runner behind me clumsily avoided me, kicking me in the right leg before part stumbling and continuing on.

I got up, brushing the dirt out of my scrapes and trying to pick up the pace. There was a slow stinging pain in my knees and a dull throbbing in my right ankle. I wasn’t going to stop. I couldn’t stop. Everyone was watching, and I would forever be remembered as the girl who dropped out before even beginning.

Everyone had started to spread out and I was at the very back, following some walkers. Ace turned around and I could swear a look of concern briefly crossed his face as he slowed down. He stopped completely, both arms resting by his side while he waited.

“Hey, what happened back there?” He asked.

“I don’t know. I tripped,” I mumbled. I could swear a leg came out just before, but in the cold morning and complete concentration, I really couldn’t be sure.

“Can you run any faster?” He asked, keeping up with my ‘jog’ by walking.

“No. My knee’s aching.”

He looked back to the front and for a moment, I thought he would take off again. It was embarrassing to have him walk while I lagged behind. “Move your ass captain. The school needs to win,” I said.

“Nah. Screw it. I don’t even want to go to the bloody camp.”

I nodded slowly. The walkers looked back at us, grinning, thinking that we, too, were intentionally trying to come last. Except, we weren’t.

The pain began to ease in my knee and the ankle pain was lessening as well. I figured we had about two hundred metres left. I could see the arching finishing line with balloons stringing off of it. “What’s your goal?” Ace asked.

“Not to come last,” I replied.

The two walkers were much farther in front – about fifty metres. “Then let’s go.” Ace took off and I quickened my steps. First slowly, then my legs went up and down mechanically. I didn’t think of the pain. I focused on the two figures ahead, bobbling further and further away. Slowly, they were getting closer and closer. Ace turned and beckoned me continuously.

In the final fifty metres, I broke out into a full sprint. The little flags that lined the track became a blur, as did the people around the edges taking photos. Even those who had finished and were pointing became meaningless existences.

The two barely had a chance to turn around before I ran past them.

I crossed the line, slamming my foot onto the pressure plate, and I was officially recorded as finishing. Third last.

“Oh yeah. That’s the good stuff,” Ace laughed, holding up his hand. I high fived him and we walked through to get our numbers recorded properly. While we waited with the school, I felt my head become lighter and lighter. My knees began buckling and my legs were trembling. The pain in my knee had become magnified and my ankle began to swell. Blood trickled down from the scrape.

“What was that Ace!?” The coach shrieked. “Fifty minutes!? You’ve got to be kidding me!”

We stayed at the back of the tent for the rest of the day while the junior events continued. Every year group underperformed and the strain was becoming evident on the coach’s face. His wrinkles were magnified and every now and then one could swear they heard him cursing beneath his breath.

The school ended up not placing at all, and Carla did beat Sarah, but only by ten milliseconds. Carla took home the silver medal and Sarah took home the bronze. The girls’ team had won, thanks to those two, but the boys had bombed out badly, ranking thirteenth. The coach was mad. Very mad. He looked at me with disapproval, as though I had single handedly caused our loss.

I looked at my feet as I made my way past him onto the bus. “Swell job,” Hunter said, grinning. I kept my head down as I got into my seat, trying not to draw any unnecessary attention. The coach had an obvious fit and kept Ace at the front of the bus for a lecture that lasted the whole drive back to school.

I slogged home straight away once we were dismissed, not bothering to recount to Ella the events of the day. I spent the night with ice on my ankle and antiseptic cream on my scrapes. My parents didn’t ask how it went, and I didn’t share.

~

“I’m still on the camp,” Ace groaned the next morning. “Coach was convinced I could do better.”

“Well I’m off the hook. I’ve finished my hours for my dirty deeds,” Hunter sighed happily.

“I’m on the camp too,” Carla announced, although that was hardly a surprise. She was arriving at increasingly early hours, carefully timed to when I appeared. “Of course the coach put you on. Weren’t you state champion one year?”

“Yeah I was. But that was ages ago,” Ace replied.

My ankle wasn’t swollen as it’d been the last time my ankle decided to fail me, but my knees were aching. I didn’t show any sign of pain throughout the day, hoping no one would bring up yesterday’s events ever again.

Ella, of course, noticed. We were walking through the hallway at the end of the day when she decided to interrogate me. “How is no one noticing?” She exclaimed. “You seriously came through the finish line with Ace though?” She grinned, changing the topic. I didn’t have anything to say, and of course, she continued. “You two have a thing? A guy doesn’t throw the race ‘cause some girl fell over.”

“He doesn’t care about much. Probably didn’t wanna run,” I justified.

“How did you fall though?”

“I don’t know. I was looking straight. But I swear I ran into something.”

“Who was next to you?”

“Well Sarah was on my left and Carla was on my right.”

“Carla! That little witch!” Ella snapped.

“Shoosh!” I hushed. “I don’t know for sure it was her. For all we know, I could’ve just fallen over. Besides, I don’t think she did it.”

“Of course she did! You’re the girl her former boyfriend is hanging out with. Don’t you think that’d raise her blood pressure a bit?”

“No.”

“Really now?”

“Yeah. Really.”

“That little witch! Looks can be so deceiving,” she hissed.

We lingered on the grassed area outside with Dean and I left the two to talk, occasionally commenting. I looked around. The other punks were strangely not present. My eyes scanned the surroundings, halting at the drink fountain. Carla and Ace were hugging each other. Hugging. Arms. Carla looked up and I immediately looked down at my feet, the heat rushing to my cheeks.

My chest tightened and I felt every need to look away, but every need to continue looking. My throat constricted and countless thoughts flooded my mind. I turned and left.