Monet DaSilva

"I need a break!" Zahra exclaimed, slamming her textbook closed. After our second class for the day we spent most of the afternoon in the library; it was now getting dark and we were still here hitting the books. "I don't know how you do it; but I can't." she leaned back and pulled her phone out of her pocket; by the scrolling I could tell she was either on social media or online shopping as usual.

"C'mon Z, we just got one more chapter to go."

"No, you have one more chapter to go. Preston's practice is over in ten minutes, and I'm about to go shower and get ready to go out with him."

"Preston isn't going to save you from failing."

"You're right, but those NFL checks will definitely save me from having to work." She shot back with a smile as she got up from her seat. "I'll catch you back at the dorm tonight. Don't wait up though."

"Yeah, yeah. Enjoy yourself."

"Oh, trust me... I will. Love you boo." She finished packing all of her things and threw the bag over her shoulder.

"Love you too." I waved, while returning my attention back to my textbook and color coordinated notes that sat in front of me.

After finishing that last chapter, I shut my textbook closed and began to pack away my things. Next stop was the gym, being the anchor of the relay team as well as the star for the 100 and 200 metres across the state. It was a lot of pressure at first, but it only pushed me to be greater.

I had gotten my drive from my mother who had a soft spot for track as well, she was the best in the city and all eyes were on her but none of those eyes were able to see the true her. My mother didn't run because she wanted to, she ran because it was all she knew. At the age of 15 her own ended up kicking her out of the house because her father wasn't paying child support and she didn't want to handle that burden of caring for my mother anymore.

My mother she lived in shelters and under bridges, but still managed to make it to school every morning at nine a.m. sharp. Eventually the shelters were able to pick up on her situation and they decided they would call Child Protective Services, she knew what the foster care system did to little kids like her so instead of heeding to their request to find her a "happy" home, she ran... for her life. My mom ran and ran for hours, that turned into days, that turned into weeks, months and then a year of being homeless until she finally met a man by the name of Paco; my dad. His real name was Antonio but everyone called him Paco DaSilva.

My dad was 22 at the time, young but very old in the streets, he was selling anything from drugs and guns to women. He could his women, all types, all forms, he knew what they had to offer as well as how much money he would be able to make off of them but the moment he ran into my mom, his ability to read women, changed. A frail, dirty, hungry, sixteen-year-old that stepped into the club one day looking for him specifically. My dad knew that men loved their girls young, he knew that he could make stacks off of this opportunity that had just presented itself, but instead he did what no one expected him to do; he took her home, he took care of her, provided for her, put her back into school and gave her the chance to run, but this time not away from something; but to something, to her future.

My mom not only passed high school with being on the honor-roll, and deans list; but she also won the Mayors choice award and had gotten so many offers and scholarships than you could name. After two years in her college program she made it to the Olympics and her story was one that went down in the books. That was until she had noticed her symptoms of early onset Alzheimer's that ended up taking all of that away from her. I was able to deal with it in the beginning but the older she got, was the more it worsened. Coming to school away from home, as well as occupying all the time I had, was a coping mechanism; I knew that I was losing her but seeing it made it much worse.

-

As I got to the gym I quickly changed out of my clothes and into a pair of Nike Dri-Fit tights, along with my Nike sports bra to match; glancing at myself in the mirror before me, admiring the body that I had worked day in and day out for. I, eventually packed my things into one if the lockers available, making sure it was shut. I slipped my hands into my weight lifting gloves, untangled my earphones then finally exited the change room and went out into the gym.

It was no surprise that the gym war ram packed with females that had no clue that they were doing; spring break was just around the corner and most of them thought it was possible to get that bikini body ready in the span of a week of excessive exercise, an excruciatingly uncomfortable waist trainer and that janky ass flat tummy tea that they advertised on the gram. I rolled my eyes at the sight, almost every machine was full and I didn't have time to waste.

I made my way back into the change room, threw my sweater on and threw my bag over my shoulder. I exited through the back, that led straight to my paradise; the track. The sun had set and the stadium lights lit up the field as a few guys threw a football around, and a couple of girls from my team did their laps. It was clear that I wasn't the only one with this idea.

I placed my bag against the others that sat by the bleachers, ditched my sweater, did a little stretch then cranked my dancehall mix up; moving my hips from side to side to get in the mood. I sang out loud a bit, and waited for the beat to drop before I was off; I started with a mild jog that quickly turned into an extreme run, it was as if my feet had had a mind of its own and going slow was not on the agenda. The bass from the music thumped in my ears matching the pace that my heart was beating at, I continued running until I was finally in that gold-medal winning mindset, speeding past everyone that was on the field before me.

"There's no such thing as second place for a DaSilva." I said to myself, pushing my body to go faster. My apple watch vibrated against my wrist and I looked down to see my dads name on the screen. "Ugh! I was almost there." I huffed out, as I came to a halt and answered the phone. "Hey dad!" I said, while placing my hand against my waist; trying to catch my breath.

"Hey baby, how you doing?"

"I'm good, I'm good."

"On that track again, huh?"

"Yeah. How'd you know?"

"Well for starters, you sound like you're in the midst of an asthma attack and I know you don't have asthma." I giggled, and found a spot on the grass to sit.

"How are you dad? How's mom?"

"She's good and I'm good, just got in from work not too long ago. Decided I'd give you a call. I miss you mija. The house is too quiet."

"Which is why I told you to get a dog before I left, but nooo, you didn't want to listen."

"Cause aint no one waking up in the morning to pick up someone elses sh-. You know what... I have yet to hear you say you miss me back."

"Well I do, a whole lot. I miss you and mom, which is why I've decided that I'm coming down there for spring break."

"Why the hell would you do that to yourself?" he smirked, "aint spring break supposed to be your opportunity to let loose and party a little. Aint nothing loose about coming down here."

"Yes, but I know that dealing with mom on your own is a lot of work, and you need the help."

"Which is why I hired someone to come and work the days while I go to work, baby you've done enough. You spent half of your whole summer here with her."

"You do know that you're talking about the woman that gave me life, right? This is the least I can do."

"Yes, I know, but I also know that that same woman is one that would rather you go enjoy your break than spending it here."

"I don't mind."

"Well I do." He interjected sternly, "You're a beautiful, young, intelligent girl and I want you to enjoy your life while you have the chance. After school, real life is about to hit and I don't want you to regret not seizing them when you have the chance."

"Yeah but what is there really to do?"

"What is your crazy friend Zahra doing?"

"She's going to Miami with a couple people from our school, and Miami costs money that is not in the budget."

"Your budget or mine? I specifically told you that if you needed something; I got you. I'm your dad, it's my job to provide."

"And I don't need this, I'm fine with coming home dad." I sighed, and looked at the time as well as thought about the fact that I still had to complete my workout. "I'm going to call you back tomorrow, okay?"

"Make sure!"

"I love you."

"Te amo, mija." He hung up the phone and I rose to my feet, and stretched once again.

"You lit that track up." I heard a deep voice say from behind me, I turned around to see the same guy that Preston had been telling me about in McDonald's, he wore a sweaty school shirt, along with a pair of football compression tights, sweat dripped from his head as well as caused his exposed arm muscles that were covered in beautiful ink, to glisten under the lights. This man was finer up close and personal. "I used to train the fresh man girls team from my old high school."

"Is that right?"

"Yeah, reigning champions in our city." He smiled. "I'm Kingsley by the way. Please tell me you're on the track team."

"I am," I returned the smile as I adjusted my earphones into my ear. I could tell he wanted to talk more but quite frankly I had work to get done. I watched his lips part to speak but before he could, I was off and back to where I had left off, having to push myself harder than before in order to get in the time that I had just lost.

I ran for a good two and a half hours until my body was coated in sweat, my muscles ached and I was the only one left on the field. I sighed, stretched then walked over to my bag where I threw my sweater back on and switched out my trainers for a pair of slides.

My stomach was grumbled; right now, all I wanted was a nice hot shower, my warm bed and maybe even a nightly facetime conversation with Myles. As I threw my bag over my shoulder I couldn't help but notice the piece of paper that fell onto the ground, my brows furrowed and I hesitantly picked it up. I unfolded the paper to see a number scribbled at the top, under it read; "I'd like to train with you one day. Give me a call if you're interested. - Kingsley." I smirked and crumbled it; tossing it into the trash can next to me.

"Damn. Really gunna do me like that?" I heard the same voice from earlier say from the top of the bleachers, it was so dark that I didn't even see him there. I rolled my eyes, I was not in the mood for small talk... I genuinely just wanted to go get something to eat and head home.

Kingsley shut the laptop that he was working on, stood to his feet and made his way down with a frown on his face.

"Why are you still here?" I asked, with him walking by my side. "Are you a stalker?"

"Oh please. Preston's in the room with Zahra... thought I'd give them their privacy." He tugged on his bottom lip. "But let's get back to you dissing me. Can I get your name at least?"

"Yeah, about that... thanks for offer, but I don't need a trainer and my name's Monet."

"Beautiful name for a beautiful girl, and already have one?"

"Nope, I just don't need one." I shrugged

"Well from watching you, I beg to differ."

"What's wrong with the way I run?" I squinted.

"Nothing, you're fast, one of the fastest girls I've seen in a long time but you could be faster."

"I'm fast enough, the best on the team."

"Yeah and that's cute, but don't you want to break records? Have your name written on these walls?" we approached the fitness building, and he stepped ahead of me; opening the door for me. "After you."

"Thank you," I smiled, walking up fast because I always found in awkward walking in front of a guy knowing exactly where their eyes were looking at. Kingsley joined my side, with a smirk on his lips and I knew that he too, was one of those guys.

"Anyways, back to my offer. All big timers have and need a trainer."

"Well when I become a big timer, I'll get one then." I led the way, walking us into the main building and up to the little café that was the only thing left open on campus; apart from the Pizza place and McDonalds that had already seen me for today. I joined the line, squinting to see what they had to offer even though I was already pretty familiar with their menu.

"Why wait until then when I'm standing here, right now?" he held his hands to the side, acting as if he was being auctioned. To see a tall guy of his stature modelling his body that way caused me to burst out in laughter. "See, I already got you laughing. Give me a chance."

"You're funny and all but I know that I don't need one, nor can I afford one right now." I said, turning to the cashier. "Hi, can I get a large Green tea, and a 12-grain bagel with cream cheese?"

"Alright, will that be all?"

"Ye-." I pulled out a crumbled five-dollar bill to pay the lady but Kingsley moved my hand away. "What are you doing?"

"Can I get a chicken salad sandwich... and one of those blue Gatorades?" He added, as he reached into his pocket for his wallet. "I'll also grab a bag of these chips as well," he said pointing towards them. The cashier looked between the both of us, while hesitated to punch in his order. "I'm paying." He told her, then held up a black card.

"Okay, your total is 14.55. Insert your card when your ready." I watched as he inserted his card into the machine, punched in a few numbers before the 'Approved' sign came up onto the screen. "Thank you, your order will be off to the left." She said.

"Here you go." I said, trying to hand Kingsley the bill but instead he looked down at it, scoffed then pushed my hand away from him; gently.

"I never said anything about charging you, I'm here studying physiotherapy. I'm a certified fitness trainer, with hopes of opening up my own Physical Health facilities after getting through with this. Working with you would be more experience for me, as well as a benefit for you."

"I don't think you're understanding, I like to work by myself."

"No, I can see that and I respect it. I just want to help..."

"No, I think you're just trying to get into my pants." I said, while grabbing my green tea from the counter.

"That's definitely not what I'm trying to do. I mean, yes I would like to take you out, but my mind is not on that whatsoever." He sized me up before tilting his head to the side. "At least not yet..."

"At least you're honest." I grabbed my bagel that was wrapped up and made first, tucked into my pocket then placed the five-dollar bill onto the counter in front of him. "But like I said before, I like to work alone and that has more than one meaning." I flashed him a quick smile, before walking off and back outside to head to my dormitory.

"Monet! Chill, chill! I was just joking!" I rolled my eyes, as the sound of his sneakers against the pavement got closer and closer to the point where he had caught up to me. "I was honestly just kidding with you." He announced, stepping in front of me. "You're a beautiful girl but I'll respect your boundaries for business purposes. I see the potential in you and know with a little help from me, you can get to where you need to be." His eyes wandered over to a bench by one of the waterfalls that were turned off. "Sit and eat with me, I can show you what I'm talking about."

"I have practice in the morning."

"I understand that, just a few minutes..."

"Fine." I sighed, inching towards one of the benches, and although it was dark outside I knew it was the busiest side of the campus and if need be; someone could be an eye-witness. "Talk." I commanded as I unwrapped my bagel and took a bite.

"Feisty." He smiled and rested his food on top of the table and placed his bag next to it; pulling out a laptop.

"What is all this?" I spoke with my mouth full, I would've normally acted like a lady but my stomach wasn't willing to wait for all that.

"I'm going to show you some of my work," he typed in his password, clicked on a few things before turning it to face me. Once the screen was adjusted he played a video which captured the whole process of a runner that I actually knew and had gone up against many times. The undefeated; Veronica Robinson.

"You trained Veronica?!" I said out loud, leaning in to the video.

"You know her?"

"Know her? I hate her... she's amazing."

"And as you can see she wasn't always like this." He exited the video and opened up a document filled with what looked like chicken scratch to me; equations, letters, shapes; everything you could name. "So what I did here was use simple science to assist our bodies in moving to its full potential. For example; you see how fast Usain Bolt is right?"

"Mhmm."

"What if I told you he could be faster?"

"How is that humanly possible? He's already the fastest man alive."

"Until someone figures out that all it takes is a simple science trick to take that record away from him. Watch this." He then clicked on another video that contained him doing an equation on the board and breaking his whole theory down, to the point where anyone could understand it. I sat there speechless, taking in every word and the fact that he used Veronica to prove his theory made everything come to light.

"That's ... amazing..." I let out without realizing it and he smirked then looked up into my eyes; the light danced against his causing me to nearly foam at the mouth not to mention he added a lip lick that caused me to unconsciously close my legs. I had always found education attractive, so this wasn't strange to me.

"It is, and I see the potential in you. Who knows, work with me and you may actually beat Veronica this year." He shrugged, shutting his laptop. "But unfortunately, you threw my number away so, I guess you missed that opportunity." He put his laptop back into his back and began to rise from his seat.

"Wa-wait... where do you think you're going?"

"You got practice in the morning, and I don't want to have you out too late."

"Smart ass." I rolled my eyes and stood from my seat as well, getting my things together.

We walked in a comfortable silence until I had gotten to my building. All of this thoughts, ideas and videos played in my head the whole time. "Well," He said, breaking the silence. "It was nice talking to you Miss Monet. Hopefully I see you around campus sometime."

"It was nice talking to you as well." I outstretched my hand to shake his but he just looked down at it then gave me a smug look.

"So, you really aren't going to let your pride go?"

"What are you talking about?"

"To ask for my number again..."

I rolled my eyes and leaned against the wall of my building; folding my arms. "You really think I'm going to allow you to hold that over my head? Your little theory is cool and all but like I said before, I'm good."

Kingsley outstretched his hand in front of me, "let me see your phone."

"Why?" I raised my brow.

"I'm not going to steal your phone, Monet."

I hesitantly unlocked it and handed it over to him then watching him put his number into my contacts. "When you're ready to be great. Let me