Aria's Story

~ Chapter 4, Part 1 ~

"Okay class, four laps around the track and you will have completed the warm up for today. Don't take too long, we don't have all day," My teacher, Mrs. Swon, looks around and makes sure everybody is clear about what we were about to do before she continues talking. "Good. When I blow the whistle, you may begin."

We were all standing at the beginning of the field, waiting to start. It was the last class of the day, and I love when we run because I love running and being able to escape my life for a little bit. When Mrs. Swon blows her whistle, Hunter and I make a huge run for it and are instantly in head of everyone else in the class. We always like having a competition with everything we do, even if the thing is the stupidest thing ever.

As I pass Hunter, my sneaker clad feet formed a rhythm as they slapped against the tarmac. I feel my arms effortlessly moving up against my sides, the wind slapped my hair straight to my scalp. I concentrated on my breathing and nothing else as I round the last corner to the first lap.

Fat. You need to finish first so that people don't think you're as weak as you really are.

In the middle of the second lap, I could hear Hunter quickly coming up behind me. He looks over at me and gives me one of the most gorgeous smiles I have ever seen him give me. I smile back at him, and for a second I find myself looking into his eyes.

Hunter stands more closer to me and he never breaks his smile. "Hey, you're pretty fast, you know that?" He laughs, but it didn't come out as he planned it to come out like since he barely had any breath at the moment because we were running.

I look down and smile. "I guess, I've always loved running."

You only like running because it helps you lose weight, you idiot.

We began our third lap in silence as the others were still on their mid-second lap. While running, I look down and notice that everything seems blurry and my concentration went from my breathing to my dizziness and I didn't know what was happening. Blinking several times did nothing to soothe my panic, if anything, it made it worse.

My breathing picks up and my heartbeat went skyrocket as the fatigue took over. The blood was rushing to my head and I couldn't concentration anymore. It was like everything was upside down and I began having problems with breathing. As I try to catch my breath, Hunter looks over at me and says, "Hey, are you okay?" I nod and then try to focus back on my breathing even though nothing was working.

That's pathetic, you know? Running is like the only thing you're good at and now you just screwed that up. Not only that either, you probably just screwed up your friendship with Hunter. I wonder why he put up with you for so many years. You're so fat and not even a little bit attractive.

That was harsh. The demons in my head made me feel like pushing myself harder and motivating me to finish. I push myself forward and try my hardest to finish this lap, but that wasn't exactly the best thing to do. My legs start to ache really bad and they slap harder against the track. I could hear my breathing become really loud and rapid, the sweat was practically pouring out of me. I try my best to ignore the pain and move forward. I need to be the strong one, I need to keep going.

"Aria." My head snaps up at the voice, and I see Hunter's eyes on me. I must have slowed down because now he was right next to me again. He looks at me with more concern and says, "Oh, god. You look like you're about to pass out. Let's take a break? You really need one."

"No, no. I'm fine," I say, and without another word, I sprint forward. I can hear him calling my name, but I ignore it and push myself forward. As I was about to finish my four laps, dizziness starts to overthrow me and everything around me becomes very blurry. Soon enough, I can feel myself fall to the ground and then everything goes black.