Ephemeral

Track Blues Part 1

I waited patiently at the start of the track and squatted one leg to gain an advantage. I could feel the sun beating down on my back – practically edging me to run far away from its rays.

Jack was standing at the end of the track, shaking in his jacket as he crossed his arms tightly. His straight dark black hair could be seen just beneath his light blue beanie. He brought the whistle up to his mouth with a trembling hand.

I would have rolled my eyes at how being dramatic he was being, but didn't have time to do anything when the whistle blew loudly.

I wasted no time, sprinting as fast as my legs could carry me. I could feel my shoulder length light brown hair bob up and down in its high ponytail.

"Take proper aim."

"You left track-"

I shook my head at the unwelcomed memories that resurface in my mind. Letting out a small shaky breath, I lost control of my breathing.

That wasn't good – I had gotten frazzled, not even being halfway down my lane. I knew deep down that I wouldn't beat my time. Today was going to be bad – those unwanted memories that suddenly popped into my head were an omen.

A bad omen.

The track jacket I was wearing was crinkling loudly and madly as I brought my arms up and down in a rhythmic pattern. I held in my breath and only let go of it halfway down the track. I could barely feel my legs in their black thermal leggings. My face and body had grown numb due to the combination of cold weather and my running speed.

Some people might think running in twenty degree temperatures was just asking to get sick.

I would agree...

Usually, I would...but after spring break the top scores would be announced.

Right now Lindsay Chamberlain was ahead of me by approximately three seconds.

I needed to beat her score – I felt that deep down her height and weight definitely gave her an advantage. She was just below six feet. Her damn long legs must have gave her a leg up.

Obviously.

But that just might be my jealousy speaking.

"You're not good enough."

I ran past Jack who clocked my time on his phone and looked down at his gloved hands. I let out a few pants at being exhausted with my power sprint and placed my hands on my waist. I tried to catch my breath, and knew that I would recover in a few minutes or less. "So?" I breathed out, having swallowed before I asked him.

I was getting impatient to know what my time was.

"You're two seconds faster..."

I slumped backward at hearing his voice. I stared up at the now overcast sky. I sat down on the track and rested my back along its cold, asphalt surface.

I spread my arms out to my sides and wanted to scream.

Of course, it was during lunch hour and that would only cause the teachers to come out and wonder what was going on. That's attention that I did not need in my life right now.

"Come on Ari, don't be like that," Jack gently spoke, as though he were comforting a toddler. I gave him a glare and sat up as he squatted next to me. His next words were spoken deliberately slowly. "It's an improvement."

"But it's not enough," I argued back and ran a hand through my hair in frustration. In my irritation, my hand ran into the tie. I took it out in a huff and let my light brown hair fall down on my shoulders. It was slightly moist from the short run I had done.