Superposition (Starting Position Sequel)

Chapter 28

"Your dad said what?" Ian panted beside me at my retelling of the lunch. "Are you serious? He said that? He said he left because he didn't know how to be a father?"

    We were jogging on the normal trail. After returning from spring break, the weather greatly improved; clear skies and warmer days graced the campus, making up for the shrill and brittle winter. I felt the ice around my bones start to melt.

    "Yeah," I said, dodging a log across the trail.

    Ian expelled a ragged breath. "What the hell? I mean, what the hell? Why did he even come back?"

    That was my question, and I still didn't have an answer. While I mostly assumed it was because of guilt, something about the lunch had me thinking it was something else, something deeper than guilt. I wasn't sure, but I didn't care to find out – yet I couldn't stop thinking about it.

    "I don't know."

    "How's Erin?" he asked.

    "She's okay. The last time I spoke with her she sounded pretty much back to normal."

    The clearing was in view now, meaning our two-mile run was almost finished. Ian and I, though the slowest of the runners, had greatly improved our times on the trails. When we started club in September, both of us could barely make the distance, but now the runs felt a part of our everyday routine.

    "Good. I can't believe it," Ian said. "What a miserable spring break."

    We crossed through the clearing to find the rest of the club cooling down near the track field. Dre waved to us from the top of the group as he chatted with a couple members, and I remembered something I tucked away before break.

    "Oh, you'll never guess what Dre asked me," I said to Ian, to which he responded with an excited, "What?" I angled towards him as I assumed a shallow lunge. "He wants me to take over as Club Captain next year."

    Ian's eyes enlarged. "What?!"

    "Yeah, he asked me at the running competition."

    "What did you say – of course you said yes. Why hasn't he announced it yet?"

    I shook my head as I switched legs. "I actually told him I wanted to think about it."

    "What is there to think about?"

    "I don't know," I responded thoughtfully. "It just seems like... there's got to be someone else, right?"

    "No one's as committed to running as you," Ian said simply. "I mean, do you see anyone else with CP who runs two miles in a forest aimed at tripping you?"

    What I liked about Ian was that he never felt the need to jump over my CP. To him, it was a part of life; he mentioned it as such. I appreciated this. Most people tended to ignore it as a means to make me feel comfortable, and while I preferred this when compared with the delving stares I could receive from passersby, I liked spending time with someone who wasn't afraid to mention it for fear of offending me.

    "Anyway, you should do it. You'd be great," Ian said earnestly. "But you do have to promise to still run with me next year. Don't let the crown and throne get to you – a peasant still needs a running partner."

    I laughed. "Yeah, okay. We'll see."

    We edged along the fence line of the track, following after the crowd of students recovering from the run. Ian and I decided we would head straight to the cafeteria to grab some food to go before heading back to the apartment for a shower. Now in line in the cafeteria, Ian turned to me, his face arranged in a weird sort of smile, and said, "So, I know you don't want to talk about this, but I need some advice."