Meet Me At the Swing Set

Chapter 2

The reason I decided to publish another chapter on the same day is because I want to catch people's attention and hook them on so they continue reading. So by all means, to those actually following with my story, here's an early treat for you ;) 

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I was stretching on the field alongside my three teammates, the ones I would come closest to calling friends. "Are you okay?" whispered Naina. There were four members on the track team, and I felt a little pathetic to admit that my favorite time of the day was practice, when I could pretend I was free for some time, and get away from all the populars whom I had to pretend to like.

Her dark skin, covered in a sheen of sweat shone like copper in the sun. She'd braided long, oily hair over her back. She was a junior, and one of the less outgoing people in school. But she made up for her socially awkward self with a sweet personality, and a good sense of humor. On second thought, a good sense of humor wasn't really the term I would use. Rather, a sense of humor so bad it became funny.

I nod, throwing her a smile for good measure. It took effort not to burst into tears every time someone asked me that, no matter how rare the question was. "I heard three more schools are going to the States this year." Mia said. "Yeah. But it doesn't affect us, because we focus on ourselves and make ourselves better than them." I say. Acting optimist to play the role of captain could be weird sometimes, but I liked doing it nonetheless. It gave me a sense of security.  

"Girls, stop talking!" the coach shouted, as she led us through the warm-ups. I let my eyes travel to the ground and didn't speak again for the rest of the practice. We ran lap after lap, our skin glistening with sweat under the harsh sun.

All the while, my blood pumped in my veins, and I drank in the feeling of breathlessness like a cool drink on a hot day. I was sporting a pair of spandex, and a cropped windbreaker that stopped at my naval. My long hair was tied in a braid similar to Naina's, a couple of strands framing my face.

There were only a few people sitting in the bleachers, most of them on their phones, or half asleep under the lull of the afternoon sun. Elizabeth. I was going to kill her the next time I saw her. Phones were created for a goddamn reason. If she wanted a day off, the least she could do was tell me.

Why would she ever tell you, Alina? The twisted voice in my head taunted me. Would you trust yourself? I let loose a sigh, brushing back hair from my face. 

I won't.

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I dabbed at my face with a towel, my jacket reeking of sweat and designer perfume. I stuffed my bag in the backseat of my car, and jumped over the door to sit inside. I drove at a slow pace home, and was greeted by a silent house, as always.

I entered the living room and collapsed on the couch in the corner. I wasn't even tired after the one-and-a-half-hour practice. Which was not helpful to me, since it allowed my mind to wander off to my own personal hell, which I call my mind.

I loved track because I could get so damn tired I couldn't think about anything else other than my shallow breathing, and the blood pumping through my brain and my limbs. I loved the slight ache my muscles went through the day after, because I had something else to focus upon.

So that's why I got up, and walked back to my shoe closet to pick up a pair of sport shoes so I could go for a run.

When I reached the usual park that I ran in, I found it overflowing with happy families and old people, who had apparently decided that today was a great day for a picnic. It was packed, and there was no way I was going to be able to run without any interruption.