The Great Race

Chapter 1

Stride. Breath. Stride. Breath. Push in my side where there's a stitch. I finish my two hundreds with heavy breathing. I look around my track, at all the fans in the stands, and I see faces hopefully for my victory.
I take off my sweatpants and sweatshirt, underneath a gray shirt and black shorts, Reign High on the front of both. I feel anticipation building up in my stomach, excitement for today's meet as well. Today is the state meet of my junior year, with me as the star sprinter.
I do a couple jumps in the air to warm up further as I hear the second call for the four by two hundred relay. My best relay. I'm the last leg of our great relay. As the final call is called, I see my teammates run up to me
"I think National High will be the biggest competition, they're running right next to us." Natalie says.
"I think we got this," I say, a smirk on my face. "Let's get to positions." As I get in my stance, I hear the sharp crack of the gun and the runners are off. Our first and second hand offs are perfect, with Natalie sprinting toward me. As she hands me the baton, National High is necks and neck with us, maybe a little ahead. I grab the baton, and everything slows down as the National High girl who just handed off walks into my lane. I am frantic because I can't stop, I don't have time. I slam into her, running full speed.
Several things happen at once. One, I do a front flip over her head as I hit her. Two, my ACL and ankle both give a sharp crack as I land hard. Three, the girl falls heavily onto the track. I try to stand up, but fall back down. I'm determined to win, so I ignore the pain in my leg and start sprinting to catch up. You can hear the crowds gasps as I get up and race often the other girls. I finally catch up, and collapse onto the track, in first with tears streaming down my face. My ankle is in agony, but we won.
The last thing I see is my team paramedics and my coach running up to me before I pass out.
When I wake up, I'm in a hospital bed, surrounded by people. My leg is encased in a huge cast. My heart sinks, because the worst came true. I could see it in my parents' faces. My track career could possibly be over. I looked back at them, hoping it wasn't true.
"Kail, honey, how are you feeling?" My mom asks.
"A little worse for wear," I joke. My parents half heartedly chuckle.
"What happened?" I asked. I remembered, but I wanted to see what they would say.
"The girl running beside you walked into your lane. You ran full pelt right into her and did a front flip. I'm so sorry Kail." My father looked apologetic.
"Okay, but why am I here? I should be at track practice. Coach is probably pissed because I missed so much." My father shook his head.
"Kail, you broke your ankle in three places and severed your ACL. You might not be running track ever again."
The news crushed my spirit. Never? What was I to do without track? I tried to stand, too stubborn to believe my parents. I collapsed against my bed, pale with sweat and exertion.
I started quietly crying, broken. What was my life without track?