Quiet and anxious Audrey Perrin is living her life the best way she knows how, with minimal communication and a set routine that never changes; just the way she likes it. Her only friends are bubbly and cute Sam Palacios and forthright and tough Loo...
"So you're gonna stay behind and run with your friends Dani?" Coach Nguyen asked. "Yes coach, Jacob is gonna join the team and our friends wanted to join in on a 'fun run'." "Okay, get Jacob up to speed, JV could use the help." "Yes Coach." Danielle lightly jogged over to the group. Chatter and small laughter could be heard from the group having fun stretching. "Alright guys, we are just gonna be running laps inside the school for today." Danielle said. "Looz and Emma, you guys dont wanna join?" she asked, seeing they were still in their regular clothes sitting down. "Phys ed and I don't agree." Looz said, "running has never been my thing." "I agree with Liz," Emma said. Looz glanced at her but didn't bother to correct her. "Alright, you guys are missing out." She turned her attention to the small group in front of her. "Okay so I'm just going to be timing Jacob on his mile, you guys can feel free to join but it's okay to just leisurely jog." "Leisurely jog" Looz repeated, sarcastically, as she whispered to Emma. "Jacob!" Natalie said, skipping to him, "we should run together! Maybe we can keep each other motivated." "Sure, you think you can keep up? I'm going to finish this mile in 6 minutes tops!" The excitement quickly vanished from her face. "On second thought," she turned around quickly, "Sam! Let's run together!" Adrian and Audrey stood together just chatting. He was tying his shoes and Audrey stretched her legs. "We're not gonna be racing are we?" Audrey asked nervously. "Please, my fastest mile is like 22 minutes, there's no way I can keep up with him." "I don't remember my time, but I'm sure it was around that time too." "More reason for us to just take it easy." They all lined up on the track. They stood where Emma had drawn the line in the track the day before. Emma stood to the side, her phone in her hand. "Alright guys, 3.. 2.. 1.. Go!" she shouted. She started a timer on her phone. Jacob lept into a jog. To everyone else, he was sprinting. He wasn't moving as fast as he was the day before, but he was moving much better and more calmly. One corner, then the next and the next. He passed everyone twice before they even finished their first lap. "He's not human, that's the conclusion I've come to," Adrian said with a hefty breath. "It always amazed me how fast he was when we were younger," Audrey said to him in the same manner. "Alright, I need to take a break." Natalie said, her face sweating and red. "I'll join you," Sam said, panting, out of breath. Audrey and Adrian continued at their steady pace. Time hadn't passed much since then, and Jacob finally finished his mile. "7 minutes and 27 seconds,not bad." Danielle said to him. "Shit! Really? I was aiming for 6 minues flat." he complained. "Don't beat yourself up Jay, that's actually Varsity numbers right there. You're no joke." He stood up straight, his hands over his head. He began to relax his breathing. "Okay, what's next?" he asked. " You want to do more? I was only testing your mile today." Danielle said. "That was way too quick, we have to do more." "There's not much to do but run on the track some more." "Why don't we run outside the school, that looks like fun." "We can't, next week maybe, but you literally just started." "You just said I had varsity numbers, I think I'm ready." Danielle pauses a moment to assess the possibility. She looks to the group and sees opportunity. "Alright then Jay, but we have to run in pairs. it's important no one gets left behind." She gathers the group around. "Ooh! I'm running with Jacob!" Natalie exclaimed. "Sorry Nat, I wanted to run with Danielle, I have to run with a varsity member if i'm going to be in varsity." he said. Natalies smile faded. "Oh okay." "I could run with you Nat," Adrian said, jumping at the opportunity. "Thank you Adrian, but in that case, I'm gonna run with Sam since we have matching shorts!" "Sounds reasonable, can't argue with that!" Sam exclaimed. "Naturally," Adrian said. "I guess that leaves me and you, 'team 22'." Audrey said, nudging his arm. He laughed, "yeah, 'team 22'!" "Alright, we have the teams." Danielle said. She looked over to Looz and Emma. "Would you guys mind watching over our stuff?" "Of course not! You didn't even have to ask," Emma said. "Consider it guarded," Looz said. "Alright, thanks! Okay guys, listen carefully!" She brought them in closer to view her phone. She pulled out a map that already had a route on it. "It's a pretty far out run, I don't want you splitting up from your partner! You can run in groups of four if you guys can't keep up with Jacob and I." The group nodded in agreement. "Okay, now, we are going to exit on this side of the school. And make a right all the way around the school till we get to Carpenter Blvd. from there, it's a straight run all the way down to O'Malley st. that's about 1 mile. At O'Malley st, make another right, this will take you in front of Graiser Charter High School, run until you get to Godinez St and make a right. Keep straight for another mile and you're back home. It's basically one huge lap. Is that clear?" she said, looking at the group. "Super easy, Barely an inconvenience," Adrian said. "Well I'll just follow closely behind you so I don't get lost," Jacob said, looking slightly puzzled. "Alright let's go!" Danielle said. "Audrey, Adrian! Run with us, we can all run together!" Sam said. She was enjoying this more than Audrey thought she would. "Yeah that sounds fun!" Audrey said. Danielle and Jacob started out-jogging the others already. Natalie watched, something about them leaving her behind got under her skin. Adrenaline coursed through her veins as the beating of her heart grew faster. Without a moment's hesitation, her legs moved and chased after them. "C'Mon Sam! We have to catch up!" She called out. "WAIT NAT!" Sam called to her. She hesitated to follow, and turned to Audrey. "It's okay Sam, we will try to catch up with you guys." Sam let out a sigh. "Adrian, you take care of her! Don't you dare leave her!" "I don't mean to," He reassured her. Sam started running as fast as she could to catch up with Natalie. "BE BACK SOON LOOZ AND EMMA!" Audrey cried out, waving to them. "LATER!" Adrian yelled. Looz layed down on the grass, using Audrey and Sam's bags as pillows. Emma sat opposite to her on her phone. They waved goodbye.
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Editors Elem
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Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed the next part of the chapter!
Next chapter Natalie pushes herself to keep up with Jacob, leaving Sam behind.
