All it took was an unfortunate encounter with someone who knew much more than what met the eye. From their meeting at an adventure course to measuring the distance between the sun and the moon, there was no telling how deep she had fallen for him; n...
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15 ☆ ( "I LOST." )
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"Welcome to the 2019 School Festival!" The announcer spoke from the podium in the middle of the track field, causing me to feel ill. "We'll get started with the 100-meter dash soon, so all classes, please have your representative meet us on the track! Other class participants, please return to the outer side of the field!"
I turned back to Hanae, the bandana around her head reading 'Strength.' Ours, in blue, was 'Resilience.' Hanae, cheering for her class representative as she leaped out of the group, looked toward me. "Are you excited for the festival, Rie? This is going to be great!"
"Yeah," I smiled, nodding slowly. "I think it'll be really fun. What race are you going to do?"
"The hurdle one," Hanae didn't seem to know what it was off the top of her head, but I wasn't going to pester her any further. "What about you? Actually, I shouldn't ask that. You're not someone who likes to move around a lot. Plus, I remember you've got pretty bad endurance."
She's right. When I was young, I realized I had really bad asthma. At some point in time, the doctor said I outgrew it, but occasionally, when I overdo myself, I have an attack. That's why when I run, I can really only hear my exhales and my heartbeat in my ears. I'm just not good at it. "Anyway, I'll head to my side of the field. If you need anything, text me, okay?" I nodded. She patted my head sweetly and waved me off, jogging to the rest of her classroom friends in red.
I was looking forward to the festival because I'd be able to watch Riki win in soccer later today. Although I wouldn't take part in it, that didn't bother me. I was better off sitting on the sidelines then becoming an embarrassment or something like that.
"Sato!" I heard my name, causing me to spin around. It was our representative for the 100-meter dash. I furrowed my eyebrows, staring down at her. She suddenly grabbed my hands in her grasp, startling me–and eventually causing me to frown. "I'm sorry this is so last minute, but I can't do the 100-meter dash. I don't want us to lose out on this opportunity, and since you're the only one who doesn't have a sport to participate in, do you mind filling in for me? It shouldn't be a problem. Right?"
