Constant

Chapter 9

Friday meant gym class, and I wasn't looking forward to it. I had always been an excellent runner, but anything having to do with hand and ball coordination was beyond my abilities. Luckily, for me, we were doing sprints today. The weather was unusually cold, around fifty-five degrees, I didn't mind though, because I preferred running in the cold. Coach Miller put five against each other in each sprint. Joyce stood next to me. She barely glanced at me as she stretched her arms over her head and leaned back and forth. I didn't stretch, I didn't need to. I knew my body, and it felt okay. I didn't need to prove anything to anyone, so to make a show out of stretching wouldn't gain me any points.

I got into position and waited for Coach to start the race. When she did, I flew through the air, my legs and arms knowing exactly what to do to be as effective as possible. I left the others in the dust without even trying. When I crossed the finish line, the others still had a quarter of a lap left. Coach walked up to me with an impressed expression.

"Wow, Crowe, I didn't know you could run like that," she said.

"That's because you keep forcing me to play ball," I replied, just as Joyce crossed the finish line. I tried getting my breathing under control, while endorphins ran through my blood stream like a natural drug. I loved the past-run high.

"Show me more of what you did on that track," Coach said. "Good job!"

"Thanks," I said.

As we talked, the rest of the group crossed the finished line, Joyce walked up to me.

"You're fast," she concluded. "Have you considered joining track?"

I shook my head. "No, I'm not the sporty type."

"You should. You're like... really fast." Her face no longer displayed the usual distaste she had in my company; instead, a sense of respect replaced it.

"Thanks," I said. "But I run for fun, not for sports."

"Too bad," she said, walking away to grab her water bottle.

As the groups started running, I stood by the sidelines, waiting for my next turn, while I pondered the idea of joining track. I mean, I was fast. Maybe I was good enough to get a scholarship and join a good college, trying to give myself as many opportunities as possible. That would be a dream come true. I took a swig from my water bottle, enjoying the cold rush down my throat as I prepared to do my next run. This time, we were going to run two laps.

As I walked into position, I wondered how far in front of the others I could get.

A small smile formed on my face.

They wouldn't know what hit them.

"Wanna join a party tomorrow?" Hannah asked later that afternoon when Mom had brought me to the community. Mom had asked me if I wanted to join, since she was having a seminar with her self-improvement course. I didn't mind, it beat having to stay at home on a Friday night.

"Sure," I said. "What kind of party?"

"Oh, it's a gathering, really," she said. "At least, that's what we call them. It's a fancy dinner with exceptional food. You get to dress up and then we have a reading from the Prophecy of Light." I couldn't help but wrinkle my nose. I hadn't really enjoyed the last time I heard from that book. "Don't worry, you won't need to analyze anything this time. It's just for fun."

"Maybe," I said. Although I didn't think reading from that book sounded particularly fun.

"It would be nice to have some fresh blood by our table," she said. "Since Greta and Louis aren't on talking terms, and Oliver will be on his phone with his girlfriend from Baltimore, I'd need someone to talk to."