The Mermaid

Chapter one

The Mermaid chapter one

I bent down to tie my shoelaces. I've prepared so long for this final race, I have to win this, I have to.

"Go Ari!" I heard my best friend Imogen yelling from the bleachers. She waved around her silver Pom-poms wildly, jumping up and down. I grinned and waved at her. "You can do this!" She yelled again, before turning to the group of girls holding silver Pom-poms standing behind her, each wearing the same small blue skirt  and white cropped tee. "Give me an A!" She screamed, her high blonde pony tail swinging around. "A!" The cheerleaders screamed back, while doing some kind of complex moves including somersaults in the air, splits, and flips.
"Give me a R!"
"R!"
Give me an I!"
"I!"
"Give me a S!"
"S!"
"Give me an A!"
"A!"
"And what does that spell?"
"ARISA!!"
The cheerleaders let out whoops and whistles, tossing their shiny silver pom-poms into the air, catching the sunlight, creating bright beams of light. "GO ARISA! GO ARISA!" They chanted loudly, Imogen being the leader. I laughed, oh my god what did I do to deserve such an amazing friend like Imogen?

Pretty soon the other schools had noticed our chant and started cheering on for their teammates too. "GO JESSICA!" "GO ANNA!" "GO GRACE!" Each scream trying to overpower one another, louder and louder. Imogen frowned slightly, and took out her giant megaphone. I doubled over laughing, I knew exactly what was going to happen next that the other schools did not expect.

She took a deep breath, and screamed into the horn, "GO ARISA AMBROSE!" Everybody was so shocked by the loud noise; in two seconds Imogen had won the screaming contest.

Before the other schools could keep cheering again, Mr White, the host of this sport's day event raised his hand up and blew his whistle. I winced, the sharp sound stinging my ears. "LADIES AND GENTLEMEN. LISTEN UP." He waited for everyone to be quiet, "RIGHT NOW WE WILL BEGIN THE NINTH GRADE GIRLS SPRINT. I WILL NOW ANNOUNCE THE FOLLOWING YOUNG LADIES PARTICIPATING IN THIS RACE TO REPRESENT THEIR SCHOOL. JESSIE HULKER FROM EAST COLUMBUS ACADEMY, EMILY BATES FROM VALLEY VIEW HIGH, CHLOE JOHNSON FROM HOLLOW ACADEMY..." He listed off some other names before I heard mine, "... ARISA AMBROSE FROM OCEANSIDE ACADEMY..."

I walked to my spot on the track, and bent down checking my shoelaces. I stretched my legs, my arms, warming up for the big run. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Imogen giving me the thumbs up sign and mouthed, don't be nervous. I looked at her and smiled. Looking at my best friend calmed me down a bit.

Okay, I'll admit it I was really nervous. I've been practicing for months just for this race. I can do this, I thought. I took some deep breaths, trying to calm my racing heart.

Eventually Mr White finished listing off everyone's names and about a dozen girls went to their spots on the track. "EVERYONE, GET READY." I got down to running position, and stared at the finish line.

"THREE, TWO, ONE, GO!" The gun fired.

I pushed off, and sped towards the finish line. The sound of the gunshot rang in my ears, Adrenaline pumped through my veins, the roaring crowds had been muted, and all I could hear was my own breath, short but steady, and my feet slapping against the ground.

I was almost there. So close to the finishing line. But there was one girl in front of me. I'm almost catching up to her, almost, just a little bit more, a little bit more...

I stumbled, and fell.

I felt the air get knocked out of my lungs. All of a sudden the world became unmuted. I heard gasps, shouting, and then I felt the blinding pain on my face, my chest, my stomach. I had fallen face first, smack onto the ground. Hard.

The race, I thought groggily, I have to finish the race. Then everything went black.