The Ultimate Stride | Prince of Stride Fanfiction |

2 | Unexpected Collisions

| {Kyouko's P.O.V} |

    "Shit, I'm totally going to be late!" I shouted furiously to no one in particular as I pulled on my school uniform in a flustered hurry.

    Since I was so tired from the night before, the thought of setting my alarm clock had totally slipped my mind, and my fool-proof plan of getting to school early had been completely demolished.

    I glanced at the digital clock sitting on my nightstand only to let out a long line of curse words directed towards myself. It was 7:40, and school would be starting at 7:55.

    I had planned to walk to school like a normal person for once in my life, but I lived too far away to accomplish that within a mere fifteen minutes.

    I'll have to run there.

    Instead of putting on my normal school shoes, I pulled my electric-blue running flats out of my gym bag and slid them onto my feet. I looked ridiculous considering how I was wearing them with a school uniform, but I couldn't care less; I just really didn't want to be late for my first day of high school.

    Plus, being late would make a terrible first impression as the new exchange student from America.

    After throwing my other pair of shoes into my gym bag to change into later, I quickly snatched up both of my bags and ran over to the kitchen. I proceeded to throw a few snacks into my school bag, and I solved my morning hunger issue by grabbing a slice of cinnamon bread from the loaf I had baked the previous day.

    Cinnamon bread hanging from my teeth, I secured the shoulder straps of my backpack and leaped out of my apartment, quickly locking the door behind me as bolted down the stairwell.

    I looked down at my wrist watch as I ran down the street, and it read 7:43.

I'll have to pick up the pace.

I knew that if I didn't seriously run hard, I would for sure be late, so I took on a speed that couldn't even compare to my training pace.

    My race pace.

    Ignoring the weight of my baggage, I zoomed through my neighborhood and straight towards the direction of the city. The taste of cinnamon sugar invaded my mouth as I leaped over fire hydrants and other sidewalk obstacles as if they were simple hurdles. I avoided running into people by flawlessly dodging them with the occasional kick-flip off a street pole to jump over them.

I knew by the time I got to school I would probably look like a total mess from running, but I didn't particularly care at that point; I just really didn't want to be late.

    I was approaching the city, and the sidewalks were starting to fill with more and more people. I could still get around them, but it was taking too much time.

    Running on normal streets wouldn't get me to the school soon enough, so I had to think up a new route rather quickly. There were city buildings all around me, and I was only a few blocks away from Hônan.

    My watch read 7:48.

    I'll barely make it in time at this rate.

    The sidewalks were now completely full of pedestrians, and I had to start shoving past people as I ran. I looked around to see if there was another way for me to get around them without all the pushing, but every normal option seemed impossible.