Eternal.

Chapter one

I ran. Past the 300 meter mark, I turned and looked behind me at my opponent. A boy with brown hair that flew in his face while he ran; he wore a white T-shirt with the name Gateway High school in big black letters. His shorts bunched up around his thighs the more he ran. He didn’t run very fast. Or, if he did, I was faster. I hadn’t trained myself for this track meet; still, I was one of the fastest on my team. The boy stumbled, out of breath, about 100 or so meters behind me. I hit the 350 meter mark, 450 meters to go.  I didn’t hear very much cheering from the bleachers; then again, I couldn’t even hear my own breathing with my heart pounding so loudly. My family was here in the bleachers somewhere, behind them would be Alexavier. My hair was drenched fromsweat, my arms pumped, and my head was over-heating, but my legs were fine.  I only had to race this once, and then I could save my energy for the next meet against Gateway High next week. 450 mark. I wasn’t tired, actually. I felt racing against Gateway high was fun because nothing was better than competition.

I passed the finish line in front of the bleachers. As soon as I passed it I stopped running and headed straight for the bleachers without making it clear that I was looking for my family.  They waved me over and I stepped over one bench to get to the second bench which they were sitting on. “Good job, sis,” my brother said as I sat next to him, “You looked good out there.” 

“Thanks,” I said, I didn’t want him to say anything else, his voice was too loud in my ear. Someone fumbled sitting down next to me. It was Alexavier. I was kind of hoping to find him first but I hadn’t.

“Yo,” he said as he handed me a new plastic water bottle. I said, “thank you,” laughing and taking the bottle as if it were a joke. Alexavier is my closest friend. He is three months younger than me, and although he is a bit weird, he’s the nicest guy I’ve ever known. I looked back down at the track. My friend April was lined up next. Her track uniform looked just like mine: Blue with a gold V-neck and in gold capital letters VALLEY REGIONAL. Our school was quite big; the border lining the whole school and its baseball and football/track fields was a forest of dead trees. April’s hair hung at her side like it always had. I’ve known April since the first grade and not once can I remember a hair tie ever being in her hair. Her hair, dark brown and curly,. was as curly as a ribbon you ran scissors through to give it a cute elegance on a present. “Ready… Go!” The coach blew his whistle and off ran April and her blonde haired foe. He was faster than her by just three inches.  I knew how bad April would feel if she lost. She’s a great girl, but she cries when she loses something. I took another gulp of water. My brother was probably ready to go, Alexavier was probably watching me, but I kept my eyes on April’s legs. I studied the way her arms pumped, so carelessly. I caught a glimpse of her expression when her hair was removed from her face by the wind. She was focused;So focused it looked like she was angry; like her head was going to explode. I had to run 800 meters; she only had to run 400. “You can do it, ‘Pril,” I whispered, hoping the words could somehow travel to her ears. Alexavier nudged my elbow. I looked at him and he leaned in close. I leaned back a bit so I could still breathe. “How many of those guys do you bet have girlfriends?” he asked under his breath. He was talking about the boys on the other team.

I looked across the field. I couldn’t see the other team very well. They were huddled all the way on the other side of the field; I couldn’t see that far. “Can’t imagine many, but it’s hard to say.” I said remembering what the boy I raced looked like.

The boy fumbled and his brown hair looked sweaty, he wasn’t the skinniest guy either. I felt Alexavier smile at my response. I could say anything, any stupid thing, and Alexavier would smile. April finished her race. She lost. The opposing boy beat her by four steps. She walked over to her water bottle looking like she was going to throw up. I forgot about Alex for a minute and fumbled down the bleachers. “’Pril, you alright?” she nodded her head as she tipped her head back to gulp down some water. “You sure?” I crossed my arms, I wasn’t convinced.