Broken

Chapter One

        I step up to the line, my heart beating fast. The sun glares at me in the sky as I do my final stretches. We all line up in line on the track, preparing for the gun to go off and the race to start. I take a deep breath, trying to calm my nerves. It is the state championship track race for the mile, and there is a possibility that I can actually win it. Only if I push myself to my maximum.

        The referee stands back, raising his gun up into the air. Calm down Tessa, I think to myself, taking another deep breath. "On your marks!" the referee shouts. I step my right foot up to the white line on the track. "Get set!" I lean forward, ready to take off at any moment. BOOM. The gun is fired. I take off. The rush of the race begins, as I try to get to the front of the huge pack of girls that I am in. I try to think of my coaches words; Get yourself out of the pack. With all my strength, I get to the front of the pack, tring not to trip over anyone's feet.

        I can hear the crowd of kids from my school cheering my name. This somehow pushes me to keep going, even though I am dying. My lungs and legs are burning just after one lap, and I still have 3 more to go. I am still in the lead, and my coach yells out my split time for the first lap. "That's 70 seconds Tessa! Keep that and you will have a 4:40!" he screams excitedly.

        After the second lap, I am totally dying, and losing hope. I don't think that I can make it another two. Even though I am still in first place, someone is catching up behind me. Fast. My face contorts in agony as I speed up, pushing my legs as fast as they can go. 

        Lap 3. This is the most important lap, because the last lap is just pure adrenaline pushing you to the finish. My lungs literally feel as if they are on fire, and I am gasping for air. These are the moments when I try to figure out why I even do track, if it is this much torture. When I advance onto my last lap, I am still in first. 

        But not for long. The girl in second place suddenly pushes in front of me. My heart sinks. I don't think that I have the energy to push past her again. But then, I hear a voice in my head. Cmon Tessa, you just have one lap left, then you are done. You have to win this. 

        Somehow, I push myself faster, pumping my arms and lengthening my stride as far as I can. And I do it in the last 100 meters, I pass her. There is the finish, right ahead. I see the electronic timer. It reads 4:30. I can do this.

        And then, it is over. I cross the finish line, coming in first. I am done. Gasping for breath, I fall to my knees. I can hear the crowd cheering my name over and over. But I can barely even think straight. I feel nauseous and dizzy, but I know that I won. And that makes me happy. I lift my head to see my coach running towards me, his face lit with excitement. He kneels down, pulling me into a huge, sweaty hug. 

        I am still heaving for air, but he says, "Tessa, you did it! 4:39 mile, that is the new state record!" New state record! "Oh......my........god" I pant, smiling at him. He helps me up and we walk off of the track. The crowd of students from our school that came to watch surrounds me, cheering and patting me on the back. I am so glad that it is over.

        "Hey Tessa, that was frickin amazing" a voice says from behind me. I turn around to see Dylan Foster, a boy in my grade. We have barely spoken before, but I have always had this small crush on him. My heart begins to beat faster. He is so attractive right now, while I am a sweaty mess. I immeadiately blush, smiling at him.

"Thanks!" I exclaim breathessly.

"What was your time again?" he asks me.

I can't help but look into his beautiful blue eyes. They are mesmerizing.

"Umm, 4:39" I say, smiling.

His jaw drops.

"Are you serious?" he asks.

"Yeah" I reply, blushing.

"Damn...you are fast" he says, grinning at me.

My heart surges when he says this to me. His smile is so perfect, revealing his perfect teeth.

"Thanks" I say, grinning back at him. 

I am so embarassed of how I look right now, covered in sweat in my track uniform. 

"Hey, thanks for coming to watch" I say to him, smiling.

"It was my pleasure. I just decided to come, just to watch for fun. I'm glad i got to see you though" he says.

My heart begins pumping faster. Then, behind him, I see my parents waving. Dylan turns around, seeing them as well.

"Sorry, those are my parents. I got to go" I say.

He turns back to me. 

"No problem. I'll see you around then" he says, then begins to walk away.

        Oh my gosh, Dylan Foster just actually talked to me. That has been my dream forever. After taking a deep breath, I walk towards my parents. When I arrive, they pull me into a huge hug, congradulating me.

"You did amazing baby! You broke the state record!" my mother exclaims, pulling me into a tight and uncomfortable hug.

"I know" I say, smiling.

        My dad pats me on the back. "Amazing race, Tessa" he says.

        After I cooldown completely, we drive home. My parents decide to treat me out to dinner to celebrate, taking me to the Cheesecake Factory. We onyl go to the Cheesecake Factory for special occasions, and this is one. I stuff myself with food and cheesecake, of course.

        Once we arrive home, late that night, I shower, then begin my homework. I am so tired, I can barely keep my eyes opens as I study my biology textbook. After minutes of reading the same sentence over and over again, I decide to wing it on studying, and just go to bed.

        After washing up, I climb into bed. Before I fall asleep, I think about Dylan, and the conversation we had today. It makes me happy that he actually came to the meet, just to watch me. I smile to myself, before falling into a deep sleep.