The Last Lap

Chapter One

Running is a double-edged sword. Before and during the run, you curse at yourself for participating. The results, however, are totally worth it. The way my legs became sculpted after leg day or the way the slopes of my triceps glistened after lifting made me feel euphoric. The way that my gold, shiny necklace hit my collarbone with the Qur'an dangling. Through the pain and suffering, I found peace.

While I tried to keep up with my running mates, I thought about the boys in my life, or the lack of one. Heavy panting and the mix of my mellow music spilling out from my earbuds lead me to think about my problems. Running was an escape but also a trap. People say they do all their thinking in the shower but for me, it was when my feet were pounding the pavement to the other side of town. I never really got away from my thoughts. They were constantly chasing me and the temporary release runs provided for me became shorter each day. What once was my escape was slowly turning into another failed outlet.

"Ema," a soft voice called out to me, immediately followed by a tug of my arm. I turned around and paused my music.

"You need to slow down or else you're going to be too tired to keep up. It's okay to not be as fast as us," Ana told me. I nodded in reply, slowing down to match her stride. "It's only practice anyway."

Anastasia, also known as Ana, was a Russian exchange student. She spoke English perfectly and fit in with the majority of the other students at Westbrook High. Ana had frosty blonde hair and icy grayish blue eyes to match. If we stood together for long enough, some people would ask us if we were sisters because of our facial structure. I, however, was not as tall as Ana. She was at least five foot nine and a giant in comparison to me. I was an even five foot five with no room to grow. She was so stammeringly beautiful and I was so not.

My hair did not shine as bright as hers did. My hair had turned nearly white during the summer but it was gone now. The leaves had fallen and the threat of snow hung over our heads almost every other day. My eyes seemed more green than blue and my thin, almost non-existent eyebrows only shaped them to look like hawk eyes. My face was complete with a soft nose and a thick bottom lip. Or what I told was thick.

My thoughts started to trickle in and eventually, Ana interrupted the calm silence by saying, "Girl, if you're still thinking about that guy I'm going to smack you with the roller when we get back," She playfully threatened. I grinned and rolled my eyes at her, "Ana, he's so cute! I can't go without thinking about him. Isaac is so smart. He makes me think about things I've never even thought about before. Have you ever thought about how temporary things are? How garbage humans really are?" my mouth released a waterfall of words that I could no longer control.

Ana blinked at me with annoyance in her eyes, "Bro, you've got to get over him. He isn't even that cute. Sure he's smart, but he's also full of himself and a big flirt. You've said this before, remember? Besides, aren't you Bosnian? Your parents would never accept him. Just stop thinking about him and you will feel better," She advised me, starting to shuffle back into a jog. I moved my head in response. I knew I vented about the same topic at least thirty times before to her so I just plugged my earbuds back in and jogged the rest of the way back. It was better to keep things to myself but I kept releasing this built up gas. I was clinging on to the ledge and there was no one to help me get out safely.

The clear, blue sky was an illusion to the wind that bit at our backs as we made the final stride down the hill that led to our school. Ana, obviously faster than me, reached the entrance to the gym first, leaving me a few feet behind. I sighed and entered in one second before the door was going to shut. I was a last minute person for everything.

Coach Reynolds, one of the youngest people to ever coach at Westbrook, smiled at us as soon as we came in and picked up some weights before bringing them over to us. He effortlessly carried over two pairs of different weights prior to reaching us. He tossed them to us before instructing, "Rows, overhead press, reverse butterfly, and then come into the weight room." Today was back and shoulders day. Gross.