Geek's Obsession

The Sprint

The athletic season has started. As boys and girls fill out the stadium, the young athletes prepare themselves with stretches and warmups. The sun is out, some clouds in the sky, but luckily there's no grey meaning there will be no rain. The weather is hot whilst the breeze is light.

"Zipporah!" Coach Drake yelled.

"Yes sir!?" Zipporah looked up in confusion as she finished up her prayer. She tied her neon green laces before jogging 300 yards to him.
"Yes sir?" She repeated quieter.

"You're no longer running in lane 4, you will be on lane 8." He patted her shoulder before walking off.

"Wait! But- but..." She sighed.

She hated last minute changes, they always seemed to mess her up. She has been training with lane 4 to just be told different. She hated the 8th lane and hadn't prepared for it, but regardless of her being distracted from this little change she finished her stretches before walking over to the track.
She looked towards the crowd to see most of the town watching. Her family was obviously at the front, cheering her on. She continued to search the crowd, as if she was expecting someone in particular. But why? Why would he come to a sports event?

"May all participants stand in their assigned lane." Spoke the commentator, through the microphone.

Zipporah made her way to lane 8. She shook off her nerves and took a deep breath. She looked over to see who took lane 4. And much to her surprise it was Tellise. She was confused as to why she had to move lane just so someone else could take her lane. But as it was Tellise, who she grew to love as a friend so she shrugged it off and began to not mind. Whatever the result of this race is, its a hobby for Zipporah, therefore there's no reason to take things to heart.

"Alright then.. Welcome, ladies and gentlemen to this year's 20.. Athletic games. First up we have 100m sprint, girls." After the dryly voiced commentator announced the crowd went wild. The commentator continued to explain today's events ect.
"On your marks.... Get set!... GO!" The ref yelled before firing his gun.

The girls run as fast as they could. Zipporah was in her element. She felt her body pushing against the subtle wind. She was in the lead and from the looks of it, way in front of the others. Hower in the last 5 metres there was a dip in the track, which she felt into and twisted her ankle. As she screamed in pain the audience gasped as the rest of the runners passed her. The coach, Drake, came over to try and help her, but she couldn't stand on it. Another coach helped Zipporah up and put her arm over his shoulder, whilst Drake did the same to the other side. She hopped on one leg as they carried her off site. Her family met her in the first aid area. There was a lot of panic going on and it was making Zipporah's head spin.

"I don't feel too good." She stated in a faint whisper, but the hype and craze overrided her statement.

An unfamiliar dizziness began to occur, along with the feeling of wanting to throw up. Before Zipporah could comprehend the situation and the different types of pains, she passed out.

..

There was a baby's cry in the background, which was clearly heard. It caused Zipporah to sigh. She hated when her baby sister's cries awoke her blissful slumbers. But then realisation hit her.
Wasn't she supposed to be on the track? Shouldn't she have competed in several events?

Zipporah's body jerked as her eyes fluttered open. The smell of anticeptic travelled up her nostrils as she inhaled deeply. She looked down to see herself still dressed in her sporty fitted running shorts and vest top. She looked around to see she was laying on a bed, whilst her brother and father sat on leather chairs to her right. Neither had acknowledged her awoken state due to how her brother was concentrating on his DSI, whilst her father was reading a random magazine.
There was a curtain draped around the small area that captivated her. Moments later her step mother pulled back the curtain to enter the space, with the baby in her arms. She looked straight towards Zipporah and gasped in relief as she made her way over to her. Both males were alerted by the mother's movements that Zipporah was now conscious.
Before Zipporah was able to speak or ask questions she was engulfed in a group family hug.

"How do you feel?" Asked Sarai.

"I'm fine, what happened?"

"You don't remember?" He asked with concern.

"I remember that I fell into a hole on the track, but that's about it." She said innocently.

"You then died before the doctors had to resuscitate you!" Exaggerated her little brother.

"Be sensible!" Their step mother, Leah scolded the young male, throwing him a warning look. She then provided an explanation in a calm voice. "You fainted. Then the doctors had a look at you ankle, which is only, luckily, sprained and not broken."

"Oh." Was all Zipporah could muster. She didn't know what to say. She looked down to her foot, which didn't hurt. However, she knew that was because of the pain killers they must've given to her.

Zipporah then felt embarrassed. She wasn't that sad that she didn't come top 3, but was disappointed that she came last. Not just because she didn't make it in time, but because she fell in front of everyone. She knew she was going to be targeted by it, despite her fall not being her fault. There shouldn't of been a hole in the track anyways. Plus the track should've been checked previously nevertheless. Instead of dwelling further, Zipporah sighed.

"When can I leave?" She mopped.

"Hopefully, later dis' evening. We just ah wait for di doctor to return." Sarai claimed as he stroked his daughter's face.

The remainder of the afternoon consisted of waiting on some answers about Zipporah's mobility. Once the results were in, Zipporah was said to br fine and all good to go, with the exception of having to use crutches and not being eligible of playing sports for at least 6 weeks. This annoyed her greatly, but she knew if she went against the doctor's word she could cause more harm the good to her already sprained ankle.

When Zipporah went home she couldnt help but feel in awe. She had a stack of cards awaiting for her, saying 'get well soon.. ". Even on social media her following has increased immensely, even receiving many private messages. She was becoming quite gobsmacked with how supportive the community was towards her fall.
She began to think, maybe this whole situation is a little overrated and exaggerated, but then she read something on how someone sabotaged the race but creating holes in the track. There's a lot of hush money going about, whilst someone created a dirty idea for dirty work to happen on their own behalf. Zipporah was shocked, but wasn't at the same time. She was the current best and a hater made sure she couldn't remain so in this race. Why did Tellise take her lane? Was she involved with the scheming of this?