The Valiant

Chapter 14

Thanksgiving is coming up in a few days and everyone is excited about it. There will be all shorts of food. Sammy and Maddie will be helping the talented teens here cook while the rest of us kick back and relax. I can smell the pumpkin pie already. I walk into the gym and see about thirty girls there, signing up for track.

"Okay, so let's start this," the head coach, Coach Swanson, says loudly, "to stay on this team you will need a C average or above. You will treat others with respect. You will not be sore losers. You will come to every practice unless you have an excuse signed by your parents, and I will be having a copy of each of your parents signatures so I can catch any attempt on forgery, it's against the law people..." She lists several more rules and such that I already know until we can finally head out to the track and try out.

"Riley, Peterson, Wilson, and Johnson, line up," Swanson says firmly and I step up to the second lane, "you will run one lap around," she gives the signal to start and I start off in third place. This is always my strategy; stay in third or second until the final 200, then give it everything. The Wilson girl tries to pass me, but I give it a little extra push to keep her from passing me. Finally we are at the final 200 and I give it all I got. I go faster until I pass the Johnson girl and I am far ahead of them. I pass the finish line about ten seconds before the others and I smile slightly as I catch my breath. A girl walks over to me with a warm smile.

"That was really cool," she says as we watch four other girls run, "I'm a freshman. I wish I could run as fast as you," I nod slightly as the four girls finish.

"Charleston, Smith, Stevens, and Manson," the coach yells up and I look up. I see Cheryl walk onto the track and stands in the third lane, looking confident. Her blonde hair is in a ponytail and she wears girly track clothing. I watch as the coach yells for them to go and raise an eyebrow as Cheryl is in second place. They run a lap and Cheryl surprisingly holds second the whole time, almost coming in first at the end of the lap. Her and the first girl, Stevens, tie and Cheryl sneaks a glare at her before smiling, proud of herself and confident that she secured herself a spot on the team. I roll my eyes as the girl next to me sighs. Before any of us can speak, the coach speaks again.

"Winston, Starr, and Matson," the coach calls and the girl jumps a bit then walks off. She stands in the third lane. The coach yells go and they are off. I watch as the girl stays in second the whole way. She is trying my strategy. I watch curiously as they run the last 100. The girl starts to go faster and is right behind the girl in the lead. They cross the finish line and the girl ends up in second. She bends over to catch her breath and she looks up at me, a worried look on her face. I give her a reassuring smile, trying to tell her that she will probably make the team. She looks away as the coach starts speaking.

"Okay, you can go home," she says loudly, "results will be posted up at my office Monday morning," we all head back into the school. I quickly change and exit the girls locker room. I say a quick goodbye to the coach and she smiles warmly at me.

"Hey Payton!" A voice calls and the same girl runs up to me. I smile at her and she returns it, "I'm Emily, by the way, Emily Winston," I nod.

"So do you think you made the team?" I ask her and she shrugs.

"No," she answers, "I didn't go that fast," I look over at her.

"Don't say that," I say, "you ran amazing. You defiantly made the team," she smiles weakly and opens her mouth but can't say anything when someone approaches us. I look up when I feel an arm around me. Drake smiles down at me and I step up and kiss him quick before walking as well.

"I'm all sweaty," I tell him, "you shouldn't put your arm around me until I take a shower," he shakes his head.

"I don't care," he says, "I can always shower," I smile and turn back to Emily, who looks awkward as she walks beside us.

"Oh! That's my mom!" Emily says, full of optimisim, "see you later, Payton and ,uh, you," she runs off and I giggle as I look up at Drake, who shrugs. We exit the school and into Drake's car. He starts the engine but doesn't drive. I look over at him curiously.

"Where do you want to eat?" He asks. I think for a bit before answering Dairy Queen. Drake nods and drives out of the parking lot.

-

Five minutes later we are sitting in a booth at Dairy Queen.

"So how was tryouts?" Drake asks before taking a sip of his Pepsi. I shrug and take a drink of my Mountain Dew.

"Same as always," I say softly, "I certainly impressed the coach. Again. But I also feel like most of the other girls hate my guts," Drake raises an eyebrow at that.

"Who would hate you?" He says, cracking a smile. I roll my eyes and blush, "what about that one girl you were walking with? She seemed to like you,"

"Yes, she does," I say, "she seems cheerful and non competitive. But I swear I caught a few of the girls glaring at me during and after practice,"

"Well, at least you don't have to deal with them until Monday," Drake says as someone gives us our food. I nod and grab my small basket, looking down at the three chicken strips and many cheese balls, the meal I always get when I come here. Atleast I won't have to deal with most of the girls until Monday since today was the last day of school until Thanksgiving break, which lasts Wednesday thru Sunday.

"Yeah, but I will have to deal with the anger of the ones who didn't get in," I say softly, looking at my plate, feeling guilty.

"Yeah, sure, but that will be short lived," Drake says, "no one would be pathetic as to hold a grudge against you for that long,"

"Well..." I start but eat a cheese ball to delay. Drake doesn't fall for it.

"Well what?" He asks, eyebrows raised.

"Cheryl kind of tried out as well," I say softly, knowing that if she did make the team or not, this season is going to be hard.

"Don't let her bring you down," Drake says, "she probably bought her way in," I nod slowly. He is right. I'm better than Cheryl, even if Cheryl does try to pay the coach to kick me off. The coach needs me. The team needs me. Well, not in a selfish way, but o win meets.

Ten minutes later, we finished eating and are at the Building. We go up to my apartment and sit down on the couch. We turn on the news and go to switch it when something catches my attention.

"Wait!" I say quickly, confusing Drake, "I wanna see this," he nods and sets the remote down on his lap.

"Reports are being sent in that there has been several killings in the past week," the news reporter, Jean Thompson, says. Her brown hair is in a fancy bun, she wears a black work shirt and black tight skirt with heels, "all them on the outskirts of Chicago. But, more recent ones, have been discovered deeper in Chicago than the last. So far, there are thirty people dead and two severely injured with what looks like claws and teeth marks," she pauses for affect, "authorities say that a feral dog or cat has been doing this, but detectives say that it is a much larger animal. Police advises you to stay indoors as much as possible and only make quick stops. Schools while remain functioning, jobs will still be performed. This is Jean Thompson signing off," and with that, the screen goes back to the anchors and that's when Drake changes it to Jurassic Park.

"Who d'ya think is doing this?" I ask him softly, ignoring the movie. Drake looks over at me and shrugs.

"I don't know," he says, thinking, "but it is just one animal. The authorities have it covered, so it is best to not fret about it," he then turns back to the movie, leaving me to ponder over who would be killing thirty innocent people.