Bas took Adam’s arm and led him to the computer lab, not study hall. “You are going to sit down and take a test.”
“Huh? Like a trial French exam or what?”
“No, an interests calculator. It’s something that is supposed to help you decide what you want to do with the rest of your life. You are severely lacking focus.” Bas leaned over and keyed in a web address. “Just answer the questions as honestly as you can, easy peasy.”
“What about the French midterm?”
“You’re doing better in French 3 than most of the kids in AP.”
Adam blinked at the screen and the looming questions. What exactly did this test tell anyone? Would he come to the end and it would scream gay, clueless, and sixteen?
The first question was a group of five multiple choice from Never to Always, beginning with:You like creative ideas.
Okay, he could do this. Adam clicked through the questions, not spending much time lingering over each one and just going with his initial reaction. When he reached the end and clicked submit, the page flipped and Bas reappeared. According to the survey, Adam was a visionary. And the list of careers? He sighed. “I’m still wishy-washy,” he told Bas.
“Not at all. You’re just a helper, is all. You just need someone or something to take care of. You have creativity that needs to be tapped and focused into a project.” He plunked down in the chair next to Adam and opened a notebook. “So what subjects do you actually like?”
Adam smiled. “Track.”
Bas sighed and banged his head on the table.
After Adam answered a heap of questions, Bas told Adam he would do some research and get back to him. The only thing they’d discovered was that Adam sort of picked up things without really trying to learn them when it came to math and science, but also had a way with writing that made Bas think Adam was meant to be some sort of Pulitzer Prize winner. Adam’s reading comprehension was good, but his attention span was questionable if doing anything other than running.
Adam had hundreds of notebooks full of random ramblings, incoherent thoughts he just poured out to pages to clear his head when running wasn’t enough. Once he’d learned to type in the sixth grade, he’d transferred most of it to his computer in neat little files labeled by years and topics. He was pretty sure no one was going to look back at all that and think he was changing the world.
By the time study hall was over, Adam was happy to get away and even happier to get the chance to put on his running shoes and just let go. No other texts had arrived from Ru, and yesterday sort of felt like a sweet dream that was slowly fading. Once Adam began to run, he just let it all go and let his body work. The chaos of the world dropped away from around him and all that mattered was movement and the rolling breath that kept his heart pumping.
Nate kept up better than he had been. When the whistle blew as a reminder for them to speed up after the tenth lap, Adam really set in for the long haul and stopped caring whether or not anyone could keep up.
Since it was now a week into October, the air had begun to take on a deeper chill. Snow began to fall, and his lungs really burned but in a good way. He didn’t realize until the final call that he’d left everyone behind and done nearly twice the laps. Even Nate had fallen back, panting and clutching his side. Everyone else was off doing other drills.
Adam slowed as he approached Nate. “Do you still want to stay late?” Adam asked through heavy breaths. His body was warm, fluid, and he could probably go for another hour.
Nate shook his head. “I thought I was catching up. Thought maybe I had a chance, but wow. You just flew by me like you had fucking wings, Corbin. I’m an elephant compared to you. And Northern doesn’t have a chance as a track team, but you sure as hell have a chance to get to state without us.”
Adam frowned at him, wondering if he was saying what he was hearing. “We need at least three to compete. Six for a chance at nationals, and it’s more than six months until the first competition. You’re giving up?”
“I’m never going to be as fast as you.”
“You don’t have to be as fast as me. You just have to be faster than the other guys.” They stared at each other for a few minutes.
Nate finally looked away.
“Okay. You can spend more time practicing tackles, not a big deal. I’d rather run than get thrown to the ground by a couple of three-hundred-pound gorillas.” Adam glanced at the jockstraps, who were lingering near the course, and realized just how true those words were. Maybe it was time for him to give up the ghost and let football go.
Nate flinched. “Yeah, about that. I know they’ve been bugging you.”
“Not any more than normal.” The jockstraps always had it out for anyone who wasn’t like them: huge, dumb, and slow. Adam was fast enough and smart enough to stay out of their way.
Nate shrugged and held out his hand. “Still friends?”
Were they? Adam had never really thought of Nate as one, but he took his hand anyway. “Yeah. You ever want to run, let me know.” Adam let go and headed over to the coach, who was packing up his gear.
Once Adam actually got home and sat down, the activities of the day really started to wear him down. His phone ringing yanked him out of a light sleep. It was just after nine, and Adam was still fully clothed lying in bed. He kicked off his shoes and reached for his cell. The name on the screen brought a smile to his face. “Hey.”
“Hey,” Ru said. “How was your day?”
“I missed you, but I ran like a frickin’ demon.”
