The team won’t eat any of that before we run. It’s too heavy. We’ll stick to bananas and protein goo that claims it will give you a burst of energy before the race. We get the good stuff when we’re done.
“There you are,” David says, appearing from behind one of the giant canvas prints. There’s a piece of bacon in his hand. I eye it enviously as he takes a bite. He stares at me as he chews. “You look terrible.”
“Gee, thanks,” I mumble and run a hand over my hair. I barely brushed my teeth this morning and didn’t look in the mirror to see how bad my bedhead was before puttingon my uniform. I just raced to school praying the bus didn’t leave me behind.
“You look like you’re full of energy,” Jonathan says to David as he comes up beside me. “Whatever stimulants you’re on, please share with your brother.”
David laughs. “No stimulants. Not even coffee. Don’t need them.”
“That’s too bad. Connor could use them,” Jonathan says before spotting his parents and going over to greet them. Sarah does the same, and soon, it’s just me and David.
He cocks his head. “Seriously, you look exhausted.”
My mouth twists into a sour expression. “So I’ve heard.”
“Did you pull an all-nighter?”
Yes, but not intentionally. I couldn’t sleep because I couldn’t turn my brain off no matter how hard I tried.
A squeal, one I instantly recognize as Ella’s, rings through the air. How fitting that the reason I didn’t sleep would choose this moment to make her presence known. I sigh as I think of all the racing thoughts I couldn’t calm. I kept thinking about Hardy’s party and how pretty she looked that night and how she helped me with my shirt. And then what happened at MASE. Convincing my dad to pay for the peach catastrophe wasn’t the smartest thing I’ve ever done. I’m still not sure why I volunteered him. I’ve been replaying that day in my mind ever since.
I can’t stop thinking about Ella. She’s gotten under my skin in a way that I don’t understand. She’s my biggest rival, yet the more I interact with her, the more she consumes my thoughts.
She runs over to Lily and Hardy. I didn’t see them when we first walked up, but they’re standing by Ella’s canvas picture with bright pink posters covered in obscene amounts of glitter.
Lily’s says “Worst Parade Ever” and has a drawing of a large thumbs-down. Hardy is holding one with question marks all over it with the words, “Where Is Everyone Going?” in big block letters.
“You came,” Ella screams, pulling Lily close. They do a little hug/dance thing making more high-pitched noises the whole time. The entire display is over the top and extremely obnoxious. I turn back to David.
His eyes narrow at me. “What was that about?”
“What was what about?”
He jerks his chin toward Ella. “You watching Ella like that.”
I force myself to chuckle and muster up the best condescending tone I can manage. “Well, you see, there’s this thing called Citrus Scholar. Maybe you’ve heard of it. Ella and I have been competing against each other for years.”
David continues to stare at me.
“I was watching her because she’s my competition, and I’m looking for weakness.” My voice still has the same tone, but even I can hear the lack of confidence in it.
David looks like he wants to say more, but Coach Trish is calling everyone over. I smile at him before joining my teammates. We got to the park later than usual, and we don’t have much time before the race starts. Coach gives us a quick pep talk before having us line up. Most racesseparate the boys and girls varsity teams into two different races, but this course has us going at the same time. It means there will be a bottleneck at the beginning of the race this morning.
“I know you said you’re fine, but you’re obviously exhausted,” Jonathan says as we get in position. “Can I take your spot in the front just this once?”
My first instinct is to say no. I’ve worked hard to be the top runner for Citrus Prep, but Jonathan is also a senior. He works really hard, and I know it would mean so much to him to get to be in the number one position today. Not only did his parents come out but so did uncles and aunts and cousins. He’s got a cheering section that rivals our normal turnout for cross country.
Since I already know I won’t be running my best today, I nod. “Go for it.”
“Thanks, man.” He beams as he takes the spot in front of me. I catch Sarah’s eye, and she smiles approvingly at me. At least someone appreciates it. If my parents saw what I did, they wouldn’t be as happy.
I still feel the heavy weight of drowsiness dragging me down as we wait for the race to start. I jog in place for a second and raise my arms above my head to get the blood flowing. My shirt waves wildly with the movement, and I don’t think much about it until my eyes land on Ella. She’s staring at the exposed sliver of skin on my stomach. I stop jogging immediately, and when I do, her gaze lifts to find mine.
Her eyes widen before snapping to the ground, but Ican still see the light blush on her cheeks. She doesn’t look back in my direction, but I know she’s shaken. It feels good to put her off-balance if she’s keeping me up all night. I smile knowing I have an effect on her, too.
Then the gun goes off signaling the start of the race.
I don’t PR,but it’s not my worst race time either. The course was easy—no sand, no hills, just nice grassy paths. I still beat Jonathan despite his split-second head start, and now I stand near the end of the course to encourage the rest of the runners as they cross the finish line.
