“Past stories and personal experiences. Human emotions and actions are complicated and I want to study the hows and whys.”
“Interesting.” He holds his gaze on me a little longer before carrying it over my shoulder.
Two girls from the team, Nicole, and Parker, make it up the stairs. Nicole has really curly blond hair and Parker is red-haired and pale with freckles. They greet Torres, who only nods. He slips his phone into his back pocket, just as three more girls make their way up.
Then Melanie appears, and for the first time she’s walking by herself. There’s a frown on her face. “I hate mornings, Torres,” she grumbles as she approaches the group. “I hope this is a temporary thing.”
“Let’s stretch it out on the lawn.” Torres ignores her, walking past me, and going down the stairs.
What the hell? Why tell us to meet at the hall if we really needed to be on the lawn?
Some of the girls groan and Melanie curses under her breath, but we follow him, eventually stepping onto the damp green grass. We all do our standing stretches and afterward, Torres says he’s going to jog behind us while we run around campus. We’re running from Marble Hall to the football field, which is about a fifteen-minute jog.
For the most part, I find the jog refreshing this early in the morning. The campus is quiet and birds are singing sweet melodies. The sun is slowly slipping over the horizon, the warmth of its rays kissing my skin in-between the lines of trees.
To keep things casual, I keep my jog steady, jogging alongside Nicole and Parker, who don’t exactly flock to Melanie, but they also keep a distance from me. I look at them and their faces are red, their backs too straight. Daddy would have a fit if he could see how stiff they are.
“Let’s pick up the pace,” Torres calls out as we reach a trail that leads to the football field. I can no longer run beside Nicole and Parker. I push faster, needing the speed. I end up in the front, next to Melanie. I feel her glance at me and then put her focus ahead again.
“Faster!” Torres calls out. “I need to see those arms pumping! Remember, the only way to get better is to compete against yourself! Push yourself!”
I catch more speed, my heart beating faster. The freeness of this run consumes me. The fall air is cool against my skin and my legs feel like they’re carrying me themselves. The trail is lined with thick, tall oak trees, the leaves fluttering down in hues of yellows, oranges, and browns.
Janine, Kendall, and I have jogged this specific trail twice. Three more minutes, give or take, and we’ll be on the football field.
I can feel it getting closer with each step. The team is behind me. I glance over at Melanie and it’s like she’s trying to keep up with me but struggling to do so. This isn’t a race. She doesn’t have to compete with me. She should only be focused on herself.
I try and ignore her, focusing on my own two feet.
“Finish strong! Keep pushing!” Torres again.
The open gate to the track appears. My heart is beating harder, faster in my chest and I’m so close. So close.
But before I know it, something yellow pops up in front of me and I trip and fall. I tumble sideways, fortunately out of the way of the teammates behind me, and I let out a shrill cry, instantly reaching for my ankle.
The girls gasp and stop, turning to look at me. “Oh my God! Are you okay?” Nicole asks, bending down. Her expression is panicked, her eyes wide as she touches my ankle. I can’t even focus on Nicole.
I lock eyes on Melanie. She’s close to the gate, her hands on her hips. I saw her pale leg. Her neon yellow shoes. She tripped me. How could she do that?
I start to stand, wanting to give her a piece of my damn mind, but when I do, I stumble again and another sharp pain pierces my ankle.
“Ow…shit!” I hiss, grabbing it again.
“We’re close to the track. I can go get some ice,” Nicole says, still in a panic.
“Don’t try to move. You probably rolled it a little too hard.” Torres crouches down and holds my foot, checking out my ankle. “It’s already starting to swell. Nicole, go grab the ice. Everyone else go about your day. We’ll do more running and conditioning tonight.”
Nicole takes off.
The other girls look at me a long time before finally listening to Torres and heading to the track. I would be embarrassed by this if my ankle weren’t hurting so much.
“Is there anything I can do?” Melanie asks, lingering. She’s not looking at me. Only at Torres’ back.