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“Seth!” I hear someone call from behind.
I whirl around, searching the crowds of people standing behind the rope. I force a smile when I find Hunter, Lucas, and Rachel standing behind me. I wave my hands, trying to appear happy and excited. I know I should go to them, thank them for coming to support me, but I’m worried about my foot.
I need to save my energy for the race.
Lucas stares at me as if I’ve sprouted three heads while Hunter grimaces. Rachel looks worried and I quickly turn away from them, trying to focus on my stretches. I raise my knees to my chest, moving slowly so as not to irritate my heel. I don’t need their worry. I’m fine. I can do this.
I need to do this or else Coach will take back the grant.
“Is that Garcia I see over there?”
I turn around, scowling when I find Alex Goode smiling at me with arms crossed. He’s surrounded by a crowd of other runners. Some older, others younger, some even slightly overweight; probably wanting to relive their running days. They’ll be easy to outrun once the race starts.
Alex wrinkles his nose, the joyful gleam in his gaze diminishing as he looks me up and down. “Well, I see half of Garcia. Where’s the other half?” His smile vanishes, andhe strides towards me, tilting his head from side to side.
If it wasn’t for the crowd of onlookers watching us, I would probably punch him in the face. I don’t know why, but Alex is probably the only person he can get under my skin. Well, him and Rachel.
“Are you sure you’re good to run?”
I force a smile as he stops in front of me, hating the mockingly worried expression on his face. Like this guy ever cares about anyone but himself. Most likely, he’s just looking down his nose at me, wanting to get to me so I trip up once the race begins. Lucky for me, I’m good at reading people like him. I know how to keep my mind in the game.
“Absolutely,” I say bitterly while leaning towards him, my hands fisting. “Just you wait, Goode, it’ll be my backside you see racing past you.”
Alex’s lips twitch and something mischievous glimmers in his gaze. “I look forward to it.”
“Racers,” came a voice on the microphone with a French accent. “Get into position. We will be starting shortly.”
With one last scowl in Alex’s direction, I turn around and carefully walk towards my spot in front of the starting line, finding the number thirty six drawn in chalk on the ground. I inhale deeply,trying to ignore the worry twisting my stomach. I have been training for this the past several weeks. I know I can do this. I’ve raced in so many track meets. I shouldn’t be feeling nervous.
But I am.
I don’t know why I’m so riled up. Sure, this marathon is a bit different than others. If I fail, I lose a ton of money and will have to pay back coach. I’ll have to take on several jobs. It’ll definitely suck.
Therefore, I won’t lose.
I can’t lose.
I inhale deeply while lifting my gaze, keeping my focus on that yellow ribbon. I can hear my heart pounding in my ears. My stomach grumbles angrily. I barely ate anything this morning for breakfast; just some banana and a tablespoon of peanut butter. My hands tremble while my legs wobble to keep me steady. As soon as I cross that finish line I plan on celebrating with a very large steak dinner.
Or a pizza.
A giant pizza covered in pepperoni just for me.
My mouth salivates just thinking about it.
“You can do it Seth!” I hear Rachel shout.
I turn towards the direction of her voice, my eyes widening as I find her with a sign in her hands. GO SETH!!! It reads with several hearts surrounding my name. My heart swells as I stare at it, finding it the most adorable thing anyone has ever done for me. Rachel meets my gaze and I find all the worry and anxiety dissipating as I gaze into her green eyes.
As soon as this is done with, I’m going to spend every possible moment with her. I’m going to drown her in kisses. I’m going to press my body into hers, make her cry out my name until I’m the only one she can possibly think about.
“On your mark!” A man shouts into the microphone.
I jerk my attentions forward. My hands fist as I lower my body into a running stance. I can do this, I tell myself once more, my fingers digging into my palms.
“Get set!”
I dig the balls of my feet into the cement. My breath calms. All sound leaves my ears as I focus all my thoughts, all my energies on the race before me.
