The Other Side - ON HOLD UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE

Chapter Three:

The Other Side

CHAPTER THREE:

My heart was clenching tightly to my ribcage with its small, dainty, imagined hands not daring to let go. It pumped faster and faster. Soon enough I found myself in a steady rhythm, the exact one I was looking for since I hit the needed speed. “Faster.” I said looking at the coach. The muttering just became louder, but I was a pro. I knew how to tune everyone out to complete silence. With a shaky hand the coach went to speed up the machine. But a speed higher never does much. 15 seconds. That’s all I had left. But I was a determined girl and was planning to go longer than anyone expected. An extra 30 seconds. To do that, I’ll need to catch a nice speed. Scoffing the teacher off, I, myself went to the speed button bringing it up quickly to a 10. Sweat was slowly starting to form and I could almost feel the blood swimming closely to my skins surface surely showing up red.

It was becoming hard to breath once again and I was feeling slightly light headed. But I knew there was only 5 seconds till I have beaten the record – the record that would allow me (a girl) to run at school. A stupid reason, I know. But I didn’t want to stop. It must have had to do with the feeling of numbness that followed in my exercise. The cheers grew louder the further on I got. I passed. I said to myself. 43 seconds counting on. The smile on my face broke out for everyone to see. Gradually the speed came back to a walk ending in a complete stop. Breathing hard, I stepped down as if I was going to receive a medal. Obviously I wasn’t. But I had to get off the machine to be able to come to terms. Not much sweat was showing, but I new all it took was for me to cool down for my body to release the liquid. But I knew that it was only a matter of time.

“Well.” The coach said loudly clearing his throat in the process. “Congratulations…Miss Jones.” I smiled shaking his hand hoping my lungs wouldn’t all of a sudden explode.

“No…biggi.” I huffed. The people around let out a laugh.

“This certainly is quite big.” The coach noted as he glanced down at the clipboard and jotted my name down in the spare box. The last spare box. My spare box in fact. But deep, deep down in my heart, the way coach looked at me with those eyes, I knew it was the end of my female challenges, this just allowed me to get a space on the track register.

“Yeah! No girl has ever passed that test!” The blonde giggled interrupting the coach. I laughed as my oxygen was slowly returning. “Good work Jones. Looks like we’ll be seeing you on the track…soon.” Coach smiled his dazzling teeth bright before he sent the students away to their warm up. Hearing soon so far off from his sentence made me only believe in my predicaments. Didn’t you know that you don’t always get what you wish for? I breathed in and out deeply hoping my oxygen would magically confront me again when suddenly a figure caught my eye. He was just leaning against the weight lifts looking bored with his life. I flashed him the same arrogant smile he had been showing me ever since. Track, athletics, just keeps getting better.

I sat down my tray at an empty table. Honestly, I didn’t care about what people would think about me sitting alone. There were most likely already thinking words like, ‘loner’ or ‘saddo’, I’m already the ‘newbie’ might as well give them a reason to talk about me. However, guess what. This bitch right here has two middle fingers and a bowl of ‘not giving a fuck’ I glanced twice at the food suddenly feeling my rushed breakfast returning up my throat. I sighed pushing it the side. I was seated right at the edge of the cafeteria by huge windows showing out to the field of sweaty boys running around like idiots. I rolled my eyes as one waved at me. Getting finally bored at watching some pricks run about like dogs, I prepped my feet up on the table pulling out my phone and going through the thousand imaginary texts I decided to have. I made sure my panties weren’t showing and everything that was meant to stay hidden was, before proceeding to go through the empty contacts I have. I think I’m going to have pizza tonight. I can’t really be asked to live through another dinner with that family.