11:11 (Ongoing)

The night before districts

CHAPTER 22.

The night before districts:

It was a tense night. I went to bed early to allow my body to rest properly. But the thoughts about the race kept me up; I couldn't help but think about the race and what the outcome would be. Mom and brother were excited as well, but they weren't going to be there to cheer me on. Sarah's words stuck to me; I couldn't let it go as to how she still looked at me as her friend. Thinking deeply about this, my eyes started to feel numb, and my eyes were constantly blinking. A heavy load of thoughts in my head convinced me to go to sleep since I was tired of all this thinking.

Next morning:

I woke up the next morning filled with confidence and excitement. We had to gather at 9:00 AM on the allotted field track. I brushed myself off and freshened myself up as usual. The nervous feeling that I had been having was getting more intense since the time for districts was closing in on me. I went towards the kitchen to fill myself up with the necessary protein before the race. My Brother was off to work, so we didn't have time to meet in the morning. Mom, on the other hand, had made breakfast for me and was leaving for work. As she was leaving, she came to me and stood beside me. I was in deep thought, which is when Mom took her hand and calmly put it above my head. Her hands were cold yet still felt warm as if they were giving me strength. She patted my head gently and said:

"I know you're tensed. But you have been working so hard for the past three months that this is the first time I have seen you actually be so nervous about something. You have given your best, and I know you will do your best. So snap out of it and go out there with no regrets. Good luck!"

Her words were not only refreshing but reassuring; all my nervousness went up in the air, making my thoughts clear.

"Thank you, Mom, that was really helpful," I said.

"You're welcome; now let me go to work." I'll see you in the evening crowned as the district champion."

"Yeah!" "Absolutely," I replied.

When Mom left home for work, I sent her off with a goodbye and continued having my breakfast in the kitchen. It was a light breakfast just to help me consume some key nutrients. The phone, which was kept aside on the table during breakfast, was glowing every second with my group notifications. All were discussing anything random in the group to hide their nervousness. I enjoyed having my breakfast. After a healthy meal, it was now time for me to get going.

Wearing a grey tank top with silk white shorts at the bottom, which would complement my black spike shoes, which I would eventually be wearing on the ground.

I took all the necessary stuff required for me to go through the day and left home. Before leaving home, I got a hold of my favorite black and light blue jacket, wore it around my torso, and left home.

I started walking down the street, and everyone would glare at me. I felt I was overdressed, which made me concerned, but that wasn't the case; they were glaring at me because my aura gave them the vibe of some important sports personality, which was not at all how I would describe myself.

I sat on the train. The ground was nearby, but not where we kept on practicing. As I sat on the train, I saw Kunal. I tried to hide myself from him, but it wasn't possible since my outfit was way too catchy.

'Where are you going, Yohan?" Kunal asked.

I looked towards Kunal, and he was sitting alone. As far as my eyes could see, I couldn't see Sarah around him.

"Come, the seats are empty, and there's no need to worry; Sarah isn't with me, as you can see."

There wasn't much problem if Sarah wasn't there, so I went over to Kunal's seat and sat over there.

We sat there in silence, like some strangers sitting next to each other. His hands were covered with black sleeves and the top was overtaken by a maroon jersey and dark blue shorts at the bottom, Kunal looked cool as always.

We reached the station. got off the train, and as soon as we got down the train, I could see Sarah, Anuja, and Simran coming from behind.

"Didn't you say Sarah wasn't with you?" I asked.

"So I said what I said, she wasn't with me as you can see" he replied.

The menace Kunal was back at it again. I paid no attention to it; if I had the chance to run away, I would have done that, but that would have been rude to them, so I had no choice but to go along with them.

"Hey yohan, all ready?" Simran asked.

"Yeah!" "Absolutely," I replied.

Anuja talked with me as well, but the one who just stood there silently was Sarah.

She looked at me though and gave me a smile. Her cute smile made me feel much better, and it widened my smile for her. We started walking towards the ground, meeting with the team outside the ground. All six of us were present and ready to be crowned as district champions.

Coach Arnav wasn't visible to us at that time. Kunal called the coach, and it seemed like he was already inside the ground, calling us immediately to come and get ourselves warmed up. We turned back and started walking aggressively into the ground. We saw other college athletes as well; they were good or maybe even better than us in technique, but we had the most determination, and it was us who, in the end, would be selected for the nationals.

All our confidence was at its peak, and we had done everything we could. There was no stopping us. We went inside the ground, touching it with our hands and giving it respect. We warmed ourselves up quickly and efficiently, and the ground, which was empty, filled fully until the first race was going to commence.

With this, the much-awaited district athletic meet was declared open.