Broken Arrows

09 | a flower crown

Elliot, despite the fact that he hadn't exercised in quite some time, gave Sachi a run for her money. They continued switching places in the front before they came upon the hill, and Sachi automatically slowed.

"First to the top of the hill wins," Elliot panted.

Sachi wasn't one to refuse a challenge, despite her burning muscles and aching lungs. "Deal. Three ... two ... one!"

At the countdown's end, they both broke into a full sprint. Sachi pushed herself up the hill, fighting the treacherous slope and forcing herself to continue, and she made sure she was always one foot ahead. Elliot seemed to be having more trouble with the hill; he kept gasping and slowing down for a moment before speeding up suddenly.

Sachi used the last sliver of energy she had to run up the remainder of the hill. She was ahead by feet, and when she reached the top, she nearly kissed the ground in relief.

Sachi collapsed onto the concrete, a pile of flailing limbs, and she took a few gasps to level her breathing. She could only imagine how red her face was, how the sweat had covered most of her body. The thought of how her limbs would burn tomorrow made her wince.

Elliot reached the top then, practically dragging his legs along the street. He threw himself down beside her. He didn't seem to care about the concrete, because he laid right over the street as he ran his hands down his face.

"I probably reek," he said, flapping his shirt. "God. I might pass out."

"Don't." Just the word made her flinch and press a hand to her ribs. "I don't have the energy to drag your corpse back to the house."

"Nice to know you care," he teased.

It took her a second to notice the way they were speaking. The conversation was completely light-hearted, no hint of the bitter animosity lacing their words. It felt almost like old times, in which they'd banter and tease each other constantly. And she realized then how much she missed it.

☁☁☁☁

After resting for a good half hour, they'd forced themselves back onto their feet and started walking further down the path and past the ice cream shop. They moved at a leisurely pace, one Sachi could easily keep up with without tiring herself out. Lady was the only one who appeared discontent with their lack of speed, and she sped ahead of the pair in the hopes that they'd run with her again.

Unfortunately, Sachi's legs burned, and her breathing was still too ragged, and she imagined it was the same for Elliot. Neither would be sprinting anytime soon.

"Remember when you made me that flower crown?" Elliot blurted out abruptly.

The question caught her off guard, and she looked sideways with faint surprise. "You mean in sixth grade?"

"Yeah," he mused, tucking his hands into his pockets. "We were sitting in your mom's garden, and there were those flowers... What were they called again?"

"Chrysanthemums," Sachi answered with a bright smile. "My mom always plants those."

"Yeah. They were white, and you tried to use a pipe cleaner to arrange them on my head."

"They wouldn't stay on! It was harder than it looked."

Elliot laughed as he kicked a pebble to the side of the street. It landed a few feet away, rolling until it hit the trunk of a tree. "I didn't even understand why you wanted to so bad. It made no sense."