Letters From An Admirer

Chapter | 04

"Okay! Now, we're going to start with some suicides." Ms Pumpkin's roaring voice pulls us out of our tired state and grunts and groans erupt among the people. Honestly, suicides are the worst. Running around the track is hard enough, but having to do suicides is like signing a contract stating that you want to die. No wonder they call them suicides-- you're basically committing suicide.

"Silence! Unless if you want to remain silent only after your death." Everyone clamps their mouths shut, avoiding the punishment that will probably trail behind if they go against Ms Pumpkin's word.

"That's better. You'll work in groups of five at a time." She calls out the first few groups, randomly calling out names, and soon my name escapes her fading red lips. I direct my legs to the first line of the field and find my place in between Helena and Stacy, both girls that I have never uttered word to. There are also two tall guys, Jacob and Carter, who I have also not even glanced at.

"Let's see if Riley will be able to carry her weight while running." High-pitched giggles dance behind me, and I already recognise the owners of the hyena like sounds—Mia and her naïve minions. I have always topped the list of people who Mia likes to target in terms of bullying. Always the first to be cursed at, first to be dragged into a puddle of rumours and first to be thrown into the pit of perpetual shame. It just never ends.

Ignoring her spiteful comments, as I usually do, I brush them off to the trenches of my mind. Somehow, over the endless years of receiving hurtful comments, my mind has managed to produce antibodies to fight against the infectious remarks. I guess I'm just immune to them now.

Fixing my eyes on the dreadful obstacle in front of me, a shrill whistle blow catapults me towards the next field line. Quickly touching the line, I sprint back to original starting point, then sprint back to an even further line. After repeating the energy draining process two more times, I finally finish running, finishing few seconds after Jacob and Carter; Helena and Stacy trail last.

Ten minutes before the end of the draining period, Ms Pumpkin allows us to have a fast water break and allows us to also to head to the locker rooms and change back into our normal clothes. Grabbing my water bottle, I swallow the cold water and I allow it to gently travel down my throat and cool my overheating body.

Nothing like drinking a bottle of water to cool you off after a hard workout.

Trudging through the locker room doors, I walk to my rightful metal box and I grab my change of clothes, before retreating to one of the stalls to change in. I know not to change in front of judgemental anorexic ( I might be exaggerating ) people who have nothing better to do than occupying their free time by manufacturing unnecessary insults based on your body type. Even though I fall in the small waist, yet curvaceous, but still slim category, some still consider me fat. Mia to be exact.

My insatiable curiousity as to why Mia changed in a second still follows me. Her sweet amicable personality seems to have been thrown to a pack of hungry wolves, which wasted no time in devouring her loving, selfless self, leaving only remnants of bitterness and perpetual hatred.

This only proved how she always never really trusted me. While I had laid a huge blanket of trust beneath our friendship, she had only laid a mere scrap material that she decided she won't use anymore. I was trapped under the illusion that what we shared was unbreakable, but sadly, three years of our best memories were thrown into the dirty gutter.

I quickly strip off my sweaty gym clothes and replace them with my usual clothes drowned in some expensive perfume. The pungent sweat smell ceases to invade my nostrils and gives room to the sweet smelling perfume. Having finished, I exit the stall and just then, the shrill sound of the bell alerts everyone to head to their next class.