Mew Gulf Sweethearts (Complete)

Chapter Twelve

Next day was the first day of competition. They had to design a chart which reflects their strength as a team. They were given an hour to brainstorm and an hour for the design. With repeated discussions, Perth and Saint decided upon phoenix. It resembled their strength to fight until last breath. Whereas Derek and Kenji drew a unicorn, which represented mystery in innocence. There were various other designs that included waterfalls, horses, elephants and so on. Their designs were appreciated and welcomed by the judges. The chosen pair were then taken to the field for the race, where one had to carry another and run through the field that contained running over wooden slides, through wet muds, climbing over raised platforms that was wide enough for a person to place his feet one after the other, followed by random sized tires flat on the sand, followed by stones. The pair must cross the finish line. The first ten pair to finish the race will be selected for the next competition.

With such a race, Kenji was confident to carry Derek on his back, since he was smaller and thinner in size. Whereas, Saint was taller and a bit heavy compared to Perth. Saint was worried that he would not be able to carry Perth across, since he knew despite him being shorter, Perth was heavy. Perth on the other hand was not worried at all. He was not fit for no reason. He signaled Saint to hop over him. Saint was worried, yet seeing Perth smile he gave up and hopped on his. There was a relief though that even if the partner falls off their back, they could still catch up to the rest.

When the whistle was blown for the pairs to get ready, Saint hopped on Perth's back. Perth was shaken a bit but somehow, he managed to hold his place. Saint was worried again. He was biting his lips.

"Perth I am sorry, I would carry you, if I am too heavy." Saint offered.

Perth smiled back. "Don't worry. I can carry you on my back forever. Relax." Saint was still worried, but he gave in to Perth's assurance.

The race started and the pairs made their way through. It was easier to run on a free track, but as the wood slices approached, a lot of participants lost their balance. Perth too felt he'd drop Saint any minute, he stood for a min, adjusted his position and ran slowly concentrating on the balance. He told Saint, "keep holding on to me no matter what and trust me." Saint nodded and approval and held on to Perth. They took a while to cross the wooden slices, running behind Kenji and Derek.

When they reached the wet mud, a lot of pairs started falling off. Derek too lost his grip on Kenji and fell in the mud pulling Kenji along with him. As they wiped the mud off their faces they started laughing. Kenji was mesmerized by Derek's laughter, who stood up and held his hand for Kenji to get up. Kenji bent and signaled Derek to climb over. When Derek was on his back again, Kenji shook his head and crossed the wet mud. Perth on the other hand was taking it slow, not hurrying much as he knew he would be able make it up in the plain area again.

When they reached the raised platforms, Perth shouted to Kenji, "Take it slow. Falling off these can cause injuries." When he saw few others falling off the platforms. They slowly ran on the platforms and together cleared the hurdle. They cleared the tires. When they reached the stones, Perth's feet slipped and Saint was about to fall off his back, but Saint held on to him. It took a while for Perth to balance himself back again. By the time they cleared the stones and Perth ran to reach the Finish line, Kenji and Derek had already crossed it. Luckily, both the pairs cleared this round as well along with the other eight pairs.

They were given some time to rest, clean themselves and were asked to join back again in 2 hours. All four of them went out to have lunch, discussing their race and how they enjoyed it. Derek and Saint were sitting while Kenji and Perth went out to buy them lunch.

"I never knew this could be so much fun." Saint was smiling.

Derek smiled back. "Yes, it was." Saint noticed that Derek was not comfortable around him as he was around Kenji. He'd give his answer short and avoid unnecessary conversation. It kind of made Saint worried.