Heyo, human beings from outer space!
This is the fic that I planned on publishing on May the 4th, because I was caught in a crazy storm that day, but then I made two big fat mistakes and was needlessly traumatized because I had no coping skills that day. So here we are now. Hi.
Read on if you dare.
The first track meet that the Coruscant High School Knights hosted was the conference meet. They'd recently gotten their pathed and painted track, an expensive upgrade in comparison to the dirt and gravel they'd had ever since the school was built.
The athletes were released at half past noon to change and gather their things. Ahsoka gladly scribbled the last answer on her algebra quiz and handed it to her teacher. She shoved her textbook and binder in her bag, making a break for the door before anyone could stop her.
Bye-bye, algebra, Ahsoka thought. You won't be missed.
Ahsoka stopped by her book locker to put her text book away before walking down to the locker room. Some of the other girls already bustled about, screeching and chattering energetically. Ahsoka pulled off her sweatshirt and fit herself into her track jersey. She checked her bags, stuffed her lunch box in her duffle, grabbed her jug and blanket, and swung her locker door shut, clicking the lock.
Barriss was already waiting for Ahsoka outside the locker rooms. The two started outside, pushing through the doube doors and feeling the sunshine that greeted them. Across the grassy yard, they could see the track, the new, colorful flags flapping in the gentle breeze.
The rest of the team burst from the doors behind them as they made their way to the track. A few of the guys shuffled along with the canopy tent, everyone grumbling when they realized that another team had taken the spot that they'd planned to occupy. This was their home meet!
The Knights set up their tent beside the other teams' and threw their things inside.
"It's pretty warm," Ahsoka said, dropping her duffle beside Barriss'. "I think I might need to take my legging off."
"Ew, not here," Bariss said with a playful smirk. "No one likes you like that."
"Oh shush," Ahsoka said, rolling her eyes. "I have spanks on already!"
"Fine, whatever," Bariss scoffed, sounding highly amused in a way that Ben would've as Ahsoka swapped her leggings for her trach shorts.
Ahsoka sat down on her blanket and munched on a bag of popcorn as she and Bariss watched some of their teammates play spike ball.
"I think I'm gonna go warm up for high jump," Bariss said.
Ahsoka tossed her popcorn bag back into her lunchbox. "Yeah, probably better get warmed up for pole vault."
The two of them climbed through the fence and jogged across the track and turned to make a lap around the field to get warm. Ten minutes and a few dynamic stretches later, they parted, Barriss heading for her mark for high jump and Ahsoka to find her vaulting pole.
Ahsoka found her pole and positioned it in her hands, gripping it just where she needed to. There were some other girls from other schools finding their marks, but Ahsoka thankfully already knew where her mark was.
After waiting for her turn, Ahsoka ran a few practice runs, flinging herself effortlessly over the practice bungie. Her goal for the day was much higher than the practice bungie was stationed, but it didn't matter at the moment. She eyed the place she expected the bar of her goal height would be and angled herself to soar over it. Ahsoka didn't know if she'd made it since there wasn't anything there to tell her, but confidence burned inside of her. Today she would for sure get a PR, she knew it.
Girls' pole vault started a few minutes later, but Ahsoka stepped aside to keep warm with Bariss since she'd opted to come in at a height higher than the established starting height. Bariss was hopping around, practicing propelling herself into the air for her approach.
"That doesn't look very good," Ahsoka said, looking at the dark clouds that poured rain in the distance.
"What are you talking about?"
Ahsoka jumped, whirling around at the new voice. "Ben, don't sneak up on me like that!"
"But Ahsoka," Ben said dramatically. "All I see over there is blue skies."
Ahsoka rolled her eyes at him.
"I agree with Coach Kenobi," Bariss chimed in pointedly. "There's nothing but sunshine."
"You're both blind then," Ahsoka scoffed. "Optimism isn't going to scare that storm away."
"Pesamist!" Bariss gasped. "Coach Kenobi, it's a Negative Nancy!"
"Can't have one of those, now can we?" Ben said, giving Ahsoka a look that scared her.
"Don't you have some important coach stuff to do?" Ahsoka said. "I thought you were helping up in the box by keeping track of all the times."
"You're right," Ben sighed. "I should get up there. But remember, Ahsoka, blue skies."
Ahsoka just raised her eyebrows as she watched him go.
The clouds floated through the sky, inching closer and closer by the minute. Thunder rumbled every so often and Ahsoka caught sight of chain lighting thrashing from the sky once or twice. The wind picked up a minute later, starting as a breeze and then swelling into a blowing that shook all the tents.
It had been no more than 10 minutes since Ahsoka had spoken to Obi-Wan when rain began dripping from the sky, then dumping on them in what felt like bucketfuls. Athletes scrambled to their tents, holding them down so they wouldn't blow away. Parents and friends rushed to their cars to get out of the wind and rain.
All the events were postponed due to weather conditions and Ahsoka and Bariss made a break for the tent. They pushed inside through the covers on the sides to find everyone clinging to the top to hold it down. Ashoka tried to help, but she couldn't reach the top.
"We should go to the shed," Bariss said, nodding to the shed where they kept the hurtles, mats, and vaulting poles. Ahsoka nodded and they sprinted from the tent to the utility shed, finding a few others already in there, including the jumping and vaulting coach and Anakin.
"Fancy meeting you here," said Anakin. "You keeping warm?"
"What do you think?" Ahsoka scoffed.
"You better be," Anakin said, indicating Barriss and Ahsoka. "You two have some events right after this."
"Sure do," Ahsoka grumbled. "And now thanks to this, the mats–"
A sudden shriek cut her off and Ahsoka and Barriss poked their heads out to see the high jump mats blowing away. They immediately sprinted from the shed. The bright red mats got caught on the worn fence and had partially fallen into the sage brush-filled field on the other side. A few others were already over by the fence: the principal and the daughter of one of the coaches.
The wind whipped around Ahsoka, flinging sleet at her that stung her back legs. She didn't stop running as she approached the fence and she hurled herself over a sagging wire.
"Ever considered doing hurdles?" asked Heather, the coach's daughter.
"Nope," said Ahsoka. "Ready to push?"
"Yeah. One, Two, Three."
The two girls shoved at the mats, which may as well have been giant sponges, as Barriss and the principal pulled. More athletes and another coach joined them, but the mats wouldn't budge against the wind. More and more sleet pelleted Ahsoka and everything stung like wild.
"It's no use, get back to the shed," Heather said. "You need to stay warm. Aren't you two vaulting and jumping?"
"Yeah, let's go," Barriss said. She motioned Ahsoka over and Ahsoka climbed the fence. The two of them hurried back to the shed and blew inside, shivering and rubbing their irritated skin. Their track managed, Jeanie, threw blankets around them as soon as they got inside.
The wind blew harder and the sleet turned to rain, huge drops pouring from the sky and pounding at the shed's metal roof. Thunder rumbled in the sky right above them and Ahsoka watched as chain lightning lashed down from the sky.
It was so loud inside the shed that Ahsoka thought no one would be able to hear her even if she screamed.
It was a few minutes until the wind calmed and the rain slowed down. Some water drizzled from the sky still, but there was hardly anything compared to before.
"Come on, we have to warm up," Barriss said, grabbing Ahsoka's arm and tugging her back across the track and onto the field.
The two of them jogged around on the grass, their shoes squishing in the rain and the moisture soaking through to their socks and splashing their ankles, until they were called over for high jump and pole vault.
They'd highered the crossbar to Ahsoka's entry height and they called her name immediately. Barriss wished her luck as she went for her pole. Ahsoka found her mark, readjusting her grip on her pole before huffing out a breath and prepping for her approach.
That mat had to be soaked, so her goal was to get over the crossbar and stick the landing. A difficult feat, but not an impossible one.
With one last breath, Ahsoka charged for the mats. She counted her steps with her left foot one, two, three, planted her pole, and heaved herself into the air. She pushed herself over the crossbar, shoved her pole in the other direction, and tried to keep herself straight so she would land on her feet.
Time slowed down and Ahsoka felt her feet plant on the mat. For a moment, she throught she'd stuck the landing. Then her feet slipped and flew out from underneath her, sending her keeling backwards. She felt the dull splash as water squirted into her jersey and shorts.
"Taking a swim?" Anakin said from the other side of the flags enclosing the pole vault run and mats.
Ahsoka pushed herself up, water dripping down her arms. "Appearently."
"Looked good, though," Anakin said.
Ahsoka hopped down from the mats and grabbed her pole, vacating the landing area. "Thanks. You wouldn't happen to have a giant blow dryer on you, no?"
"Sorry, Snips, no such luck," Anakin said. "Maybe try Ben?"
Ahsoka sighed dramatically and then jogged off to watch Barriss high jump.
The sun came out eventually, but only long enough to dry up some of the rain before disappearing behind the clouds again. Ahsoka was sopping wet and frozen to the bone by the time she finished pole vault, but it was worth it since she came out with a hefty PR.
"Why does the weather hate me?" Ahsoka groaned, looking up at the sky.
"It just sensed a track meet and had to add a little excitement to the party. You should know how this works by now," Anakin scolded.
Barriss chuckled darkly. "Yeah, some real excitement."
"Well, I think I'm going to go take a nap in the tent because I'm not putting up with this weather anymore. And I'm stealing both of your blankets," Ahsoka said, already jogging in the direction of the tent. "Just wake me up when it's time to warm up for the mile."
The day that a track meet was blessed with perfect weather conditions was the day that pigs would fly and the cow would jump over the moon.
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Word Count: 1,861
Date Published: 26 May 2023
Yaaaayyyyy I updatedddddd
Requests are open, feel free to message me or make a comment if you have any ideas!
Bye, peoples!