"I had always been an athletic kid; I used to do taekwondo with my brother, Altair, and I was confident in my stamina," I thought to myself as I stretched my arms while preparing for the track and field marathon in our Physical Education class. According to Mr. Rimuru, whoever won first place would receive an automatic perfect grade and be exempted from the class, a challenge I was eager to accept as I needed more time to study for my other subjects. I had practiced for a few days and could run the entire field in 12 minutes. In our previous Physical Education classes, I was consistently the first to finish the race.
As I gently tilted my head from side to side, making slow circles with my neck, and rolled my shoulders backward in a circular motion for 30 seconds before switching to forward rolls during warm-ups, I heard Mr. Rimuru shout for us to get ready for the race. He then called four students to step forward: Chloe, Zack, Julia, and Daniel. Chloe tied her shoelaces and took deep breaths, Zack sprinted to warm up, Julia stretched and bounced with confidence, and Daniel did light jogging in place, all preparing for the race in the field.
"Okay, on the count of three, are you ready?" Mr. Rimuru said as he prepared his timer. "1...2...3 Go!" As Mr. Rimuru counted, Chloe, Zack, Julia, and Daniel sprinted toward the finish line with determination and speed.
After a few minutes, Daniel emerged as the winner. Soon after that, another four students were called, and eventually, my name was called.
"Athena, Mickey, Arthur, Asuna," as soon as Mr. Rimuru called our names, I walked onto the field and positioned myself. When Mr. Rimuru counted 1, 2, 3, I immediately sprinted as if my life depended on it, fueled by determination and persistence. I ignored the sweat and the scorching sun, running and running until I reached the finish line. It wasn't until I saw the yellow line that I realized I had already crossed it, turning to see others who had fallen short of reaching the finish line.
With a sigh of relief, I quickly returned to my seat. However, as I made my way toward the bench, I couldn't help but notice Cassander's intense gaze fixed on me, which I chose to disregard as I settled onto the bench, grabbed my towel to wipe away the sweat, and reached for my purple tumbler, drinking water as if I hadn't had a drop for days, quenching a seemingly insatiable thirst. Mr. Rimuru then announced a short break before the commencement of the race's final phase.
After the brief intermission, he proceeded to announce the winners from the first round of the race.
"Daniel, Jade, Athena, and Cassander, position yourselves in the field," Mr. Rimuru instructed as he retrieved his timer from his pocket.
"Ready? 1... 2... 3... Go!" Mr. Rimuru shouted, and we sprinted as if there were no tomorrow.
I could feel my stamina dwindling, and my vision started to blur. Only five minutes into the race, my body began to ache, especially my legs. Under normal circumstances, it would take about 20 minutes to reach the finish line by walking. However, I had managed to achieve a time of 12 minutes earlier when I ran towards the finish line. Now, my heart was racing, and my breathing had become heavy. While running at top speed, I noticed someone catching up to me, running side by side. As I glanced over at him, the scorching sun highlighted his raven hair and beautiful almond-shaped brown eyes, framed by dark, thick eyebrows. Despite the sweat glistening on his face, he looked at me while I struggled to maintain my pace.
"Why are you pushing yourself so hard? Why are you so competitive?" Cassander slowed his pace to to strike up a conversation.
I glared at him, struggling to continue running. "It's none of your business," I replied as I turned my gaze toward the finish line. He fell silent and focused on the path ahead, wearing a grin.
I could finally see the finish line within my reach. I was only seconds away from reaching it when suddenly, a gust of air passed by me. As I approached the yellow line marking the finish line, I noticed Cassander standing there, looking intently at me. That's the last thing I remember before losing consciousness.