You had already made it through your 1500 meter Worlds qualifying heats, and now, it was time to race the 1500 meter final that would determine if you made the British Worlds team or not. You got on the line, 3rd from the cone, and your coach tapped you on the shoulder.
"You can do this, Janel. Just run your ass off, and you'll make it on the Worlds team." Your coach encouraged. You put a fake smile on, and looked back at the boys, who all had signs in their hands, high above their heads. "Come on, Janel. You can do it!" were the words on it, with a few pictures of you at British Nationals. You were scared as hell, but you weren't about to let nerves get to you.
"Skaters, to your mark." The referee said firmly. You weren't used to this, so you got down in starting position, scared to death about what the ref was going to do to the skaters. "Set.." A beep went off, and everyone formed a pace line to start. Since it was a strategy race, the strategy was to pace the first 8 laps, run the last 7. Of course, since you were a trained endurance skater, you set up for a 6-person outside pass to the front. You entered the 1st corner in 7th of 8, so you had to make your move quickly, or there would be no chance of you making the Worlds team. Exiting the corner, you made the sickest pass that anyone had ever seen. You started flying, and the other skaters stayed up with you, even though you were running close to 9-second laps.
"And first lap goes to Bradford Speed's Janel Malik. Lap time of 10.05, and she is flying! I mean, look at her feet!" The announcer said, as you quickly sprinted past the booth.
"Come on, Janel! You can do it!" The boys all shouted at once. Zayn was your boyfriend, but at this point, you weren't focused on that. You were focused on winning this race, or at least getting anything higher than 4th.
"Second lap, once again, to Bradford Speed. 9.98 lap time, and 13 laps to go.",The announcer said. 2nd place through 5th place all took a nasty spill, so you took advantage of it, and sprinted even faster than before. You were skating so fast, you could slide right through the corners.
"Oh, boy, third lap goes to Janel. Again, she is fast! What is she on? AdrenaBoost or something? Man, she is flying! 3rd lap time- 9.78; 4th lap- 9.83." The announcer continued, as he watched all of the racers. All of the skaters that had fallen were back up, and skating to catch up to the rest of the pack.
"Come on, Janel. Faster!" Zayn yelled, only to send you flying out of the back corner. "Wow, are you guys catching these lap times? She's under 10 seconds." Zayn asked the boys, only to get no response from them. They were all too focused on you.
"God, 5th lap- 9.64, and 10 laps to go." The annoucer said. You were close to lapping 8th place, and you were going to do it before lap 5 was over. The referee blew his whistle, and you passed 8th place, then soon, 7th, 6th, and 5th followed. They were all called out.
"Man, she is going crazy out there! Lap 6 down! 9.23, and she lapped 4 people in that lap! Is she going to lap everybody?" The announcer asked the crowd, only to get screams back. "Wowww! Lap 7 was a 9.1, and she is getting faster! Right now, she is going for NSC times, and that has never been achieved by a Novice before." Zayn and the other boys were getting too excited by your performance. The ref's whistle blew again, and 4th place was out. You had lapped her.
"Geeezzz, Bradford Speed is going for the lap on everyone." The announcer continued. "5 laps to go, and lap 8 was a 9.24, and lap 9 was a 9.04. Can she get into the 8's?"
"Come on, Janel. 3rd place is right there! Go get her!" Zayn screamed at you. You ran faster, and lapped 3rd place. "She's going for it. 2nd place is going down before this 1500 is over." He said to Liam.
"4 laps to go. 9.026; lap 11. She is still keeping that really fast pace. I don't see how she does it." The announcer said. You were annoyed with him, for talking so much, but since you knew that it was his job, you didn't think anymore of it. You were right on the heels of 2nd place, and you set her up for a wild pass. You made it, and the ref's whistle blew 5 times, signaling the end of the race. You looked at the ref like he was crazy, because you wanted to finish. You only had 3 1/2 laps left, so the announcer said to let you finish the race.
"Lap 12 is at a 9.01. 3 laps to go. Bradford Speed's Janel Malik is the only skater out there currently, but we are going to let her finish." The announcer said, making you want to get these last few laps dome, so that he would shut up. "Well, she lapped everybody, and lap 13 was an 8.95. She just broke 8 seconds, and now, she is running against NSC times. For a Novice, that's damn impressive!"
"Come on, babe. Win it!" Zayn screamed.
"Ah, lad, she already did. She's on the British Worlds team now." Niall said, making Zayn feel stupid.
"Well, I need to encourage her to keep winning, don't I?"
"Yea, yes you do."
"Lap 14 was an 8.97, and with one lap to go, can she break NSC times?" The announcer asked, only getting screams back for an answer. "Oh, save it, Janel, and she does. Across the line, lap 15 was an 8.73, and her total time was a 2:10.576. Nice job, ladies. Bradford Speed, English Devils, and Sprinters qualifying for the British Worlds team. Janel's average lap time was an 8.706. She is definitely a record holder now." The announcer said. Finally, his speech was over. You skated to the boys, and they all surrounded you in a massive hug. They all were cheering on their own teams, but when they saw that you, who was representing Zayn's team, won, they were happy, because they have close connections with you, being Zayn's girlfriend and all that good stuff.
"Oh yea, and one more thing. The winner of that last race; her boyfriend is a member of the popular boyband, One Direction!" The announcer said. I thought that he was going to shut it. The boys, along with you, went to the center of the arena, where the photographer placed them in position below the 1st place podium, where the photographer wanted you to stand. Since Zayn was your boyfriend, they let him come up on the 1st place podium with you. Multiple pictures were taken, and after a few, you were given your medal for the race. This couldn't possibly be any cooler!
-Janel