[edited]
I changed into my track clothes Friday after school. Max and I had regular track practice, and then extra prep for state, for which the date had been finalized: March 24th.
"Samuels, let's go!" Coach hollers as I walked out of the locker room.
I ran up to where the rest of the team was, and stood by Max, who smiled at me.
"Alright, team. So, if you don't already know, we have two winners from the county meet. Let's give a hand for Max and Emerson."
The team clapped, "We wish them luck, and will help them train up until March."
We finished talking, and Coach ordered group to a different stations around the track, where we would work on different drills.
My group consisted of a boy named Chris, two girls - Grace and Ella, and then me.
We started out with warm-ups. Grace and Ella were some of the nicer girls on the team, so I was glad about that.
"Okay, guys. Ten push-up lunges," Chris commands.
We each extend a knee, hold the lunge position for five seconds, and then bring it back to our chests, jumping it into a push up.
Grace was telling a funny story when we heard a yell come from Ella. She was lying on the ground, crying.
"Ella, what happened? What's wrong?"
"My....wrist. I think I sprained it," she winces as I attempt to hold it.
Chris yelled for Coach to come over, and I tried to keep Ella talking, "Can you feel it?"
She shakes her head, continuing to cry out in pain.
Coach arrives, and bends down to examine Ella's outstretched arm. By this point, the other runners have noticed that something is wrong, and are beginning to gather around.
"Honey, that wrist isn't sprained, it's broken."
Ella doesn't respond except by biting her lip and try to suppress her cries.
Coach turns to Joey, one of the strongest boys on the team, "Can you take her to the nurse's office? We'll need an ambulance. Can you call her mom?" she then asks Grace, who is her best friend.
Joey runs off with Ella in his arms, and Grace to the locker rooms to retrieve her phone.
"How about we end practice a little early?" Coach suggests, "It's already been very eventful, so you can all go home."
Max and I stay behind for our extra time, and Coach tells us to wait until she makes sure Ella's ok, then we'll continue.
Max and I sit down on the bench, and he tells me about how things were going with him and Sydney.
"Ok, you two. How confident you feeling about taking state?"
We both shrugged, and Coach joked, "That's the spirit."
"Stand up and start stretching. We don't need any more injuries today."
While we were stretching, Coach came up to me, "Samuels, does Max know about your condition? Or is it best not to mention it?"
"No, he knows."
She nods, and claps her hands, "Right, then. Some rules that we're gonna follow up til March. One: train every day. Even if it's just a little stretching or some warm-ups, practice. Allow your body to increase its endurance levels. That one is especially important for you, Ms. Samuels, you need to allow your blood sugar levels to get used to this constant running."
"Number two: Don't do anything that could cause you to injure yourself. This is for your own good. Not only will you get hurt, you might not heal fully in time for the meet, and you lose a very valuable opportunity."
"And number three: Fix your diets. Now I'm not saying don't eat candy, and you've probably heard this numerous times from your previous coaches, but really do watch what you eat. Once again, I'm looking at you Emerson, but I know that you know all your needs, correct?"
I nod, and we begin with simple sprinting.
"Give me three laps."
The whistle blows, and Max speeds off. Sprinting was his thing. His long legs carried him lightning speed, and I didn't even stand a chance of growing up.
When we made it back, Coach was beaming, "Once again, Maxwell, you never cease to impress me. Emerson, your sprinting is good, but luckily for us, you're better in distance, so we have a balance on both sides."
"I didn't get to set up the hurdles or any of the jumps, so are you guys okay with running a couple miles for the day?"
We agreed.
"While you guys do that, I'm going to go find the permission slips and all the information you'll need for your parents to sign and all that stuff, right?"
We nod again, and begin the running. Max took off.
"Max," I call out to him, "Pace yourself! You'll never finish the first mile in good shape like that!"
He did as I said, and slowed down so his pace matched mine.
"That's better, Maxxy. Easy does it," I smile.
"I'm not used to this, you know? When that blank fires, it's like I just want to get away from everything," he grunts slightly.
"I know what you mean, Max. But that'll get you away quick, but not far. You're strong, but you still have limits."
He begins to run harder, ignoring my cries. "MAX, STOP! STOP!"
I see his body hit the ground in front of me, and he makes no effort to get up. I sprint to him, and crouch by his side, frantically studying him and trying to find out what was wrong. His eyes were open, but he's staring off into space, as if he's spaced out.
"Max, what's going on with you?" I ask, pulling him up to a sitting position, and joining him on the grass on the side of the track.
"Did I ever tell you why I started running, Emmy?"
I shook my head. He hadn't, and I guess I had never asked.
"When I was in elementary school, my father used to work very late. One night he came home, absolutely furious. We didn't know why. He didn't drink, so that was out of the question. Levi was around 3 years old at the time, and I was twelve."
"Max...what happened that night?" I ask worriedly.
"He hit my mother. My parents seldom argued, much less abused each other. He came home and hit her for no reason. She was scared, obviously. She was afraid he would hit Levi and me."
Max paused, and I gripped his hand in mine, trying to make him feel better.
"So, she told me, 'Run, Max. Run, and don't stop until you get to the neighbors' house, honey. Take Levi with you and don't come back.'"
"I refused, of course, vowing not to leave her alone. But she insisted, that we didn't have much time. So I did what she said. I took Levi, a three year-old toddler who had no idea what was going on, and I sprinted to the neighbors' house. I was underweight and small for my age, but I carried Levi on my shoulders as he kept crying out for our mom."
"But the neighbors' couldn't have been that far, right?" I ask, "It's right next door."
He shakes his head no, "We lived in Iowa at that time. Before we moved to Jersey. It wasn't the country exactly, but the neighbors' lived about a mile and a half away, so it was a pretty good distance."
"Aaaaw, Max," I said, pulling him into my chest, a move he had done to me so many times when the roles had been reversed.
"When I got there, I explained to them what had happened, and they called 911. My dad was taken away, but no charges were made against him. Technically, he was still in complete custody of us."
"So, as soon as humanly possible, my mom filed for divorce, and won full custody. She even denied child support from my father. She wanted nothing to do with him. She packed up all our belongings in a U-Haul, and requested a transfer, which is what brought us to New Jersey."
"And since that day, running has always been to get away from my dad. I don't think my mom knows this, but honestly, that's ok. It's a little drive inside of me," he finishes explaining.
"Max, I'm so sorry. That's absolutely terrible." I kiss his forehead, rubbing his back, and wrapping him in a large hug.
"Thank you so much, Emmy. I really needed to tell someone. It's so freeing," his smile from before has returned now.
"No problem, Max. It's the least I could do for a best friend," I grin back.
~ ~ ~ ~
SONG OF THE CHAPTER: Dem Neva Mek It
ARTIST: Damian Marley