The Secret race

Kale Truman was the fastest runner on campus. He was fit and had perfect form. He could run a 300 meter race without breaking a sweat in record time. Among his peers he was the best of the best, a true 3 times National champion with a goal to qualify for the Olympics in Italy.

He was a brand ambassador for Light Wear, a sportswear company. He also sponsored several charities and for someone in their final year of studies, did a lot of community service.

Compared to him, I was a regular Joe. I was a freshmen with no interest in actual extracurricular activities. 

My major was biochemistry. But my story isn’t about how I ended up becoming a scientist at one the biggest medical facilities in the world. This story is about how a viral video that caused me a lot of trouble helped me to confront my past.

It was almost the end of summer break. Students returning to campus were high on beach parties, barbeques and cold drinks. Who could blame them? The weather was as hot as a furnace. No one cared about assignment deadlines until the deadlines.

Jamie Lee was one of them.

“Please, Lesly, I’m begging you lend me you Chemistry assignment?”

“For the hundredth time. No. Why can’t you ask for help from Diego?” I asked.

“Uh, that guy is a crook. He is charging $300. That’s a crime. I don’t even have that kind money lying around”, answered Jamie Lee. 

“Right…we’ve known each other for like how long?”

“Lesly, please, please, please. We’ve known each other ever since we were babies…”

“Junior High”, I corrected.

“Whatever. We are basically sisters”, went on Jamie. “I promise to return the favour.”

Our conversation had been going on for nearly twenty minutes. 

“Fine”, I said. “But do not share it with Libby, troy or Vanessa.”

Jamie put her hands together as a sign of gratitude. 

“I won’t. Lesly you are amazing. I’ll definitely hook you up at the next Gilded Queens house party.”

“Please. Don’t. Exams are close and 100% of the guys you introduce me to have zero chemistry with me.”

“Don’t worry. I’m sure you will meet the one”, Jamie said with optimism.

‘Does this girl really care about my feelings or is she just being scary?’ I thought to myself.

Five minutes later we were in the lecture for molecular science. I had to admit my head was kind of fuzzy. I was paying attention but not fully. At the end of the day I was just about to head towards the dorms. When I bumped into Steven, another friend. 

We chatted a little but just as I was about excuse myself and leave, he grabbed my arm and led me to the gym to watch a basketball game. 

“Steven, I have other things to do!” I shouted over the noise.

“Come on, Les. It’s the last game of the season. Show some Fang spirit!” 

I was really mad at him and like his twin sister Jamie, he was pretending not to see it. 

“Well, I’m leaving!” I said after what felt like an eternity.

I stood up. 

Just as I was about to leave, I accidently made eye contact with a familiar face in one the seats a few rows in front.

“But Lesly, you’ve barely watched the game for five minutes”, Steven said.

I gave him the death stare.

“I… have to… go!” I said coldly.

“Oh, Okay. Um, uh…See you around.”

I started to move quickly hoping not bump into anyone else. 

As I was walking away from the gymnasium, I begun to suspect that I was being followed. 

“Hey, wait up!” he said.

I turned around. I wished I hadn’t done so.

The person who stopped me was the last person I wanted to see.

“Aren’t you going to say hi?” Kale asked.

“Why should I?” I responded. “When I don’t want to?”

I could tell that what I said stung him but I really didn’t want to talk.

“You still don’t want to talk to me all after all this time?”

I remained quiet.

“Fine”, Kale responded. “If you don’t want to talk then don’t talk. But at least hear me out first.”

‘Oh, no. What now?’ I thought.

“Let’s have a race. 100 meters in the stadium.”

My mouth became dry. 

“I thought I made it clear, I didn’t want to talk better yet have anything to do with you!” I exclaimed.

“I can’t let things go on like this”, Kale defended. 

“Well, I can!” I retorted.

“For how long, Les? How long will you keep avoiding me?” Kale demanded.

While we were quarrelling, I realized that we were getting unwanted attention. I had to end this quick.

“Listen, I just can’t deal with this right now. Good luck on training. Have a great life.” 

Before he could stop me I found myself running away. By the time I was reached my dorm room, I was a mess. Tears were rolling down my cheeks. Feelings that I kept locked up poured out of me. I was grateful that my dorm mate, Alex wasn’t there. I just wanted to be alone.

My phone came to life. But I ignored it and proceeded to hit the hay.

The next day, Alex and Jaimie Lee were looming over my face suspiciously.

“What time is it?” I asked innocently.

“It’s half past 10”, answered Alex. “But the real question is ‘Who were you with last night?”

“Very funny”, I said as finally got out of bed.

“Come on Alex! Just let me tell her”, Jamie said excitedly.

“…Okay tell me what?” I asked cautiously.

So according to my friends someone recorded a video of my disagreement with Kale and posted it on social media and it was getting a lot of attention. To add to my nightmare, there was a group of diehard Kale fans waiting outside my dorm.

“Girls, please. I really need your help. Everything that you hear about me is not true. I can’t tell you yet why I was arguing with one of the university’s top athletes but I will after I sought things out first.”

Alex and Jamie shared a look with each other and nodded in agreement.

“Don’t worry about it, sweetie. We got your back”, responded my dorm mate.

“Thanks. That means a lot me.”

The next few days were hectic. I was trying to get in touch with Kale but it was very difficult especially when my status from being a no body suddenly changed to a VIP overnight. 

I was getting criticized for associating with him. People assumed I was his ex or something. Others thought I was harassing him for money. What was common in all the rumours was that he was the victim and I was the bad guy. 

His coach even called to his office to just to warn me to stay away from him. News reporters couldn’t stop pestering me for interviews.

In the end I figured, that he might have been avoiding me. How could I blame him? You get what you what you give.

So I did the most elementary thing I could think of. For once luck was on my side. I went to running track about 4:30 in the morning and there he was. Even though he was wearing a hoodie, I could still tell that it was him.

After finishing his laps he approached me.

“Hey, you”, he greeted.

“Do have any idea how hard it was for me to get a hold of you?”

“I do, Les”, he answered with a smile. “I’ve been trying to get a hold of you ever since you left.”

That cut me deep for somehow.

“Can we do the race…?” I asked hesitantly.

“Sure. Can I tell the world that you are my sister?”

 The public did have the wrong idea about my relationship with him. 

“…Sure.”

I don’t know if it was because he had run a couple of laps earlier or maybe he was being nice. But he was slower than me. I took the bait.

The cool air felt great against my skin. The adrenaline rushed through my veins. For the first in my not impressive life I felt great. I ran so fast I thought I was flying.

When our race ended, I was breathing heavily. I felt miniature explosions in legs. Kale handed me a bottle of water from his mini cooler nearby. 

“You look like you had fun”, he said.

“…I guess. You seem to have fun every morning, eh?” I laughed.

“I guess”, he chuckled. “Want to join my training regime?”

“NO!”

Over the weekend, my step brother had a press briefing and had the great idea of inviting me to join him. He publicly introduced me as his sister. It was embarrassing. 

But it was worth it. 

End!

Approximately 1480 words.