Chapter 31
Seb is waiting for me on the steps when I get to school Monday morning. After our usual hug, we walk inside to find the rest of the guys surrounding my locker but facing away from us. “What’s going on?” Seb asks as we approach them.
“You have an admirer,” Bay says with a frown. He points to my locker as the guys move aside for me to get through. There’s a rose taped to my locker door.
“Who is it from?” Seb asks.
“We do not know,” Alex replies as I grab the red rose off the door.
“It smells good,” I say, taking a whiff. I pass it to Bay as I switch out my books and store my gym bag. Taking the rose back, I stick it on my backpack, ready to head to class. Turning around, I see the guys are all fixated on the rose. “What?” I question.
“Is that a good idea, Sunshine?” Seb asks, pointing to the rose. “It’s like you’re accepting the affections of some random dude you don’t even know.”
“Uh, it’s just a flower, Seb. I’m not accepting a marriage proposal.” I roll my eyes at him.
Seb actually looks concerned. “You never know, Sunshine.”
I think the guys are overreacting, so I ask Alex if he’s ready for AP Bio. He nods, and we walk to class, leaving the rest of the guys to disperse.
Walking into the cafeteria with Alex at lunchtime, a huge banner celebrating the basketball team is hanging on the wall. Seb and E are sitting at another table with their teammates. “What’s going on?” I ask Alex.
“I forgot about this,” he replies. “The cheer team is serving the basketball players lunch today for winning the championship. The kitchen staff makes a special meal.”
“Oh, cool,” I respond, following Alex to our regular table. Bay and Nick are already sitting there. “Hi guys,” I wave. It takes a minute, but I get a “Shortie” from Nick. We dig into our lunches as Reesa joins us.
The cheer team comes out of the kitchen carrying trays of food.
They serve each basketball player, then take seats between them.
Cara sits next to Seb, and Ana sits next to E.
That aggravates me because I know Seb and E aren’t interested, but I try not to pay them any attention.
My eyes involuntarily drift back to the guys a few times as we eat, and I notice Cara smirking at me.
She puts her hand on Seb’s shoulder and leans over to say something in his ear.
He jerks back from her, which makes me smile a little, and I focus back on my food.
I find Nick scowling at another red rose taped to my locker when I grab my gym bag for class in the afternoon. “Hi Nick.”
“Shortie,” he grunts.
I stick the rose with my first one on my backpack, and we’re off to the gym. Coach calls me over when I get there. “Hi Coach.”
“Summer. Take it easy on the track today since you’ll be training after class.
The track team meets at the outdoor track closest to the baseball field unless it is raining,” she says.
“Jaxon,” she yells. A guy I’ve seen running before comes over to us.
“Jaxon, this is Summer. She’s joined the track team.
Her first practice is today. Show her the ropes. ”
“Sure thing, Coach,” he replies as she walks off. Jaxon is a nice looking guy, around 6 feet tall, with short brown hair and matching eyes. I would guess from his lean frame that he’s a distance runner. “Nice to meet you, Summer,” Jaxon smiles. “We have AP Biology and AP English together.”
“We do? That’s great. Nice to meet you too.” I give him a smile in return.
“Why don’t you get changed and meet me on the track?”
Nodding, I head to the locker room and quickly change.
It’s my first day in a tank top and shorts where you can see part of my thigh scar and the one on my arm.
Hopefully, everyone is respectful. It’s just too darn hot to train outside in anything else.
I apply my cream and walk back out to stretch.
When I’m done, I jog up to Jaxon, who's warming up. “So, what’s your specialty?” he asks.
“The 400m and 800m, but coach wants me to try the 200m relay too,” I reply, adjusting to his pace so we can continue to talk.
“My best friend will be so happy to hear that. Holly runs the 200m, but they didn’t have enough girls for the relay this year.”
“Yeah, she mentioned that. What about you?” I swing wide to pass another guy jogging along the track before closing the gap with Jaxon again.
“I’m strictly long distance. So you’re from Virginia, right?”
“Yes. How did you know that?”
“Gossip. You are friends with Seb, Elijah, Alex, Nick, and Baylor and are taking all AP classes except gym. You’re not friends with the cheer bitches.”
That’s impressive. News must travel fast here. “All true,” I reply.
“Don’t worry, Holly is a sweetheart, but I have to warn you that the other two girls that run relays are friends with Cara and crew. Everyone else is pretty nice though.” He tells me.
“Noted.”
“I’m gonna pick up the pace now. You want to join me?” he offers.
“Thanks, but I’m getting back in shape after being away for a year. I was told to take it easy before practice.”
“No worries. I’ll give you my and Holly’s numbers after class. If you ever need a running buddy, you can call me. I run 6 days a week.”
That is nice of him to offer. Some runners can be very particular about their practices and routines. “Sounds good, Jaxon.” He waves and picks up the pace.
I continue a light jog for about 30 minutes, then stop to stretch.
I walk for the remaining time, not wanting to get tired before practice.
Jaxon tells me I can leave my stuff in the locker room, so I grab my water bottle and follow him outside to the far end of the track, where we sit in the stands to wait for everyone to arrive.
“What do you think of South Carolina so far?”
“Most of it is good. Warm and too humid, but I’m getting along well except for Cara and Ben.”
“Ben Bancroft?” he asks, also looking concerned.
“I’m not sure. He’s in our gym class and plays baseball?”
“Yup, that’s him. He’s from my neighborhood. Is he bothering you?”
“Sort of. I’ve told him several times I’m not interested, but he isn’t listening.”
“I’m sure your friends will step in if needed, but let me know if you need help, too.”
“Thank you, Jaxon. I appreciate that. The guys are protective, but he hasn’t actually done anything but be pushy.”
“Jaxon,” a girl hollers, waving. She’s jogging our way, dressed to run.
“That’s Holly,” Jaxon points out. “She’s in AP English too.” Holly is a pretty girl about my height, with a brown ponytail swinging behind her. She’s got a big smile on her heart-shaped face. “Hey Holls, this is Summer. She’s on track now. Coach has her attempting the 200m relay.”
“Oh, thank goodness,” she exclaims. “It’s my best event, and I really want a scholarship for college. How fast are you?” she asks, sitting on the other side of Jaxon and leaning forward to see me.
“I have no idea. I haven’t run the 200m before. I usually run the 400m and 800m.”
“Well, I appreciate you trying it. Did you tell her about the terrible twins?” She asks Jaxon, who nods. “Destiny and Dominique. They’re fast runners, but they’re bitches, specializing in the 100m. They come from money and look down on anyone who isn’t rich,” she says.
“Summer is already on Cara’s radar,” Jaxon tells her.
“Ouch. Sorry about that. Rich bitches travel together, I’m afraid. Why does Cara have it out for you?” I explain our interactions so far regarding Seb and the lunch tray racks. “That would do it. She’s been after him for years,” Holly tells me.
“Okay, group,” the coach calls, so we turn to listen. “Welcome Summer. She’ll be running the 400m, 800m, and the 200m relay.” I give a small wave to the others in the stands.
“Everyone stretch and give me two laps, then you can start on your distance training, except Summer, Holly, and the twins.”
“See ya. Good luck,” Jaxon waves as he gets up.
I follow Holly over to where the coach is standing with the twins, who are a few inches taller than Holly and me.
“Okay ladies. Summer is new to the 200m relay, so I expect you to help her out in training. It is beneficial for all of you to add this run back into the competition. I’d like to run through the relay at a jog to get Summer used to the process.
Twins, please grab a few batons from the box. ”
The twins scowl but do as they’re told. “Let’s go over to the relay starting line, ladies,” the coach says, so we follow her over to the track.
When the twins return, the coach positions them around the track with Holly as the anchor.
“I want you to watch the first time, Summer,” she says. I nod as the twins get ready.
When the coach blows her whistle, the first twin takes off.
Coach talks me through when to move for the handoff, noting the speed increase twin two makes and when her hand swings behind her to grab the baton.
I see this repeated with Holly. I’ve obviously seen this many times at track meets, but never actually did it before.
Coach adds me after the twins for the next run. She stays with me and tells me when to run and when to put my hand back to grab the baton. She runs beside me as I make my way to Holly. The pass-off goes okay, and Holly takes off like a rocket.
“Bring it in, ladies.” We fall in around the coach.
“Alright. Summer is still building up her endurance, but I expect her to remain third in the relay. Summer, since you’re running both sprints and long distance, I’d like to split up your practices between the two.
You’ll spend Mondays with the sprinters and most of Wednesdays with the distance runners.
We’ll start Wednesdays running a few rounds of the 200m relay, then you can switch and run with the distance team. ”
“Okay, Coach,” I easily agree.