Chapter 46
I wake up full of nerves after tossing and turning all night. My instincts are still buzzing like a bee, but I have no idea what to expect. After a quick shower, I dress in my track uniform and walk to the kitchen. “Morning, Summer,” Zander greets.
“Morning,” I mumble, heading for the kettle.
“What can you eat for breakfast this morning before running?” He asks.
“Bacon and toast, please,” I request. I make a cup of tea and sit at the island, trying to wake up while Zander cooks breakfast and joins me to eat.
“Nervous?” He asks.
“Yup, and I didn’t sleep well,” I reply.
“I’m sorry you’re having to deal with this, Summer,” he says, giving my arm a squeeze.
Zander drives his truck to the gym after breakfast. The guys are already waiting, minus Nick.
“Eyes open all day. No one goes anywhere alone,” Zander says to us as we make our way to the track. I’m in the middle as usual.
Someone set up concession stands at the gym end of the track, with a water station for athletes and first aid at the other end. Canopies and seats for judges and teams line the opposite side of the stands.
After registering and getting my number for today, Zander walks me over to join my team under the canopy at 9am. “Try to enjoy today. We’ve got lots of eyes on you. There are enough of us to watch everything, okay?”
“I’ll try.” I smile and walk over to stand beside Holly. “Hi Holly,” I greet.
“Hey girl,” Holly smiles back at me. She must see the tension I’m holding in my body.
“You’ll do great today. You’ve gotten faster in the few weeks you’ve been training. Don’t stress.”
“I’m trying,” I mutter as she laughs at me. “You’re not nervous?”
“Nope. More excited. I was nervous yesterday, but now I just want to run,” she replies.
“Okay, people,” the coach calls, so we gather closer.
“Today, I want your best effort. I want to walk away today with everyone passing qualifying times, which will allow our team to focus on winning at the first official meet next weekend. You’re free to come and go once I post the schedule today, but I hope you choose to cheer on your teammates as much as possible.
Now, we’ve got our distance runners in the first race this morning.
Let’s give them a loud sendoff, and then you can go your own way.
Check in with me 10 minutes before your race. ”
Coach hands us each a copy of the schedule. Looks like I’m up at 10am, 1pm, and 3pm today. Holly is running at 10:30am and 1pm. I take a screenshot of the schedule and send it to Zander and the guys.
Holly and I line up at the side of the track, ready to cheer Jaxon on. Holly tells me that the distance race is usually the first race in the morning. “How is Jaxon feeling this morning?”
“He doesn’t get nervous at all. He’s very mellow on race days. Nothing fazes him,” Holly tells me.
“That’s a great way to be,” I comment. It looks like there’s about 15 guys and 12 girls running distance this morning. “Are all the runners we will compete against here today?” I ask.
“No. Not everyone came today. Anyone who is already qualified from last year doesn’t have to race today. It’s optional.”
I nod as the athletes take their places on the starting line.
The gun goes off, and the athletes take off.
It’s a slow start compared to the other races.
They’ll do one lap on the track and then head off onto the road, looping back halfway to end on the track again.
We cheer Jaxon as he passes by. He smiles at us, then he’s off the track.
I’m in the next race, so I grab my bag and sit on the grass behind the canopy.
I apply my recovery cream, then start stretching.
Holly joins me on the grass to keep me company.
Once I’ve stretched thoroughly, I start a light jog on the track with Holly to warm up and try to dispel some of my nerves.
Before I know it, it’s race time, and the coach joins me in my lane. “How are you feeling, Summer?”
“Okay, Coach. Nervous.”
“Let those nerves fuel you. Just run your race and don’t worry about the others. All you need to do is qualify today. Nothing more. You’ve got this.”
“Okay,” I nod as we’re called to take our places.
I look over to the stands and my guys and Zander are standing up, cheering.
Seb has a sign above his head that says ‘Go Summer’ in big letters.
I wave and smile at them. Focusing back on the track, I take a deep breath and clear my mind for the race.
I see the officials lined up, and the gun raised.
As the shot rings out, I take off. I hear the guys cheering as we pass the stands.
There are a few girls ahead of me, but there are some behind me as well.
I push myself through the straightaway to catch up.
As we come out of the last turn, I put on a burst of speed until the finish line.
As I jog to slow down, Holly and the coach join me. “Excellent Summer. You came in second, and you more than qualified,” she smiles. “Great job. Now rest up for your next race,” she tells me and walks off.
“Thanks, Coach,” I say as Holly congratulates me.
“You were faster than in practice,” Holly tells me. “You did great, Summer. Now I’ve gotta go warm up. I’m up next.”
“Good luck. I’ll be cheering from the sidelines,” I wave as I head back to our team area. I get congratulations from the few team members who are still in the area. Grabbing my water, I text everyone I’ll join them after Holly’s race.
Standing near the finish line, I watch as the coach gives Holly and another team member a pep talk.
As the race begins, two other racers are out in front, but that changes when they get to the straightaway.
Holly steadily passes everyone. “Go, Holly!” I’m cheering her on and clapping for her as she pulls ahead.
She easily finishes in first place. Holly jogs over to our area and grabs her water bottle.
“Amazing Holly. Damn, girl, you’ve got some kick in the final 100m. ”
“Yup, that’s my secret weapon,” she smiles, breathing hard.
“I’m going to head over to the stands and probably grab an early lunch today. Is your family here?”
“No, not today. My mom is a nurse, so she’s working at the hospital. She will be at the meet next weekend, though.”
“Come and hang out with us today then,” I offer. We grab our bags, walking around the track to climb the stands. Seb gets up and gives me a hug, and everyone congratulates us as I sit beside Zander. “Any sightings?” I ask him.
“No, nothing. So what’s the plan for the rest of the day, ladies?” Zander asks.
“An early light lunch for us,” I tell him.
“I’d like to be here when Jaxon finishes,” Holly adds. “The distance runners should be back between noon and 12:30.”
“Okay. Where do you want to eat?” Zander looks between us and the guys.
“There’s a restaurant nearby that does a great high-protein salad,” Holly offers.
We all agree and head to the parking lot, splitting up into two vehicles. There’s no wait at the restaurant since it’s still early for lunch. We put two tables together and take our seats. Holly and I both order the high-protein salad. The food comes quickly, and we dig in.
“This is fantastic, Holly,” I tell her.
“It is. I always order this when the meets are at our high school.”
“I think I can replicate this if you girls want me to make it for all your meets,” E offers. “Maybe change a few things,” he says, examining my plate.
“E is going to be a chef,” I tell Holly.
“Oh wow. That’s great,” she responds. “I wouldn’t turn down a chef prepared salad.” I offer him a bite of my salad so he can taste the dressing. He pulls his phone out, making notes and dissecting the salad. I smile at him and go back to eating.
The guys ask us questions about the different races and the competitors as we enjoy our meal. After a relaxing lunch, we drive back to the school, and Holly and I break off to go to our team canopy to wait for Jaxon.
Ten minutes after we arrive, Jaxon comes around the school and onto the track.
Holly and I clap and cheer for him as he does his last lap.
Coach is beside us, cheering too. He passes the finish line first, all by himself.
We jog over to congratulate him as the coach hands him an electrolyte drink and a towel.
One of our teammates follows a few minutes behind Jaxon to finish second.
We walk Jaxon back to our canopy so he can have a rest. Once he has his legs back under him, Holly and I stretch for the relay as the twins join us with the coach.
“Okay ladies. The good news is that all the relay teams are new this year, so all our competition is here today. I want clean handoffs from everyone. Work together out there. You have the inside track in this race. Let’s go. ”
We follow the coach onto the track. She follows me as I take a spot in the centre of the track with the twins getting their positions. “Just do your best today, Summer. That’s all I ask.”
“Will do, Coach,” I nod, jogging a bit in place to warm up my legs.
The official asks the runners to take their positions.
As the gun goes off, twin one takes off like a rocket.
These girls are super fast. I take my position on the inside lane as I watch twin one slow down a bit as she gets closer to twin two, allowing a few other runners to almost catch up to her.
Twin two flies after the handoff, pulling ahead again.
“Get ready, Summer,” the coach yells. “Go, go, go!” She tells me.
I run with my hand behind me as twin two hands off the baton.
She’s given me a good lead, so I take off hard around the bend.
I can hear Seb and Zander cheering me on in the stands as I come to the straightaway.
I can feel a few girls coming up behind me as I push myself harder.
I hand off to Holly at almost the same time as two other teams.
“Go Holly, go,” I cheer, trying to catch my breath.
I follow her progress around the bend. Two other teams are right with her as they hit the straightaway, then Holly takes off.
She pulls away from the other runners and easily wins.
I cheer for her and run around the track to meet up with everyone at the finish line.
“Fantastic job, girls!” The coach exclaims. “I’ve got a good feeling about this season,” she smiles. “Summer, twins, go rest your legs and hydrate. You’ve got one more to go today.” I nod and grab my things from the canopy with Holly.
“You did so well in the race, Summer. I’m gonna get my scholarship for college!” She tells me excitedly.
“Thanks. That was a tough one for me,” I admit. I’m also feeling pretty tired after the two races.
“You kept up with the other girls. That’s all you needed to do. I can’t wait to see how much faster you get as you keep training.”
“We’ll see,” I smile. “Let’s go join the guys.” We walk around the stands and climb up to sit with everyone as congratulations are offered, and Jaxon gives Holly a big hug. I grab my water and a granola bar to munch on as we get comfortable to watch the next races.
“How are you feeling?” Zander asks me.
“Okay. Tired but good. I’m gonna be sore tomorrow, though.”
“Got enough steam left for the last race?” Bay asks from behind me.
“I hope so,” I smile at him.
Zander says he’s going to check in with Troy and Nick at work and gets up to move away, so Seb takes his spot beside me. “Hi Sunshine. You’re magnificent out there,” he says, putting his arm around me.
“Thanks, Hurry,” I smile at him.
“Do you need to just sit for a while? Maybe walk? Stretch? A massage?” He says wiggling his eyes.
I chuckle at him. “Rest for now. No. No. No.”
“You got it, Sunshine. Want a drink or anything?”
“No thanks, I’ve got electrolytes in my water,” I tell him, finishing my granola bar.
“Are those the same ones you made us for the tournament?” He asks.
“Almost. I added blueberries this time. Want one? I made a whole batch,” I offer.
“Sure, if you have lots,” he says, grabbing one and passing the container back to E, and everyone ends up grabbing one.
“These are good, Summer,” Jaxon says. “What’s in them?”
“It’s basically a granola bar with added protein and minerals.”
“Cool,” he nods.
“Hey look, the twins are up for the 100m sprint,” Holly says.
I turn around to watch. They’re on the far side of the track, but we are high enough to see well. I stand up as they get set on the starting blocks.
“Go, twins,” I holler. Everyone stands up with me, and as the gun goes off, we cheer them on as loud as we can. Twin one wins, followed closely by twin two. It wasn’t even a close race today. They look over at the stands, surprised at their cheering section.
“I’ve got to go to the washroom,” I tell the guys as Zander climbs back up into the stands. “Has anyone seen them yet?” No one has, and Zander just walked the perimeter and didn’t see anyone either.
“I’ll go with you,” Holly offers.
“Me too,” Seb says.
“Keep your eyes open,” Zander reminds us.
We enter the side hallway past room two, down to the main hall in the complex. “Everything is locked up except the bathrooms inside, so no one can get into anything,” Holly explains as we get to the washroom.
“Okay ladies. I’ll be right outside standing guard,” Seb says, saluting us.
Shaking my head at him, I smile and follow Holly inside.
As soon as the door closes, I hear a click and the lights go out.
I turn to grab the door handle in a panic, but a cloth covers my mouth and nose that smells sweet.
I flinch, but I’m quickly getting weak. Just before I drift off, I hear a voice.
“Leave the other one. Bring Summer over here.”