Chapter 14
JUDE
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One million years later…I reached the track course.
A couple of my teammates were already jogging down the track, finished with their warmups.
Coach is so going to be mad at me, I thought.
My eyes roamed the area in search of him but it didn’t take long to see him. He was this lean, slightly stout man with the height of a leprechaun. How he won a dozen awards in track athlete was beyond me.
Luckily, his attention seemed pulled towards a couple of newcomers who had joined this semester.
“Hey Tony!” Coach roared, “Two more laps to go. And you Lesley-“
“It’s Wesley,” the dude said, barely managing to draw the words out. His body was completely covered in sweat that glistened against his pale white skin.
“Wesley,” Coach said like it was the last important thing on earth, “Four more for you for slacking off. I don’t need wimps on my team.”
I quietly slipped into the changing rooms nearby and changed into slim-fitting tights, a green gym short and a loose black tank top before stealthily making my way towards the warmup zone.
A familiar guy spotted me as I began warmups.
“Jude, my best buddy in the whole world,” Ruan Gonzàlez smiled as soon as he saw me. He shook my hand before leaning over for a shoulder bump.
Ruan and I have been friends since I became a track athlete. One of the few friendships that endured after High school.
How it started? I basically got into a fight with this dumb guy in high school who claimed I was humping his girl( I was not. I’m not that much of a whore)and garnered six counts of detention. And everytime I’d end up in the same detention with Ruan. Turns out, we both hated the same guy but for different reasons. Ruan had been pranking that dude until he finally found out and…let’s just say it wasn’t a pretty incident for Ruan.
Anyways, we both took turns jabbing at the same guy, laughing at Ruan’s hilarious recounts of pranks on him and thus a friendship blessed by the gods was born.
Plus it was mutually beneficial. The guy was an academic giant despite himself. I needed aid in biology so he’d help me with my grades and I’d give him tips in track racing.
My existence in college literally wouldn’t be possible without this guy.
I smiled, leaning back from the shoulder bump. “Did you cover for me?”
Ruan gave me a cheeky smile, “Yeah but I doubt Coach noticed. He’s been too busy with the newcomers.”
“Reminds me when we were freshmen.”
“Ay dios mios,” Ruan held his hands in the air. “My legs couldn’t function for a whole month. Coach is such an uptight ass.”
“If he has an ass,” I broke into a laugh, “The guy is so short you can’t even see it.”
Ruan broke into a fit of chuckles and giggles which was great but it was attracting attention. I almost thought Coach would turn his head towards us but he really was too focused on the newcomers.
Well lucky me…
“Jude, Jude, Jude,” said a delighted voice that erased every funny thought in mind. I felt a hand on my shoulder and next thing I knew I was facing Liam.
“The chicken has come home to roost,” he said, smirking down on me. I hated the fact that I was almost a head shorter than him. “My bet. I won yesterday against you.”
Like I could forget, I thought.
It was such a dumb bet. I don’t know why I did it. Twelve laps around the track course. I was drunk. That’s the most probable excuse. Either way, he beat me. He’d never beaten me at all. Or he cheated.
Regardless, the bet was that I owed him Lunch for the rest of the week.
“Fine, dude,” I didn’t even try to hide the look of resignation on my face, “Tomorrow. Cafeteria. 1:15pm. Don’t be late.”
Liam shot me a grin so slimy a part of me wished I could wipe it off his face. “Today’s Monday. I haven’t eaten lunch today. I need money now.”
I sighed, rubbing a palm over my face. “Look dude, its what 2:30? Lunch is over. You can sort yourself today.”
Liam’s expression transformed into one of indignation. At the corner of my eye, I could see his hands starting to clench and unclench like a pulsating blood vessel. “The bet was one week.”
“Yeah, I know,” I smirked, despite myself. “I’ll sort you till next tuesday. Deal?”
In a swift motion, Liam grabbed me by the front of my tanktop. He maneuvered himself until his back was towards Coach’s direction so he wouldn’t see what was happening.”Listen here, Adams. Just because you think you’ve won a few races and awards and shit doesn’t make you better than us.”
The smirk on my face didn’t leave. “Coach seems to think that.”
“Uhh,” Ruan said nervously. “Guys chill. If Coach sees you, you’ll get a timeout and-“
“Shut it you dirty latino,” Liam snarled.
Ruan’s eyes shifted with rage. “What did you just call me?” He stepped forward, fists clenched and I realised this thing had gone too far. If Coach saw us…
“Jenkins, Gonzàlez what are you doing here just idling? Is that You Adams?” Coach suddenly appeared behind Liam who immediately let go of me. Flustered, he turned towards Coach.
“Nothing Coach. We were just chatting-“
“Chatting?” Coach’s thick eyebrows furrowed into a piercing frown. “Is chatting going to bring us the State Champions title this year?”
“No coach,” Liam’s voice lowered until I was mesmerized. This guy wanted to beat the hell out of me just now and he sounded so meek.
“Get to training. NOW!” He took the whistle around his neck and blew it in Liam’s face before giving a look of dissatisfaction as Liam ran off. Before I could start chasing the idea of sneaking off, he had already turned his attention towards us.
“You too, Gonzàlez. Adams you came late. Four extra laps for you.” Not even stuttering after seeing my shocked expression.
“But coach I-“
“Got a good excuse.”
Ain’t no way I was telling him I found two guys in the bathroom all over each other and I had to intervene to save one of them and afterwards got stuck in a bathroom stall together.
“Four extra laps for me,” I swallowed.
“Great. Now chop chop. Don’t think because you’re one of my best runners that I’ll go easy on you.” His frown continued but at least he didn’t blow the whistle in my face. “Now do warmups and get in the field. GO GO GO!”
