Chapter 11
More Than Jealousy“The weather outside is so nice today!” Sandeul exclaims, looking up into the sky at the fluffy white clouds. It’s slightly warm and humid, but after having rain every day for a while, we’ll take what we can get.
We made plans to exercise in order to keep ourselves in shape. After wandering around outside for a while, we finally find a track to jog on.
“This is perfect!” Sandeul is so easily excitable.
I set my bag down holding all of my exercise equipment near a bench on the side of the track.
We first perform some stretches and then prepare to begin.
“Let’s do a few laps around just to warm up,” I suggest.
We jog around, side by side, and chat a little while doing so. After a little while, we take a break.
I approach my bag and retrieve my water bottle. I then sit down on the bench, and drink some while trying to regain my breath.
I noticed that Sandeul is just sitting there on the ground, staring up at me, watching me on the tip of the water bottle.
Setting it down, I ask him, “What’s up? Why are you looking at me like that?”
He blushes in embarrassment. His eyes dart away and he replies with a simple “nothing.”
I stand up and we walk back over onto the track together. “What should we do now?” I ask him.
“Let’s run a mile,” Sandeul recommends.
We each go at our own pace. Once we’ve completed the task, we both celebrate and try to catch our breath.
“That felt good,” I say, laughing. I reach for my water bottle and drink some more. Once again, Sandeul is just sitting there.
“Hey, didn’t you bring some water?” I ask.
He shakes his head. “Forgot.”
I shove my water bottle at him. “You need to have some when you’re exercising.”
Sandeul looks down at the water bottle that I just drank out of, and then looks back up at me and passes me it back. “Thanks, but I’m okay. I’m not thirsty at all.” He smiles innocently at me.
I shrug my shoulders. “If you say so.”
By now, we’ve exercised for a while. It’s time for the final task.
A race!
“There’s no way you’ll reach the finish line before me!” I taunt.
He scoffs and retorts, “Don’t say anything that you’ll regret before you lose!”
We count off together, and our race begins. We dash, and at the beginning, we are pretty evenly matched.
After a while, I feel myself starting to catch the lead. There’s no looking back now. I put all of my focus and energy into moving forward, yearning for the win.
It seems like Sandeul has nothing on me. I haven’t seen him by me for some time now. He must be really slow today.
I become curious as to where he’s at in comparison to me. I turn my head and smirk. He’s really far back.
My excited feelings of victory suddenly become concern.
Sandeul staggers, then falls.
And he’s not moving.
I slow down, stop, and turn around. “Heh… don’t play another joke on me like this again! You won’t get me this time!” I shout.
He’s still not moving.
“Sandeul? Answer me. Are you ok?”
Nothing.
“SANDEUL!” I yell and run toward him. The race is long gone. He’s the only thing I care about now.
When I reach him, I immediately pick him up and roll him over. His breathing is shallow, and he’s not responding at all.
I start to panic. My hands are shaking.
What do I do?
My senses come back to me, and my adrenaline kicks in, propelling me over to my athletic bag where I had placed my phone.
I quickly dial the emergency number while rushing back to the spot on the track where Sandeul is lying.
Please be okay!
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