“Ugh. Why does it always end up this way?” I say to myself as I drag the equipment to field.

“Hurry up Chou!” Captain Momo yells out.

“You wanna carry this stuff?” I say disgruntled.

“What was that?” She glares back.

“Nothing, Captain.” I murmur.

“That’s what I thought.” She scoffs, “Now where is Sana? Our best runner can’t be late, not today!”

Suddenly, the load off my back feels so much lighter.

“I’m right here Captain!” Sana says as she grabs some of the equipment bags I was carrying.

“Sana! Let Tzuyu carry that! I can’t have you tired on our championship race!” Captain yells out.

“Cap, Tzuyu is running today too you know? I can’t get us to the finish line if Tzuyu is too tired to even pass me the baton.” She says.

“What!? Chou is running? Who’s missing?” She asks shocked.

“I told you on the bus this morning.” Vice Captain Mina speaks up, “Jihyo sprained her ankle the other day, she still isn’t 100%, so her mom didn’t let her come with the team. She’ll be in the stands cheering us on later.”

“Oh no, I forgot.” She rustles her hair in frustration, “Sorry Chou, I’ll carry that the rest of the way, go get yourself something to drink and rest up before the race.”

“Hmph, now that you need me you’re nice huh?”

“Do you want to run or not? I don’t need this right now.” She glares again.

Before I can open my mouth, Sana grabs me and pulls me over to the vending machines.

“We’ll be back soon Captain!” Sana yells.

The Captain picks up the equipment and yells at the rest of the team to head to benches.

“Tzuyu, this is your chance! Don’t ruin it!” Sana yells, “This is what we’ve been practicing for! Don’t mess it up just to get the last word in.”

“She’s the one that hates me! She never gave me a chance to run no matter how often I talked to coach, she’s only letting me this time because she needs me.” I say as I put a dollar into the machine for some water.

“Then prove to her she’s wrong with your skills, not your words, dummy.” Sana hits me on the head, “You’ll do great, after all, I’ve been training you for months. If there’s anyone to get me that baton in time, it’s gonna be you.” She smiles.

It’s true, Sana has been training me for months. She’s the fastest runner in the state. I remember barely mustering enough courage to ask her to train me. I was so nervous, yet, Sana agreed to do it without hesitation.

“If everyone on the team is strong no one can stop us.” She said to me.

“Thanks, let’s go, I don’t want Momo to yell at us for being late.” I pick up my water and head over to the benches.

Soon it’s time to start the race and we head over to our starting positions. But before I head to my spot, I call out Sana.

She turns around and smiles at me, “What is it? We need to get to our spots Tzuyu. Are you nervous?” She pokes and teases.

“Stop that!” I giggle, “I am a little nervous, but that’s not what I called you for. I just wanted to ask…if we win this race…meet me out here before we head back to the bus ok?”

“Oh sure thing!” She smiles.

“Minatozaki! Chou! To your stations, now!” Coach yells out.

I head to my station and take a deep breath. I was the third runner in today’s relay. Captain Momo and Vice Captain Mina were first and second respectively. Of course, our ace Sana, was last. The gun fires and I watch as the Captain runs with all her might. She and Sana were graduating this year. You could see by the way she was running with all her strength, that she wanted to end her high school career with a trophy. She reached the second runners before anyone else and Mina grabs the baton. Mina was the opposite of Momo, she was quiet. But, she was just as fast and just as determined to get her upper classmen a win, and so was I. Someone manages to actually overtake Mina, but she was still in second place, and not too far off from first. I prepare myself as they come closer. I run ahead and Mina passes me the baton. I quickly overtake the person ahead of me faster than I thought I would. I smile as I realize all those months of training with Sana was worth it. Suddenly…huh? Was the ground always that close? Everything turns black as I find myself crashing onto the floor. I can’t believe what’s happening. I can hear the crowd gasping in despair wondering if I’m ok. I open up my eyes and of course I’m last, but not too far from third place. I muster up all my strength and push myself off the ground. I’m not letting Sana’s final year end in a loss because I messed up. I still…I still have to confess to her. I can’t do that if we lose, especially if it’s all my fault. I manage to catch up to third place and overtake them. Was it the training? Desperation? Probably both. I ran with every ounce of energy I could muster, and extend my hand with the baton to Sana. She grabs the baton and sprints off faster than anything I’ve ever seen. She immediately surpasses the runner in second place, but the first place runner is almost at the finish line. I close my eyes thinking it’s over, until I hear the crowd screaming louder and louder. I open my eyes and Sana caught up! She and the other girl are right next to each other and are on their last breath. You can see both girls giving it their all. A w