New York. Central Park. 24/11/2012. 07:45.
"Come on Katty! Run faster!" Nathaniel shouted, running ahead of her.
Not bothering to answer to save her energy, Katty just put everything that she had in her leg, trying to pass him but it was to no avail. Each time that she had upped the pace, he had done it too, keeping himself just at her reach but far enough to show her he was leading the race. That was infuriating her to no end and so she was giving her everything to try to pass him. In her mind, Nathaniel was turning slowly into a dragon that she needed to slay.
They were not racing like that often, sometimes they were just jogging calmly, talking about everything that came to their minds but when they were racing, their competitive nature was showing for everyone to see. They were not the only ones to jog in Central Park even at that hour on a saturday but they were the only one who could run this fast and this long.
Passing the finish line that was designated by a bush and a three, Katty slump on the ground, completely exhausted and soaked in sweat. Nathaniel did not let her be still on the ground and brought her to her feet.
"Don't do that! Start stretching or you are going to be sore tomorrow." Nathaniel said.
"I hate you!" Katty shouted resentfully but still doing what she was told, following Nathaniel in his stretching exercise.
"This is not nice of you to say Katty. I'm hurt inside you know." Nathaniel said with mock chagrin.
"You are not even breathing heavily anymore! I win track tournaments more easily than I do running with you. This is so infuriating."
"Come on, don't be a sore loser like that. Let's walk to a coffee shop, I'm buying."
"You better be." She grumbled.
Walking side by side outside of Central Park, they took a seat at their usual coffee shop and ordered two oranges juice. As a student athlete for the NCAA, Katty was paying attention to what she was eating and drinking to keep her body in peak physical condition. Nathaniel on this part had to have his body in perfect condition to be able to use the power of his soul on his body without risking long lasting injury. He even had to drop eating pizza to stay healthy, that was one of the hardest decisions he had to make in his lifetime.
"No but seriously, why are you not in our track team? Our male team really sucked, with you in it you could bring trophee to our school and with that up our ranking." Katty asks.
"Yeah it sounds good on paper but did you read the contract you are forced to sign to enter into the NCAA? They exerce a stupid amount of control over their players, some of these close are even anti constitutional. Sorry but not sorry, I like my freedom more than I like trophees."
"Wait, you really read that manual? It's almost five hundred pages long!" Katty said, astonished.
"Katty, I'm a law student. Trust me when I say this is not the hardest thing I had to read. The thing that is more concerning is you, signing a contract without even knowing what you sign." Nathaniel shakes his head.
"Nobody ever read that manual before signing." Katty tries to justify herself weakly.
"Yeah, they're counting on that. They figured out the ugly truth about America. If you want to do something evil, put it inside something boring. Do you even know that the term 'Student Athlete' their using was crafted by the NCAA as a means to not give you any salary and not pay for your medical bills if you were to hurt yourself on the field?" Nathaniel explained.
"Really? That's fu**ed up! Why does nobody do anything to fix that?" She asks with indignation.
"Because the NCAA is an extremely wealthy and influential organisation. The ones who can change things won't and the one who want can't. The system is rigged, there is nothing new about that. That's why I'm a law student, I want to change things once I'm a lawyer." Nathaniel said with conviction.
Looking at him right now, full of determination, Nathaniel was looking even more handsome than usual as a new side of him was shown to light. That also reminded Katty that she needed to talk to him about something.
"Nathaniel, listen. I'm sorry to ruin the mood but we need to talk about Madison."
The reaction of Nathaniel hearing that name was light but still there. His eyes and demeanor turn completely neutral, emotionless.
"No, we really do not."
"I'm sorry but yes, we do. She's doing badly since you guys broke up. She stopped going to class, did not party anymore and just stayed in her room all day crying. It got so bad that her mother came to pick her up yesterday and she took a leave of absence from Columbia. I know what she did is shitty to put it mildly but you should talk to her, that could help both of you to move on."
"Listen Katty, I know you are trying to help but there is no way this is going to happen. I'm done with her. She made her choice and now I made mine." He said in a slightly cold voice.
"Nathaniel, she made a mistake and now she regrets it! Trust me, I saw her cry all the tears that she had in her body all day long for almost a week as you were not answering her calls or text. I know you are kind and caring, I'm just asking you to talk. Nothing more."
"You do not understand what you are asking Katty. A few hours before I found her kissing another man, we were talking about doing something together for my birthday!" Nathaniel shouted, gathering a couple of stares from the other clients.
Seeing the expression of surprise followed by consternation, Nathaniel continued.
"Now you get it. I'm born on the first of December. I got cheated on two weeks before my birthday. Yes, I'm all of what you said except in case of betrayal and in that case all disappear. What she did to me was the most despicable thing imaginable." He said, a tinge of emotion in his voice.
"I had no idea Nathaniel, I'm so so sorry." Katty apologized.
"It's nothing, don't worry about it. If I can just ask you one thing. Do not bring the topic again, okay?"
"No problem, I will not mention it again." Katty promised.
After they had parted ways, Nathaniel was still thinking about what his friend had told him. He had been honest with her, after what Madison had done, he had completely forgotten about her. In fact, he was treating her as she was a stranger now, the little affection that he had for her had vanished like it had never existed in the first place.
He had never received the calls and text as he had blocked her on his phone the same night they had broken up and he had no remorse for having done so. That was better like this anyway. He had no time any more for girls, good things, great things were coming and he needed to prepare for that.