"Alright boys and girls, listen up! It's time to decide who's doing what for the festival!" As the teacher said that, a bunch of students began yelling over each other, trying to claim what events they wanted to participate in. "Quiet down! I can't understand any of you like this!" the teacher shouted, but it didn't seem to make much of an impact. She sighed and decided to wait it out.
While there were certainly plenty of people making noise in the classroom, Kanako wasn't one of them. Instead, she was lost in thought wondering how and when she'd be able to talk with Haruna. With each class making their own preparations, it wasn't like there'd be a lot of free time. The sports festival wasn't nearly as busy as the cultural festival, but it was still taken just as seriously at Iwanai Municipal High School. They were sure to make a big show out of it, having plenty of events and bringing in a few local restaurants to cater to the crowd.
"SHUT UP ALREADY!!!" the teacher screamed, snapping Kanako out of her thoughts. That also appeared to be enough to get the class's full attention. "Now," the teacher continued, adjusting the hair that had fallen in front of her face from her aggressive movement. "We'll start from the beginning. Who wants to do the 100 meter dash?"
And so it began. Kanako's teacher started going down the list of events, all 20 of them. With each one, several people raised their hand and their names were written on the board. About 12 in, the teacher read one that was unique to the school. It was the 800 meter tag team.
The way it worked was pretty simple. Like a relay, you had team members participating with you. But unlike a relay, it was only two people. One person would start the race and run the first 400 meters (meaning one full lap around the track) and then they'd tag their teammate to run the next 400. It was an event that didn't really require much skill, but it definitely helped to be fast.
Naturally a bunch of hands went up, but before anyone could make their case, a surprising voice sounded off from the back. "I'll do it!" the girl exclaimed, standing up and causing her two blond strands to sway. "Fukuhara-san? I didn't think you were much of a runner," the teacher commented, eliciting a few giggles. "W-Well, I still want to try!" Michi pushed on. "Alright. Who's your partner?"
The next surprise was the biggest of them all to Kanako, who had been sitting quietly. The next thing she knew, her best friend's finger was pointed directly at her. "Kana-chan," Michi answered directly. This caused a few murmurs. It wasn't as if Kanako was slow, but like most things for her, she was the middle of the pack when it came to her speed. Around her, a couple people wondered if their class would even stand a chance at winning if the two girls ran the event.
However, instead of questioning it, the teacher just smiled and nodded her head. "Then it's decided. Fukuhara-san and Nakatomi-san will run the 800 meter tag team." It was with that announcement that Kanako finally broke her silence. "W-W-Wait a minute!" she stammered, standing up. "I never said I'd do it!" "Well, moving along," the teacher said. "Hey!" Kanako tried to protest, but it was no use.
Sitting back down, Michi placed her hand on Kanako's shoulder. "Come on, don't worry about it. It'll be fun!" she said, beaming. "Hmph," was all Kanako could respond with.
When lunchtime came around and the usual group gathered, Michi informed Mayu and Itsuki with the latest news. The two of them reacted in a way Michi apparently hadn't expected. Mayu looked rather uncertain, and Itsuki's jaw was practically on the floor. "Are... are you sure about this?" she asked Michi. "Huh? Of course I'm sure," she answered. "But like, you're so slow..." Itsuki said. "I'm not that slow!" Michi defended herself. "Weren't you last in our class last year?" Itsuki asked. "No I was not! I was third from the bottom!"
While the two bickered, Kanako thought about their most recent time trials. In gym class, the girls and boys would split up and each do their own thing. But, every once and a while, the two sides would sync up and it was for one reason only: time trials. Each student was required to do them as long as they were able. That meant running the 100 meter, 400 meter and 1600 meter.
When Kanako thought back on the results, she remembered where Michi had landed: fifth from the bottom. "Why does she want to do this then?" Kanako wondered. Michi was still trying to make her case to Itsuki, but it seemed she was getting nowhere. "Ugh, whatever!" Michi said, finally giving up. "I don't care if you think I can do it or not!" Itsuki shrugged, then went back to eating her lunch.
"How about you Kana-chan?" Mayu asked. Kanako felt a little nervous. "How should I answer that? Honestly I don't really want to do this, but Mi-chan seems so set on it...mmm..." Kanako eventually decided to go with: "I-I think it'll be okay." In truth, she really wasn't sure if it would be, but something told her that if she voiced her concerns, it would upset Michi. "I guess I don't have much of a choice now..." Kanako sighed to herself.
The day went on and Kanako continued to wonder why Michi had volunteered the two of them for that particular event. There was nothing from last year she could seem to recall that could tell her why Michi wanted to join in on the festivities. In fact, there was nothing in the girl's history that indicated why. Everyone knew that while Michi was good at academics, her athletics were rather lacking. For as long as Kanako had known her, that had always been the case.
No matter how hard she thought, nothing came to mind. "Even if she just wanted to be a part of the festival, did she really have to drag me into it too?" Kanako wondered. It was at that moment that another thought occurred to Kanako. "Wait... if I have to do some sort of practice for this, won't that ruin my plans for fixing things with Haruna?!" she panicked. "Well, it's not like a practice or two would take up a ton of time or anything, but the festival is only a couple days away anyways..."
"Geez, what am I going to do..." Kanako said aloud.
"Hm? Who're you talking to?" Michi asked as she stood next to Kanako's desk. "O-Oh, Mi-chan," Kanako said nervously. "W-What's up?" "What do you mean 'what's up?' We have to go practice for the 800 meter tag team. I told you at lunch didn't I?" "Huh?" Kanako said, confused. She looked at the clock and saw that it was already past the time to go. "I just got back from explaining to Naomi-senpai why we won't be at club the next couple of days. So come on, let's go!"
It took a moment for everything Michi had said to sink in. Kanako had been so caught up in her own head that she hadn't even noticed the bell ring nor did she notice Michi both leave and come back. On top of that, cooking club was now on hold for the both of them. "And now we're practicing...?" Kanako thought.
Before she knew it, Michi had already packed Kanako's things and was dragging the girl behind her to the track. When they arrived, Kanako was surprised to find hardly anyone there. She had at least expected the track club members to be present. Kanako told that to Michi as well, who in turn gave an annoyed expression. "Itsuki-chan told us at lunch that they didn't have practice this week. Were you listening at all then?" Michi explained in a huff. Kanako felt a little embarrassed.
"Anyways, it's good there's only a few others here," Michi continued. "If we waited until tomorrow, it would probably be packed!" Kanako agreed. She remembered walking home last year and going past the track just a day before the festival. There had been so many students on it at once that it was a wonder to her that anyone could practice with so little space.
Once the two girls had gotten changed into their gym clothes, they headed straight back to the track. "It's too bad we don't get any starting blocks or anything," Michi commented. "A-Aren't those hard to use?" Kanako asked. "Not really. Itsuki-chan uses them all the time, so I'm sure it's not that hard," Michi answered. "Yeah, but she's a member of the track club..." Kanako thought.
"So who's going first, me or you?" Michi asked. Kanako stared at her. "She sounds so excited... It makes me feel kind of bad for not wanting to do this..." Then Kanako smiled. "How about you?" she suggested. "Sure!" Michi replied happily. "Maybe... I should just do my best and try to enjoy this," Kanako thought.
Michi got up on the starting line and looked at Kanako. "Hey, do you have a timer on you or anything?" she asked. "U-um, well, I have my phone," Kanako answered, pulling the device out of her pocket. "I think it has a timer function on it." "Great! Then we can use that." Kanako agreed. "Okay, ready... set... go!" She gave the command and Michi took off. "Wow, she's really going," Kanako observed for a moment. Unfortunately, it didn't last long as about 50 meters in Michi's speed drastically dropped.
"Oh no..." Kanako thought, then: "Y-You can do it Mi-chan!" though she wasn't sure if a simple cheer would really help. However, it seemed like it had some sort of effect because Michi's feet didn't seem to be dragging as much as before. As her friend continued to run her lap, Kanako watched with a mix of excitement and anxiety. "I want her to do well because she's looking forward to this so much, but... what if not doing well makes her sad?"
Thoughts like those continued to plague Kanako until finally Michi headed into the home stretch. She was super sweaty, with a gleam coming off her forehead and she was breathing really hard, kind of like a panting dog. When she crossed the finish line, Michi practically collapsed as Kanako hit the stop button on the phone timer. "So... how'd... I do..." Michi asked in between breaths. Kanako was smiling, but it was out of nerves more than anything. "W-Well, um, it's not... awful?" "Huh? What kind... of answer... is that...?" Michi asked as she stumbled over to Kanako. Taking a look at the time, her eyes bulged.
"That slow?!" she cried. "Aw man! I thought for sure that I had been moving way faster!" "Better luck next time?" Kanako tried to encourage Michi, but to no avail. "Alright Kana-chan, it's your turn," Michi said, recovered from her lap. "Wha- I- Um-!" Kanako stuttered, but she knew Michi was right. Tag team in this instance meant two people, so Kanako had to run too. She knew that, but that didn't mean she was suddenly in a running mood (not that she ever was anyways).
Reluctantly, Kanako handed her phone off to Michi and got on the starting line. Staring ahead, it felt like such a long ways to go. Taking a deep breath in and letting it out, Kanako got into a starting position of her own and gave a look to Michi to confirm she was ready. "Ready..." Michi began to call. "Set... go!"
Kanako launched off her right foot and went down the stretch. The first few strides felt so easy and free. "Hey, maybe this won't be so bad," Kanako thought. However, that belief was very short-lived, as it wasn't long before Kanako started feeling the effects of running at top speed on her own body. "Ugh..." she groaned. With each step she took, she felt a heavy thud under her foot and the impact crawl up to her knees. "How much farther?" she wondered, taking a look ahead. There was about two-thirds of the track left.
About half-way through, Kanako began to feel the sweat building up on her. Parts of her shirt were sticking to her shoulders and back and it was beginning to make her chest feel uncomfortable. The sweat on her face was running down it and at one point a bead of the self-produced liquid hit her in the eye, causing it to sting. Kanako tried wiping away what she could, but her hands were sweaty too, so it didn't do much good. Her breathing had been fairly stable, but the longer she went, the more ragged it began to sound.
"I'm... almost there..." Kanako told herself when she had about a fourth of the way left. She was finishing the turn into the last part when she heard Michi cheering her own. "Come on Kana-chan! You can do it!" she yelled. Hearing that made Kanako feel happy, and somehow it became a little easier to run. Stretching her stride, Kanako raced to the finish as fast as she could. When she crossed the line, she heard a beep to indicate that Michi had pushed the stop button.
"Hey, not bad Kana-chan! I think your time might be better than your last recorded time in gym class!" Kanako came over to look at what the timer said and saw that it was indeed a hair better than before. "Wow..." she said. "If we keep practicing like this, we might actually stand a chance!" Michi said. "H-Huh?! Wait, Mi-chan, you knew we were already going to lose?!" Kanako exclaimed. "Yeah, of course," Michi said matter-of-factly. "T-Then why did we enter?!" Kanako asked. "Because I wanted to have fun," Michi answered simply. Kanako was at a loss, but Michi continued speaking.
"I'm sure you've been wondering why I wanted to do this event," she said. "You're probably thinking 'what happened last year that would make her want to do this? I don't remember her being in any events.' And that's true. I wasn't in any of them. Not a single one."
"Because last year... I was sick."
Kanako's eyes went wide. After hearing that, she finally remembered what had happened. Michi hadn't signed up for any events, but she had still been looking forward to the festival. She had talked all that week about how excited she was to watch everyone compete and that she was looking forward to cheering on Itsuki. And then, on the day of the festival, she didn't show up. About an hour before everything was set to start, Kanako had gotten a text from Michi saying she wouldn't make it because she had come down with a fever out of the blue.
"I wanted to be there so bad last year," Michi said. "But I wasn't because of that stupid cold. So this year, I decided that I needed to make up for the fun I missed out on, and what better way to do that than to do an event with my best friend?"
Kanako stared. "Oh, I get it now..." she thought. There are only two events with team members that girls can participate in. One is the relay, and the other is the one they entered. A relay team can have four members, so all four of the girls could've ran it together... except they weren't all in the same class. So that left one option: the 800 meter tag team. "So that's why she wanted to do this so badly and looked so excited."
"I know I'm being selfish by dragging you into this, but I just... I wanted to make this memory... sorry..." Michi said in a more somber tone. "No, I'm sorry," Kanako said, surprising Michi. "Honestly, I didn't even want to do this... but now, after being reminded of last year, I think this is something we absolutely should do. So let's do our best, okay?"
Small tears formed in the corner of Michi's eyes. "Kana-chan... thank you."
The two girls continued to practice for another hour, taking plenty of breaks in between. When they had both decided neither of them could run anymore, they called it quits and went back to the locker room to change. Afterwards, Michi and Kanako walked together to the gate of the school before splitting off onto their own routes home.
*****
The next day, the students were abuzz by a yearly announcement made via bulletin board. Once all of the events had been set and who would be in them, the information was posted. It detailed every event and who was in it from each class. Finding her curiosity getting the better of her, Kanako squeezed her tiny frame through the crowd so she could get a look at who she would be competing against.
She didn't know most of the names on the list as she tried to find her event, but when she saw 800 meter tag team, her eyes immediately went to it. The classes were listed in order, so her and Michi were listed second. However, a couple more down revealed a major shock to Kanako.
"No way..." she muttered. "H-Haruna's competing too?!" Right on the paper were the names Haruna Endo and Chiyo Wakabayashi. "And Chiyo... I didn't think she was all that athletic..." Kanako mumbled. "I think I'm pretty quick y'know," a voice suddenly said. When Kanako turned, she saw Chiyo standing next to her. "Ah!" Kanako jumped. Chiyo laughed. "Heya Kana-chan! Hm? Whoa, so you're in tag team event too? Cool! We'll get to compete against each other!" Chiyo said happily. "Y-Yeah..." Kanako replied nervously.
"There you are Kana-chan," Michi's voice said as she appeared out of the crowd. "I've been looking for... you..." Michi saw Chiyo standing there too. "Ugh..." she let out. "Hi Mi-chan," Chiyo said nicely. "Why're you here?" Michi asked in an accusing tone. "Just checkin' out the competition is all," Chiyo said. "Huh? Competi...tion?" Michi repeated softly as she scanned the board. Then her eyes went wide. "S-Seriously?!" she exclaimed. Chiyo threw up a peace sign. "That's right! I'm in the same race as you two! Pretty cool huh? Like, what're the odds, y'know?"
Michi sighed. "I can't believe this..." Ignoring her comment, Chiyo kept talking. "I have to admit though, sometimes running's kinda hard with these things," she said as she lifted her breasts. "Although I guess you don't have to worry about that huh Mi-chan?" Chiyo giggled. "Tch! Whatever! Just leave already you floozy!" Michi retorted. Chiyo snickered. "Floozy? You say some funny words sometimes Mi-chan," she said before walking away.
"God, I can't stand her..." Michi said under her breath. While the words she spoke registered in Kanako's ears, the girl was still distracted by the other name on Chiyo's team. "Haruna..." she repeated in her head. Yesterday, Kanako hadn't had much of a desire to compete. Even after hearing Michi's reasons, it wasn't like she was suddenly 100 percent on board. The bottom line was that Kanako had never been one for athletics, even if she possessed the skills to at least be helpful to a team.
However, as she stood there staring at the announcement board, a realization was slowly beginning to rise to the forefront of her mind. "I can compete against Haruna..." Kanako thought. "If I can beat her... then maybe that would give me the final boost of confidence I need to talk to her and sort everything out." While it was true Kanako felt determined to fix things with her former childhood best friend, that hadn't magically changed her self-esteem. She was still concerned about trying to engage in a conversation with Haruna, with the main doubt plaguing her being that Haruna could just completely refuse.
"But if I can beat her..." Kanako kept thinking. It was then that she made her decision. Beating Haruna in this event would definitely give her that push she needed. Feeling a newfound spirit abounding within her, Kanako turned to Michi. "Mi-chan, let's practice hard!" she said. Michi looked confused. "Um, well, yeah, that's the plan...?"
*****
After school that day involved the two girls going to the locker room and getting changed, then heading out to the track to continue their practice. This time though, there were a lot more people, as the festival was now only two days away. "Geez, this is what I was afraid of," Michi complained. "With the way it is now, we'll only get 50 meters to practice on without anyone in the way."
Kanako stared out at the track. It was true there were a lot of people. It seemed like at least half the school was out there, probably more. They were all doing various things. Some of them were running (or trying to), others were trying to do a makeshift obstacle course, and then there were a few students trying to get some prep work done for the set-up of the festival that would be happening the next day. Overall, it was a madhouse.
"Oh, I know!" Michi suddenly exclaimed. "Why don't we try the junior high's track? It's only a few blocks away." Kanako agreed, so the two of them grabbed their stuff and made their way to their former school.
When they arrived, there were still other students there, but not nearly as many as the high school. It also appeared that the school had anticipated high schoolers coming their way, because there was a sign posted that said they were welcome to use the track until 6:00 p.m. "That doesn't give us much time," Michi said as she checked her phone. "We'll just have to make it work."
Setting their stuff down, Michi and Kanako both began to stretch. The last thing either of them wanted was to pull a muscle before the festival. As she stretched, Kanako kept thinking about Haruna competing. Something about that thought stoked a fire within her that she had seldom felt before. In fact, looking back, it seemed the only time that fire came to light was when Haruna was involved. And now, between Michi's reason for participating and Kanako's desire to beat Haruna, she was now more eager than ever to race.
As had been decided yesterday, Michi was the first to run. She set up on the starting line and waited for Kanako to give the command. When she did, Michi took off. Her goal was to pace herself better than last time and she started off well, but as she was naturally unathletic, it wasn't long before she lost considerable speed. However, that didn't stop her as she was determined to push to the end.
Once Michi was close, Kanako readied herself to hit the stop button on the timer. She cheered her friend on as Michi got closer and closer, until finally she crossed the line. After catching her breath, Michi went over to Kanako to check the time.
"Alright!" she cheered. "That's better than all of my times before!" "Congrats Michi!" Kanako celebrated with her. "Okay, now it's my turn!" With that proclamation, Kanako stepped up to the line. When Michi shouted "Go!" Kanako started running with only a singular thought on her mind: "Be faster than Haruna."
As she ran, Kanako made sure to watch her breathing and pace. 400 meters is technically a sprint, but Kanako knew trying to go full speed for that long was something that was reserved for actual athletes, not a girl like her who would burn out after the first 100. So instead, she took it in chunks, trying to increase her speed at each 100 meter interval. It felt like it was working, and when Kanako had completed her lap and checked the time, she saw that she had also gotten faster.
After a brief rest, Michi suggested that they start practicing how the event will actually work, meaning instead of running individual laps, they'd run in succession, with Michi going first and then tagging Kanako to run the second lap. With that being decided, Michi got back on the line and ran.
When she came around, Kanako set the timer (her phone) down and got ready. In a way, the event they were doing was pretty similar to a relay. All that was missing was a baton. To signal your teammate, all you had to do was tag some part of their body. Most people opted for the hand, but there had been some creative ways of tagging that students had come up with, including one story that claimed a boy had tagged his teammate by kicking him in the back.
The two girls had decided to do it normally though, as Michi stretched out her hand and Kanako reached back. When their hands slapped together, it was Kanako that began running, with Michi offering a brief cheer of encouragement. "I can do this," she thought, pumping herself up.
Michi and Kanako kept going like that for a while. After each lap Kanako completed, there was a rest period, then they'd both go back to practicing. By the time it was six, they were both spent. "I guess... doing this two days in a row... can be pretty tiring..." Michi said in between breaths. "Y-Yeah..." Kanako agreed, winded herself. "But hey," Michi said, standing up straight. "I think we've done pretty well. At this rate, we're sure to be real competitors for the gold!" Kanako laughed. "M-Maybe, but..." she trailed off. "But you have something else in mind, right?" Michi asked with a knowing smile. Kanako looked up at her. "I saw Endo-san's name on that list too. I bet you want to beat her." Kanako nodded. "Then I guess we both have a goal to work toward now. I want to have fun and you've got something to prove." "Something to prove?" Kanako repeated. "Yeah. To prove to Endo-san she can't push you around."
Kanako looked down at the grass. "That's not quite it..." she mumbled. "Did you say something?" Michi asked. "No, it was nothing," Kanako answered. "We should probably be leaving. That man over there looks kind of mad at us," she said, pointing to the gate they had entered through. Next to it was an old man scowling at them. He was the groundskeeper and had been waiting for a while now to lock up. "Oops..." Michi said, feeling a little embarrassed.
As the two girls grabbed their things and went to change back into their uniforms, Kanako began to feel a sense of unease rising within her. Was that really it? Did she feel like she had something to prove to Haruna? "But I just want to beat her so I can talk to her... right?" Kanako tried to convince herself, but no matter how much she did, that feeling still lingered. It was hard to deny that there was a part of her that simply wanted to outrun the girl that had pushed her around for so long. "I'm sure it would feel nice..." Kanako thought, beginning to get lost in her own selfish desires.
"...a-chan."
"Kana-chan, you listening?" Michi's voice rang her Kanako's ears. "Huh?" she said in response. "I was trying to ask if you wanted to make a bet with me," Michi repeated. "A bet?" Kanako asked. "Yeah. I was thinking it'd be more fun that way," Michi said. "W-What kind of bet?" Kanako asked nervously. "Hmm... How about..."
"...If we lose, you have to tell me about what's been going on between you, Endo-san and Miyashita-san."
Kanako froze in place. "What...?" she let out. "I know I said I'd wait, but..." Michi turned to face her friend. "It's just too hard. I can't stand watching you struggle like this. I want to help you, but I can't do that if you don't tell me anything." "Mi-chan..."
"So I think it's only fair that if we lose, you have to tell me," Michi wrapped up. "W-What happens if we win?" Kanako asked. "I'll buy you an ice cream," Michi said with a smile. "T-That's not balanced at all!" Kanako whined as Michi laughed and began playfully running away. Kanako chased after her, hoping to change the girl's mind.
Unfortunately, by the time they reached the point that they went their separate ways, Kanako had failed. Resigned to her fate, the two girls said their goodbyes to one another and Kanako began heading home. "Well now I really don't want to lose..." Kanako thought. She still felt that she was nowhere near ready to tell Michi about everything. Kanako got the sense that if she did, Michi would probably be furious. She knew Michi wanted to protect her, but sometimes it felt like a bit much. "I'm not helpless..." Kanako thought, feeling somewhat annoyed.
When she got home, Kanako marched upstairs and into her room, closing the door behind her before collapsing onto her bed. "I'm exhausted..." As she continued to lie there, she heard footsteps making their way up the stairs, followed by a knock on her door. The knob turned and someone stood in the doorway, though Kanako couldn't see who it was because of the position she was in. "Kanako dear, if you keep laying like that your uniform will get all wrinkly," the voice of her mother said. "It's okay, it needs to be washed anyways," Kanako said with her mouth half covered by her sheets. She thought she heard her mother briefly sigh before continuing to speak.
"The sports festival for your school is this Friday right? Your dad and I will be there to cheer you on!" Kanako managed to gather enough strength to sit up and look at her mother. "T-Thanks, but it's not like it's going to be anything special. I probably won't even win my event..." Kanako sighed this time as she remembered Michi's bet that had been forced upon her. "Well you never know," Kanako's mom said. "I'm just excited that you're in something. Last year you just sat on the sidelines!" she pouted. "S-Sorry," was the only response Kanako could come up with.
Kanako's mom came further into the room and sat down next to her daughter. "You know, I competed in the 800 meter tag team too," she said reminiscently. "R-Really?!" Kanako exclaimed. Her mother nodded. "I remember it well. I ran the second leg and was neck and neck with the other team in first, but..." "What happened?" Kanako asked.
"Our legs got tangled up and we both fell."
Kanako stared with a mixed expression of shock and disappointment. "H-Hey, don't look at me like that! We both competed hard and that was the result!" her mom cried out, suddenly feeling defensive. "Besides," she continued, calming down, "As long as you do your best, that's all that matters, right?" Kanako agreed. Winning and losing didn't need to hold as much value as they had been given recently to Kanako. All that mattered was that she tried as hard as she could. That would be enough.
"Thanks mom," Kanako said, hugging her. "O-Oh? Well, I'm not really sure what I did, but you're welcome," she said, returning her daughter's embrace. When the two of them parted, Kanako's mother got up and told her that dinner was just about ready, then she left and closed the door behind her. "I should probably change..." Kanako thought as she looked down at her now much wrinkled uniform.
End of Chapter Thirteen.