The next day, I got up before the crack of dawn. Molly was still tucked under her pink fleece blankets snoring away gently. I tiptoed around the room in the dark, grabbing my clothes and went into the bathroom to get changed. Dressed in a grey zipped up hoodie, a white T-shirt and joggers, I then quickly brushed my teeth and put my hair into a ponytail before heading out to the running tracks.
To my surprise, Theo was already waiting for me by the tracks. His tall frame casually leaned against the goal post, he saw me approaching and a smile appeared across his face. He saw the annoyance and unwillingness on my face and his smile disappeared without a trace.
It was the first time I'd seen him dressed in casual clothes. He looked quite relaxed, his longish dark hair flopped over his eyes and gave him a boyish look, somewhat making him appear more approachable.
"We'll start by doing four laps around the track as a warm-up, then jog for four then sprint for four, cool down for four. OK?" He said to me, pointing his finger in a clockwise direction around the outline of the track.
Was he crazy? I looked at him incredulously, practically choking in my own saliva. A standard running track was 400 meters long. A mile was 1600 meters, and four laps around a track would equate to one mile. I mean, did he think he was training me for the British athletic team or something? If I could manage that then I would be going for gold in the Olympics instead of being stuck here!
Theo saw my expression and frowned, "it's not that hard. Are you are a werewolf or not?!"
Ouch! I scrunched up my facial features. Another below the belt blow. He really knows how to hit them where it hurts. That was like the equivalent of asking, are you a sissy or what?
He glanced at me out of the corner of his eye and stated, "stop doing that, you look ugly when you make that face."
And the insults just keep on coming thick and fast. Theo seemed to have a real knack for it. I gritted my teeth. "Ok, fine, coach Theo! Can you please just stop hurling insults at me?"
He seemed to like being called that because the corner of his mouth rose slowly and he was trying his best to hide it. "Don't worry, I'll make a man out of you."
I looked at him horrified. "Please don't," I said. I have no desire to turn into a man.
He laughed, "ok, let's start."
About five minutes into the jog, Theo realised he couldn't keep up running alongside me because I was too slow. He felt someone had hit the pause button and he was running in slow motion. He could barely stretch out his arms and legs, so he left me where I was and started running ahead without me.
I saw Theo disappearing into the distance and carried on jogging At my own pace regardless. If this was the speed I found acceptable then that's the one I will be sticking with. It wasn't supposed to be a race anyway. It was a warm-up.
By the time I had gotten halfway around the track, Theo was already overtaking me as he entered his second lap. Then it was the third, the fourth, the fifth...
I must admit, Theo was a greater runner, even faster than Kendra, who was the fastest girl I've ever seen. He barely even broke a sweat and his breathing remained steady. He could probably join the athletics team.
I'd only agreed to attend the training because I knew it would be beneficial to me, not because I had succumbed to Theo's threats.
I had been lucky in the past couple of time, but luck was something that would eventually run out. I wanted to make sure I was ready just in case someone tried to attack me again and I could still save myself even if there was no one around to help me. With that in mind, I plodded on with determination.
The sun was slowly beginning to rise and other students were beginning to do their morning runs along the tracks. They too were steadily overtaking me one by one.
After the tenth lap, I came off the track and sat on the grass nearby trying to catch my breath. I was certain if I didn't stop right now, I'll most likely end up dying on the track. I was sweating profusely, my T-shirt was completely soaked through and I was starting to feel dizzy from the heat and the hunger pangs. It would be good to eat some chocolate just now. Or maybe some pancakes.
Theo came over to me, his towering silhouette provided a nice bit of shade against the sun. "Why've you stopped?" He asked, looking down at me.
I sat with my legs stretched out in front of me, they felt like jelly. If I didn't have my hands on either side to prop me up, I probably didn't have the strength to sit up. "I'm taking a break." I said without looking at him.
"You haven't done enough to deserve a break." He frowned. There's tough love and then there's not trying your best.
"I'm thirsty." I said lethargically, then I pulled out some grass using my left hand and chucked it in front of me in an I-can't-be-bothered-leave-me-alone sort of way.
He looked at me for a few seconds then he jogged off.
Yes, jog on. Nothing to see here. I thought in annoyance, flopping my upper body onto the grass. It felt so relaxing it was like lying on a bed. I flapped my arms and legs up and down a few times as if I was making a snow angel. I could just sleep.
"Here," A voice above me said. I squinted my eyes against the light and I could see Theo was back and he was holding out a bottle of mineral water towards me.