Soon a familar script spoke through the speaker that the teacher brought out onto basketball courts . Clipboards with pencils and paper was scattered all around the playground.
"The FitnessGram™ Pacer Test is a multistage aerobic capacity test that progressively gets more difficult as it continues."
"The 20 meter pacer test will begin in 30 seconds. Line up at the start."
"The running speed starts slowly, but gets faster each minute after you hear this signal." [beep]
"A single lap should be completed each time you hear this sound." [ding]
"Remember to run in a straight line, and run as long as possible. The second time you fail to complete a lap before the sound, your test is over."
"The test will begin on the word start."
"On your mark, get ready, start." [beep]
The first 6 or 7 laps were a quick walk. Kids usually goofed around, walked funny and just chatted with friends.
[Ding] "seven, end of level one"
Slowly, but surely however the pace started to increase and one in a while an unlucky kid would be just a hair slower than the beep. That's why the P.E coaches gave everyone two chances to count the lap if they finished.
[Ding] "Twenty-two"
various [beeps] and [dings] continued.
The sound of kids feet hitting the pavement became quieter and quieter as more and more students gave up or stopped running. The sound of footsteps became faster and faster and the students breathing became heavier and heavier.
Students were graded on improvement and you either juked the stats so you go up by 2 or 3 each time or like some of the most athletic soccer and running kids kept going.
For those kids, Melissa Hahn, Miley Kim, Daniel Rueben, Harrison Ford, Gavin Goddard. It was a competition, they were familiar with each other. For some it was about the prestige and fame, others it was a competition, and for one or two of them it was just a challenge to improve themselves.
Melissa and Miley were superstars, the best soccer players in the whole school. Everyone admired or gave them some deference to their skill. Their mom's were also on the PTA so that helped as well.
Honestly the PTA was usually ignored by kids because it didn't involve them.
The PTA quite frankly scared older Jeffrey, not just because of politics where waters run quite deep and there are all sorts of crounching tigers and hidden dragons.
Jeffrey knew he was going to have to deal with them if he was to do anything in or out of school. Jeffrey shivered at the thought.
The 29 years he lived still could not prepare him for the ~800 parents wanting what's best for their child and school. Sure, each of them individually were nice and reasonable people. However as any adult could tell you they were truly a scary power block for anything whether it was political affairs and government funding or neighborhood events.
The PTA stretched a long and hidden arm over the decently well-educated and funded school district of Westchester.
[Ding] "Fifty-five"
anyway back to some of the runners.
Gavin was easily one of the latter, he gave it his all and although he may not have been the fastest he was a popular guy. Everyone knew him, Steven Harris and Blake Delacross were his close buddies.
Then between the inseparable pair Daniel Rueben and Harrison Ford, Daniel was the faster of the two but they were both quite similar in terms of grades and fitness. Daniel's mom was a doctor and Harrison's was a lawyer or a banker, Jeffrey didn't really remember.
They were there just to compete against each other and although at the end of the day Daniel won most of the time, if he slipped up Harrison was always right behind him ready to win.
While some watched the biweekly school competition of the athletic kids, many gathered to talk with friends and fill out their fitness and testing sheets.
Jeffrey wrote in "52", for the number of laps this week. 3 more than the previous 49 and enough to give him 4s on his report card. Nearby many student penciled in their stats and talked about Pokemon, politics, movies and the various gossip between friend groups.
Usually Jeffrey would sit along doodling or staring out into the field lost in his own thoughts. Sometimes he'd look at the other students from afar, the boys sitting on the fence and building pillars, the girls in their circles.
Samantha Watt usually sat on her own studying and reading Lord of the Rings and the Silmarillion.
Everyone was wearing the school P.E clothes, grey t-shirts with their names written in the white box and a pair of breezy black shorts.
Jeffrey laughed at a stray thought that occurred to him, "Sometimes school really did feel like a prison with everyone wearing the same exact clothes and uniform being watched by the teachers."
Another day passed by and at the end of the day Jeffrey grabbed his saxophone and walked up the hill with an electric scooter riding home.