I was sweating under the late afternoon sun, but it felt good, unlike the sweating from the night before. I looked to the bleachers not so far from the tracks I was practicing on, and there sat Ajin and Danbi. Danbi waved cheerfully to me as our eyes met and gave me a thumbs up, while Ajin seemed a bit uncharacteristically spaced out. Her usual spark seemed dimmed, and I wondered what was going on in her head.
I felt kinda bad that both of them were there waiting for me, but well, for Ajin, it was her who insisted that she come to the training with me. Danbi had said she had nothing better to do and her dad wouldn't be at home either again. Maybe the three of us could go grab some bubble tea or something after the practice.
"Good work, Jenn. Captain was right. You can really take off and reach the top speed so quickly," a kind 2nd-year senior named Nabin praised me and passed me a fresh towel.
"Thank you, but I'm still not too confident to be the last runner, to be honest," I replied, trying to downplay the compliment.
"Don't worry; it's only your first day practicing," Nabin reassured me.
Then Captain Lee approached us and spoke.
"Hey, how's the practice going?"
"Pretty good, Captain. I'm impressed this is only her first day," Nabin responded.
"See? I told you," the Captain spoke proudly.
"But Jenn, don't push yourself too much for today. Just do a few more runs and call it a day. I heard you missed the whole day of school."
"Wow, you came to school just for practice?" Nabin was a bit surprised.
"Yeah, just wasn't feeling well in the morning, but we only have a few days till the competition and I didn't want to mess up on the big day," I explained, trying to sound casual.
"Good girl," the Captain smiled warmly, and to my surprise, he gave me a quick hair ruffle. I was a bit startled as I'd never had this happen to me before, except from my Mom when I was young. But it wasn't a bad feeling.
"Right, Jenn. Let's practice the baton handover a few more times", Nabin brought me back.
"Sure"
"You need to posture your body properly and start building a little momentum as you receive, but you cannot rush it too much either. Try to find a good rhythm for it,"
"Yes, ma'am!" I responded enthusiastically.
That earned me another hair ruffle, but this time from Nabin.
Man, I never knew, but I could get used to this.
After a few more runs, the practice was over, and I ran to Ajin and Danbi, who were still waiting for me.
"Sorry to have kept you guys waiting!"
"It's alright. I would have been so bored home alone anyway," Danbi responded first.
"You guys wanna go grab some bubble tea nearby? It will be my treat," I offered.
"Yay! Sure! Let's go!"
Danbi jumped up from her seat, raring to go, but Ajin was still sitting on the bleachers quietly without saying a word.
"Ajin, are you okay?" I asked, sensing something was off.
"Uh—yeah," she replied, but her tone lacked conviction.
"I'm sorry; did you miss something because you had to wait for me today?" I pressed gently, feeling slightly guilty.
"Don't worry; it's just this week. I should manage," she said. Her voice was assured but I could still see a hint of worry in her eyes.
"Right. But seriously, if you need to go and help around the home, you don't need to wait for me from tomorrow"
"Oh, what do you do, Ajin? Does your family run a shop or something?", Danbi asked.
"No. It's just… my parents are busy usually, and I need to take care of my little sister"
"Aw, you have a younger sister? How old is she?", I didn't know this about her.
"She's just entered middle school. The first year now. She's not so young that I need to keep my eyes on her 24/7"
Well, yeah, I thought. At that age, she might even enjoy being alone, but I could imagine Ajin being this overly protective elder sister, so her going back home to 'take care' of her sister made sense.
"So shall we go now then?" I suggested, picking up my bag, happy to wrap up the day.
"You guys go ahead; I will pass for today," Ajin spoke as she slowly got up.
"Aw… I wanted to treat you to drinks though, if it's okay. You waited for me and all that, after all," I insisted, hoping to cheer her up.
"No, it's okay. I will go and talk to the Captain for a bit," she replied, avoiding my gaze.
"Huh?" I was going to ask what for, but Danbi grabbed my hand and pulled me towards her, clearly ready to move on.
"Ajin must have something to sort out; let's go, Jenn. Maybe next time, Ajin?" she said, her voice encouraging.
"Yes, thank you, Danbi"
Danbi gave Ajin a wink and she and I headed towards the school gate.