The sun began to rise as Amy stretched in the bleachers. She always came to the local high school track to run every morning at sunrise. It gave her a sense of strength and pride knowing she kept to something like this, where most people would have stopped after a couple months. Not Amy, this would be her second year running around the same little track.
"Mind if I run with you today?" a man called from the bottom of the bleachers.
This shocked Amy, in her entire time here, she never saw anyone run this early. Usually most people came out an hour or two after sunset, when Amy got ready to leave. Young athletic teens and struggling out of weight parents came out to the track to run, but never as much or as early as Amy did. She liked to run alone, she wasn't much of a sociable person, she liked her silence, and she liked her lone morning runs, she didn't want some random guy trying to hit on her while she ran. She knew what he was up to. He'd never ran before in his life, he saw her running there before and figured she was single so he'd pretend he was some great track star back in high school and come to show off. He'd fail miserably, make a complete jackass out of himself, and then ask for Amy's number if he made it through the run.
"You know I was a star on my high school's track team," the strange man added while joining Amy in stretching.
"Figures," Amy muttered under her breath, un-amazed by this man's pathetic attempt. He was no different than the others. He was desperate. Amy could read a person from the moment she met them. This one was just like any other man that would've hit on her at a bar. He didn't have a wife and children; he might have a steady girlfriend. No. He was too young for a steady girlfriend. She figured he was about 24, same age as her. She'd let him play his game, it often amused her to watch other's stupidity.
"So how far do you usually run?" The man tried striking conversation again.
Amy figured she'd allow a conversation, what harm could it possibly do? "I usually run about three miles, walk three, then run a couple more."
"That's quite a lot, you must be out here for a while then," the man replied, intrigued by Amy's determination and strength.
"Not too long, I'm usually done a little after sunrise. How about you? How much do you usually run?"
"Well I usually run two, but I don't have a lot of time to do more." The man stuttered, quickly trying to cover up the fact that he probably hadn't run since his high school gym class.
"Well better get started, are you ready to go?" Amy stood up from her stretches and started jogging in place.
"Let's do it," the man accepted her challenge. The two got onto the track and ran a couple laps before the man spoke up. "I see you here running every day," he told her between puffs of air.
"Really? That's interesting. Hey do you have a name?" Amy was interested now, usually no one drove over by the track, how did he see her every day?
"Yeah. It's Joe, Joe Mallozi." He stopped and stuck his hand out in a friendly gesture.
"Amy, Amy Serest." Amy returned Joe's gesture and started to jog again.
"I know," Joe whispered, smirking as he started to catch up to Amy.