"OH MY MOTHER FRACKIN' GOD ALMIGHTY!" You practically leaped out of your skin when you checked the submission page a week later for the chosen contestants. Lo and behold there was your name on the list. You squealed loudly and hopped around your room in excitement as you tried to release all that pent up happiness that was overflowing. You had to celebrate, and what better way than a victory run around the city rise. You pulled on your signature pair of reflective-silver pants, laced up your running shoes, tugged your loose black and white icicle print tee over your torso, and tightened your name-brand Spero grip-gloves so that the callouses on your palms wouldn't be as bad this time around. After double checking then triple checking your clothing for any possible endangerment-such as ripped fabric, or untied laces-you headed out the door and scaled the building to the rooftop. You inhaled deeply and stared out at the morning light of the waking city. You stretched a few repetitions to prepare for your adventure then broke into a dash that lead you to launch your weight to the next roof, then the next, and the next. You sprung out in a cat-like fashion and scaled the pipes that jutted out of the side of the city's hotel and rushed to the top, doing a handstand and flipping onto the roof. You laughed and hollered in excitement as you vaulted over air ducts and rolled under roof-top billboards.
Your phone sent out a shrill ring that stopped you dead in your tracks. You checked the screen an scoffed. Your calendar reminded you that you had work in half an hour. A slew of soft curses escaped your lips as you headed back home to change into your work-issue red polo and khakis. You packed your "running clothes" into a duffel bag, pulled out your bus pass and walked to the bus stop a block down the road. It was times like this you wished you had decided a better hobby than endangering your life by hopping from roof to roof like some cut-rate thief and occasionally being chased by the police for trespassing. Your parents weren't exactly proud of you when you told them you were going to be a famous free-runner, in fact they had kicked you out for such an outrageous dream. The sound of the bus' brakes screeching brought you back to reality. You boarded and found your typical seat in the back.
"Please don't make this something I'll regret..." You whispered to yourself as the bus drove off. Once again your mind wandered off to thinking about your choices. You had been kicked out after dropping out of college once you got your "general business" degree, but even that wouldn't sustain you forever. Companies now-a-days wanted degrees in the sciences, medicine, and all that other fancy-schmancy stuff that would have you trapped inside the corporate system of corruption. You wanted freedom, but you sure as hell didn't have it right now. But you would, you had to, you put too much into following your dream to back off now.
"Stop 3, Nemoy Inc." the automated voice chimed, declaring your stop. You exited the transit vehicle and headed inside the large building. Nemoy Inc. was the central hub to producing and selling the average "as seen on TV" product. From fans to jewelry to "miracle" creams and anything else that could be bought, Nemoy Inc produced it. You were in the very under workings, answering phones in a small cubicle, taking down credit card numbers and order numbers. You settled in your cramped office space and placed the standard-issue head-set over your ears ready to start your eight-hour job.
After enduring eight hours of non-stop numbers-and spending your entire lunch break explaining to your boss why you needed to take a two week vacation-you were finally able to clock out and head home. You dragged your duffel into the employee restroom and into a stall, before changing into your running clothes you phone went off. You checked to see that Matthias had messaged you.
"oh my god (name) I can't believe you made it into the competition!" He sent.
"I know! I'll meet you at the bar so we can celebrate!" You replied.
"Which one? Mine?" You laughed a little at his question. Matthias owned a small bar named "The Prince of Denmark", you weren't quite sure why he named it that, apparently one of his ancestors was Danish royalty.
"Of course! See you there!" You changed into your clothes and packed away your other garments and headed out onto the streets.
With a deep breath you bolted off down the sidewalk, dodging civilians, hopping alleyway fences, leaping from ledge to ledge, sliding down rails, and slipping over parked cars. Even after a long boring day at work, exercising your skills as you traveled made your mood lift tenfold. The sensation of the warm city air flying past you was exhilarating, sending chills down your spine. You could see the awning and neon sign of your friend's bar come into view, only making you pick up speed as you built up for your finale. With a rush of adrenaline you launched yourself up and onto the bridge overpass that ran just in front of the bar. You scaled the concrete quickly before losing all that momentum and clutched the steel frame before swinging and performing a back-flip over the rush-hour traffic and grabbing hold of another beam. You smiled in triumph, making your way down to the other side of the overpass and ultimately in front of the bar.
You walked in with a wide smile, your mood finally restored. Matthias was drying some glasses before spotting you and waving. You took a seat at the island bar and looked around the room. Usually at this time the bar was flooded with customers, but there was no one there.
"Where is everyone?" You asked.
"I closed early to celebrate!" The Dane laughed putting away the glass and leaning over the counter.
The two of you spent the next few hours doing what best friends do best, party it up with only the two of you. The night passed quickly and you soon had to head home.
"So, why don't you just run to work?" Matthias asked.
"I've explained this a million times. My work is an hour away if I run, and I'd be all sweaty by the time I got there. There's this thing called "hygiene" Matt, remember?" You explained. He just scratched the back of his head and chuckled. The two of you reached your apartment by midnight, as soon as you walked in the door you rushed to your room and began digging out clothes for your trip, Matthias helping you pack up everything. This was it, you couldn't believe it, tomorrow you would be on your way to the Jump City Free-runner Competition and perhaps, stardom.
You zipped up several bags of clothing, your laptop, chargers, batteries, toiletries, and anything else that deemed necessary. Once again you were so excited you couldn't sleep, but that was alright since you needed to catch the bus to the airport in about two hours. Matthias volunteered to go with you to the airport because as he explained to you "There's tons of creeps out there and you have too much to carry." He really was a great friend. Those two hours flew by as you made sure you packed everything, had Matthias help calm your nerves, and double check everything was in order. Soon it was time to head out. The two of you were on your way to the airport now, the bus was eerily quiet save for the Dane's constant whispering of the previous day's events and laughing every so often which seemed to anger the driver greatly. Though once you reached the airport security check it was time for you to part ways. You hugged and said your goodbyes.
"Kick some ass out there (name)" Your friend cheered as you passed the gate and headed to the terminal.
"I WILL!" You laughed back.
You sat in your seat and watched out the window as the plane took off, the city below you soon disappearing. You closed your eyes and listened to the monotonous hum of the turbines.
"This is it." You thought "Jump city here I come."