Welcome back lovies! I hope you have all been crazy waiting for this chapter!... Or not, but whatever your situation is, here you go! Chapter 4!

Chapter 4: All Pain, No Game

I stared at the alarm clock on my nightstand next to my bed. 5:58. I felt bubbles of excitement wash through me. Today was my meet versus Stokerton High for cross country. 5:59. I imagined myself winning the meet, record timing, everybody cheering for me, Vlad standing there and congratulating me… BEEP! BEEP! I slammed down hard on my alarm clock as it rang out loudly, announcing that it was officially time to get up and get my day started. I quickly showered and straightened my hair, then threw on my favorite pair of skinny jeans, a cute t-shirt and my lucky pair of socks. I wore these socks every time I had had a track meet in the past, and I had won most of my races, and at least improved time in the ones I didn't. I did my makeup extra special, and even made pancakes. I was feeling ecstatic. My mom came downstairs as I was flipping pancakes, humming to myself.

"Somebody's in a good mood. Is it a special day?" I smiled and flipped the last pancake. I turned to reply to her.

"Yes it is! Today's my track meet versus Stokerton!" I squealed, though my excitement started to fade as an apologetic look started to form on my Mom's face. I knew that look. I had seen it too many times. It was the look that said, 'Sorry, honey. Work is gonna be really tight today, and I don't think I'll be able to make it.' I sighed. She hadn't come to any of my meets throughout my whole life. I turned around in disappointment as I felt tears forming in my eyes.

"Oh, honey, I'm so sorry! Work's just…"
"Tight, yea, I know Mom." I sniffled. Then I felt a comforting hand land on my shoulder. I turned around to see my Mom with tears streaming down her cheeks.

"Oh, Beth! I feel so ashamed! I haven't been to any of your meets at all! I haven't gone to anything! I know it must seem like I don't care, but I do! I work so hard so I can give you such a great life, a life better than what I had!" I felt tears roll into my eyes. I pulled her into a hug, and we just stood there until I remembered the pancakes. I pulled a way and smiled, wiping away my tears.

"I've gotta get the pancakes, or else they'll burn." I finished making the pancakes, and for the first time in way too long, my Mom sat down with me for breakfast. We talked about how school was, how messed up her work was, how nice the neighbors were to help them plant flowers. I felt myself smiling from ear to ear, even as I was leaving the house to go to school. I plugged my earphones into my ears, and turned on Na Na Na by My Chemical Romance. I couldn't help but hum along. Out of paranoia, I turned around to see Henry and Vlad running up behind me.

"Hey, Beth, wait up!" Vlad called out. I laughed as they caught up, and linked my arms into theirs and started skipping towards the school. Both boys wiggled their arms out of mine, but I didn't care. I was giddy.

"What's with all the excitement?" Henry asked. I grinned broadly at him and replied.

"Today's the day! My track meet versus Stokerton High is this afternoon!" I chirped.

"Oh, that's right! Count on me to be there Beth" Henry flashed me one of his winning smiles, and then both of us turned to Vlad, who started to squirm.

"How about you, Vlad? Are you going to come?" I asked.
"Duh. Of course." He grinned and returned to his iPod. I didn't give him much of a chance to, though, because I tackled him in a bear hug.

"YAY! I'm so excited!" I felt the butterflies kicking in, and school hadn't even started yet.

My classes seemed to take forever to start and end, the day sluggishly moving forward. Even my favorite class, Music, seemed to take way too long. Finally, the last class had ended, and as soon as the bell rang, I hopped up out of my seat and ran to my locker. I grabbed my backpack and uniform, said a quick "Hi!" to Henry and Vlad, and then rushed to the girl's locker room. I quickly threw on my uniform and spandex and pulled my hair tightly in a ponytail. I tied up my racing sneakers that I had already broken into and gave myself one last glance in the mirror. I smiled, and ran out the door.

I walked as fast as I could up to the high school stadium, and found my teammates getting ready to warm up. I followed them to the track, and we did three laps as a warm-up. The official announced on the bullhorn that the boy's 5K would race first, then the girl's 5K. I was running the 5K, so I was pretty nervous. I saw my hands start to shake, and I tried to calm them down, but failed miserably. I looked over to see Vlad and Henry walking over towards me. I grinned and walked towards them.

"Hey!"
"Hey Beth! Good luck out there!" Vlad said, and smiled. I nearly melted as I stared into his eyes.
"Yea, thanks. Hey, I want you guys to go stand over there." I said, pointing towards the snack stand. "I want you guys to be there when I finish. Anyways, I gotta go, they'll be starting my race soon." I waved goodbye to them and made my way over to Scarlet, Lacey and Aimee.

"So is that Vlaaaad?" Aimee giggled. "He's cute. I can see why you like him." My face automatically flushed and I lightly punched her arm.

"I do not like Vlad!"

"Okaaay, whatever you say Beth." Lacey teased. I rolled my eyes and smiled.

"Girls, 5K! To the starting line please!" The official's voice rang out clear through the stadium, and made my stomach churn. I was a nervous wreck. Aimee and Lacey wished me and Scarlet good luck, since they were running the two mile race, and then we joined the other girls at the starting line.

"Alright girls, all of you know where the markers are, correct?" The official asked. Everybody nodded their heads, and he assigned us an order to start in. "Good. Now I want a nice, clean race. Everybody stays in the order until you have a good stride going, then you may cut to the inside of the course. If you feel sick or injured, there will be a helper every three markers. Alright, good luck out there girls." With that, he backed away from the course and put his whistle in his mouth. The sound of it being blown to alert the coaches rippled through my stomach. The official raised his gun up to the air, and said, "On your mark!" Everybody teetered, all of us wanting to start. "Get set!" Everybody crouched into their starting position.

As if in slow motion, the official pulled the trigger on the gun, and the loud pop rung throughout the stadium, electrifying my body, pumping it full of pure adrenaline. I started to run forward, not too fast, keeping a good pace to last me the whole 3.1 miles. I felt the majority of girls fall in line behind me, two or so ahead of me by just a couple of strides. I didn't let the sight of them tempt me to keep their speed. No, I would save my energy for the end, where I would give it my all and sprint to the finish. But for now, I would just have to be patient. I saw the first marker and smiled as I twisted around it. My legs were pushing me forward with tremendous force, and I was flying. I wasn't sprinting, but I was surely making good time. I didn't have a watch on me, but I didn't want to pressure myself, so I just kept calm, and didn't worry about time. Yet.

I saw the first helper, and smiled to the lady as she cheered me on. 'Good pace, keep going.' I thought to myself.

As I rounded the bend, I saw the two girls just a few yards ahead of me, and there in front of them was the one mile mark. I felt a small, dull pain forming in my side, and frowned. A side stitch now was not good news. I could run through them, but they slowed me down a bit.

As I came to the second mile marker, the pain had grown, but wasn't sharp, or stabbing. I grimaced as my foot rolled a bit in a small hole. I didn't let it bother me, I kept going. I could see the finish line in the Stadium to my left. All I had to do now was finish running the length of the soccer field, run around the stadium, enter and run 3/4 of a loop, and I was done. I used my arms to swing me forward, and I felt my momentum growing faster. I sped through the soccer field, passing the first girl. Then, I caught up to the second girl and kept her pace. I was doing good. We both entered the stadium at the same time, and we both started sprinting the last 3/4 loop. This was it! I used my long legs to pull myself ahead of the Stokerton girl as we rounded the bend. Yes! Just a small, 100 meters to go, and I would win.

Then, all of a sudden, I felt a small twinge in my thigh, and immediately after, an overwhelming pain. I cried out as my legs failed me and I tripped landing flat on my face. My momentum sent me down the ground hard, and I felt blood rushing to my cheek. The girl that I had just passed ran straight past me, not bothering to help me up. I heard my name being called, but I didn't bother answering. My head hurt from hitting it, and right now, all that I cared about was taking a nap, making the pain go away. I felt my vision slipping away, and suddenly, the pain was gone, and I blacked out.

OH NO! Poor Beth! The only way to find out what happened is to review and wait for me to post the next chapter!

… Or if you're smart, you can guess! Anyways, I won't have too much of a chance to write this week. I, as well as Beth, run cross country, so I will be pretty busy! So, if in a review, you want to leave any tips at all, feel free to! Also, tell me what you thought of this chapter! Thanks!