TRACK RIVALS

TRACK RIVALS

SASUKE

"You're going to regret what you did, punk ass." Garaa was no longer Tattoo, he was a lowly punk ass, he and his brother, and they were going to regret what they did to Neji.

I am Sasuke Uchiha. But, you knew that. Everyone knows that, because I'm this school's greatest.

Or, at least I used to be.

I was the greatest academic achiever.

Until Garaa.

I was the greatest talk of the town.

Until Garaa and Kankurou.

But, I am still the greatest athlete.

"Boys," Gai calls. "Obstacle course time, come along gents!"

We all line up: Me, the punk ass, Z-Man, Bug Boy, Dog Boy, Butcher Boy and Rocky.

The girls are standing there on the sidelines, to cheer us on.

Well, Sakura and Ino are.

"Go Sasuke!" They call, waving to me.

I grimace, and sort of nod back.

Hinata isn't the cheering type, and neither is Emma, but she glanced at me, then nodded at Garaa.

I understood. Garaa and Emma seem to know each other.

Well, I'd show her I was better then that punk ass.

I'd show everybody.

Well, except Kin, because Kin isn't the cheering-type either. More the 'get benched for arguing with the teachers because they wouldn't let her participate' type. Kin stands alone most of the the time, but seemed grateful for Ai and Sore keeping her company on the bench.

Mari and Musha...

My God! They have, like, pom-poms and cheerleader skirts.

"Go, go, go!" They cheer, pom-poms flashing, legs kicking.

No, no, no! I think, just as Gai blows his whistle and we're off.

I don't care about the other boys. I just wanna beat Garaa, the punk ass.

He is looking at me. He wants to beat me, too.

No way punk ass. I try to send him this Look as we approach the first set of obstacles, which are hurdles.

Garaa and I go flying over the hurdles - hey, he's not bad for a shorty.

Butcher Boy? Let's just say Chouji may need to binge eat a lot to live this one down. I can see myself even as I run, going home and I'll say to Itachi: "Chouji Akamichi fell over on the first hurtle. He split his pants and all the girls saw his Barbie boxer shorts!" If Itachi is in a good mood, he will laugh. If not, well, I'm a pretty fast runner, as you can see.

The next hurtle is tires to step in and out. Garaa and I run in and out of them, taking quick, neat, little, high steps.

Shino and Kiba both trip, so they're out.

Garaa, Lee, Zaku and I go on, and I'm determined to beat Garaa.

The next obstacle is a balancing beam.

Garaa must've taken gymnastics or something, because he just sprints across like it's solid ground.

Me? I just pretend it is, and that gets me across.

Lee gets across too, because he went to circus camp for five summers a few years back. I'm serious.

Zaku, I have to say, has no balance, and he falls off and he's out.

So, it's down to me, Garaa and Lee, the last 100M dash.

"Go Sasuke!" I can hear Ino and Sakura screaming.

Then: "Umm, and Lee!" Sakura and Lee are sort of friends, and she'd feel bad cheering for me and not him.

Then...

Emma has wandered over to Mari and Musha, and whispered something to them. Suddenly, the two cheerleaders grin and, pom-poms flying, they yell: "Garaa, Garaa, he's our man! If he can't do it, no one can! Sliding down a waterfall, landing on a cactus - Lee and Sasuke need more practice!" (What?). "Garaa, Garaa, strength of mind, leave the others way behind! Extra, extra, read all about it, Garaa will win and there's no doubt about it!"

Actually, Garaa did not win, Lee suddenly pulls ahead in the last 10M, and flies across the finishing line!

I tell you, that kid's fast!

I'm fast too, but...

Garaa turns to me as I cross the finishing line a nano second after him. He smirks at me like he's beaten me...

Which he has...

I feel about two inches tall as I trudge through the halls.

Rather then attending my next class, which is English, I go to the library instead.

No one knows I do this. But, I'll tell you, the library is my sanctity. Always has been, always will be.

Libraries have always been that way for me.

I remember wandering aimlessly for hours on end through the public library just after my parents died.

I spend hours alone just reading when Itachi takes his anger out on me.

When school gets me down, like today, I come here.

I suddenly hear voices from the back, and I press myself against a shelf of horror books as I listen in, wanting to forget my own troubles.

Now, I know eavesdropping isn't the right thing to do, so sue me as I listen to this:

"I can't face them!" I'd know that wailing anywhere.

"Sakura, you got a B. What's so bad about that?" Is that the new girl, Temari?

"You don't understand, Temari." Sakura says angrily, sniffling. "My parents are so uptight! Neither wants to have anything to do with me, unless they're pressuring me with my schoolwork! I have to get straight A's, or else they get really angry and disappointed!"

"Oh." Temari's voice sounds strange.

"Don't tell me your parents are like that!" Sakura says angrily. "No way they can be like mine are!"

"My parents are dead." Temari says shortly.

"Oh!" Sakura gasps. "Te...Temari, I'm so sorry, I didn't know..."

"It's okay." Temari replies but, I can tell from her tone of voice, that it's not.

I know. I've used that tone of voice before, too.

MEG: Okay, a short chappie, but vital nonetheless!