Chapter Eleven: Second Best

I woke up early the very next morning. I intended to wake up at six, but since I went to bed much earlier, I woke up earlier. I woke up at four-thirty, and any attempts to continue sleeping just caused me to be restless. I got out of my bed and went to the bathroom to brush my teeth.

I was surprised to not see Kenji in the hallway either time I entered it. I reasoned that he either knew what sleep was or he was planning some massive assault on a feminist compound in the Netherlands. The latter seemed more fitting for Kenji.

I reentered my room and got into my running gear. I had washed it with my uniforms, something I didn't notice Monday, when I was washing them. I walked around my room aimlessly for five minutes, deciding on what to do. I had decided on making some breakfast, but my legs kept going. Once I got the willpower to force myself to the fridge, I did. There were some disposable eating utensils in the room, so I grabbed the milk and some cereal.

Might as well have breakfast, I thought. If I was to keep running, I couldn't do it on an empty stomach every morning.

Once I finished the cereal and disposed of the utensils, I started for the door, but I paused. I turned around and rummaged through my school bag for paper, a pencil, and tape. I found a sticky note, so it worked out even better. On the note, I wrote "at the track" in Japanese and stuck it on my door.

"Perfect," I said in English, admiring my Japanese writing. "Now he won't waste time trying to get me out of there."

I left the dorms and headed for the track, settling on warming up and running some before Emi or Hisao got there. The sun wasn't up, but daybreak was fast approaching. No one was walking around, though I wouldn't have expected anyone to be up that early, anyway.

When I made it to the track, I was slightly surprised to see no one there. My watch told me the time was 4:55. I didn't know how early Emi got there, but it certainly was a little later than five. I walked down to the center of the track and started warming up. I stretched the stretches out so I would be less likely to pull a muscle.

After a ten minute stretching session, I decided it was time to start running. I got behind the line and counted to three.

"Ein, zwei, drei," I said in German. On 'drei,' I pushed off. I wasn't running full speed, but I was jogging at a relaxing pace. As I jogged, I felt more inclined to speed up. I fought the urge to increase my speed and kept my pace.

After three laps around the track, I slowed down to catch my breath. I didn't want to be out of breath when Emi showed up, nor did I want to be on the ground trying to survive when Hisao showed up. I put my hands behind my head, as if I was being apprehended.

Neat little trick, I thought. Wish I knew about this during the season. I was always out of breath during hockey season, but I kept going. I always regretted it, because I was usually incapacitated the next day.

I let out a small laugh. I remember that Emily would alw- I cut my thoughts off. For some reason, the thought of my dead sister upset me a bit. I managed to talk about the tile hopping to Hanako, but I couldn't even think about her and the silly stuff she did in private. I shook my head and started jogging again, eager to not let the memories of my sister come back to haunt me.

I was rounding a corner when I saw a figure in the distance, running towards the track. I heard a clacking that reverberated throughout the quiet hillside. I slowed down to get a better look, though I had my suspicions. I glanced at my watch, which read 5:30. Time really flew on the track.

"Adolf!" Emi's voice rang out as she closed the gap between us.

"Hello Emi, fine day we're having, yes?" I asked, being an idiot.

"Shut up," she said as she neared me. "Why are you here so early?"

"I went to sleep early and woke up early. Unlike Hisao," I added. "I didn't fall asleep 'watching the sun rise.'"

Emi giggled. "Are you sure?"

I nodded. "So, this is when you normally get here?"

Emi shook her head. "No, I'm actually fifteen minutes early."

"Oh," I sounded. "Well then... I already stretched, just so you know."

"I kind of figured," she said. "I'm not a dumbass."

"I never said you were, tupitsa."

"What?"

I grinned. "I said, 'I never said you were, tupitsa.'"

"What does 'tupitsa' mean?"

My grin got wider. "Dumbass in Russian."

"You're an asshole," she said as she smacked me, smiling a little.

I thought back to Miki's usage of American stereotypes and contemplated using one to comedic effect, but Emi ran off.

"I'm gonna stretch!" she called back.

"You do that," I said as I started to jog once more.

As I jogged, I shot a couple glances at Emi. The way she stretched was peculiar, but only because she didn't have her crura. The fact that her lower legs were missing allowed her to not worry about shin splints and such. So, she only stretched what needed to be stretched in her legs, namely her thighs, and her sides.

I didn't pay attention to her stretching for too long, lest she got the wrong idea. I wasn't Hisao, clearly staring at her butt while she stretched. Now, that's not saying I wasn't a normal (for the most part) teenage male, because I've done it before. Everyone has.

As I continued jogging, I ran past Emi, who flagged me down. "Adolf!"

I stopped. "What?"

"Let's go together," she said. "Get behind the line."

"Alright, fine," I said, walking behind the starting line.

"We go on one," she said. "Ready?" I nodded. "San, ni, ichi!"

Emi and I sprang like lightning and quickly disappeared, as if some guy who looked like a cop tried picking us up at an airport. It wasn't exactly a race, nor was I putting in my full amount of effort. I tried to maintain a steady running speed, but somehow, I managed to match Emi. She wasn't putting in her all either, but she didn't speed up.

We didn't say anything as we ran around the track. I occasionally would glance at my watch, but it didn't mess me up. I actually managed to find a rhythm that allowed me to run much longer than usual without running out of breath.

Emi and I made five laps before Hisao showed up, sluggishly stumbling down the hill. Emi slowed down when she saw him, but sped up to meet him halfway. I slowed down, putting my hands behind my head. I figured Emi was going to give him a pep-talk, so I tried catching any lost breath.

"Hey, you're back!" Emi said to Hisao in glee.

"And why didn't I get that kind of greeting?" I asked.

She glared at me. "Shut up, Adolf." She said it with a faint grin.

Hisao looked at me. "How long have you been here?" he asked.

I glanced at my watch. 6:15. "About an hour and twenty minutes."

"Why did-"

"Hey!" Emi cut him off. "Go stretch, mister."

Hisao gaped at Emi. "I was talking," he said. Emi started to smile, something Hisao was apparently weak to. "Fine, fine, I'm going."

Emi walked over to me while Hisao went to stretch. "I have a question," she said.

"And I may have an answer," I said.

"Okay, smartass," Emi said, some playfulness in her voice. "Why did you come running so early? Hisao said you complained about running when we had lunch yesterday."

"That asshole," I said. Looks like I need to warn Kenji, I thought. "Anyway, I don't know. I had nothing else to do and I couldn't fall asleep."

Emi raised an eyebrow before nodding and smiling. "Okay then!"

I looked at her quizzically. Emi seemed to have something against me. I didn't know what, but I planned on finding out. Maybe not then, but eventually. Hisao was walking back to us after he 'stretched,' which in reality was just him bending over and touching his toes.

"Alright, I stretched," he said, lying through his teeth.

"That quick?" Emi asked. Hisao nodded. "Everyone behind the starting line!"

We started to walk to the line, but I pulled Hisao aside. "You might actually want to stretch, moron. You get shin splints or pull a tendon, you'll be sorry you didn't stretch."

He nodded, though I doubted he understood. "I will next time," he said. I stared at him, as if to emphasize my point, before we took our places.

"Four laps?" Hisao asked.

Emi nodded. "If that's all you can do, yes. On three." she paused. "Ichi, ni, san!"

Emi and I were back to the way we were running before Hisao showed up. Hisao was struggling behind once more, but he seemed to be doing better than the day before. Emi and I were neck-to-neck the entire time, neither of us changing our pace.

By the time we made our third lap, Emi turned her head. "You're doing great, Hisao!" she shouted, before starting a sprint.

You wanna race, Emi? I though competitively. You've got one.

I kicked my ass into full-gear, my feet propelling me off of the tarmac and in a short amount of time, I caught up with Emi. She seemed to be running her fastest, and there I was, caught up with her somehow. I myself was surprised that I caught up with her.

She looked over and was shocked to see me looking at her with a wild grin. We continued running like that until we completed the fourth lap. Upon completing the laps, I didn't cool down. Instead, I rolled over into the grass. Emi and I tied once more, but I was more worn than she. My breathing got erratic towards the end, likely causing me to be more fatigued.

Emi stopped in the middle of a cool down sprint and ran to me. "Adolf!" she called. "Are you okay?"

I took a deep breath. "I'm fine," I gasped.

She leaned down next to me, Hisao joining her. "You don't look it."

I breathed again. "Seriously, I'm fine." I kept on breathing, my lost oxygen making its way back to me.

"Dude," Hisao said. "Are you sure you're fine?"

"Yeah," I repeated. "I'm perfectly fine." I caught my breath and stood, brushing myself off. "See? I'm fine."

Emi frowned. "I don't think you are," she said.

"Just trust me, I am. I was out of breath, that's all it was." Annoyance tinged my voice.

Begrudgingly, Emi and Hisao relented. Hisao and I continued our cool-down walk. Emi kept sprinting. I had my hands behind my head the whole time. I was glad that worked, or else I would have been gasping for air a lot more.

Hisao and I walked around the track a couple times, Emi only sprinting one lap. She joined us in walking when she finished her sprint.

"Why aren't you still sprinting?" I asked.

She shuffled. "Irritation," was all she said.

I raised an eyebrow, my gaze wandering down to her prostheses. I assumed that was what caused the irritation she complained about. I knew that prostheses could cause the irritation of the stumps that they were attached to, especially running legs.

"Is it your prostheses?" I asked. Emi nodded, slightly shocked I was able to guess so fast. We walked another lap, silence taking its place once more.

"Hey Adolf," Emi said when we stopped. "How did you manage to keep up with me?"

"Remember how I said I played hockey?" I asked. She nodded. "I played on ice as well." As if to emphasize, I flexed my leg muscles.

"Oh, so..."

"Yeah. I have strong legs. You need to be able to skate back and forth really fast," I said.

I had spent hours doing workouts for my legs to improve both speed and strength. It wasn't fun, but the payoff was great. I was pretty fast, even though I was awfully lazy. The fact I could match Emi in speed made me feel great, but I felt that she still could have easily beaten me.

"Oh, yeah," I remembered. "Emi, where can I sign up for track?"

Emi's slight fatigue and irritation disappeared, instead replaced by a mixture of glee and displeasure. "Dammit!" Emi said. Hisao raised an eyebrow.

"What did you lose to Miki?" I asked.

"How do you know about our bet?" Emi asked in turn.

"She told me yesterday."

"Shit," she groaned. "I lost some yen."

"That it?"

Emi shook her head. "There's some other stuff, but it isn't important."

"Doesn't answer my question," I said.

"Which was?" Emi asked, forgetful of why she lost the bet.

"How to join track."

Emi's eyes lit up. "Right! You're serious?" I nodded. "Hmm... let me think," she said, pausing for several seconds. "Got it!" She snapped her fingers.

"Please, do tell," I said.

"Alright smartass, just come to lunch with Hisao."

"Why?" Hisao asked, apprehensive that I would accompany him to the roof.

"Just come to the roof, Adolf," Emi said. "I'll have everything worked out."

"Alright, I'll be there," I said. "But you better bring me lunch."

She shook her head. "I mean, unless you want to deal with the captain," Emi said, implying something.

"NO!" I shouted. "I'll be there, damn."

Emi grinned. "Okay, see you guys at lunch!" she called as she ran off. "Don't worry, I'll bring you some!"

There was a period of silence as Hisao and I walked off of the tarmac. "So, why are you doing track?" Hisao asked, making the silence stop. We were about halfway to the dorms at the time.

I shrugged. "I don't know. Something to do, I guess."

"But why track?"

"There isn't a hockey team, as far as I know," I said. I still needed to find that out. "And I can't sit in my room after class every day, no matter how much I would like to." Hisao shrugged and didn't say anything, making our trip back to the dorms a silent one, something I figured I should have gotten used to.

At the dorms, we took showers, as was expected. My back was layered in sweat, so the soap and water from the shower felt superb on my grimy back. I only then noticed the dull pain that formed in my side. The warm water seemed to be massaging it, but also making it noticable.

How didn't I notice it? I thought.

The fact that I was oblivious to the pain in my side was amazing. I fought through it during hockey season, but when I was walking up the hill with Lilly the previous Friday, I couldn't. I wondered what the deal was, finishing up the washing process.

I got out of the shower before Hisao, who likely fell asleep in the shower. He didn't seem as fatigued as he was Tuesday, however, suggesting that he was getting used to the workouts. I dried off and left the bathroom, putting fresh undergarments on in my room. I glanced at the clock, which read 7:45 A.M.

I was surprised it wasn't any later. I fell on the bed, regretful of running so much. It felt good, but I was fatigued, and memories of freshman year rushed back. I'm gonna fall asleep during class, I thought. Falling asleep in class wasn't something I wanted to do, so I set the alarm for 8:10 and took a nap.

There was a loud beeping, which caused me to jolt up. The alarm was going off, reminding me to get my ass in gear. I shut it off and took my medicine before making a sandwich. I put my uniform on before eating the bread and meat. School bag in one hand, sandwich in the other, I left my dorm room to be met by Kenji.

"Hey man," the bespectacled man said. "What's up?"

"Not much Kenji," I replied. Goddammit! Why now?

"I saw you were going into the city yesterday," he said.

"Are you serious? How?" Called it! I just knew it! How the hell?

"I have my ways."

"Such as? Wait, are you spying on me?"

"I'm not, man. I was just passing by and saw you get on the bus."

"I thought you didn't go outside."

He tapped his head. "Hat."

"I just... what? No, never mind, why is it important that I was going into the city?"

"Just wanted to know what kind of intel you gathered." He looked genuinely curious.

"What if I was just going out to eat?" I said. I had thought about it, but I failed to think of an appropriate response.

He scowled. "That's bullshit, dude. I can smell it. You were with that handless chick."

"Miki? Yeah, but we seriously were just grabbing some food."

Kenji frowned harder. "Seriously?" His face brightened up. "Man, having an American as an ally is bitchin'. You go deep undercover, dude, and I like that. First it was with the Council, then with the blind bitch and what's-her-face, now it's with one of the amputees. Dude, you're like James Bond or some shit, I swear."

"I highly doubt Miki is a feminist," I said, wondering why he always thought I was going behind enemy lines.

He raised an eyebrow. "Really?"

"Yeah," I said, looking at my watch. 8:17. "Kenji, I gotta go to class, so I'll explain some other time."

Kenji's face became indifferent. "Well, duty calls, comrade. Keep taking the fight to the bitches. I'll be at my command center if you ever need anything." He then promptly made a tactical retreat to his base of operations.

I shook my head as I left the building. How in the hell does someone end up like him? I thought. I also wondered why he thought every girl was a feminist. I planned on questioning him about it some other time.

I entered the school building, heading up to the third floor. There were crowds of students, either hanging out until the last minute or actually going to class. The former was much more frequent. When I entered 3-3, I found the class half-full. I noted that Hisao, Suzu, and Miki were in the class. Misha, Shizune, and Hanako were nowhere to be found.

I greeted Miki, who smacked my arm. "You talk to Emi?" she asked.

"Yeah, I did," I replied. Miki grinned. "Miki, I'll talk to you later, okay?"

She nodded. "Sure."

I took my seat next to Hisao and promptly put my head down until class started. I heard people walk in, the door opening and closing numerous times. Misha and Shizune also walked in, Misha laughing as usual. I hoped she didn't ask me about why my head was down or pose any questions about my time in the city with Miki.

The last student entrance was Hanako's, identifiable by the gentle open and close of the back door. I knew I wouldn't be able to go to lunch with Hanako and Lilly. I still felt bad about not wanting to hang out with her. She seemed comfortable around me.

Mutou was the last person to enter and he started a chemistry lecture. I wondered why he switched between different forms of science and math so often. It was beyond annoying.

He gave us group work and we broke off into groups. I didn't exactly want to work with Shizune and Misha, since they would pester me. Suzu and Miki already had a partner, so that was out of the question. I glanced back at Hanako, who was working alone as always. Well, it'd be nice if I did, I thought. Don't want to be a dick to her. I got up to go to Hanako's desk. Misha and Shizune were already in position to start working with Hisao and me.

"Adolf-chan!" Misha said. "Where are you going?"

"Misha, you and Shizune can handle yourselves," I said as I continued walking. When I reached Hanako's desk, I knelt down next to the desk.

Hanako was startled, since she wasn't paying attention. "Y-y-yes, Adolf?" she asked.

"Sorry to scare you Hanako," I said. "I just wanted to know if you wanted to work together."

Her eyes seemed to sparkle, as if I granted her a wish or something. "S-sure," she said, trying to mask her excitement. I looked around for an empty desk, and luckily, there was one. The guy who sat next to Hanako wasn't in class, so I slid his desk next to Hanako's.

I sat down and produced the worksheets he had given me. Hanako had her sheets out, but they were in Japanese, as opposed to my English papers. The worksheets were chemistry-related, like the topic Mutou was lecturing.

Hanako and I started to work on the worksheets, silent as always. I glanced up numerous times to see Misha staring, eyes wide. I glared at her and fought the urge to flip her off. We finished the worksheets with only five minutes left before lunch. The problems weren't hard, but they were ones that required much work.

"A-Adolf?" Hanako got my attention.

"Yeah?"

"W-would you like to eat lunch with us a-again?"

"I'm sorry, but I can't." I was being truthful. "I have to see Emi about track."

"O-okay," Hanako said, putting her head down. I knew she was saddened by my rejection, no matter how sorry I was.

I stood up and put the desk back. I grabbed Hanako's sheets and turned them in along with mine and walked back to my desk, only for the bell to ring.

"Well," Hisao said. "Let's go."

I followed him out into the hallway, where people were pouring out of their classrooms. We moved against through the crowd. I was unsure of our destination, other than it being the roof. Eventually, we reached a door that no one seemed to pass through. Hisao opened the door and I saw a staircase. We walked up the staircase and opened another door, arriving on the roof. I was blinded as my eyes adjusted.

"You didn't chicken out!" I heard Emi say. "I'm glad!" She came into full view once my eyes adjusted to the sunlight.

"No, he didn't," Hisao agreed.

"Oh hey, it's the German dictator," I heard a dull voice say. I looked for the source of the voice, only to see Rin lying on a bench.

I sighed, unable to reply to her remark with any wit. "Hi, Rin."

Emi tapped me on the shoulder. "Here you go!" she exclaimed, handing me a paper that was entirely in Japanese.

I was shellshocked. "Emi, I can't read Japanese that well."

Emi grunted. "All you need to do is write your name here," she said, pointing to a lined space underneath a hefty amount of Japanese writing.

"That's it?" I asked.

"Yep. I had the nurse fill out everything else for you." She handed me a pencil.

I took the pencil and put it on the paper, using a bench to write on. "Japanese or English?"

"What, your name?" she asked. I nodded. "Do you know how to write it in Japanese?"

I shook my head. "I didn't exactly learn it, no." Of everything I did learn, my name wasn't one of those things.

Emi sighed. "I'll explain it to Hideo. Just write it in English, then."

"Hideo?" I asked.

"Track captain. You know, the gay guy."

I nodded, wondering why she kept referencing his supposed homosexuality. I wrote my name on the paper and handed it back to Emi.

"I'll give it to him in class, then. Anyway, here's your lunch!" She produced two paper bags for me and Hisao.

I thanked Emi and so did Hisao. Emi went to Rin and gave her a bag. When I looked in the bag, I saw a well-rounded lunch, fit for a runner. Wait, I thought. That's exactly what Emi is. And I guess I am, too. Inside was a banana, a small Gatorade-like bottle, some noodles, and a sandwich.

"Looks good, Emi," I said.

She grinned. "I made it all myself!"

Rin nodded. "She does that."

I didn't feel like talking while I ate, so I just ate. The sandwich was good. Ham, cheese, lettuce, tomato, and salami. I wasn't fond of vegetables, but it tasted good nonetheless.

Lunch was nearing its end when we all finished. Emi got up to leave, but stopped and looked at me. "Adolf, come to the track later," she said.

"Why?" I asked.

"Track practice, silly."

"I don't have any clothes to wear."

"We have track uniforms," she said as she left the roof.

After a minute, Rin got up. "Can one of you open the door?"

Hisao got up. "Sure."

I got up and walked with him as he opened the door for the armless girl. Rin walked through the door and left me and Hisao on the roof.

"Think we should head back?" I asked.

"Yeah," Hisao said, nodding.

We went down the stairwell and headed back to class. The bell rang while we were in the hallway, so we ended up being the first ones in class. People slowly trickled in to the classroom. Mutou brought up the rear and got class back into boring session.

Class passed with the same amount of intensity it always did. Very little. Once class was wrapped up, everyone started filing out with haste. Miki was still putting her stuff in her bag.

"Miki, when's track practice?" I asked.

"Oh, so you did join?" she asked, turning from her bag. She was glad, given her grin.

"Yeah, I did," I said. "But like I said, when's practice?"

"Starts in half an hour." She turned back to her bag

"Thanks," I said. I noticed she was still trying to put her stuff away. Like the afternoon before, I held her bag open while she put the supplies in the bag.

She thanked me and we parted ways. I headed out into the hall when someone jumped out in front of me. I was startled and jumped.

"So!" Hisao said. "What's with you and Miki?"

I pushed him and started walking down the hall. "Nothing," I said. "Just asked her when track practice started."

Hisao was keeping pace with me and started walking backwards. "I think otherwise."

"Don't be like Misha," I said.

"Fine, I'll be like Kenji," he said as we walked down the stairs.

"Don't do that either."

"Seriously, dude." He skipped a step.

"You want to know?" He nodded. "Nothing. That is what's going on between us."

"You said that about you and Hanako."

"Was I lying? We're not dating."

He couldn't come up with any sort of reply, so I effectively won. When we entered the dorms, I turned to him.

"Besides, it seems like you and Emi have something going on anyway," I said.

"I thought we dropped this on the stairs," he said.

"Don't try to get out of it."

"I don't know what you're talking about," he grumbled.

Satisfied that I got my point across, I ducked into my room to drop off my school bag. When I walked back out, I was surprised that I wasn't greeted by either of my hallmates. I headed out of the dorms and started towards the track.

Halfway to the track, I remembered that there was a track meet that Sunday. I swore under my breath. Why did I join now? I thought. Upon reaching the track, after wading through small crowds of students, I spotted a few people on it already. I jogged to the track and one of the people, a guy, saw me. He walked towards me and we met halfway.

"Are you Riese?" he asked. He had jet black hair and had a small pink ribbon on his shirt.

"Yes, I am," I replied. "You are...?"

"Hideo Yoshimata. The track captain."

"Pleased to-"

"Don't waste my time with your pleasantries," he said rather snobbishly. He gestured to the school. "Go to the nurse's office. Your uniform is there."

I nodded and jogged back to the nurse's office. What a prick, I thought. I thought it was customary to be polite in Japan. The thought lingered in my head as I ran past several students, one of which looked familiar.

"Adolf!" the girl said, running up to me. It was Emi.

"Hi Emi," I said, coming to a complete stop.

"Where are you going?" she asked. She was wearing her morning running gear. Or it looked like it at least.

"To get my uni-"

She cut me off by shoving a bag of clothes in my face. "Already got it for you!"

I grabbed the bag, getting it out of my face. "Thanks Emi," I said. "Now I got to get changed."

"Follow me!" she said.

"But I have to get changed!" I complained as I followed her. She led me to a rather large bush that couldn't be seen through.

"Change behind that."

"What?" I asked. "Why?"

She sighed in frustration. "Are you embarrassed or something? Just do it! I won't look." As if to emphasize, she turned around with a stomp.

I groaned, walking behind the bush reluctantly. I took off my pants first, so I could get the shorts on. When I took my shirt off, I felt eyes upon me. I looked up to see Emi looking at me and my face flushed.

"I thought you said you weren't going to look!" I said in frustration.

Emi's face was red, too. "I just happened to glance over as you looked up," she replied sheepishly.

I pulled the shirt on and placed my school uniform in the bag. "Okay, fine. Now let's get going." I wasn't convinced. We headed back down to the track and I tossed the bag on the bleachers.

Emi dragged me over to the center of the track, which is where I assumed practice would start. Emi told me to start stretching, so I did. I started out by stretching my calves and thighs. When I was finished stretching, I looked around to see what seemed to be the rest of the track team on the grass. When they were done stretching, Yoshimata called everyone to a circle.

"Okay team," he announced. "Today is a slightly shortened practice, as you know. We have a new member, American transfer student Adolf Riese." He pointed me out. "If you wish to become acquainted, do so after practice." He walked around a bit, clearing his throat. "We will start with some hundred meter sprints to determine where you will be during Sunday's relay. You will be in groups of four, so let's begin."

Yoshimata proceeded to rattle off some surnames and the people who were called got in position. The captain blew a whistle and hit a stopwatch at the same time. He did this for every group. After the third quartet went, he spoke up again.

"Ibarazaki, Miura, Suzumiya, and Riese," he announced. I walked to the starting line along with Miki and Emi. Suzumiya seemed familiar at first, then I remembered that he was in my class. The four of us got into position and waited for the whistle.

When the whistle sounded, I pushed off really hard, and ended up neck-to-neck with Miki and Emi. Suzumiya was a little behind. We stayed neck-to-neck until we reached eighty meters, which is when I pulled ahead of Miki. Emi and I stayed tied as we crossed the finish line.

"Not bad," Miki said as she clapped my back during our walk back. "For an American." She was grinning.

"Thanks. Not bad," I said. "For a girl." That earned me a hit in the side, but I smiled anyway.

"Adolf, you tied with a girl," Emi said.

I shot a playful glare at her. "Shut up." We walked back to the starting line to hear our results. Once we had our results, Yoshimata pulled me aside.

"You outran Miura," he said. "That's no easy feat, nor is keeping up with Ibarazaki. I wasn't so sure about accepting you on the team, but I feel I was right in doing so. Good job." We shared a nod and I walked over to Emi and Miki. Suzumiya didn't stay near us, instead going elsewhere. Yoshimata ran a couple more groups before calling us back to a circle.

"Okay, here's the current order for the relay," he said, loud enough for everyone to hear. He listed several names that I didn't recognize. "... then Miura, then Riese, then Ibarazaki. Got it? Good."

I'm after Miki on the relay, I thought. I wasn't sure if I should have felt bad or happy, but Miki seemed fine with it.

"Good job," she said. "You're the only guy to beat me."

"Wait, so Emi isn't a guy?" I asked, trying to mess with Emi. It seemed to have worked because she smacked me in the belly.

"I have a very feminine figure and feminine parts," Emi said. She didn't sound like she was joking.

I grinned at making her mad. "I'm just messing with you Emi, calm yourself."

"You're an asshole," she said.

"So I've heard."

Miki just chuckled at our little bout.

"Moving on!" Yoshimata exclaimed. "We're going to do a half-mile run. Same groups as before, same order." The first group for sprints went to the line and he sounded the whistle.

"Does he even run?" I asked Emi and Miki.

"No, he just organizes the team," Emi said. "He used to run, but he has something wrong with his foot."

"I thought it was his ass," Miki said, bursting out into laughter. I couldn't help but laugh with her and Emi.

Eventually, it was our turn to run. We stepped up to the starting line, waiting for the whistle. Suzumiya didn't seem glad to be with us since we ran much faster than him. Regardless, he started to run all the same when the captain blew the whistle.

I had ran a lot that morning, but the outcome was no different than the sprint. Suzumiya was third, Miki was second, and Emi and I tied for first. Suzumiya lagged behind early on, and Miki stayed with Emi and me until halfway through the second lap.

When we headed back, Yoshimata pulled me aside again. "Let me ask you something, Adolf. You don't mind if I call you Adolf, do you?" I shook my head. "Good. Anyway, what sports did you play in the United States?"

"Hockey," I replied. "On and off ice."

Yoshimata nodded. "Alright. That's pretty intense. That's all I wanted." I nodded and walked back to Emi and Miki. "Next!"

"What did he say?" Miki asked.

"Just wanted to know what sports I played in the States," I replied.

"What did you play in America?" Miki asked. I forgot that I never told her.

"Hockey. Whether it was on or off ice, I played it." Miki's eyes lit up and she nodded in acknowledgment. I wondered why her eyes lit up, but I didn't ask. We ran some more, sprints and otherwise, the outcome never changing. I always tied with Emi, but beat Miki and Suzumiya. At six o'clock, Yoshimata spoke up again.

"Alright team, we're done for today. Friday and Saturday we will have practice. Full length on Friday, half on Saturday," he said. He then promptly walked towards the school, just like everyone else. Miki, Emi, and I walked back to the dorms together after I grabbed my bag, making a rather steady pace.

"So what's going on Sunday?" I asked. I knew there was a track meet, but I decided to play stupid.

Emi half-gasped, but then realized I was out of the loop. "Track meet against another school," she said.

I thought that was hardly fair. Another school playing against a school for the disabled. Though Emi, Miki, and I were fast, that still put the other school at an unfair advantage. It just didn't seem right.

Miki seemed to know what I was thinking. "It's another school for the disabled, actually."

I was relieved, for some reason. "Where is it?" I asked. Emi and Miki shrugged.

"Near Yamagata, I think," Miki said.

We passed by the administrative building, which is where Emi broke off.

"Gotta see the nurse," she said. "See you guys later!"

Miki and I said goodbye to Emi and continued in silence. I thought of a way to make the rest of the trip a little fun.

"Hey Miki," I said, hoping a mischievous glint was in my eyes.

"Huh?" she asked.

"Race you to the dorms."

She got her game face on. "You're on."

"On drei," I said. She raised an eyebrow. "'Three' in German."

"How many languages do you know?" Miki asked.

"That's for a later time," I said. "Get ready." I took a breath. "Ein. Zwei. Drei!"

We shot off, sprinting through the gardens. My legs were turning into jelly, due to the numerous 'exercise, rest' incidents I had that day, but my speed wasn't affected. Miki and I slowed to a stop outside of the dorms, me being the victor.

Miki punched me in the side. "You knew you were gonna win," she said.

I grinned. "But you still went with it."

She grinned with me. "You're an asshole, Adolf Riese."

"So I've been told," I said. I started to walk towards the boys dorm. "I'll see you later Miki."

"Bye Adolf," she called as she went into her dorm.

I sluggishly walked to my room and dropped the bag off, along with my track clothes. Afterward, I took a shower and went back to my room. I was about to take my dirty laundry to get washed when there was a knock on my door.

I opened the door, laundry in hand. "What?" I asked. Hisao was the one knocking on my door, laundry in his hands as well. Must've elbowed the door, I thought.

"Lilly wanted me to pass a message on to you," he said.

"Lilly?" I asked.

"Yeah," he replied. "I was heading to the library and I bumped into Lilly."

"Okay, what is it?"

"She wanted to know if you would have tea with her and Hanako."

"What? Where?"

"In her room, which she said was... two twenty-five."

I did need to unwind, no matter how much I disliked tea. "Sure," I said. "Thanks."

"No problem," he said as he turned away.

"Hey, Hisao," I said, causing him to turn around.

"What?" He was clearly eager to get the clothes washed.

"Mind washing my running gear for me?"

He sighed. "Why not?"

I plopped my track clothes and my old dek hockey clothes on his pile. "Thanks, man."

"No problem," he grunted as he walked away.

I closed my door as I turned around and walked to my closet. I pulled on a pair of khaki shorts and a t-shirt before walking out. I walked down the stairs and out of the dorms with some discomfort in my legs.

Might as well relax with people who radiate relaxation, I thought as I neared the girls' dorm entrance.

AN: I appreciate any and all support I receive. If you have any questions or something of the sort, feel free to message me. Leaving a review would be just as helpful.

I am taking suggestions for this story, so if you have any, please PM me. Any qualms will be accepted as well.

Chapters could take a while to be written and subsequently uploaded, so please be patient. I am also glad to see that people like this story. It makes me feel good as an author.

By the way, if you don't have an account and want to review, go ahead. I might start answering questions in the AN if that's the case.