Chapter 13
The obstacle course was comprised a row of inner tubes you were supposed to step through, a balance beam, an inflatable obstacle course, and dodging. If you were hit by a ball, you had to start over. The team with the best time received the prize while the others received twenty percent off coupons for the museum gift shop, which was basically useless. We all had to sign wavers before doing all of this, since this was a very athletic activity and the museum didn't want to be held accountable for lawsuits. Sensing that I didn't have the time to look over and dissect every Japanese character, I pretended I understood it anyways and signed away my right to sue before taking my place in line while other people slipped on special socks provided by the staff. Thankfully since I was already wearing socks, I didn't have to subject myself to wearing a sock two sizes smaller than my size eleven feet that, judging from the fabric color, no doubt would be like wearing sandpaper to me.
People who were waiting for their turn or had already finished were cheering everyone on while the others threw the balls at the oncoming competition. One teenager in particular, a boy with spiky bleached hair and narrow eyes, seemed especially enthusiastic in taking down his opponents, knocking down a nine year old wearing a glorified suit of armor.
Then it was our turn. Since I was the sidekick, Izuku decided to go first and took his place at the starting line. "You got this, All Might!" I cheered him on. Izuku turned briefly to give me a smiling nod before focusing his attention back on the countdown. Once the staff member said 'go,' he took off like a shot. His opponent was around his age and height as well, but Izuku was too quick for him, jogging through the hoops and leaping across the balance beam in two strides.
"Whoa, the dude's got skills," I said as I watched him turn around the cone and avoid the first volley of squishy baseballs as he sprinted back towards the inflatable obstacle course and leapt through the hole of the entrance in one-go. The kid was a machine, vaulting over the climbing portions and running up various hand-holds without having to rely on the rope before sliding down the enormous slide at the end. He pushed himself off of the slide feet first and ran past the final stretch towards the button that would shut off the 'bomb.' The second round of balls thrown at him was nothing like the first, each of them being roughly the size of an actual dodge-ball, not like the squishy balls I had been expecting they would use. Unfazed, he ducked out of the way, too quick for the slow throws, and slammed his hand on the button on his side of the course. A buzzer rang through the room, alerting everyone that the bomb had been deactivated. They all stared up at the red countdown clock after his opponent hit the button on their side. Each person was given three minutes to complete the course. Any longer and you were disqualified, since the 'bomb' would go off and the city would be destroyed. Izuku's countdown clock read '2:13.' He had completed the entire course in forty seven seconds, a course record.
"Nice job, Izuku! You killed it!" I shouted over the crowd. Eager to live up to his expectations and improve on our accumulated score, I took my place at the starting line and saw, much to my chagrin, that Bleach-Boy was taking his place next to me. You got this, Blake. Just don't do anything extra and you'll be fine. Izuku already gave you a nice lead so don't screw it up. Rush and you might end up hurting yourself. Watch your speed but don't move slow enough that you end up bogging down Izuku-
"Aren't you a little old to be playing around with kids?" the snide boy asked with a sneer. Taken off balance by the verbal jab that I could barely form a rebuttal, I missed the start by a split second and watched as the teen sprinted forward ahead of me. Frustration at being distracted bubbled up in my chest as I used that anger to charge forward. Anxiety and adrenaline slammed into me as I arrived at the inner tubes, trying to hold my breath as I concentrated on not making a misstep and tripping.
Thankfully, my athletic ability wasn't nearly as bad as it had been in middle school, thanks to all the steps I got in at my activities job and hour-long walks I did around my neighborhood, so I could at least keep up with him without being winded. God, why did people with short legs move so fast? All these kids were more than half my age, but they moved around with so much energy. Meanwhile, I wanted to take a nap if I sat in front of the computer for too long. I was sort of envious. Was the kid right? Was I getting too old for this?
Shut up! 'Common sense is the collection of prejudices collected by age eighteen.' That's what Albert Einstein said. You can do what you want if you put your mind to it! Screw what anyone else thinks! My mental pep-talk ended just as I finished the first obstacle. The balance beam came next and I was mentally preparing for it. Despite being tall, the idea of being off the ground, even by two feet, was terrifying to me. The cheering of the crowd was encouraging as well as discouraging, like they were shouting at me to rush.
Remember your core work. Balance is not in the arms, it's in the core... I thought as I adjusted my movements to fit what my Ludosport instructors had taught me. Keeping that in mind, I kept my arms forward like I was holding onto an invisible sword, straightened my spine and quickly moved across the balance beam faster than my opponent, who was still holding out his arms to balance himself, and dismounted with a cat-like jump that I thought was graceful and a tad bit showy. My smile widened, feeling a burst of joy and confidence as I pulled ahead and darted around the cone back towards the inflatable obstacle course.
"Bullet time," I panted as if that explained everything and smirked as I expertly began twisting my body in awkward positions while managing to dodge every single ball thrown my way like I was Neo from The Matrix. Glad to know that all the years of playing dodge-ball against my tormentors didn't completely go to waste. I shouted gleefully into the air, "(Not today, Satan!)" as one ball lobbed past my feet while I leapt forward in a quick spin before changing course. I could do this! I was making good time. I had to be.
The oncoming inflatable obstacle course filled with me a rush of nostalgia, of summers at the state fair looking at barnyard animals and eating elephant ears. However, once I was squeezing my way through the entrance, I realized exactly how long it had been since I had been in one of these bouncy monstrosities. My hips latched awkwardly to the sides of the circular opening as I instead plopped halfway through instead of going clear though like I had hoped. The sudden dip in weight from the opponent's side sent a surge of panic through me. The binder clips I had used were caught on the rubberized fabric and I kicked ferociously until I was all the way through. Already on the ground and no time to indulge my worry over my appearance and fix my costume, I army-crawled past the three tier horizontal wall, feeling my elbows sinking awkwardly into the synthetic material while my joints ached from the unusual strain. Strands of my long hair frizzed from the static and got in the way enough I had to stop to pull it back to my neck as I shuffled. Stupid hair.
Once past the horizontal wall, I was second at the first climbing portion. It was short and lacked a rope to help pull me up, so I just grabbed the two highest hand-holds and bent both of my knees in preparation to bounce before pulling myself up, leap-frogging over the top like a vault horse. Izuku had managed to do it, and he was shorter than me, so I made the jump easily. Rolling myself in a quick spin, I landed on my feet and ran towards the inflated pylons. I could feel them push against me as my opponent shoved through the obstacles, having caught up again while I bulldozed through any that got in my way while I tried to mask how winded I was by controlling my breathing. Nothing less attractive than a tall, overweight drama queen collapsing on the ground like she was having a goddamn asthma attack inside a veritable bouncy castle. I couldn't afford to show weakness. I had to show him that I was fine, that I was undaunted by his speed and ferocity.
Both of us were neck-and-neck at the second wall climb and I was starting to lose steam. Afraid my upper arm strength wouldn't match the kid's speed, I jumped again but only managed to get up two thirds of the way before I clung to the climbing rope and one of the two ribbon hand-holds at the top in a last ditch effort to reach the top, refusing to fall back over the side and have to start over.
"Christ!" I swore and grit my teeth together as I stubbornly fought against my eternal mortal enemy, gravity, and my lack of upper body strength as I slowly clawed my way towards the top. A combination of exhaustion and reckless abandon lead to me to trying to put more distance between me and my opponent once I was at the top. Rather than slide down like a normal person, my added weight and body mass sent me flying momentarily through the air as I purposefully bounced at the top of the slide, enough that I could have flipped back and landed on my feet. Poor foot placement caused what happened next as my trajectory caused me to instead land more to one side, causing my right ankle to roll inward as I touched down. A sharp twinge shot through my foot and up my leg like I had landed on a nerve, causing my leg to buckle from underneath me and fall onto my side.
Owwwowowowow! Damn it, that hurts! AHH! I screamed internally, only managing to quiet my distress through inaudible cries and a choked whimper. I watched in horror as Bleach-Boy slid past me, inches away from hitting my shoulder with one of his feet. I pressed my lips together, trying to silence any complaints. Suck it up, Blake. You've dealt with way worse than this! Walk it off! I thought with abject fury, channeling the various experiences that had hardened me as I crawled to the edge in a frenzy. I glanced up at the clock, realizing with a jolt that I had much less time than I initially thought. A swell of hopelessness fell over me as I clenched my jaw and pushed myself forward, watching as the second round of dodge-ball commenced. Even if his accumulated score with his teammate was somehow lower than mine and Izuku's, there was no way I was going to make it across that dodge-ball field without having the ability to run, and I could barely stand. There was no way, I realized with a helpless cry of anguish, that I was going to be able to complete the course in the allotted amount of time. I would have to pray that my opponent would get hit and that everyone would have run out of balls when I made it onto the field.
One stray ball that had missed Bleach-Boy rolled close to where I was standing, and suddenly, a darker third option presented itself to me. Dodging so many people from the side, he wouldn't once think to check behind him. I picked up the red rubber ball and clenched the edge of it with my right hand. I looked up at the clock that had seconds that seemed to trickle away like drops of water and then back at Izuku, who was waiting for me at the finish line. He had given me such a great lead and I was the one who suggested doing the hero obstacle course in the first place. I couldn't let him down now. Realizing that time was growing short, I took aim and with all my rage, frustration, and desperation, lobbed the ball forward. The ball whizzed past my opponent, missing him by mere inches.
"You crazy- you missed!" Bleach Boy shouted at me before recovering his cocky expression.
"Did I get it?" I asked, praying that my aim, something that had failed me so many times before, was swift and true. Then I heard it. The tell-tale buzzer. I let out an excited gasp and punched both my fists in the air with a victorious "YES!" as my countdown clock paused on 1:59, just fourteen seconds slower than Izuku's time. Together, our overall score was a minute and forty eight seconds. My ankle throbbed angrily, as if to say 'I hope all that effort was worth it, otherwise you just broke your ankle for nothing.' I carefully hobbled over where towards Izuku stood wearing a bright grin on his face.
Worth it, I thought with a strained smile. Though damn, this hurts like a mother fricker. Son of a- Some of that must have been spoken out loud because the next thing I knew, Izuku was right next to me with eyes full of concern.
"Are you okay?" he asked. I paled at his realization that I wasn't as the shame began coming in waves. You didn't just injured yourself playing on a trampoline like a six year old. Way to go, moron, acting like a drunk, spindly newborn giraffe. Good luck explaining this injury at home and work. You can forget about going to lightsaber class today, let alone walking home-
"I'm fine-" I clenched my jaw and hunched over on one side and raised my injured foot in an effort to subtly hide my limp like a gangling flamingo. It did not work. The instant I tried to walk it off, I collapsed like a cheap folding chair. "Nope! Nope, you're right. I lied. I'm not fine. In fact, that really h-hurts, ha ha oww ha ha oww..." I laughed through the pain, my breathes coming out as shaky and uneven.
"What happened?"
"I uhh... l-landed wrong on my ankle during one of my... jumps ha ha..."
"Can you walk? Here, hang onto me," Izuku offered out of concern, even though I was already holding onto him. I gave him a wan smile at his attempt at being nice.
"Thanks, Izuku, but I think I might accidentally take you down with me if I do."
"Don't worry about me. I'm told I'm a decent cane."
"Who the heck told you that?" I wondered aloud as he slowly helped me walk over where my bag sat and lowered me to the ground.
"May I...?" He trailed off, crouching down on his knees. I stared at him for a few seconds before understanding that he was asking permission to touch my ankle. I nodded, curious to see what he would do as he tenderly rested his hands over the bruised flesh. I winced instinctively, but his touch didn't really hurt all that much as his hands gently traced the outer joint. "Can you move your foot for me?" Izuku asked and I wordlessly complied, swallowing my pain as I rotated my foot. "Good. It doesn't appear to be broken. You probably sprained it and tore a muscle. Those can hurt almost as badly as a broken foot."
"Yeah, it certainly feels like it," I chuckled breathlessly, breathing through my nose to deal with the pain. To my surprise, Izuku pulled out a roll of ACE bandages from one of the pockets attached to his hip. Where the heck had he pulled that from? Was his All Might belt secretly an utility belt like Night Owl's gadget gear or was Izuku somehow more accident prone than me that he just happened to carry first-aid bandages on him?
"Here, let me help you-" he offered before I pulled my leg back.
"No, thanks. I got it," I said before taking the bandages from him, already feeling more uncomfortable than I was willing to deal with. It was bad enough I had to lean on the guy like an oversized cane. I didn't need him having to take care of my foot when I was fully capable of doing it myself. I still had some pride.
"I'm going to go get some ice. Hang tight until I get back." Before I could say anything more, he took off through the exit. Now that Izuku wasn't distracting me by playing doctor, I could feel the eyes of the crowd on me as the rest of the race between the pairs of heroes continued, feeling more alone than ever. I looked through my bag for a moment, checking to see that everything was still there in an attempt to distract myself and quell one of my default anxieties, and then began wrapping my ankle after tenderly removing my costume. It was already starting to swell and displayed angry purple bruises on the side. I pulled out my phone in an effort to forget the eyes that were no doubt staring down at me and fired up my Pokemon Go app, spinning the nearby pokéstops for goodies but unable to do anything more due to a poor signal. Stupid phone plan. I really needed to start carrying a book when I went out.
Staff kept coming over to ask if I was alright, and I would smile and say that I was fine and that my friend was just going to get some ice for me. On the inside, however, I felt ashamed and frustrated that I couldn't even leave to disappear to somewhere private and deal with the onslaught of complex feelings without drawing attention to myself. By the time Izuku came back with a plastic bag of ice, the last contestants were running through the obstacle course and I felt the biggest sigh of relief at the sight. So far, no one had been able to beat our score, and that was the only comforting thought I had.
"Here you go," he said, holding out the bag of ice.
"Thanks." I took the bag from him and placed the shopping bag on my ankle and hissed at the biting cold before relaxing at the numbing sensation. However, the bag of ice was not the only gift Izuku came back with, holding out a pair of white slippers in his other hand.
"I figured you wouldn't exactly be able to put on your tennis shoes again, so I got you these as well." I stared down at the fuzzy white slippers that said Kojimachi Hero Museum on the front. Had he bought them with his own money? Was that why it took him so long to get back?
"Thank you..." and I meant it. What a nice guy. Japanese society was so incredibly polite. "You really didn't have to do that. I'm sure I would have been fine..."
"It's no trouble, really. I just saw them on the way to the cafeteria to get your ice and figured it would be better than walking home in socks or having to force your injured foot into your shoe and-" he rambled while I grabbed my tennis shoes and stuffed them into my tote. As the last buzzers sounded, he snapped out of whatever he had been saying as the emcee of the event's voice blasted over the speakers. "And that's the game! After tallying our total scores, the day is saved by our heroes, All Might and Warrior Queen! Congratulations!"
More than half a dozen All Mights looked up at the announcement. However, only one team had a Warrior Queen as part of their duo. A burst of elation flooded through me as the crowd erupted into applause. Izuku appeared equally as stunned but that soon changed as a cheerful smile broke out onto his face as he helped me up onto my feet almost effortlessly; the guy was stronger than he looked. He probably said something encouraging to me, but I couldn't hear it over the white noise. The applause felt louder than before, more encompassing. After quickly fixing myself up and straightening my shirt, which I realize had fallen into sloppy disrepair along with the rest of my costume, I reluctantly pressed my hand into Izuku's shoulder as I hopped as gracefully as I could manage over to where the emcee stood. I smiled warily at the crowd as we were handed our gift-vouchers and our medals with the words '#1 Hero' emblazoned on the front before being placed over our heads- I had to lean down for the latter, being too tall for the woman who gave us our medals.
"And an extra good job to you, young man, for helping this young lady in need," the emcee thanked Izuku off-mic.
"Oh, it was no trouble at all. I'm always happy to help someone in need," he replied modestly. Standing so close to him, I could detect faint traces of mint coming off of him that I had smelled earlier while we were taking selfies. It was a rather pleasant scent, like fresh mint tea or gum. He must've wore some sort of body spray or had peppermint stuffed in his pockets. It had a strangely calming affect on my anxiety- perhaps I needed to add mint to one of my therapy perfumes? However, it wasn't enough to make me forget the attention and humiliation my injury had caused me. Having had enough attention for one day, I leaned over towards Izuku's ear and asked him in a low voice, "hey, can we get out of here?"
Izuku recoiled abruptly before mumbling, "Oh uh- s-sure." I frowned. Was I too loud in asking him? Jo-Elle had always said I couldn't whisper to save my life. Feeling like a shrinking violet, I lessened my grip on his shoulder and tried to put more weight into my stance in an effort to make my limping be as subtle as possible. As we left the recreational room for a better place, an overwhelming sense of guilt and relief hit me all at once. I thought of all that he had done for me and felt an intense wave of shame and gratitude at his assistance. Once I found a place to sit, I wanted nothing more than to disappear and forget this whole thing ever happened.
Author's Note: So my editor pointed out that the scene with how Alyssa won the game wasn't explicitly stated, so I figured I'd explain here with full details. Basically, there was nothing in the rules that said Alyssa had to run through the dodge-balls, just that she had to go through the course and stop the bomb. So by throwing the ball, she managed to hit the buzzer, which was the overall goal. Normally, that wouldn't be how someone would usually win, but since she's a bit of an out-of-the-box thinker and there was no rule against it, she got away with bending the rules.
