A New Masterpiece (COTE x OC)

Chapter 31 - The Renegade

"Hey! Pick up the pace, Fukumoto!" Sudo yelled at me as I made my way toward the track.

The festival was nearing its beginning, and a majority of the students in Class D had been practicing non-stop after school since the announcement a few days ago.

It had been decided that Sudo and I would partner up for practice with the three-legged race. Most people within our class wouldn't be able to keep up with Sudo's athletic prowess, so I was deemed his partner since I may have been the closest to him in terms of skill. And today would be our first time practicing for the event together.

Sudo seemed rather annoyed at me today for some reason, so this training might not be the most enjoyable experience.

Once I was close enough to Sudo, he tossed me the rope we would use to anchor our legs together.

"You tie it," Sudo grunted.

"Fine," I muttered.

I bent down near Sudo and began to tie the rope around both our legs in a comfortable position.

"What were you doing with Horikita yesterday?" Sudo asked but didn't make any effort to make eye contact with me.

"I don't know what you're talking about," I said as I finished tying up the rope.

"Don't play dumb with me, Fukumoto." Sudo sounded pretty angry about this topic. "Everyone knows you were walking around the school grounds with Horikita."

"Oh, that," I replied. "We were doing some reconnaissance on the other classes. Nothing more."

"We go to a small school, you know," Sudo continued. "Any action like that would gather lots of attention."

Sure. Going to a smaller school, especially without any outside contact, meant everyone kept a close eye on each other. Also, being somewhere higher up in the class hierarchy meant more attention directed toward me. But I don't see how a simple walk with someone of the opposite sex would cause such a commotion.

"Well, why do you ask? Does Horikita and I walking around campus affect you in any way?"

Sudo's jaw tightened, and he clenched his fist. But he showed no sign of responding.

Instead, he started walking toward the track and dragging me along with him.

"Let's just get started," he grunted.

Sudo took an athletic stance with me beside him.

"I'm going to leave you in the dust," Sudo said.

Isn't this a partner race, though?

"Fine, fine. I'll try and keep up."

Once I got into my stance, Sudo started sprinting with all his might down the track.

The key to three-legged races isn't absolute speed. It's about coordination, teamwork, and timing.

If you can stay in sync with your partner's movements, the speed portion will follow ensuite. But you'll need a great amount of skill to master the timing and coordination to match their movements. That being said, trying to do it for the first time with someone wouldn't be easy.

Luckily for me, Sudo wasn't all too hard to match.

His form was above average, and he kept a constant rhythm, which made it far easier to keep pace with him.

As we were about to finish our lap around the track. I could hear the cheering and encouragement of fellow classmates as we made our last turn.

"Woah! Look how fast they are!"