Sakura closed her eyes as she knocked her head on her palms several times.
Why am I doing this? She asked herself.
She felt like an idiot, she didn't have to do the second round of the 100m dash relay. Yet, here she was, at the track, waiting for the whole thing to start.
Even Kai was taken by surprise when she asked if he still wanted her to take her place.
Seeing Kazuha run the race and then cry afterwards made her feel very guilty. She knew Kazuha got injured because she made sure the beret wouldn't fall off.
She also knew that because of what had happened in the race, their section's spot had gone down to second, and they needed a win to get back in the game.
She was also quite worried, not about the race itself, but the fact that the beret she's wearing will be blown off when it's her turn to run.
I must keep a steady pace. Just fast enough to be ahead, but not slow enough to let my opponents catch up.
She nodded, her plan felt foolproof. Besides, their team was quite strong with Shuhuha, Dayeon and Haewon joining in.
All three of them were athletes. Shuhua played volleyball, Dayeon badminton and Haewon was part of their soccer team.
She also asked them to have her run last, which they all agreed to. She felt the three of them will gain a big enough advantage and she can then just take it easy when her turn comes.
She suddenly heard a lot of noise from somewhere near the track. She turned around and to her horror, she saw her friends carrying makeshift signs with her name on it, cheering her on.
"Wooooh! Go Sakura! We love you!" they shouted, even making a wave and sending her flying kisses.
She heard some of the Juniors laugh and even point at her. Sakura face-palmed and turned away from them, embarrassed. She wondered how they knew she would be running. She sighed, she really needed to find normal friends.
The referee was now calling out the runners. She took her spot and made sure the beret was tucked firmly on her head. She wished she had some sort of pin or needle to keep it in place but she had no time.
The runners took their places. Dayeon would be the first, followed by Haewon, Shuhua and finally, her.
The referee called out the signal, Dayeon looked ready, and finally, the whistle was blown and they were off.
Dayeon shot through the track like a bullet and gained a good lead among the runners. Sakura took this as a good sign. If this pace keeps up, I don't need to exert much effort on this. She smirked. Things were finally going her way.
Dayeon reached Haewon who immediately grabbed the baton and started running. What she wasn't aware of was that a runner from 3D was slowly gaining in on her. Despite this, Sakura still felt confident, she just needed to put all her faith in Shuhua.
Once Haewon reached the next mark, section 3D was already closing in. Shuhua grabbed the baton and immediately dashed forward without looking back.
Unfortunately, 3Ds runners were quite powerful as well. Shuhua's opponent was part of the school's softball team, and she had no trouble catching up, finally gaining a bit of a lead against their section.
Sakura cursed. This meant she had to really go ahead and exert that much effort on this race. She internally cried and hoped against hope that her beret wouldn't leave her head.
Shuhua quickly reached Sakura who swiftly took the baton and ran to try and catch up with her opponent.
Maybe I can just keep up with this pace and win second. Second is not bad, besides, we still have two more rounds for the boys relay.
Yeah, that wasn't a bad idea. Why put her hair in danger when she can just chill?
Suddenly, Kazuha's face swam into her mind. Guilt washed over her. She wanted to ignore it but she couldn't.
For fuck's sake. Fine!
She was confident she could catch up, Kai was right. She used to run when she was in middle school, and was part of their school's track team.
If I could run fast enough, maybe I would be able to stop the beret from falling off once I get to the finish line!
So Sakura decided to run with all her might, catching up quickly to the other girl, who was quite surprised when she saw that Sakura was already not far behind.
She was already neck and neck with her opponent who tried to run even faster.
Sakura could feel the beret slowly leaving her head. She pushed with all her might as she saw the finish line in front of her.
She finally took the lead and as she crossed the finish line to the delight of her classmates, her beret went flying off into the wind.
Sakura's hair was finally exposed to the world, and to her surprise, everyone was hugging her, including her idiot friends. Not one person remarked about her new choice of hair dye.
And as she looked over to the stands, she saw Kazuha, smiling proudly at her.
Maybe some things were worth it after all.
***
Author's note: Hiiii guys! Four chapters for youuuuu. I hope you enjoyed reading them. I'll update probably next weekend <3
