Take My Breathe Away

C10: The Award Ceremony

While standing with his head courteously tilted down, Tristan waited for an answer, but not a peep was heard from his boss even after a long moment.        
    𝓝𝚘𝚟𝔢𝒍𝑛𝔢xt.𝑐𝑜𝓶

When he raised his head in confusion to check what was going on, he noticed that the cigarette in his boss' hand had mostly burned into ash. What remained in his grip was the cigarette butt, but Carlos had yet to realize it. His eyes were glued on the screen. Out of curiosity, Tristan turned his head towards the TV; a girl was taking the lead of the marathon.    

The young lady wore a green T-shirt and sneakers sponsored by Carlos' company, ZL Group. Although her T-shirt was soaking wet from all the running, her pace was steady. Her face, on the other hand, was as red as a ripe apple. It was so adorable. One careful glance, and a person would be tempted to give it a little pinch. At least, that was what Tristan felt as he found himself watching and silently cheering for the athlete.    

"Repeat your report. From the top," Carlos suddenly demanded, giving Tristan quite a start. When Tristan turned around to reiterate his report, his boss had already averted his gaze from the screen. Once again, his head was buried in a file, his eyes hidden from view, as though he was never distracted.    

After some time, the one-time silver medalist managed to surpass Debbie. But this did not faze her, and 1 hour and 10 minutes later since the beginning, Debbie was ahead of everyone again. Everyone witnessed how much effort she put into each calculated step as she advanced forward. The whole venue was boiling with enthusiasm from every side.    

As she gained momentum, some students from the Economics and Management School applauded her in excitement, shouting, "Well done, Debbie!" "Keep it going! You're almost there!" they yelled approvingly. Even the students who could not see everything clearly from a distance had joined in the cheering when they heard that Debbie was taking the lead again. Everything else was drowned out by the shouts, which came in waves, one louder than another. It went without saying that as much as she showed no signs of slowing down, neither did their screams of encouragement.    

Ten more minutes later, only three passes were left before they hit the finish line. All of a sudden, surprised exclamations came from the crowd. Amidst a mixture of reactions, some students shouted Dixon's name.    

When Debbie turned back, short of breath, she found that her friends, Jared and the rest, were nowhere to be seen. She realized that they had pulled out of the race. On the other hand, Dixon, who had been in the sixth place, had tripped for some reason. As he tried to get to his feet, it proved to be more difficult than he had thought and he failed.    

Seeing this, Debbie hesitated for a second. Despite being several meters away from him -- the distance growing with each step she took, she let out a low growl and then spun back towards him, sending the audience into a hysterical fit of amazement.    

The moment she made the call in that split second, the former silver medalist took the lead again in her stead.    

"Tom..." panted Dixon, sensing her return. "Tomboy. Don't come... don't... come back for me..." But before he could string a few more words together, Debbie was already standing before him with an extended hand. Looking up with a pair of apologetic eyes, Dixon fell silent, his jaw slack.    

With a quick glance past Debbie's figure, he saw that the silver medalist was still finishing the race and it brought his focus back. If not for him, he had to keep going for Debbie who had risked what was possibly already a sure win for her. Resignedly, Dixon took her hand and got up.    

However, his injury seemed to be worse than he had thought. As soon as he stood up, the throb in his legs made him almost fall to his knees. Debbie was quick to catch him.