Puzzle Pieces (formerly Reach for the Sky)

Chapter 11

Bang! The tight pack of runners leaves the start line of the 1500, the ribbon circling the track passing lightly through my fingers. It's the first distance event of the day, everyone is full of energy, and the pace is fast.

From what I can hear, I'm surrounded on all sides except where my hand touches the ribbon. Panic starts to close in on me. This race is much larger than the ones I'm used to. Worries and doubts spiral into my brain. I'll run into someone. I'll trip. Someone will run into me.

As if on cue, an elbow slams into my stomach and I stumble, slowing as I try to regain my breath. Girls are passing me on all sides, but I don't dare speed up too much with so many people around me. I'm running in confusion, unsure where I am in the race and how fast I or anyone else is going. I start to panic again, but Davidson's voice cuts through the chaos in my mind.

"Autumn. There are fourteen girls ahead of you and nine behind. Bianca is going to help you pass."

Bianca always whistles through her nose as she runs, and I hear the sound coming from directly in front of me. She reaches back and takes my hand. Confused, I let her guide me away from my ribbon out into the second or third lane of the track. She starts to pick up the pace until we're almost at a sprint, and I listen as the footsteps of more and more runners fade behind us.

Bianca's breathing grows heavier and heavier until she guides me back towards the inside of the track, managing "Can't – keep – up – go" before she slows down, leaving me to run alone again.

Davidson calls out to me, "Two laps left, you're in third, and there's no one ahead of you for almost a hundred meters! GO!"

Bianca sacrificed her race for me, tiring herself out at a pace she couldn't maintain. I'm worn out from our sprint too, but I can't let her sacrifice go to waste. I hear footsteps approaching behind me, and one thought fills my mind: She must not pass me.

I push myself harder than I ever have, but the other girl is still right on my heels as we round the last bend of the track, sprinting to the finish line. If she gets in front of me, I have no way to pass her. I have to stay ahead.

With a hundred meters to go, the girl runs up next to me. I have to stay a step ahead of her. I have to stay ahead, or she'll move to the inside of the track and cut me off. People are cheering for me: My teammates, Grandmother, Angelina. And Henry. I can hear his voice over all the rest, propelling me forward as Davidson yells, "50 meters to go! 40... 30... 20... 10... 5... Finish!"

Exhausted, I collapse on the grass as soon as I'm off the track, not knowing if I beat the other girl or not.

"Autumn! Autumn!" Maria calls excitedly as she runs up to me.

"Did I beat her?" I mumble, still lying on the ground.

"You did! Third place! And you ran it in 5:21!"

5:21? The worst start I could possibly have had and I still ran a new personal best?

"We should get up and start jogging around a little. The 3000 isn't that far off," Maria continues cheerfully. I groan, pressing my head further into the grass. I still have two more races, the 800 and the 3000, but I don't even feel like I could get up.

Somehow I manage it though, because a couple of minutes later I'm running slowly on the fields near the track with Maria, Bianca, and Lisa.

After I thank Bianca for her help in the race, she tells me about how Davidson had instructed her to guide me just as she had if I ever got trapped behind people again. I wonder why Davidson didn't see fit to tell me about the plan as well, but I suppose it all worked out in the end. Apparently, the officials were going to disqualify both Bianca and me for "interference with another runner", but Davidson somehow managed to talk them out of it.

One moderately painful 3000 and thoroughly miserable 800 later, the team is gathered together waiting for the last event to finish and the scores to be announced. We wait an excruciatingly long time while the officials calculate the scores, but finally all the teams fall silent as a voice booms out from the speakers.

The seventh and last place team is announced first, and a huge cheer arises from my team. Puzzled, I turn to Maria. "They're thrilled it's not us," she explains. "We've been seeded last going into the championships for several years now, but we usually at least manage to get sixth. The last time we got fourth or higher was over five years ago."

The sixth, fifth, and fourth place teams are announced, the team cheering even more wildly every time. Bakersfield is announced as the third place team, and the screaming is deafening. Third out of seven. Not bad, but it doesn't seem that great either. I guess everyone has low expectations.

I can't help but get caught up in the celebratory mood on the bus ride home, though, especially when Davidson announces that we beat the fourth place team by just two points.

Two points. My third place 1500 finish contributed to that victory. I've told myself over and over that I belong on this team, but for the first time, laughing and talking and celebrating with my teammates, I actually believe it.