The Best Fracture

Chapter 3: I Hate Hurdles

A/N PLEASE READ:
Not Another Song About Love by Hollywood Ending^^^ (Has nothing to do with the story, just wanted to add it). Sorry for interrupting!

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The bell rings and I rush out the classroom. 6th period is track! The only class that takes me outside to do the one thing I love doing: run. I'm zipping through the hallways, trying to make it to the locker rooms. I quickly change into a white t-shirt, black shorts, and running shoes and zip outside.

Before anyone's even outside, I'm already jogging warmup laps around. Running helps relieve almost anything: stress, headaches, boredom. I just love the feeling the air against my skin, the freedom moving- it's all just amazing. I've already run four laps when Coach Wooddrift walks onto the track. "Early as always Matt." He says. I stop jogging, putting my hands on my head.

"You know I love running coach!" I say excited. Coach smiles, telling me, "I hope your ready for some hurdles today, 'cause that's what we're practicing today."

I groan just thinking about it. That's the only event I hate in track, hurdles. I can never get the hang of jumping over a hurdles, like it's in my DNA to be bad at it.

"I know it's not your strong suit, but try Ok Matt?" Coach tells me. I nod. "Ok Champ, go stretch so you don't pull something." He pushes me away. I walk towards the concrete to stretch and watch as the rest of the team walks towards the track.

"Gauge!" I call him. He rolls his eyes seeing me on the ground. "Already stretching? Do you ever not want to run?" He asks me. "You already know the answer to that." I tell him. Gauge and I somehow can't help but be each other's rivals. Once we both tied for first in the 100m dash last year, we were always trying to be better than one another, which ultimately ended in us becoming friends.

"I'll come back to stretch." He tells me, following the rest of the team. "I'll be here." I sit back on my hands, enjoying the shade on the concrete.

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We start practice immediately after everyone's stretched. We help Coach set up three lanes of hurdles and practice launching off the blocks before hurdle practice. We all line up in lanes one through three. Me and Gauge are in the last three people on lines one and two.

"Hope your ready." Gauge says, pulling his leg up. Even he knows I'm bad at hurdles, but this isn't his strong suit either. "You better be ready, I've improved since last time." I tell him. Coach launches the three heats before us, quickly making it time to run.

"Come on last heat." He yells at us, grabbing his whistle.

We get on the blocks, waiting for him to start.

"On your mark ...."

"Get set ...." We all raise our butts in the air.

He blows the whistle and we dash off the blocks. Gauge must of had a good start because he's a whole body before me. I speed up, trying to catch him, but also be aware that I'm about to jump a hurdle. I jump, my foot tipping the first hurdle, run then jump completely over the next one, then completely over the third one. Slowly, I'm catching up to Gauge.

Me and Gauge are neck-n-neck almost through all the hurdles. On the the last one, I jump, but my foot gets caught by the bar, and I fall straight down on the track. I cry out in pain seconds after hitting the ground. I try standing up, but it hurts way too much.

I pull the hurdle out from under me and turn on my back. I sit up to see my shin bone out of my skin. This can't be happening. Not at practice.

"Matt!" I hear Coach yell. I can't even look away, feeling my blood seep down my leg. "It hurts." Is all I can say without beginning to cry. Hurting us an understatement. It feels like my leg was shot.

"Don't worry I'm calling the nurse." And he grabs his phone, calling the nurse about an emergency. Everyone's surrounding me, most staring at my broken leg.

"Matt! Oh my god what happened?" I see Gauge run right next to my side, returning from the finish line. "I tripped over ... the hurdle." I say slowly, trying not to cry. "I ... Hate hurdles."

"Don't worry Matt, you can cry if you need to." He tells me. I smile, letting the tears fall down my face, but not releasing a single sound. Gauge sits next to me, comforting me, but I'm scared.

Scared of what happens next.