My feet hit the cement underneath me as I jog on the sidewalk back towards the school. Jason, my best friend, jogs next to me and a few others are jogging with us. My breathing is becoming more labored and my side has a slight ache in it which tells me I should have ran more during the summer. I've been doing cross country running ever since freshman year and I still can't seem to remember to keep up my stamina while on break from the season.
"This is the hardest four miles I've ever ran," Jason states and I laugh breathlessly.
"I was thinking that same thing. I guess we should have ran during the summer," I say and push my legs to keep up with the pace of the group.
"Yeah, but instead we played video games and laid around," he says and we round the corner into the school parking lot.
"At least we were socializing," I joke and he scoffs.
"Barely. We were too zoned into the games to actually have an actual conversation."
"That's true," I say. "But you kept up your relationship with Sarah just fine even while playing videos games almost all the time."
"Kind of. I mean, she had to work all day and we only hung out on weekends or whenever we both had time," he says, and I look at him.
"And?"
He rolls his eyes. "It just wasn't the same. We used to hang out all the time, but over the summer it was like we didn't have any time to really catch up or talk to each other about how our days were."
"Jason," I say as we slow our pace when we make it to the bleachers of the school's football field. "You had all the time in the world to talk to her. It was her that didn't have the time because she got a job. That's just what normally happens when we start to grow up. College is only a year away."
"Oh gross. Don't bring that up," he says. I smile as we slow down to a walk and join up with the rest of the cross country runners.
"Alright!" I hear coach yell over all the voices. "Is that everyone?"
There's a simultaneous "yes" that goes through the group and we all make our way onto the track to stretch. Some sit down while others stay standing. As Jason and I walk past the bleachers, someone calls out our names. I turn my head to see Sarah sitting in the first row waving her hand at us. Her thick black hair is pulled back into a messy bun and her glasses are perched on the bridge of her nose. I raise my eyebrow while Jason smiles and jogs over to her with me following.
"What are you doing here?" I ask.
Sarah shrugs and stands to lean on the rail in between us. "Can't a girl come to see her best friends on her day off?"
"Day off? When did you ever have days off on Wednesdays?" Jason asks. Sarah chuckles nervously and tucks a stray hair behind her ear.
"Well, I actually quit yesterday," she states but hurriedly adds, "but don't freak out! I quit because school is starting, and they wouldn't give me fair hours."
"I thought you loved your job," Jason states.
"Oh, I did. Being a full-time assistant manager of a retail store and getting paid thirteen dollars an hour was pretty great, but when they said that I would have to work nights even on school nights, that was a deal breaker," she explains.
"Are you going to get another job?" I ask but before she can respond the coach yells mine and Jason's names.
"We better go stretch," Jason says.
Sarah nods then motions over her shoulder. "Ice cream after you both are done?"
Jason and I look at each other and smiles break out on our faces as we say "totally" at the same time.
YOU ARE READING
The Good Boy | ✔️
Teen Fiction[Completed] His name is Axton Dale. He is a senior in high school and has never dated anyone in his life. He has a major crush on Olive Janson who he has had his eyes on for years. She has never noticed him of course, but that all changes on the fir...
