Cycle 2-4: Meet The Team (Patreon)

The sun slowly arced upwards in its lazy ascent, warming Kaitlyn to a comfortable temperature. Not a cloud interrupted the pristine blue expanse of the sky. There was even a cool breeze that made the slight warmth feel refreshing. All in all, it was a practically perfect day.

She and the rest of the Hartland Cross Country Team gathered in a large field, just outside of campus. Their bags and shoes were stashed underneath a red pop-up awning emblazoned with a capybara. However, they weren’t the only ones there. Clusters of other students, coaches, and even a few volunteers from other schools spread out under similar shelters across the area, each engaged in their own planning or pre-race exercises.

Coach nodded to the team. “Right, well here we are. First meet o’ the season, and tha’ only one where yer gonna have a home field advantage. So, listen up. We’ll warm up along the route - same one we’ve been trainin’ - and get back here to stretch. Guys first since you’ll be going up first. Ladies get to hang out for a bit..

“Be mindful, y’hear? Don’t want no one breakin’ nothin’ before the race even starts.”

The team dispersed, taking places on the grass to put on their proper shoes or take a quick gulp of sport drink. Kaitlyn wasn’t among them, though. She was dressed in her usual hoodie and pants.

Most of the team was here today. Even some of the people who weren’t “competition runners” had come out to support for the home meet, like she had. There were even other, unfamiliar students around too - friends and roomates, mostly..

The whole thing felt oddly surreal. She had been to one high school football game under duress, but never anything like this. It was far less formal than she expected. Colored pennants outlined the route that runners would be following, and she had spotted a few impromptu bleachers set up along the path. Other than that though, there was very little in the way of obvious structure. The 15 or so teams that showed up were just doing their own things.

Kaitlyn shifted about awkwardly as the runners went about their business. Most of the team was busy enough preparing that they paid her little mind past a quick thumbs-up or wave. That was ok though. She hadn’t learned everyone’s names yet, so at least she was being spared that awkwardness. It left more time to look around.

Looking over, she spotted Alex sitting on the grass alongside a few other male teammates. They were swapping out their casual shoes with ones presumably more fit for running.

Should I go talk to him? A sudden bout of nerves froze her in place. I mean, I’m on the team, technically, so it wouldn’t be that weird right?

Alex was just a energetic as usual, if not more so. His shoulder-length black ringlets were pulled back more securely than usual, tied back in a stubby ponytail rather than just a sweatband. His red and gold jersey proudly displayed the school’s mascot front and center.

She glanced away before anyone caught her staring. If he was that focused on the race, then it probably wasn’t a good idea to distract him now. Plus, he’s talking to people. He’s busy.

Soon enough, Alex and the rest of the guys were off on their warmup run. Kaitlyn still had a hard time wrapping her head around the concept. Running the race twice? The “warmup” runs alone took a lot out of her at practice - why on earth would you do that before a race? Wouldn’t it be better to save the energy?

As she waited for the guys to return, she glanced around. Teams from all  different schools were warming up with familiar exercises or gathering to set off on their own runs of the course. Coach and the girls were the only ones around at the tent, and the girls seemed like they would start getting busy soon.

There’s really a lot of people here. Not to watch, but to run definitely. I wonder how good our guys are compared to theirs?

“Morning, dear!”

Kaitlyn looked around in surprise. One of her teammates had approached when she was distracted. A dark-skinned and dainty looking girl bent over a bag, rifling through it. The curls of her black hair were pulled back in a dense ponytail.

“Uh, m-me?”

“Of course you, sweetie. I don’t see many others around here, do you?”

The petite girl was right. The rest of the team had moved away not too long ago to warm up, leaving Kaitlyn alone to stand guard over the tent. “I-I guess not? Um, s-sorry. Didn’t really, uh, realize.”

“Oh, no need to apologize. You look quite like a fish out of water here though. Have you ever been to a meet before?”

“N-no, never.”

“Oh, wonderful! Well, if you have any questions, feel free to ask. I’ll be running for a little while, of course, but before or after that I’m happy to help.”

“Um, th-thanks…?” I don’t really want to distract anyone though. Plus, I think it’s pretty straightforward, right? Everyone tries to run fast. Easy.

“Not a problem.” The girl smiled warmly, straightening with a hair tie in hand. “See you!”

Kaitlyn watched as she jogged back towards the team. I think I remember seeing her at practice… No idea what her name is though.

Eventually, the boys returned, warmed up, and pinned numbers on their jerseys in preparation for the race. Judging by the number of people mulling around the starting line, it was almost time to start.

She breathed deeply. Well, if I’m gonna get out of my comfort zone, now’s my chance.

With as much confidence as she could muster, she strode across the field to Alex. He had just finished up putting on yet another pair of shoes - why do they need so many different shoes? - and was pulling himself to his feet. A paper race bib prominently displayed the number 464 across his abs.

“U-um! Alex?”

He glanced up and met her eyes with a broad grin. “Hey, Kat? What’s up?”

“Er, I just… Well… Good luck.” Her voice faltered as the embarrassment caught up to her.

“Hm? Didn’t catch that, sorry!”

“Um! Good luck!” She winced as the words burst out more loudly than intended. I really just can’t get the balance right, huh? Why am I so bad at this stuff? This is totally normal to wish someone luck, right?

“Thanks!” He shot her a quick thumbs up. “I’ll do my best out there!”

She returned a nervous smile and a nod before retreating to the sidelines. Alex made his way over towards the starting line along with the rest of the guys. The great mass of bodies gathered together in a dense line and prepared for the race to start.

Her heart was still beating fast at the brief interaction. It was one thing to walk with Alex after practice sometimes and talk to him. But wishing him luck? It felt like something a friend would do, right?

Maybe… Did I just succeed on an encounter? Does that mean we’re closer now? Is this how people make friends?

The starting gun signaled the start of the race with a bang. And with that, they were off.

***

Kaitlyn knew the route that the race would take. They had run it more than a few times during practice, after all. Still, she didn’t know where the observation points had been set up. Rather than risk being a lone weirdo stalking Alex along the course, it made far more sense to simply wait at the finish line.

Besides, she reasoned, I really don’t know how fast Alex is compared to everyone else. He’s the fastest on our team definitely, but who knows where that puts him here? She had a hunch he’d be at the front of the pack though. Dating sims weren’t known for making their characters average.

As she waiting, surrounded by a scattering of coaches and other onlookers, she considered the next big event coming up. Midterms.

Those things again. She shuddered to remember the stress they had caused last time. This time I won’t let them get to me so much. I’m still studying on weekends, and I’ve been through these classes before. Surely that’ll help out a bit?

Hopefully it would. If not though, she resolved not to worry about it too much. Focusing on classes hadn’t exactly been great for her mental health last time, after all.

A little under 30 minutes later, the first runner rounded the corner. Two more were hot on his tail.

Kaitlyn’s heart soared. The lead runner was wearing an unfamiliar blue jersey, but the one in second? Even from this distance, she could recognize the bright red capybara mascot and darkly tanned frame. It was Alex, chin held high and arms pumping.

All three were running hard, skin slick with sweat and breathing heavily. As they rounded the corner their pace picked up further. There was about a ten yard gap between each runner, which seemed pretty big to Kaitlyn’s eyes. However, the green-clad runner in third was catching up.

Cheers erupted from the sidelines as the runners came into view, racing down the home stretch. Alex’s head snapped to the side to check on his pursuer periodically, noting his progress. His long strides launched him forward, legs pressing powerfully against the earth. Yet despite the effort, green was still closing the distance. Ten yards turned to five, then two, then one. With only a little more distance to go the guy was nearly at Alex’s elbow.

The pair crossed her field of vision, labored breathing quickly drowned out by the crowd. Alex was falling behind. He was still moving way faster than Kaitlyn could ever manage, but green was pulling ahead ever so slightly.

C’mon, Alex, you got this. Her fists clenched as the race neared its conclusion. Don’t let this guy beat you out! He’s got nothing on you!

The blue-clad runner crossed the finish line. A few seconds later, he was followed by green and then Alex. Each slowed from a run to a jog to a walk over the next few yards. Alex laced his fingers behind his head as his breathing returned to a more reasonable rate.

Kaitlyn found herself slightly disappointed. She really thought that her friend would have managed some last minute burst of energy to bring him ahead, maybe even launch him to first. Still, he did get third. That’s pretty good, right?

She walked over to the finish line. By this point, more runners were making their way down the home stretch, Aside from a few frontrunners, the guys were much more closely packed now. Whole clusters rounded the corner at a time, the path becoming a sputtering faucet of athletes.

As she approached, she noticed that she wasn’t the first from her team to get there. Coach was already slapping Alex on the back heartily. She winced slightly at that. Coach was a big fellow, and she was sure that any one of those impacts would have sent her stumbling. Luckily, Alex was made of far sturdier stuff, grinning at the old man.

The female team members were also gathered around with wide grins and shouts of encouragement. They evidently hadn’t started running quite yet. One tossed over a bottle of sports drink, which Alex caught and gratefully took a few gulps of. As rest of the men’s team finished the race, they too joined the red mob and bumped fists with each other as they recovered.

Kaitlyn stopped at the fringes of the group, looking on. Most were celebrating or otherwise pleased. A few guys wore looks of frustration prompting nods or a brief exchange between their friends. Alex in particular seemed to gravitate towards those guys. His shoulder slaps and infectious grin didn’t completely alleviate the disappointment, but Kaitlyn definitely saw a few softened expressions as the bronze-skinned athlete turned away.

She continued to observe from the outskirts as the group migrated towards the tent. It felt wrong to insert herself into the festivities. She was bareilly part of the team, after all.

Maybe I can congratulate Alex later. Seems like he’s pretty in the thick of it right now. Next time we’re walking together, maybe.

With that resolved, she smiled from afar at the tangle of celebrating athletes.

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