**[Mocha's POV]**
Grabbing the baton from Haru-san's hand, I sprinted down the track, using the form I learned from yesterday's practice. Though not perfect, it was enough to increase my speed, so I don't want to waste my friends' efforts on teaching me how to run.
"GO, MOCHA-SAN! GO!!!"
"YOU CAN DO IT, MOCHA-SAN! YOU GOT THIS!!!"
"MOCHA-SAN!! GO!!!"
Cheering me on was my classmates, shouting my name, giving me all their trust as Haru-san set the tone for us to take the lead.
Aside from my family, no one's ever cheered this hard for me before. Having someone have expectations for you isn't a bad feeling.
"GO MOCHA-SAN!! YOU CAN DO IT!!!"
[I don't want to betray their expectations]
As I run through the track, I sense a presence beside me. A girl with a blue headband is slowly catching up to me, overtaking, slowly but surely.
*Faster. Faster! I need to run faster!!*
Even if I'm not first. I just need to hand this baton to Master Yukiya-kun, and the plan of giving Satoru-kun a three-second lead would be within our grasp.
*Yes, if I just maintain my speed like this-*
Just when I thought everything was going well, *tear* the sole of my shoes separated from my feet, throwing me off balance, knocking me down to the ground.
*It hurts...* I probably scraped my knees and my arm. But above all,
"The sole of her shoes separated. Lmao."
"Eh, just when they were picking up momentum, too. Waste off the first girl's lead."
As the other competitors pass me by,
"The red team is done for."
"Hahaha..."
The laughter of people clouded my head, like an annoying static noise that I cannot lower the volume. My legs froze; everyone was laughing at me. I can't breathe. Somebody, help me! take me away from here.
Just when I thought everything was going too well for me, I always mess it up in the end. Would Satoru-kun hate me, as I didn't hold up my part of our deal? Would Haru-san get angry because I wasted her efforts to gain the lead? Would my classmates forgive me for letting them down? ...I'm so pathetic.
[I always forget that I'm not the main character of this world...]
...
"Mo-...san!"
"Mocha...san!"
"MOCHA-SAN!"
Just when I thought all hope was lost, a loud and persistent voice intruded on my static world, so loud that I could no longer ignore it.
"Master Yukiya-kun?" I mumbled, thinking *I've never heard him shout this desperately before.*
My eyes widened as I read his lips, [YOU-CAN-DO-IT.]
Simple words, but that was all that it took to make me stand up, washing away all the noise in my head, working at me as if it were magic.
I don't know if it was the way he said it, or the way he looked concerned, as if desperate. I want to heed his call as the person who has always been there to believe me.
Gritting my teeth, I continued to run, limping, but slowly picking up phase despite the sole of my shoe constantly scraping on the ground as it dangled, almost making me fall with every step I took.
I don't even care how pathetic I looked. All that I know is, *I want to finish this race with everyone!*
[At this moment, a phenomenon called adrenaline took over Mocha-san's body]
Though a little bit later than everyone, I managed to reach the checkpoint and hand the baton to Master Yukiya-kun.
"Please, win," I begged, my words inaudible as I tried to catch my breath.
With only a short glance, Master Yukiya-kun assured me, "Yeah. Leave it up to me."
In a single stride, Master Yukiya-kun picked up speed and quickly caught up with the other runners in a matter of seconds.
As the next runners positioned themselves on the line, "Are you alright, Mocha-san?" Satoru-kun and Haru-san rushed to me with concern, noticing how my knees were slightly bleeding.
"Sorry, I couldn't hold on to our team's lead," I apologized as I tried not to weep, knowing that I messed Satoru-kun's chances of showing off to her girlfriend.
Haru-san then said to me, as if comforting, "Don't worry about it, Mocha-chi. We could always compete next year. And, who would expect your shoes to break like that?"
"This is my mother's shoes." As if being reminded of whose shoes it was I just broke, I got pushed closer to tears thinking how I should apologize to my mother next.
Flustered, "Hey, hey. Who cares about the shoes? As long as we finish, and we know we tried our best, then it's alright. Right?" Haru-san pats my back as if comforting a toddler.
Satoru-kun nodded, "Yeah, as long as we have fun, that's all that matter." He then added, smiling with confidence. "Plus, I don't think we have to wait for a year after all."
I tilted my head, wondering where he was looking. There I saw Master Yukiya-kun, already taking the lead, and he's only accelerating faster and faster.
I don't know what's got into him for trying this hard. The only thing he said to me was "Leave it up to me," as if assuring me.
Why is he pushing himself this hard? SO he could fulfill a friend's promise? To comfort the girl who was on the verge of crying? Or simply cause he just hates the idea of losing? But I never figured out he did it all for the sake of money...
Nearing the end, Master Yukiya-kun left the previous front runner into dust and never looked back.
Having his arms folded behind his head, "Looks like you'll be getting a head start." Suzuki-kun told Satoru-kun, as if taunting.
Satoru-kun simply looked straight, focused on the track as his hand reached from his back, noticing Master Yukiya-kun approaching.
Suzuki-kun took his gaze away, sneering, "You're no fun."
As soon as the baton touched Satoru-kun's hand, he dashed forward, not looking back, with absolute focus on one thing in mind. To win.
Seconds after, the blue team passed their baton, and Suzuki-kun trailed behind Satoru-kun, slowly creeping in as he accelerated faster than Satoru-kun could.
Halfway through the track, Satoru-kun felt a presence trailing behind his back. It's getting closer and closer. And in his mind, he knew it could only be Suzuki-kun.
Closing in on the finish line,
"YOU CAN DO IT!! SATORU-KUN!!!" Sakagami-san, Satoru-kun's girlfriend, shouts, putting all of her trust in him.
As if being possessed by some unknown being, Satoru-kun gained speed and never looked back. With the cheers from his girlfriend and classmates, his chest touched the finish line first, claiming victory for the red team.
"HAAAA!!!" Satoru-kun cried in victory, as his teammates and classmates ran to him to celebrate.
Watching our team celebrate, Master Yukiya-kun put up a smile, scuffing my head, "Nice job out there," he told me.
"Shouldn't we go there and join them?" I pointed, wanting to celebrate with everyone with Satoru-kun's beautiful finish.
Master Yukiya-kun smirked, "Let's just let the main character have his moment." In his mind, *I'm only the supporting character this time around, so I shouldn't stand out as much.*
Maybe he noticed that my knees are injured, and is being considerate, or maybe he just doesn't want to stand out and go through the hassle. Either way, I'm thankful to him for making this a beautiful memory.
After giving Mocha-san first aid, we stopped by at Hitomi-san's tennis preliminaries. Mixed doubles, partnered with Sobano-kun, our vice class representative.
One swing of the racket from Hitomi-san missed; the other sent the racket flying to the stand. Sobano-kun ducked as Hitomi-san almost made a homerun for his head. There was that time when she lost balance, launching her face straight into the chain link fence.
All these clumsy mistakes amounted to their loss; they can no longer advance in Hokkyokusei's tournament matchups starting tomorrow.