“Move, Melanie,” I mutter, pushing past her. I need to go home. I don’t know why everyone suddenly thinks I suck because of a relay race. It isn’t my fault our team lost.
We have practice again tomorrow, but we’re not doing another relay. We’re focusing on what we’re good at and I can’t wait for it so I can show Foster and Melanie what I’m really made of.
Kendall and Janine are in line to fill out the form. I decide to go to the restroom before grabbing my things and waiting for them on the track.
Making my way down the hall, I follow the signs to the restrooms until I see a door with the women’s sign above it.
I head for it and start to push on the wooden door, but then I hear someone whisper-hissing.
Hesitant, I keep going down the hall and past the bathroom as the voices grow louder. I pop my head around the corner and spot two familiar people. Torres and Foster.
“She’s going to make a mockery of this team!” Foster snaps. “If she’s the best she needs to act like the best! I won’t stand for any excuses from her! Hamilton never should have picked her up anyway!”
“Well Hamilton did pick her up, you ignorant bitch, so deal with it! If I see you talk to her or any of the girls on the team like that again, I swear I’ll tell Hamilton and the college dean all about it. I won’t stand around while you flaunt your blatant racism.”
Oh, my God. Wait. Are they talking about me?
“She was a bad pick. I don’t care what the news or other coaches say about her. She doesn’t fit in at Bennett University. We have a reputation to uphold. She throws it off and everybody knows it, they just aren’t saying it. Think about some of our team donors. They’ll take one look at her and may not ever donate again.”
“No, I think what you’re trying to say is because she’s black, that she doesn’t fit in at Bennett University. Same as when you said that a coach like me doesn’t belong at Bennett University. Let me tell you something, Anna,” Torres growls as he steps closer to her, pointing a finger at her face. “Shit is changing. The world is evolving. You want to be filled with hate and be mad that people with skin like Lakes are actually talented, then you do that, but it won’t be around me. I’ve held my tongue before for your sake, but what you did today was out of line and I won’t let it happen again, not on my watch. People like you…you make me fucking sick and I’m not putting up with it.” Footsteps start up in my direction. I gasp and rush back to the restroom, pushing the door open, slipping inside, and then leaning against it. “Leave Lakes alone or I promise I’ll have your ass fired for discrimination,” I hear Torres call out, and then I hear his footsteps moving past the restroom.
I work hard to swallow, looking around the restroom with four stalls made of white walls and white tiles. I go into one of the stalls and lock it, and that’s when I realize my hands and legs are shaking. My throat feels thick with unshed tears.
I quickly finish in the restroom, wash my hands, and go back to the locker rooms. The locker room is empty, so I grab my bag and then take the hall that leads to the field. I spot the team walking toward the exit of the track, Kendall, and Janine at the front of the crowd.
I start to catch up to them, but I come to an immediate stop. Something inside of me whispers to wait—to take a moment and breathe.
I look around the track, then the paint on the football field. My emotions are running high, my limbs tighter. I glance to my right. The team has left. It’s just me, and something about that both terrifies and exhilarates me.
It’s just me on this track, standing beneath the beaming stadium lights. That relay race really got to me, and now hearing how Foster really feels about me is just too much.
I think right now I need to do the one thing I was born to do. The one thing that has always cleared my mind of all the bullshit I’ve faced.
I drop my gym bag and walk to one of the white lines, pressing the tips of my fingers to the red rubber track. I lower to a lunge, the tip of my left shoe grounded into the track. My head tilts down as I get into proper formation. I count down from three in my own head.
3…2…1…
And then I take off.
The wind is instant and my speed invigorates me. I’ve made up my mind to do one quick lap around the track. One lap that frees my mind for now and clears up the emotion. One lap to better help me understand what the hell I’ve just put myself into.