I glanced at the time on my phone, and it read 5:46 PM. I had been laying in bed for the past 2 and a half hours plotting on how to murder my sister....hhh okay that's not what I was thinking but I was spit balling ideas on how to keep Lapis's attention away from Squari. I thought about our previous conversations from earlier, and Lapis seemed to be interested when Squari started talking about being involved in sports - so I decided to join a sport to grab Lapis's attention. How hard can it be?

-The Next Day-

First thing this morning I looked into the clubs and sports they had going on for our university, and track seemed like the simplest one - I mean it's just running. So I made arrangements to meet the coach and my first day of practice was this afternoon. I made sure that I was prepared and packed a bag with a shit ton of water bottles and other things. I heard Lapis walk in through the front door, and I continued packing, not looking back once. 

"What're you doing?" Lapis asked in an amused tone of voice. I stood up, facing her, and puffed my chest a little for extra confidence. "Lapis, I have officially joined the Beach City track team, and my first practice is this afternoon. It'll probably just be a warm up for me though." I bragged, praying that Lapis wouldn't see through my fragile ego. "Oh really?" Lapis asked, raising an eyebrow. Yeah, she's not buying it. "Well, looks like you'll have to show me your amazing speed at the track meet this weekend~" Lapis said.

Wait was that a flirt? WAIT THIS WEEKEND?! "Wait, th-this weekend?" I asked, my confidence now dissipating. "Well, you just joined, right? You joined pretty late in the season and literally just in time for their first track meet, so yes this weekend." Lapis explained, crossing her arms. "Oh! Haha! I knew that, Lazuli! This'll be a breeze. I can't wait to have my opponents eat my dust!" I said, secretly screeching on the inside. "Good. I'm glad you decided to join something, Peri. And remember we're going on that camping trip after the track meet." she said, and with that, she plopped down onto her bed and pulled her phone out.

Ah shit, I forgot about that. Ugh. I picked up my bag, and took a deep breath. "I'll see ya later, Lapis!" I said, and walked out the front door. "Ciao." I heard Lapis mutter in reply before the door closed behind me. I walked down the hallway and through the front doors, in the direction of the track.

. . . .

I arrived and noticed a lot of fit-looking girls were stretching, warming up and talking on the track. I also noticed one of the girls to be Sapphire. She is one of my friends that Garnet introduced us to, and she's really quiet and patient for the most part. She has long, light blue dyed hair with bangs that covered her eyes. Her height was on the short side, because she reached only a couple inches shorter than me. Sapphire is also known for being together with Ruby, aka one of the quarterbacks for the varsity football team.

In fact, they're both actually really popular around here, and it's been like that since middle school. Sapphire is in like a hundred different things, for instance she's a cheerleader, a track runner apparently, she was the high school student council president two years in a row, and the treasurer for the other two, she's in the tennis club, the chess club and those are just the things off the top of my head. Ruby is just known for football, but she's in the jocks group with my brother Jasper and the other meatheads, so she's pretty popular too.

You cannot separate Ruby and Sapphire. They were literally made for each other, and there's never a football game Sapphire didn't go to watch, or a speech, or tennis match, or whatever other big event Ruby didn't go to see Sapphire in. They were voted the cutest couple in high school like 3 years in a row, and no one sees anything breaking them apart anytime soon.

Anyways, the rest of the girls I didn't know too well on the track team. I ran into the locker room and set my bag down. I changed into a gray t-shirt and black basketball shorts, and I made sure my shoes were tied on tight. I tried putting my hair into a ponytail, but it wouldn't stay, so I just slicked it back and picked my bag back up. I ran back onto the track and set my bag on the bleachers. I stepped down and walked up to the group of girls and waited for the coach to come.

"Hello, Peridot. Good to see you joining something." Sapphire said quietly. "Yeah, I thought why not, ya know? Heh..." I replied, feeling myself sweat already. "I sense that you're doing this to impress someone?" she asked suddenly. "What? Pfff no...what makes you think that?" I asked nervously, already knowing she caught me red-handed. "It's not like you to join such a vigorous sport like this, and there are few reasons for someone like you to do something like this. Either you just want to try something new, or you're doing it to get attention and impress someone. And I know you wouldn't try something new just like that." Sapphire explained. Damn she's good. 

"Well I...whatever! You don't know that!" I argued, and Sapphire just giggled. "ALRIGHT LISTEN UP, LADIES!!" a voice boomed, which startled me big time. I turned around and looked at the coach, and I immediately recognized her as Amethyst's mom. She has big fluffy hair similar to Amethyst's, only hers was almost a black color, and she had a really bulky frame. Her cool-looking sunglasses covered her dark eyes and she had these scary looking sharp teeth. "We're gonna be doin' pyramids and bleachers today!" she announced.

Everybody around me groaned, and I just looked around at them. What are pyramids? What are bleachers? Does she mean the bleachers over there? I looked over at the bleachers on the sidelines. "Coach S, do we have to?!" a girl groaned. "Yup! Complain again and I'll have you do 'em twice!" she scolded. "She's just too much." another girl muttered, and the coach walked up to her. The girl's posture immediately straightened and her eyes grew wide. The large coach got in her face and bared her sharp teeth. "Maybe you're just too little." Coach S spat, pointing a large finger in her face. Damn, now I remember why I stopped going over to Amethyst's. 

"Now get moving!!!" Coach S shouted, and the girls immediately started running to the start line, and I followed. The coach then walked up to me and studied me for a moment. "U-uh, hi Ms. Sugilite. N-Nice to see you again..." I said in a trembly voice. "Ah, Peridot. Been a while, eh? Look at you, you haven't changed a bit. You only grew about what, half an inch since the last time I saw you?" she said, followed by a loud laugh. "Just yankin' your chain, Peri. Anyways, welcome to hell, girl!" the coach said in her booming voice again, holding her arms out.

"What are pyramids and bleachers?" I asked, and the girls gave me a surprised look on their faces. "Hahahaha! Oh, Peridot. You have so much to learn. Pyramids consist of four four-hundreds, three three-hundreds, two two-hundreds, and one one-hundred. Bleachers are a surprise for later." she explained. Four hundreds? Three hundreds? Two hundreds? One hundred? I don't know these terms...ugh I'm so confused. 

Sapphire noticed my confused expression and leaned toward me. "We have to run four hundred meters four times, three hundred meters three times, two hundred meters two times, and a hundred meter dash." She whispered to me, and I felt the blood drain from my face. "WHAT?! THAT'S THREE THOUSAND METERS!!!" I shouted, and everyone looked at me once again. I then felt my face heat up again, and the coach just gave me a smirk. "Everyone at the starting line?! Alrighty then!" she shouted, and blew her whistle. 

All the girls dashed off down the track and my legs sprung forward to follow. I was running at my fastest speed and closing my eyes, balling my fists. Inhale, exhale. Inhale, exhale. Inhale, exhale. Inhale, exhale. The run seemed quiet, and I realized that the girls must've been much ore ahead of me. I opened my eyes and saw no one in front of me, and my stomach dropped, realizing that they were that far ahead. 

However, to my surprise, I heard footsteps behind me, and I turned my head to look back for a second. Oh my stars. ALL of the girls were way behind me, and I was way ahead and faster than them. I felt a huge grin on my face as I looked forward again, and pushed harder to pick up speed. "HahahaHAA!!" I let out a laugh of triumph as the finishing line came up. I passed it and internally cheered so loudly as I bent over to catch my breath. "This really is gonna be a breeze." 

. . . .

"JESUS FUCKING CHRIST END MY SUFFERING!!!" I screeched as drool ran down my chin and sweat and dry tears covered my face. My lungs ached and I was practically wheezing as my legs were barely moving after the other down the track. The rest of the girls running beside me were groaning and sobbing in agony. You'd think the cool breeze of the end of fall would help but it honestly made my lungs ache even more. It felt like they were literally freezing up, forcing whatever oxygen I had left to leave my system and only be replaced with fucking ice.

We had ran 2,700 of the meters needed, and I was so close to calling it quits. I felt like collapsing then and there, and not getting up for the rest of my life. We arrived at the finish line, and had 100 more meters before we were done. "Alright, girls. Fast and hard, ya hear me? I want you to power through this one! It's not that long at all!" Coach S said, holding up her whistle. Easy for you to say you elepha--TWEEEEEEEEETTT!!!

"aaauuughhhhhh!!" all the girls groaned, including me. I closed my eyes and looked down, noticing how satisfying it looked to just lay down on it right now. Come on Peridot. Do it for Lapis. DO IT TO BEAT SQUARI. Before I knew it, I reached the finish, and screeched in agony/relief. I flopped onto my back on the hard ground and panted loudly, not caring if any of the girls stared at my sprawled out, exhausted self. 

"Get up, Peridot! We're doin' bleachers now! EVERYBODY TO THE FOOTBALL STADIUM!!" Coach shouted, and I wanted to die. What could bleachers possibly be? Hopefully just sitting on them. "Wait, but the bleachers are over there." I said, pointing to the metal bleachers on the sidelines. "Nah, those are the baby bleachers. I'm takin' you to the real bleachers." the coach replied, and I didn't like the tone of her voice.

We walked all the way to the football stadium, and I looked around, knowing I've never actually been to it. "Alright ladies. Get ready. You know the drill." the coach said, and the girls groaned for like 567th time today. "As for you Peridot, bleachers are running up and down these stairs until I say so. Got it?" Coach S explained, and I looked at the stairs in complete terror. The stairs reached all the way up the seats in the stadium, and I felt tears filling my eyes. 

. . . . 

"How was your first day of practice?" Lapis asked, looking up from her notebook. "I-it was great. P-pretty tiring, but ya know, when is it not? Heh.." I shakily replied, and slowly moved my aching legs to the bathroom. I closed the door behind me and locked it, looking in the mirror. I turned the shower on all the way to hot, and quickly stripped my clothes off. I stepped into the steamy shower and stared at the wall inside for a moment. I then slammed my head against it, and dry sobbed.