What an ambush!

“Toreka wake up!” my older brother yelled, “We’ll be late for Cross Country!” I opened my sleepy eyes to see him staring at me. “Okay, okay. No need to get all worked up. Gosh” I moaned, “ Anyway, the Cross Country is probably postponed today. I hope we don’t have to run. My netball shoes smell gross when they’re wet.” He walked out muttering, “Girls these days”

When I arrived at school I greeted Mr Burt with a Good Morning" - As usual. And he replied, good morning-As usual. But that morning he spoke with a sly grin. Hmm. Principals these days I thought in my mind. I walked in to class to see that everyone was whispering something that sounded like...”Cross Country today!” the speaker yelled. My jaw dropped. My heart sank. Cross Country?? What an ambush! Well, that was certainly unexpected. Maybe Mr.SlyGrin over there tried to capture everyone before they could get out the old “sick note”. I have to admit, teachers can be smart like that.

“Okay” Mr Barks signalled, “Bring in the 10 year old girls.” I panicked. We were going first? My confidence dropped even more. I dragged myself to the starting line. I sighed loudly. “Who cares Reka.” Sylvia said. “We’ll all run together” Mino smiled at me.

“Okay ladies” Mr Burt practically laughed, “ On your marks...” “Oh boy” I groaned. “Get set...” “Remember don’t sprint” Mino quickly said “ BANG” We were off. Most people kept sprinting past. Whereas, I was happily jogging with my friends.

Unfortunately, that little spark of happiness didn’t last for long. This thick icky gooey mud was sticking to my shoes. Great! Absolutely positively great. My shoes would be saturated by the time I finished a quarter of the way there. My shoes would stink, and I knew this would all happen eventually. I was NOT looking forward to the rest of this race. If I came anything other than 10th and upper, my brother would be teasing me the whole walk home. Plus, I’d be walking in my soaked netball shoes. Why does he get the bonus?

My heart skipped a beat when I noticed the race went longer than usual. Oh no. Daniel would be teasing me for sure. But the least I could do is try, even though I knew I was doomed with the curse of older brother’s insults. I loped past Miss Burne and my joy lifted. “Come on Toreka, you can do it!” I told myself as if I were a dog. It sounds ridiculous, but it was a huge help.

Side by side, Seini-Mino and I jogged past Ms Squires, then Miss Lavakula. I enjoyed doing this because they each had a bit of encouragement.

I squinted trying hard to see if any one had crossed the finish line. Sadly, someone had. So my hopes of coming 1st were crushed. I started to slow down because my heart couldn’t take the disappointment. I had to get used to being teased now.

I gathered momentum as I ran through the gates. As soon as I passed the playground I opened up the throttle and the crowd was cheering me on. I crossed the finish line with a boost of enthusiasm.

At the end of the day, I realised that I had survived the Cross Country. And, if you think about it, it wasn’t that bad. Plus, I came 8th, but I still had the smelly netball shoes to look forward to.

The Ultimate Race

Jittery and jumpy, I lined up with all the other competitors. Shivers slithered down my spine. I hopped up and down full of nervous excitement. Quickly I shut my eyes and took a deep breath. “You can do this,” I whispered in my mind.

All of a sudden the clappers sounded and there were flailing arms and legs everywhere. Everyone was jostling for position, wanting to win first place. “Bajeebas, they’re fast!” I whispered to myself. I felt like my legs had turned into jelly, so wobbly.
“Come on Reka! You can do it!” said a voice in my mind. “Doesn’t matter where you come just be proud of yourself.” I had no idea who that was but it sure encouraged me.

As I passed a corner, and then another my muscles ached and mud was squelching under my feet. “You’re really close, don’t give up now,” I murmured to myself. As I gasped for breath I kept asking myself, “Am I able to continue?” My arms felt tired out, my eyes felt like they were burning.

Before long I spotted the finish line and powered ahead wanting to complete the race. I panted and wheezed as I crossed the finish line. It felt like I couldn’t breathe or feel my legs. Coming 6th didn’t matter to me. My task for this year’s cross country was to be able to complete the race no matter where I came - to be proud of the fact that I had finished it with perseverance.

By Toreka