Had a quick bath,raced down stairs to prepare my things for the day and to have a light breakfast.See,that Thursday was the day that I had the cross country competition in my school.So,I had to make sure I was prepared to face the competition.To be truthful,I wasn't really interested to win because unnecessary injuries were the last things I wanted two weeks before my district level athletics championships.I was more keen in seeing my sister win because she had been training hard for the past few weeks.
In school,I walked in with a smile and no tension at all because I had planned to just run for fun and not to compete.Most of my friends misinterpreted my actions thinking that I was super confident of winning. I just kept it cool.I led my sister through the warm up to make sure that she felt good and fit while running.I knew that she really wanted to cement her place as one of the best runners in school.
I started my race with a quick dash to the front keeping in mind that I wanted to only run fast for the first 15 minutes or so.As the race progressed,I realized that the other runners were actually running closely behind me.I immediately understood(from past experiences) that those guys were planning to out run me only at the end.I kinda called a few of them to follow me at the front so that they could push for a faster finish but they were very reluctant to follow my words.
Only when I reached the front gate of my school(about a 150m from the finish line),one of my friends caught up with me and was trying to outrun me.Then,I thought that I could actually win the race if I sprinted because I had the speed endurance advantage(due to training) over him. So,I thought why not and sprinted past him to surprisingly win the unexpected 7.5 km course with an averagely slow timing of 30 minutes.But,that wasn't the best part of the day......
It was the prize giving ceremony.For my category,4 people including me from my close group of friends managed to get a medal.The other 3 were Eong Wei(19),Kathiresu(11) and Sarivin(8).When their respective names were called,my friends and I stood up and clapped for them while ignoring the other spectators who stared weirdly as they didn't arise to clap for the any of the winners.
When it was my turn to receive the gold medal,my friends did something that really WOW-ed every single person who was watching the event that day,including the teachers.As soon as they announced my name,my friends jogged together with me until the edge of the stage where my winners medal was waiting to be placed around my neck.When I stepped down the stage,all my friends stood around me and cheered for me.They chanted supportive words and showed the crowd the true meaning of close friends.
I went back home very tired(7.5 km is a long,long distance for a sprinter) but very happy and delighted.I was,still and always be very proud of my friends who make my day whenever I'm with them.There has not been a time in my life when I've not enjoyed having them by my side.I always look at the stars and wonder how far the universe will go.....but not once have I asked the question-how far would friendship go.......and I never will..........
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