The day of the Fairbright Speed Skating Tournament had finally arrived. Kadijah, her family, and her friends were all at the skate track that morning. The stands were packed with fans.
“You ready for your big race today, Lightning?” asked Dad. He had heard about Damon’s new nickname for Kadijah.
Kadijah smiled. “I was born ready!” she replied and shook her fist in the air triumphantly.
“Can you believe how many skaters are here? There are so many kids in my division that our races had to be split up between this weekend and next weekend!” Kadijah said.
“I had no idea it would be THIS big,” Mom said. “This is so exciting!”
Just then, Trini walked up to Kadijah and the others. “Hey, everybody!”
“Hi, Trini!” Kadijah replied. “Did you come to see me race? It starts in a half hour!”
“Of course! My race doesn’t start till later this afternoon, so my friends and I will be in the stands rooting for you,” Trini said as she pointed over to Stacy, Corey, and Ivy.
“We saved some extra seats if you want to join us!” she said to Kadijah’s parents.
“That’s so nice of you,” said Mom. “And thank you for being such a great help to Kadijah. She has nothing but wonderful things to say about you.”
“You’re welcome,” Trini said. “KC’s very talented, and if she keeps at it, there’s a really good chance that she could go far in speed skating.”
“Let’s go get those seats. Good luck, kiddo!” said Dad.
Damon waved his “Kick It KC!” sign and said, “Break a leg, Stealth Lightning!”
“I think that’s only for theater, Damon,” said Zoey. “What he meant was, knock ’em dead!”
“No matter what happens, we’re proud of you!” said Mom. She gave Kadijah a quick hug before they headed off to their seats.
Kadijah smiled and gave them a big thumbs-up. Then she went to prepare for her race.
“Middle school girls heat six, get ready for the four-hundred meter race!” the announcer said over the speaker system.
Kadijah and four other girls rolled up to the starting line. Kadijah sized up her competition. A tall lanky girl named Leesha, a short muscular girl named Annie, and two average size girls, like Kadijah, lined up beside her. She wasn’t going to rule any of them out. Any one of them could have more experience or more stamina than she had.
But Kadijah knew one thing for certain—none of them had more determination than she did.
I’ll blast out of the gate before they even know what hit them, Kadijah thought, psyching herself up.
“When the pistol fires, begin! Good luck!” said the announcer. “On your mark!”
The girls bent and leaned forward, ready to race.
I’m going to get first place and move on to the next round. Then I’ll advance to the state tournament…
“Get set… ”
Get ready to eat my dust!
Bang! The starter pistol fired, and the racers took off. By the first turn, Kadijah already had a sizable lead on her competition.
“Go, Kadijah, go!” Kadijah heard her mom cheer.
“Pace yourself, KC! You got this!” yelled Trini.
For the first lap, Kadijah held on to the lead, but in the second lap, Annie pulled ahead.
That’s okay, Kadijah thought. I’ll draft behind her for a while, regain my strength, and then I’ll blaze past her!
“Good job, KC! Nice drafting!” yelled Damon.
By the time the skaters started the third lap, Kadijah was still drafting close behind Annie. But the other skaters were catching up. Soon all five skaters were bunched together as they raced. Kadijah was feeling crowded.
That’s okay, she thought. When we hit the fourth turn on this lap, I’ll zoom past the leader and kick it into overdrive for the final lap and an easy win! I beat two high schoolers already—I can definitely beat these middle schoolers.
The speed skaters were still clustered close to each other in the third lap, going at full speed as they headed into the turn.
It’s time for overdrive! Go—
But as Kadijah tried to overtake the leader, she bumped into another skater who was trying to do the same thing.
Then another skater tripped over Kadijah and, like dominoes, all five skaters tumbled to the ground in a major wipeout.
A couple of the girls groaned in pain.
“Is everybody okay?” Kadijah asked as she struggled to sit up.
“We would’ve been if you hadn’t bumped into me,” Annie said.
“You made us trip!” Leesha said.
“This is so embarrassing,” cried another.
Was Kadijah to blame? She wasn’t sure, but either way, she felt awful. She’d ruined her chance.
A ref and a medic rushed over to the girls to make sure they were okay. Besides some scratches and bruised egos, they were all fine, thanks to their safety equipment.
The announcer’s voice blared over the speaker system. “Due to a crash, this race is a scratch. However, no speed skater is disqualified. All skaters in heat six will have another chance next weekend to advance.”
Kadijah slowly got to her feet, then helped another racer up. She gave a deep sigh as she skated slowly off the track.
My first real race, and I blew it, she thought.