Chapter 1
“Come on, Liv!” someone shouted.
Olivia looked out the window and saw her best friend Jessica waiting for her. Jessica had her foot propped against a tree as she stretched.
“I’m going running with Jessica,” Olivia called to her mother. She tied her running shoes and hurried out the door.
“Hey,” she said, smiling at Jessica. “How’s your knee?”
Jessica had pulled a tendon on the side of her knee a couple weeks ago. This was the first time they’d gone running together since the injury.
Jessica bent forward and reached her fingers toward her foot. “It’s a lot better,” she said. “I think I should be good for the track team tryouts next week. How about you?”
Olivia nodded but didn’t say anything. Jessica had been talking about joining the track team lately, but Olivia wasn’t so sure about it.
The girls finished stretching and set off running. They both stuck to the side of the street. Running on the concrete sidewalk was really hard on their joints. Asphalt was much better.
“Make sure to start slow,” Jessica said. “We have to pace ourselves if we want to do three miles.”
“I know,” Olivia agreed. “I always want to start out so fast.”
The two girls ran without talking for a few minutes. Olivia let her mind empty out, like she usually did when she was running. She felt the steady pounding of her feet on the solid road. Her breathing was deep, but even. She could feel her heart beating steadily.
Up ahead, Olivia saw a long, steep hill. She glanced over at Jessica. “Ready for it?” she asked.
Jessica nodded. “Let’s do it,” she replied. The two friends high-fived and started the climb.
The sun was warm on their backs as they ran up the long hill. Olivia felt her leg muscles working to push her up the steep slope. She pumped her arms smoothly at her sides and kept her breathing steady, pacing herself.
Finally they reached the top of the hill. Olivia and Jessica stopped to rest, bending over with their hands on their knees. They were both breathing heavily.
“Whew!” Jessica said. She swiped her hand across her sweaty forehead. “I hope the track team practices aren’t as hard as that hill. I’m exhausted!”
“So, are you serious about joining the team?” Olivia asked. She walked in a circle with her hands behind her head, trying to catch her breath.
“Totally,” Jessica said. “It’s going to be great. You should do it too.”
“I don’t know,” Olivia said. “I’m more into running for the fun of it. Competing isn’t really for me.”
Jessica gave her a pleading look. “Please! You have to do it! It would be so fun!” she insisted. “We could carpool to practice and train together. It’ll be just like what we do now. Plus, you’re an awesome runner.”
Olivia laughed. Jessica made it sound easy. “You’re so impossible! I can’t believe I’m even thinking about this,” she said.
“Yes!” Jessica cheered. She grabbed Olivia’s hand. “Does this mean you’ll do it? Say yes!”
Olivia hesitated. Oh, why not? she thought. It could be fun.
“Okay, fine,” she said. “I’ll try out. But that doesn’t mean I’ll make it. I probably won’t. I told you, I’m not good at actual competitions.”
Jessica didn’t even seem to hear her. She was too busy jumping up and down and clapping. “Yay!” she hollered. “This is going to be great!”
Olivia smiled. She hoped Jessica was right.