2 JUST A DROP OF WATER knows how hard we’ve been working He’s sure to name us team captains it’s only fair and the only reason I’m letting Sam drag me along To top it all off we’re going to crush Palmetto Ridge Middle and Tyler Montgomery this year That’s why I keep running The trees block out the sun but the air is still sticky It feels like a hundred degrees and my shirt’s soaked Dodging a tree limb I pant I HATE YOU I know Jake You tell me every day Maybe I’ll let you win since it’s your birthday Or not He laughs and sprints ahead of me My eyes dart up and down and side to side try ing to navigate the forest maze As the woods thin out the redness of the school track peeks through the edge o(cid:78) the tree line (cid:41) s(cid:85)ooth r(cid:93)n (cid:41) painted finish line I speed up The rest of the team is way behind as usual in cluding Kirk Steiner He’s the only other eighth grader on the team and he’s new and fast though not as fast as Sam and me Okay maybe a little faster but still Sam and I have been on the team since sixth grade and we’re going to lead it this year Kirk hangs back with the seventh graders for our runs If he tried I’m sure he’d be able to keep pace with Sam and me up front but he likes to show off He stays back and then blows us away at the last minute
KERRY O’MALLEY CERRA 3 Leaves crunch under my feet as I just about exit the woods Before I pass the last tree Sam pops out and ambushes me So predictable I shout We wrestle each other to the ground Sam’s solid like a cannon and I’m more like a bayonet Doesn’t matter though we’re almost always opposites I’m faster but Sam can run longer I have blonde hair blue eyes and pale skin Sam’s got dark hair brown eyes and brown skin He can throw a bomb of a pass in football and I’m the best receiver We make a great team Together we’re unstoppable Sam pins me I squirm to the left break free and (cid:198)ip hi(cid:85) to the side He shakes dirt from his hair Nice move Sweat drips into my eye and I wipe it with my sleeve I’ve been saving that one just for you The team passes us and Sam looks at his watch Come on You’re gonna be late for your own party Dinner at home with Grandma and Sam’s family is hardly a party but it’s all I want this year Well that and tickets to a Philadelphia Eagles game In Philly We scramble to our feet With the team ahead of us Sam and I take off We got this I yell as we streak by them Sam taps Kirk on the back as he passes him Race ya
4 JUST A DROP OF WATER That’s all Kirk needs to hear He pulls away from the group and speeds toward us faster than a blitzkrieg attack The air’s so humid I feel like I’m in a foggy bath room I breathe in deep Sam’s usually ahead of me by now but our wrestling match gave us an even start at the edge of the woods There are no more holes No roots No branches This is the part I’m good at I pump my ar(cid:85)s harder and e(cid:96)tend (cid:85)(cid:97) le(cid:79)s co(cid:85)pletel(cid:97) (cid:49) a(cid:85) (cid:198)(cid:97)in(cid:79) (cid:42)(cid:93)t so is (cid:51)ir(cid:83) Steps (cid:78)ro(cid:85) the finish line he and (cid:49) are tied so I stretch my neck out hoping the inches are enough to beat him but they’re not Kirk’s legs are longer He’s like a machine like someone clicks an autopilot button and he just goes Kirk wins (cid:49) finall(cid:97) beat Sa(cid:85) (cid:78)or the first ti(cid:85)e since (cid:95)e(cid:188)(cid:94)e been running cross country only to end up in sec ond place anyway Crazy I have to give Kirk props though he totally killed that Sam and I are going to have to train harder we can’t let the new kid show us up I lace my hands on top of my head and pace Sam’s hunched over trying to catch his breath but Kirk’s barely winded One of the seventh graders says That was awe some It looked like you guys were running from a gator or something
KERRY O’MALLEY CERRA 5 Sam and I crack up When we were six he and I saw a baby gator on the bank of the canal down the street from our houses I wasn’t supposed to go there I wasn’t even supposed to leave my fenced-in backyard but Sam and I snuck out because we were sure there were subma rine spies in that water The little gator was just lying in the sun Then all of a sudden a momma gator shot out of the water and hissed at us We took off I’d never been so scared in my life I’m pretty sure if we’d been chased by a gator today Sam and I would have beaten Kirk Coach Rehart clicks the stop-watch as the last kid comes in He scribbles some stuff on his clipboard Jake that was one of your better runs Great job S(cid:93)(cid:85)(cid:85)er trainin(cid:79) paid o(cid:78)(cid:78) Sa(cid:85) (cid:79)i(cid:94)es (cid:85)e a hi(cid:79)h fi(cid:94)e (cid:43)oach (cid:198)ips a paper o(cid:94)er then loo(cid:83)s at Sa(cid:85) (cid:185)Sa(cid:85)eed(cid:39) Care to explain The only time anyone calls Sam Sameed is on the first da(cid:97) o(cid:78) school (cid:95)hen teachers don(cid:188)t (cid:97)et (cid:83)no(cid:95) he(cid:188)s just Sam Or when his Dad’s mad at him Sam shrugs I tripped in the woods and lost time Good thing he’s a quick thinker Coach sighs Then he turns and pats Kirk’s shoul der Good time kid A little over the numbers that your old coach sent me but you’re probably still adjusting to our humidity Kirk nods
