Chapter 15: Worth It

                                    

                                          
The next few weeks went by fast. Sophie's main focus was on running. However, she was still shocked from the Chipotle incident. Fitz had been ignoring Sophie during this time. Sophie had been hoping for an apology or some explanation from him, but nope. Nothing. At least him and Keefe were on good terms again.
                          
Sophie decided not to tell anyone about the incident because she felt that it wasn't her business. Sophie also got a few more snickers and smirks from Stina too. It was torture.
                          
Why did Stina have to catch Sophie? And to top it off, Fitz saw too!
                          
Ugh. Sophie was always at the wrong places, at the wrong time. This was why she was a mistake.
                          
No.
                          
She had to stop thinking like that. If she let those thoughts drown her, she may never come back up to the surface. She was lucky to have Tam and Keefe during her two incidents, but she wouldn't always be so lucky. Keefe did a pretty good job of checking in on her, which is what she loved about him.
                          
Well she didn't love love him...right?
Of course not! Why was she even questioning this?!
                          
Moving on, today was Sophie's first meet. She was so excited. Her coach told her that she had a solid chance of getting first place. Sophie made sure to tell all of her friends to come.
                          
Cross country was all Sophie thought about all day. Soon school ended and it was time for Sophie to get ready. As she was packing up her stuff, a familiar blonde boy came up to her.
                          
"Ready for the big day!" Keefe announced.
                          
"It's not that big," Sophie said, blushing.
                          
"It is for me! I'm the president of the Sophie Foster Fan Club, so any events relating to you are big." Keefe said, with a proud smile.
                          
Once she was done she asked, "see you later?"
                          
"You can count on me," Keefe said, smirking.
                          
***
                          
Breathe. It was going to be fine. Nothing to fuss over.
                          
Sophie didn't understand. Sophie had felt so excited about this all day, but when she was at the actual event, she broke down into nerves. And she felt lots of pressure to do good.
                          
Was this how Keefe felt all the time?
                          
Before she could continue her thoughts, a warm voice cut her off.
                          
"Yo Foster! I can feel your nerves from over here!" Keefe said, running towards her.
                          
She blushed. Keefe had always joked about being able to sense her feelings. Apparently she was that obvious. (Ha! See what I did there!)
                          
"No need for any of that! We all know you're gonna kick everyone's butt today!" Keefe assured.
                          
Sophie sighed. She overreacted with everything.
                          
Then Sophie looked down at her phone. "Wait—Keefe you're 1 hour early," she pointed out.
                          
"I know! But I knew you would need me, so here I am!" He announced proudly.
                          
Sophie giggled. "Okay, but you have half an hour because then I have to start warming up."
                          
"Oki doki! Now what should I do first? Dance?"
                          
Before Sophie could reply he was already wiggling his body. Then he started walking around her in circles.
                          
She laughed, "Ew Keefe! You're dancing is terrible!"
                          
Keefe pretended to be wounded. "That hurts Foster. A guy comes to cheer you up and the first thing you do is criticize his dance moves!"
                          
They went on and on like that until Sophie had to go warm up. He said his goodbye and she thanked him.
                          
Okay...things are getting real.
                          
She took a deep breath. She got this. Before she knew it, the bleachers were already filled up and she had to line up at the starting line. She noticed that all her friends were there except... Fitz.
                          
Wait what? 
                          
She asked him to come even though things were pretty awkward between them. Did he really not care?
                          
Focus Sophie! You have a race to run!
                          
She decided to save those thoughts for later as she got into her starting stance.
                          
The whistle blew and off they went. The coarse she was on was in a forest where there would be lots of obstacles. 
                          
Hills, creeks, mud, trails, leaping over bushes, you name it.
                          
Downhills were always the best. It felt like flying with the cool wind blowing your hair back.
                          
Before Sophie knew it, 2 miles had already gone by. Since it was a race, she pushed herself harder today, therefore she was already getting tired. She felt like taking a break.
                          
She could spare one minute to rest, right?
No! Focus Sophie!
                          
She had to keep going. There were still some pretty fast girls that were ahead of Sophie. She had to pass them up. One by one. That was the key.
                          
Soon she only had one girl in front of her. Not too far ahead, but a solid distance. Sophie was running out of time. There was only a quarter of a mile left.
                          
Push. Glide. Run.
                          
The biggest obstacle was soon to come. It was the biggest hill on the race. A pretty steep one too. The finish line was just past the hill. This was it. Sophie had to start pushing harder now. This was when she would give it all she had.
                          
Faster. Faster. Faster.
                          
She was so close. The girl was only about 10 feet ahead. Sophie could do it. Sophie and the girl were now starting to run up the hill. Sophie was running fast, but not fast enough. Sophie needed more motivation. And then she found her it.
                          
Her parents.
                          
She thought about all the times, when she was little, that they had been there for her. They always cared. They always pushed her to try harder. They always fought with her, by her side. They were her number 1 fans. And with that, Sophie suddenly found some inner turbo speed and ran for her life. Past the girl and past the finish line.
                          
When she was done, she was so sweaty and tired, but it was worth it. She knew that she could win all the races if she fought. Not just cross country, but anything in life. She would fight hard and for her parents.
                          
Any battle was worth fighting for them.