Talia's heart pounded in their throat, similar to the way their shoes were pounding on the asphalt, paved road next to a grassy soccer field.
Entirely different sounds, but difficult to distinguish from all the noise- noise, noise, noise. That was the right way to call it, when you don't know what it is. Just plain noise. Of everything in the world that felt like screaming at that very certain moment.
It wasn't that hard to keep a steady pace. They were out the gate from the trail and nearly to the track, running running running. Never stopping. That was just their mindset. It started in little pieces, little breaks, but by this meet, they had been running without stopping. That was the point, wasn't it?
It was odd to them, however- how the crowd seemed to be slowly dispersing. It was still loud though- specifically where the stands, the bleachers were. Where the finish line was. The screaming was constant, and that was alarming. It made their heartbeat go up, higher and higher.
But still, they kept their pace in check. Not too fast, and not too slow, they still wanted to make a PR.
"Almost there." They mumbled. There was no one behind them, was there? It was just their footsteps they heard.
'Don't even bother looking behind. Focus on passing up the others.' Their mother's voice echoed in their head.
"Almost there." They huffed again, moving one foot after the other. One after the other. That was enough to distract themself, at least for a little while. At least until they made it back to the track.
Once Talia had finished, she knew she was wrong about everything. The crowd wasn't screaming. They were cheering! Cheering for her!
She caught her breath as she finished the final sprint, ripping her sticker off of her shorts to hand to the man in front of her.
She didn't know the danger in her way until it nearly bit her face off.
(a/n: ayyyyyy first update chunk thingy. Haha. Ik it's short, I was busy 2day... lol i should have written this last night. I’m hoping that I can get this on before I have to go to bed but who knows, Dad might still be studying. Wtv, I figure I can still access my email from the ol linux :) – 10:06 pm, 8/27/25 - edited again on 8/29/25)