Mika Hayashi's Arc

Chapter 1 of 1

Mika Hayashi came early to every game to catch Brennor Skills alone. All season she had flirted with the All Stars captain between drills, and all season he had smiled back. Today she planned to finally ask him to walk her home. She stretched by the marked lanes of the track field, high ponytail swinging, panda crest bright on her jacket. Then she saw why the plan was already dead. Brennor stood near the shaped little tree at the field's edge. Stella Brightwood stood pressed to his side. Stella's calf-length blond hair caught the light, her glasses pushed up, one hand hooked around his arm. She had noticed Brennor's wandering eye. Now she never left it. For a week Mika had tried to reach him. Every time, Stella appeared first. She would laugh loud, tug his sleeve, steer him off. Mika could not get within ten feet. So Mika stopped trying to be quiet. She jogged straight over, ponytail flying. "Brennor. Walk a lap with me. I want to show you my pace." Stella did not flinch. "He's busy." "He can talk." Mika kept her eyes on Brennor. "You've watched me run all season. So run." Brennor looked at her. His smoky eyes held for one long second. "I want to." He stopped, corrected himself. "I've wanted to. All season." Stella's hand tightened on his arm. That was when Lindsey Lunarly arrived, phone already out, yellow star crest on her jacket, a shopping bag swinging from her wrist. She was Stella's best friend, and she read the scene in one glance. "Stella. Trip list's due today." Lindsey's voice was flat and final. "You promised me an answer. Now." Stella did not move. "Later." "There is no later." Lindsey held up the phone. "You're either on the list or you're off it. I close it in five minutes." Mika saw the crack open. Stella ran the group's vibe. Lindsey ran the list. And Lindsey was pulling rank. Stella turned her head toward Lindsey. Just for a moment, her grip loosened. Mika grabbed Brennor's wrist and pulled. "One lap. Come on." He went. They broke into a jog, then a real run, side by side down the clean lanes. Behind them Stella's voice climbed. "Brennor." He did not turn. At the far curve Mika slowed. Her heart slammed. Brennor was breathing hard, grinning. "You run every morning," he said. "I noticed. I never said it." "Say it now." "I’ve been wanting to run with you" He caught himself. "That's the truth. It's a problem." It was. Across the field Stella watched them finish the lap together. She was not laughing now. She let go of the little tree branch she'd been holding and walked straight toward the two of them, calm and fast. Mika had gotten to Brennor at last. She had also just made an enemy who never lost.