Next time will be first

"There is someone who has been watching us for a while."

Whispering, Joey leaned back in his seat, having managed to identify the supervisor after the number of students between the gaps in the desks had decreased.

Chris asked with increasing curiosity, "Who are you talking about? Do you mean the janitor over there?"

Joey replied cautiously: "Over there, at that table in the corner near the second support column from the third row. That girl sitting with a notebook and a pen in her hand. I think she's been watching us since the beginning of the day."

Chris replied with a surprised tone: "Do you mean LilM?" Or the girl sitting across from her? Amy? Yes, do you mean Amy or LilM?

He then added, "Amy and her friend LilM were sitting close to each other the whole time during breakfast, and they were about to leave as the bell was about to ring."

Joey replied somewhat nervously, "I know, I know! Lower your voice, you idiot. I mean Amy. She was watching us since we were talking in the morning, on the bus. Don't you think that's strange?"

Chris took it with some amusement and said, "Maybe that Amy has a crush on you, or maybe on one of us, not excluding Alex or David who is currently absent. I remember you said this has been happening to you for about a month, right? Since your first days at school."

Chris replied after a moment with a serious face: "What's strange about a beautiful girl watching us? Maybe she's interested in me or something like that."

And also, recently we have been causing a lot of disturbance here and there, especially when we talk about the Perry Agency and the like. People have the right to judge our actions.

Chris quickly forgot about the matter, and Joey logically followed suit after a while.

As for Alex, who was used to the quiet, he was watching LilM as she left the cafeteria behind Amy, while

His heart is being slowly crushed.

Alex thought it was time to leave, as the bell had rung signaling their next class, until...

That girl, with her two friends, broke the moment's tranquility by banging the table with both her palms forcefully in front of them. It seemed that the table itself was about to complain from the excessive banging. Then she repeated in a loud, defiant voice:

"What do you think about finishing what we started? Our race around the basketball court inside the gym? Or are you afraid of losing, Morris Kaines?"

She said that while standing between her two friends, who looked tired from chasing her all morning.

Joey and the others knew that girl well, with her haughty tone and constant complaints about her old race with Joey. She held a grudge because of her crushing defeat against him when he outperformed the fastest person in her age group during gym class on his first day at school.

Joe smiled defiantly and replied to her:

"I was just waiting for you to ask me. I thought you had forgotten about it and accepted your defeat. How about we go to the sports arena now? I'll prove to you once again that victory will be on my side."

Everyone easily recognized the girl and her two friends. Jennifer was on her left, while Chloe, the challenger, stood with a broad smile.

Chloe replied with a tone full of confidence:

"Don't be arrogant, Joe. In our discussion today, I'll make you regret your arrogance, and you won't be able to outsmart me."

Meanwhile, Alex was watching the scene in astonishment. He asked himself quietly:

Since when did Joey and Chloe become friends?

Alex couldn't understand the contradiction in the events before him. He was used to seeing Chloe constantly bully Joey and his kind, especially since the beginning of this winter, and now she seemed to be eagerly competing with him.

Chris, sipping his juice with a cheerful smile, said sarcastically:

"I don't know, but everything started when Joey arrived. He met Jonathan in gym class, and that's where the first challenge began. Jonathan won decisively, but Chloe didn't like it. She stood defiantly and said, 'We'll race again, no one decides the outcome but me!'"

And since that day, they haven't stopped competing. Sometimes Jonathan wins, and sometimes Chloe snatches victory from him. In every class, the same scene repeats itself.

Then he laughed and added sarcastically:

"And today? Who knows... will they finally end this argument, or will their race remain endless?"

###

Some students gathered during the five-minute break between classes. Chloe and Joey decided to settle their argument during this short break. Amy took off her heavy blue jacket and gave it to her friend Jennifer, while she did some stretches to warm up. On the other side, Joey did the same near Chris, who bid him farewell and went to sit next to Alex among the seats distributed inside the gym.

The echoes of the countdown reverberated in the open space. With the echo of the number "one," Joey and Chloe shot off like arrows from the starting line. The crowd cheered Chloe's name enthusiastically, but their encouragement did not distract her from her goal, especially Delir, who shouted Chloe's name loudly and clearly without shame.

Chloe moves steadily, overtaking Joey with calculated steps at the first curve, but he remains behind her, like a shadow that never leaves her. Her breaths quickened, and she whispered between her inhales and exhales, weighing them without argument: "I've trained every morning since the last time we raced... I won't lose to him again."

With every step, her muscles were weighed down by fatigue, but she did not give up. On the other side, Joey was gradually increasing his speed. His eyes shone with determination, closing them for a moment of psychological rest he thought he wouldn't draw strength from: "Just a little more... I must hold on... just a little left." He caught a glimpse of the finish line while Chloe was five steps ahead of him.

They approached the finish line. In a decisive moment, Joey managed to overtake Chloe, his feet pounding the ground until he surpassed her and crossed the finish line first. The silence that enveloped the place for a moment turned into thunderous cheers when Joey overtook Chloe and crossed the finish line with a dry throat.

Drops of sweat were falling from Chloe's face as she gasped, looking at Joey with a gaze that combined overwhelming frustration and astonishment: "Damn... I was so close to winning... Damn."

The students gathered around them, and all eyes were on Joey, who stood exhausted, wiping the sweat from his forehead with his arm. He extended his hand to Chloe to help her up and said in a hoarse voice, "It was a great race, Chloe. You pushed me to my limits."

She couldn't complain or grumble. She requested a race and got it, whether she lost or won, and that is what made her cheeks flush with a slight sense of inadequacy.

Chloe smiled wearily and extended her hand with a sportsmanlike spirit, saying, biting her lip with stiff sadness: "Next time, it will be me crossing the finish line."

To the end first.