Chapter 3 |3:Out all day

The above picture is who I imagine Daniel as. Sp means» senior prefect.

Flicking her wristwatch, which read ten forty-five.

She walked back into her house informing her mother of her next destination; Daniels house. He's her only childhood friend besides Delilah. They are tenants on same street so his house was a mile away. She strolled along her street, luckily for her the sun hadn't risen much.

She met him outside his house by his porch, playing away on a board game with his mother and two brothers; Micah and Jeremy. By the looks of it, they might had finished their chores and homework.

Daniel was smiling which was a sign he was winning. He knew how to play any and every game you threw at him.

Since Julia had known him he had always been the smartest in his class. The football and volleyball leader of the boys team at school; every student looked up to him as the future Sp in the next year to come.

"Good morning," Julia said, greeting everyone with a cherry smile as they replied her greetings one by one. The young thirty year old woman being the caring mother she is gave her a knowing look.

"How are you and your mother?" Daniels' mother asked her.

"We're fine" Julia said, looking at both Daniel and his mother.

"Daniel I'd like to speak with you."

He was stunned but expected it; she lead him to a side building which had less people and was quiet.

"So your doing skipping and you want me to help" he said, cutting Julia off guard.

"Who told you? How did you know?"

"Which should I answer first?" he said, leaning slant on the wall with his hands in his pockets. His perspired skin glimpsed under the rising sun as his almond brown eyes stared back at her. "What your wearing right now, and we're in the same class"

Then Julia looked down at what she was wearing; now aware she was still in her sweat pants. But even at that, someone must had told him the precise sport she had been put in.

"But your in A, I'm in B" she said, "tell me the truth Daniel, who told you?"

He could see the anger burning deep in her speech - she isn't this confident around others, only her friends and love ones.

"My sources told me."

she frains more, "What sources?"

He squirms at her question, he gave up trying to protect the people who were gossiping Julia's name in School.

"Jessy," he took a dramatic pause, then breathed out "and Mackenzie." he said.

Mackenzie the schools gossip and biggest bully, she and Julia had never been on good terms.

"Jessy!?" she said, with a sad tune. She never expected Jessy to gossip about her; he was a friend of hers.

"Jessy didn't gossip about you even if he wanted to, he just told me how people were bad mouthing you at school." he said

"I'm going to inform my mom before we go."

"Okay,"

Julia watched him go back into his house. She didn't bother asking him what Mackenzie was doing or had gossiped about her, he would just end up telling her one heroic story Mackenzie had feed him.

...ᘛ....

Skipping in belief as she crouched falling to the ground.

Julia had been skipping for an hour or two since they got to her house. Her knees were sore, her face and armpits were bathed with sweat. She had the funk of a dying chicken on Christmas Eve, but Daniel kept pushing her on more.

She got up taking her skips, and skipped another twenty before falling on her butt. She was only able to jump a three, which was a success to her; but a disappointment to him.

"your leg muscles are weak" he pointed out.

Still lying on her back, with the sand coated on her sweat infected arms and legs; she nodded in agreement an stood up.

"I'm trying,"

"Its not enough, when was the last time you ran?"

She thought, while cleaning her sandy body. When was the last time she ran? She remembered been chased by a dog. Maybe that counts, or not.

"You have never ran a race before?"

" I once chased a chicken," she said.

Daniel laughed at the thought. He knew the end of the story, the chicken ended up chasing her. It happened when they were nine years old; the chicken Julias' mother bought for Christmas escaped its cage, and Julia was the only one at home- he came visiting for the Christmas holidays, and found her on their kitchen counter, yelling at the chicken to get back in its cage, but it didn't. Luckily for her, he came at the right time to save the day. The chicken had bitten her, while they had a tom and Jerry episode - she told him all about it, while they treated her wounds.

"A real race"

"A chicken race is a real race. "

She pouts. Two minutes into the conversation, and he was already tired of it so he changed the topic.

"If you can run from here to that tree over there," he said, pointing at a shade tree next to a duplex building. She could see the tree and the storey building, and so could he.

The run was 100metre race, was she willing-she was oblivious by getting a coach; now her problem was the ability to run.

He continued,"Then'll end it for today."

She was willing, scratch that - is willing to run, but was desperately exhausted. She wanted to get this training over and done with, then go home to sleep in her comfortable bed and be buried in her books.

"Okay," she agreed; gathering up her wearied legs, she postured in a running stance.

"On your marks," he counts, feeling an almighty power being bestowed on him.

"Ready?"

She pushed her spin up, and butt down, before he could say the word she was off. She wasn't fast but maintained her speed as a beginner. She ran to the tree and back with great struggle, running towards Daniel panting; she bounced to the ground with a needy look.

"It was okay sha" he said, She was too dehydrated to care.

"Run again, this time I'll run with you" he said helping her get up with a boost. "first person to run to the tree and back, wins."

"What!? No!! run by yourself, abeg I'm tired." she pouts, folding her hands.

" Just try, one run,"

"Just one?"

"Two," he said with a smudged smile.

"Okay,"

He counts again, before running off. Julia taking the lead as they reach the tree.

"I'm faster than you." she said, in her three seconds of glory.

He smiles, before out running her back to the spot they started. Julia swiped her hands in the air like a baby Penguin while panting heavily as they got back.

"Take," he said, giving her a chilled bottled water. She stands straight, removing her hands from her knees in other to take it. She takes the bottled water gulping it all down at one drink.

"Thank you."

"Lets run again." he said.

Julia groaned, but without thinking agreed again, she didn't bother waiting for him to count. She ran towards the tree allowing the small wind to play with her virgin hair as her legs flew in expectance to reach the tree before him. A foreign body collides with hers knocking her to the ground making her eat dirt.

She didn't mind that Daniel had deliberately made her fall. In fact, she giggled all the way. This was the highest amount of exercise she had in a year.

She stops giggling, while Daniel stands up hearing a familiar sound nearby. It was still far, but the honking sound of their blow horn, that they usually use got louder every passing second.

They both looked east then west scouring the area before Julia sighted him.

A black young man riding a two wheel cycle that had a cooler box at front. He rode down the street alarming everyone with the noise he made.