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The Inferno

Daisy was sitting alone on the bleacher while her classmates continued to run laps around the field. She glared at two students slowing down to catch their breath. She scoffed bitterly at them.

“Can't even finish one lap around the field? How pathetic?” She said under her breath.

“Go easy on them, will you? Not all of us can be a star athlete like you?” a voice spoke startling Daisy out of her thoughts. She looked to the side to find a boy smiling at her. She rolled her eyes that is obnoxious smile and ignored him. Her eyes traveled to her left leg, covered with thick plaster and the crutch leaning against her leg.

She had injured her leg while running a few days ago, because of which, she was unable to enjoy one thing she actually liked anymore, running.

“How does it matter that I am amazing at the track, the coach said I can’t run in the opening game,” Daisy stated flatly.

“What? He is not allowing you to run? But that’s crazy,” Jaden exclaimed as he came to sit close to Daisy.

She gave him a passing glare before she scooched to give him more space. Even though he could be annoying, Jaden was her oldest friend. Daisy usually had trouble making friends, and even the ones she made did fall out sooner. It was only Jaden’s persistence that kept their friendship alive. She sighed, her voice becoming low with disappointment.

“The doctor said my leg was fractured from two separate places, and that there could be more issues later. He said I might not be able to run professionally ever again.”

After saying this, Daisy raised her head to look at Jaden and he looked sad, his brows frowned with sympathy. Daisy bristled at his expression and opened her mouth to tell him off when another voice interrupted,

“Jaden, do you have a broken bone too?” the gym teacher shouted as he found him sitting next to Daisy.

Jaden immediately leapt to his feet, “No, sir.”

“ Then run. And how about you cover extra laps for Daisy as well, huh?” the teacher shouted.

Jaden rolled his eyes and turned to give Daisy a last toothy grin before sprinting away, his toned calf muscles shining under his dark skin. Daisy frowned, her eyes landing on her legs again.

“What if I can’t run like that again?”

The thought scared her and she quickly straightened up, her hands pushing the strands of curly tight hair away from er face.

Once the gym class was over, Daisy made her way to the cafeteria alone while others were still changing their sweaty clothes. She walked with the help of her crutches, slower than usual. It didn’t help that the school crowd acted as if they had never learnt any kind of discipline or tasted food before.

They rushed together, ignoring what or we they bumped into. Daisy tried to squeeze herself over to the side but a particularly big guy ran past her, pushing her crutch out of her grasp. She lost her balance and was about to hit the floor when someone held her hand stopping her fall.

“Are you okay?” Jaden asked in concern. He kept a firm grip on her arm as he stooped to pick the crutch. Daisy grabbed the crutch from his hand and violently pulled her arms from his.

“I don’t need help,” Daisy declared angrily.

“Okay, that’s cool,” Jaden said as he backed away, his arms raised in surrender.

Daisy scoffed before turning away from him. She hated feeling vulnerable and the way Jaden had started to treat her as if she was a fragile glass annoyed Daisy to no end. But he wasn’t the only one who was treating her differently. Even her teammates and coach was treating her like a small child. Remembering their pitiful eyes and concerned smiles made Daisy lose her appetite.

She knew if she joined her teammates’ table, they would stop talking about the upcoming game as if they were guilty. Not wanting to deal with this anymore, Daisy decided to skip school. She knew about a back gate that was usually empty and made her way towards it. She had never snuck out of the school befor