Chapter 32:Fun Run

After what felt like an eternity, the class finally ended. Charmel breathed a sigh of relief, grateful that another class was over. Her mind was preoccupied with thoughts of her upcoming date with Oliver later that evening.

As she packed her things and stood up to leave, she heard Kai's voice behind her. "Hey, Charmel." Charmel swung around to look at him, trying not to show her irritation at being interrupted. "What?" she asked, her tone sharper than she intended.

Kai raised an eyebrow at her tone. "Whoah, someone's in a mood. Forget to brush your hair today?"

Charmel rolled her eyes, annoyed at his teasing. "Ha ha, very funny. Can you not be annoying for five minutes?"

"Fun run is coming" Chika's sudden announcement startled Charmel, and her eyes widened in surprise. "Fun run?" she repeated.

Leo, who was just packing up her books, looked equally baffled. "Fun run? What are you talking about, Chika?"

Chika shrugged, a mischievous glimmer in her eyes. "The teachers just announced it. Tomorrow, they're organizing a fun run as part of the festival preparations."

"Well that's mean all student will be participating" Leo said

Kai chuckled, already picturing the chaos the event would cause. "Heh, sounds like we're going to see a lot of tired and exhausted students tomorrow. Should be entertaining to watch."

Charmel, however, was not thrilled with the idea. "Ugh, I hate running. I'm not looking forward to this at all."

Leo chuckled at Charmel's complaint. "Oh, come on, Charmel. It's just a little bit of running. It won't be that bad."

Chika chimed in as well, a sly grin on her face. "Yeah, and you might even end up third place."

Kai thought for a moment before answering. "I think the starting line is near to the amusement park."

Chika nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I heard it's going to start from there. We all need to report there before the race begins."

Chika pulled out a piece of paper with the details printed on it. "The run will start at the school track at 9 a.m. Wear P.E uniform."

Charmel groaned again. "Great. So, we have to start early in the morning, wear our sweaty P.E uniforms, and run around like a bunch of maniacs. Just what I wanted to do tomorrow."

"You always find something to complain about," Kai teased, grinning at Charmel's irritation. "Can't you just enjoy things once in a while?"

Charmel shot him a glare. "Bite me."

The next day, Charmel woke up feeling less than enthusiastic about the fun run. The thought of running around a track in a sweaty uniform with dozens of other students was not appealing to her at all.

She reluctantly got dressed in her P.E uniform and made her way to the school track, mentally preparing herself for the ordeal ahead. When she arrived at the track, she saw the other members of her group already assembled, waiting for the race to begin. Kai and Leo were engaged in an animated conversation, while Chika was stretching and preparing herself.

Charmel walked over to them, her lack of enthusiasm evident in her body language. "I can't believe we're actually doing this," she muttered.

Kai looked up from his conversation and smirked at Charmel's grumpy expression. "Ah, sleepyhead finally showed up, huh?"

Charmel rolled her eyes, not in the mood to entertain his banter. "Yeah, yeah, I'm here. Can we just get this over with already?"

Leo chuckled, amused by Charmel's disgruntled attitude. "Don't pout too much. It might make your face freeze that way."

Chika finished her stretching and turned to Charmel with a smile. "Chin up. It's just a fun run. It won't kill you."

"Yeah, fun walk." As Charmel continued to grumble, the teacher in charge of the event approached the group of students. "Listen up, everyone!" he called out, commanding the attention of the assembled students.

The chatter subsided, and everyone turned to face him, ready for instructions. "Good morning, everyone," the teacher began, his voice booming. "Welcome to our school's annual fun run event. I hope you're all geared up and ready to go."

There were a few groans and muttered responses from the students, reflecting the collective lack of enthusiasm Charmel was feeling. The teacher chose to ignore the complaining and continued his speech. "The route for the race is fairly simple. You'll start here in Amusement park, run around a few times, then finish back to the school. Remember, this is a fun run, not a professional competition."

Charmel couldn't help but roll her eyes at the teacher's attempt to inspire enthusiasm.

"We'll have water stations stationed along the route, so make sure to stay hydrated. And most importantly, have fun!"

The teacher's concluding remark was met with a mix of groans and chuckles. Everyone was well aware that the fun run was more of a mandatory activity than an actual enjoyable event.

"Alright, now that I've given the instructions, let's get this race started!" the teacher exclaimed, trying to inject some excitement into the atmosphere.

The students began to line up along the starting line, forming a somewhat disorganized array of uniforms and expectant faces. Charmel positioned herself among the students, standing next to her group. Kai and Leo were chatting casually, while Chika was quietly focused, bouncing on her toes.

As the teacher shouted, "On your marks, get set, go!" Charmel braced herself for the start of the race.As soon as the starting gun sounded, Charmel watched as most of the students sprinted forward, desperate to gain an early lead in the race. She, however, had another plan in mind.

With a nonchalant stride, Charmel began walking slowly along the route. She knew she wouldn't win the competition, so she figured she might as well take it easy and conserve her energy.

As Charmel walked, she observed the chaos around her. Most of the students were running at full speed, their faces flushed with determination.

She couldn't help but chuckle at their competitive spirit. They were all taking the race way too seriously for what it was meant to be - a fun event.

Charmel, in her leisurely stroll, noticed something that caught her attention - a Seven Eleven store on the side of the road.

Her eyes lit up, a mischievous grin forming on her face. "Perfect." she whispered to herself. Glancing around, Charmel noticed that the teacher overseeing the race was distracted, monitoring the leading runners further ahead. It seemed like the perfect opportunity for a quick detour.

With a sly smile, Charmel veered off the path and approached the Seven Eleven store. Stepping into the store, Charmel spotted Lila leaning against one of the counters, panting heavily. Her face was flushed red from exhaustion, and her hair was sticking to her sweaty forehead.

"Hey," Charmel greeted casually, sauntering up to Lila. "You look tired. Run out of steam already, have you?"

Lila looked up at Charmel, her chest heaving as she caught her breath. "Ugh, this is...the stupidest...idea...ever." she gasped out, leaning back against the counter again. "Whoever came up with this race...is a sadist."

Charmel chuckled, leaning against the counter next to Lila. "Yeah, it's not exactly the most fun event, is it?" she agreed. "I didn't feel like running, so I figured I'd take a little detour."

Charmel sauntered around the store, perusing the shelves for snacks. Her eyes fell on a display of drinks and chips, and an idea formed in her mind.

She quickly grabbed a selection of beverages and a few bags of different types of chips and brought them to the counter. She placed them down with a satisfied grin.

Lila, still catching her breath, looked at Charmel and the assortment of snacks she had laid out. She raised an eyebrow in surprise. "You're planning to eat all that? You're going to get sick, you know."

Charmel chuckled, picking up one of the bags of chips. "Oh, I don't plan on eating all of this now," she replied. "I'll enjoy them while walking."

She popped the chips into her mouth and crunched on them, the flavors exploding in her mouth.

Charmel resumed her leisurely walk, her arms laden with the snacks she had purchased. As she made her way back onto the race route, she noticed that most of the runners had already gone way ahead.

She shrugged and continued walking, munching on her chips nonchalantly.

Charmel strolled along the path, feeling content with her decision to enjoy herself instead of stressing about the race. She watched as the other students sprinted past her, their faces red and dripping with sweat.