What Had He Missed?

After the 100-meter race preliminaries, the 1500-meter race began.

Everyone in Jiao Yuan's class knew the person running the race was the bad kid who supposedly fought a lot and skipped class regularly. They didn't quite want to cheer for him, but this was the only event that morning. The 100-meter race was in the afternoon.

Most of their classmates were chatting and gossiping, only Jiao Yuan's little group surrounded Fu Lei. Fu Lei did not care if the rest of his class cheered for him. They were irrelevant in his eyes.

Zheng Tan laid sideways on his wall. The world was turned ninety degrees. Sometimes the wind tickled his fur, so he twitched his ears.

The race had just begun. Fu Lei hadn't managed to put distance between himself and the rest of the contestants. The runners ran in a line on the innermost lane. Fu Lei was near the back, but Zheng Tan could tell he wasn't nervous.

No a lot of people cheered during the first lap. Slowly, however, during the second and third lap, the athletes were not running so close to each other anymore. The people in their classes were starting to worry.

By the third lap, some of the runners dropped out; others managed to keep running slowly in the back.

Fu Lei was fifth in the group. His classmates were getting excited. If he got fifth, they still can get four points.

By the fourth lap, people were cheering like mad. The school tracks were three hundred something meters long. They needed to run four laps and a bit to complete the 1500 meters. Many of the runners liked to sprint during the last lap. First place and second place were starting their end spurt. People behind him were picking up speed as well, except Fu Lei.

When he was about to be surpassed, his classmates started to worry. Most of them couldn't sit on the bleachers and watch anymore. They all moved to the side of the tracks and started cheering for him.

Zheng Tan looked towards Jiao Yuan. His little group were growing red in the face but managed to stay quiet. They waited until Fu Lei started to speed up to start yelling. They were cheering with such might that it looked like they wanted to run in his place.

The finish line was being set up. Fu Lei was running faster and faster. Fourth place and third place were feeling the pressure. They wanted to speed up more but just couldn't do it.

Jiao Yuan started chanting Fu Lei's name, the rest of his classmates followed his move. Shi Rui ran onto the commander's post and took the announcer's microphone. The announcers glared at her, but she didn't care.

Some of the eighth and ninth graders cheered with them but had to ask who Fu Lei was.

Someone told them that, judging by the cheers, he was either one of the top two or the guy running ahead from behind like his life depended on it.

For the first time in his life, Fu Lei felt validated. He listened to all those people cheering for him.

It was the first time his name was yelled out by so many people without disdain or contempt; he was instead the hope of the class.

He used to scoff at the concept of collective honor. However, today he understood it. It was real, and he felt it. Some things matured with time. There was no need to do anything, or express anything.

He felt the passion for winning again. It was like he was back in his village dojo and he was pinning for the wooden cup. This time it was for something greater though.

Zheng Tan watched Fu Lei pass the person in second place. He was still going and closing in on the person running in first place.

He really was something, Zheng Tan thought to himself.

Zheng Tan heard Jiao Yuan mention that two of the athletes competing in the race were members of the school's sports club. They were probably the two kids running in first and second place.

Class one was cheering louder than ever. They couldn't control their emotions. Everyone was drawn to the race and was cheering.

An announcer tried to take the microphone back from Shi Rui, but she turned and managed to avoid the person's hand. Some of the other classes were complaining that the school broadcasters were favoring class one. They were the real victims here! They didn't try to take back the microphone again; Shi Rui was clearly not letting go.

Zheng Tan chuckled then looked back to the tracks. It was the last fifty meters.

The student who managed to be first for most of the race was sprinting like he hadn't already run 1450 meters. No wonder he made varsity. However, Fu Lei still ran past him and won by two steps.

He didn't manage to break any records, but winning first place was surprising enough to his classmates that they cheered and cheered. None of them thought they could even come close to winning.

Zheng Tan watched as Fu Lei left the tracks surrounded by his classmates and shook his tail.

This was a good start.

The race was the first actual event of the day, and they had won. Their classroom teacher was looking at Fu Lei with such a calm smile that he felt shivers. He was much more used to her being serious.

The hundred meter finals began.

Those that did well left like a hero surrounded by people. Those that didn't make it in the top eight were a different story.

Zheng Tan went home at noon. He needed to have lunch with Youzi. He came back in the afternoon. Fu Lei still had the 800-meter race in the afternoon. He had a tough day ahead.

Besides Fu Lei, Xiong Xiong and Lan Tianzhu were competing too. There were lots of events in the afternoon, but Zheng Tan was only interested in the ones that involved people he knew.

Mama Jiao watched the family cat leave before taking all the kids, including Fu Lei, to the faculty cafeteria.

When Zheng Tan came in the afternoon, the tournament had already begun. He jumped onto his wall and stretched. He liked the spot. No one could block his view.

Xiong Xiong got second place in the shot put contest and was deeply upset about it. Besides, when he was cheering for his friends, he kept a straight face. Su An and Lan Tianzhu participated in long-jump and high-jump and did ok. They didn't make it into the top three but still came in fourth and fifth.

As for the 800-meters, Fu Lei came in third. His classmates had told him to take it easy because of what had happened that morning. The 1500 meters race had probably made him quite tired. Third place was enough for the class to be happy. They were still first in their year on the scoreboard.

Zheng Tan went home early. He didn't wait for Jiao Yuan and Mama Jiao. The boys had to stay for a bit longer.

That night Jiao Yuan described today's events to Youzi then went to bed early. He had to participate in the 400-meter race and the relay tomorrow.

The next day the whole family went to watch the tournament. It was a Saturday, and they all deserved some rest.

Zheng Tan sat with the family on the bleachers. Most of the parents from the quarters were there.

Jiao Yuan came in second in his group during the preliminaries and made it to the finals. The entire group went out for lunch that day. Fu Lei's parents didn't come, but he was brought along to the restaurant.

The kids discussed the upcoming relay and changed their tactics.

They measured the distance every runner had to run. The school had made a mistake and the second runner had to run a longer length. They decided to have Fu Lei go second and have Jiao Yuan who was also quite fast go last.

Jiao Yuan came in third in the 400-meter finals. He was quite satisfied with himself. He had come in second in his group and fifth among all in the preliminaries. Being third meant he had performed better than in the morning.

When every other event had ended, that meant the last and most important race was about to start.

The girls of their class had the highest points among all the classes and were probably going to do very well in the women's relay. The boys were ranked second in points.

Everyone in their class wished the boys would do well in the relay so they would finish with two first places. Even their homeroom teacher promised to buy them basketballs and other sports equipment if they came in first.

Zheng Tan sat on Papa Jiao's shoulder. The race had begun. Fu Lei was excellent at sprinting, he managed to give them a significant advantage.

Some of the other classes were making mistakes, but all of the runners were trying their best.

The afternoon sun was warm, and the race was heating up.

Zheng Tan squinted his eyes in the sun.

These two days might have been nothing unusual to some, but to him, it was almost life-changing.

These two days, there weren't good students or bad students. People who were fighting over trivial things the day earlier were helping each other; people who never crossed paths were cheering for each other.

Zheng Tan thought back to when he was this age. He couldn't recall much. The memories were a blur. He remembered there were sports tournaments at his middle school too, but he had managed to miss every single one. He would skip school with his friends and go to the arcade.

He had never thought the event was worth participating. It happened every year after all. He didn't understand why his classmates put in such hard work and cried and laughed. He believed no one would remember a sports tournament that happened in middle school when they went on with their lives.

Now, however, what he thought was boring didn't seem so dull anymore.

Zheng Tan saw Fu Lei wipe a tear when Jiao Yuan helped him to the side of the tracks. He saw Xiong Xiong almost hit a judge when he threw the shot. He saw a long-jumper accidentally jump too hard, causing his pants to fall off.

What did he miss those years?

He looked at his furry paws, then at Jiao Yuan who was running as fast as he could, then at his classmates who were cheering at the finish line.

This time, he was only a bystander. He could watch these kids run, jump, yell and laugh in the sun.

He envied them.

At this age, kids were simple. They didn't think long-term. Their happiness and sadness were pure. They had just started a new chapter of their lives and were doing their best to color it bright.

They might change as they grow older. These kids might learn to wear a mask and hide their emotions, but when they looked back some day in the future, these days would always shine.

Life was too short and so much of it was lost in the tide that is time. The few shining moments that the memory managed to store would be wealth beyond imagination for the years to come.

He felt a pat on his forehead. Zheng Tan looked up. Papa Jiao was looking down at him.

"Charcoal, let's go home."

He took a deep breath and stretched. He yawned while squinting his eyes.

It was time to go home.