Chapter 9 - First Day 4

Chapter 9 - First Day 4

"Go!" Coach Kamarul shouted after he blew the whistle.

Every Form 4 student from Pendeta Za'ba started running.

Some of them wanted to finish fast and thus, went fast forward leaving many behind.

Some decided to conserve their energy by running slow in the beginning and fast towards the end.

But some decided to give up and took their time running as they knew they would not be able to get in the time range no matter what they did.

Haikal and Badrul were in the third group. They knew they had no chance to enter the time range and thus did what was within their ability.

Rather than trying to show off and fail miserably, it was better to take time doing this. It was not something achievable in a matter of a few minutes by doing their best. They would need a few weeks at least to be able to run 2km in 15 minutes. More so for those who never went for a serious run.

These three groups of students were the newbies. The experienced students seemed to have no problem with this. They were not rushing and running steadily.

Although their run looked slow when compared to the first group of students, when the first laps almost ended, they were already in front of the first group.

The first group of students on the other hand was walking while wheezing. They had already run out of steam and the second group was also getting nearer to them. They wanted to sprint forward leaving the second group but they could not do so.

At the start of the second lap, the second group overtook some of the first group while the experienced students were already halfway through the second lap.

Haikal and Badrul on the other hand took their time. They were running for a bit and stopped when they felt they could not go on. When their breathing stabilized a bit, they would continue running.

The duo and one other student were the last in the school at the moment. They finished the first lap and as they were halfway through the second lap, the experienced group overtook them.

Badrul was super shocked. 'How are they so fast???' He questioned his mind. He wanted to talk but decided not to because he wanted to conserve his energy.

Badrul looked at Haikal and saw his friend was focusing at the front. As the experienced group passed them, he saw Haikal staring at them.

'They look different when running compared to me and Badrul,' Haikal thought while staring at them. 'What is the difference between us?' he kept staring but once they were too far away from him, he focused on running again.

'Is he daydreaming again?' Badrul thought. He was used to seeing Haikal staring at something for a long time. He once asked Haikal about this and Haikal replied that he was thinking.

However, Badrul did not believe him. He looked like he was daydreaming rather than thinking. There were a few times when the teacher cancelled a class, Haikal would stare at something for almost half an hour without moving.

Rather than thinking about something, it was more like daydreaming. He felt that Haikal gave that excuse because it was embarrassing to get caught by someone.

Still, he was used to Haikal's antics and decided to keep quiet.

The duo started walking towards the end of the second lap and continued at the start of the third lap. On the third lap, although they were trying their best, Haikal and Badrul reached their limit.

For the rest of the third lap, they were walking. It was fast walking but got slower as they continued further. When they felt like they had some energy, they would run but that did not last long. About 70 metres later, they started walking again.

When they were at the end of the third lap, the experienced group passed by them and completed their fourth lap.

The first group and second groups of students were in the middle of the fourth lap. The experienced group had overtaken them too. They were scattered everywhere on the track but still in front of Haikal and Badrul.

The duo finished the third lap and started the fourth lap while the experienced group had overtaken the first and second group again leaving them in the dust.

A few minutes later. Adib, the talented guy finished the 5 laps in 10 minutes and 15 seconds. The second person was behind him for another 3 seconds. Muaz was the fifth person to finish in 10 minutes and 25 seconds.

All of the experienced students finished their 5 laps 400m run in under 11 minutes.

"Are you guys in the Sports Stream too?" Coach Kamarul asked the seven experienced students.

Five of them nodded including Adib while the other two shook their heads and Muaz was one of the two.

"Will the five of you go pro? Or are you guys aiming for a sports-related career?" Coach Kamarul asked.

The sports-related career mentioned by Kamarul was a job like a coach, rehabilitation expert, sports manager, and so on.

"I am going pro," Adib replied confidently.

"Depends. There are too many talents in football and thus, I am here trying my luck. I heard that if you have experience in any ball-related sports, you can do well in Shooter Ball," another guy said.

"You are right. Anyone who plays football, basketball, and baseball will be able to do well in Shooter Ball but as with many other sports, talent and hard work is important too," Coach Kamarul spoke.

"I will try until Form 6. If my future is bright in this, I will become a pro athlete. If not, I will further my studies," another student spoke.

The others spoke of their plan too but Muaz kept silent. Kamarul did not force him to talk either.

Coach Kamarul focused on the students running on the track while the experienced students moved around and stretched their bodies a bit as they did not want to cool down.

On the fifth lap of the other students, no one was running anymore and they were walking. It was not a fast walk but a really slow one.

They had reached their limit. Breaking their limit like those from the cartoon show? Impossible as their energy had been depleted a lot. Moreover, their body was sore all over.

Haikal and Badrul were in the middle of everyone who was still on the track. Luckily they were not the last ones.

The duo had the same fate too. They had run out of energy to even walk fast. All they could do was walk slowly.

They were drenched in sweat. Wheezing for air. Sore all over their body. Their eyes were darting everywhere too.

As they neared the end of the fifth lap, someone fell on the track and started whining. He did not want to continue running and wanted to quit this club.

When the others saw that guy, they frowned. They were not brat but that guy acted like a 5-year-old brat. Even a 5-year-old brat was not as infuriating as that guy. At least the 5-year-old brat was still quite cute but a grown teenager acting like that was disgusting.

Haikal saw that guy and they shook their heads and decided to ignore him. After that, they finished their fifth lap.