---
> I hate sports day.
I hate running. I hate sweating.
But mostly, I hate how Theo and Kai are both in the same relay team… because I can already smell the disaster.
"You're not even trying to hold the baton right," Kai teased, tossing it up like a pencil.
Theo caught it mid-air. "Maybe if you practiced instead of flirting, you'd stop dropping things."
> "Maybe if you smiled more, you wouldn't look like someone canceled your anime subscription," Kai said, grinning.
I stood between them, holding my water bottle like a referee whistle.
> "Boys. Chill. This isn't the Hunger Games."
---
5 minutes before the race
Coach: "Lila, you're in the 100m fun run."
Me: "I'm sorry... fun?"
Cut to: Me tripping over my shoelace at the starting line.
> I landed face-first into grass. Again.
Someone help me I'm a walking blooper reel.
Kai ran over, laughing. "Are you okay or did Earth just miss you that much?"
> "Your face missed my foot, that's what happened," I grumbled.
Theo helped me up. He didn't laugh. He looked like he was ready to carry me home bridal-style.
> "You okay?" he asked softly.
"My dignity's gone, but sure."
---
During the race…
Kai took off like a rocket, baton in hand.
Theo was up next. He took one look at me in the crowd and tripped.
Hard.
Kai: "Bro, what the—"
Theo: "Shut up. My shoelace."
Kai: "It's Velcro."
> I couldn't stop laughing.
But something in Theo's face said it wasn't just about tripping.
> He was jealous.
And he was trying so hard not to be obvious.
---
End of Chapter 2
---