"The favourite Blue Rose is third!" Kokoro said.
"All the competitors are close to each other," Satoshi said, nodding approvingly. "It's important not to do a rushed move and lose all that stamina in the middle of the race."
"Croissant Crest still holds the first place; she is ahead by one length, but she seems very comfortable holding this advantage."
"On the tail of the group on the other side, we have Sasuga Carrot. She seems a little panicked!" Satoshi said with a laugh."
"It's hard to get back to a good position if you get pushed to the back," Said Kokoro while nodding. "And in last place we have Happy Meek, she looks calm for now."
"Did she give up because of the late start?" Asked Satoshi with theatrical expertise.
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'I can hear you boofon!' I thought as I kept running.
Every step, I could feel the water splashing from the turf. When I watched Flashy's race, it felt as if it was over in a heartbeat, but now that we have just passed the 300-meter mark, it felt like an eternity.
But during this time, I realized something... every time I looked to the sides with the hope of going ahead, a red light appeared in my field of view... and something in my mind, like instincts, told me it wasn't the right time.
'Maybe it's my only skill warning... I'm going to trust! I can win this!'
The sight of all the other girls was amazing, they were giving it their all, every one of them wanted to win, all of them had their own dreams and goals, they wanted to take the gold home and be cheered for that. The cold rain falling upon me helps me keep focused, and also masks the lonely tear that falls from my cheek.
'I'm sorry, girls.' My mind began to lock in as I saw the sign 900-meter mark, 'But this one it's mine!'
It's the middle of the race.
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"Why is this happening?" Flashy covered her eyes, for some reason Meek started late again, and the rest of the umas were blocking her path ahead... 'And they are already in the middle of the race! This is bad!'
Flashy didn't have that kind of experience; most of the time, she was at the leading pack, and being last in a race was something that only happened in her nightmares the only time she lost a race like that when she was a kid was because she had gone outside to play when she was sick and had to be brought to the hospital back then. She looked at Aoi with teary eyes.
'Whoa, she looks cute with that look in her raincoat,' Thought Aoi, but she tilted her head. "The race ain't over, Flashy, you need to trust in Meek."
"Run Meek!" Someone screamed right to their side, a girl, an uma with pink hair and a cute pastel pink raincoat, "You can do it! Run!"
Haru Urara came to cheer for her friend as she had promised yesterday. Most of the people had laughed when she declared she wanted to run in the Arima Kinen; most told them it was impossible, but only Meek and her trainer had told her she could do it, so she would trust Meek too.
"Put more guts into it!" Gold Ship cheered nearby, followed by McQueen, who had been dragged here.
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"We are at the midpoint of the race!" Kokoro announced.
"The leading pack is fighting neck to neck to push forward!" Satoshi announced, "Croissant Crest seems a little tired! Maybe she pushed too much to keep the lead too early."
"Since the impeccable display of Flashy, most of the front-runners have tried the same strategy; only a few have succeeded." Kokoro responded, "But it's part of the learning curve, learning to know their own limits."
"Ooooh! Blue Rose is making her move! She is first! But Croissant fights over it, passing her again! They are fighting hard for the leading spot!"
"If Happy Meek wants to make her move, now is the time, or she might just as well surrender."
"She can't do it, the way ahead it's too closed for her to recover some ground, and as a result she keeps lagging back at the end of the pack."
"Will this be a comeback for the ages?"
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I kept waiting for my chance while getting annoyed by the comments, but from the crowd I heard people calling my name, I closed my eyes for a fraction of a second... maybe I was wrong? Did I lose my chance already? I should have tried to power through already!?
'Aaaah Im so done!'
And then, while panicking, the previous red light turned green for a moment, the rest of the racers entered the final curve, but it was on an Uphill! Their stamina was almost depleted. I was very surprised.
"I can't!!" Cried out one, and then another.
And so I missed the green light, it was brief, and I wasn't ready for it, then the light that was guiding me turned yellow.
'It's now or never!' I thought moving to the side, the uphill was a pain, it burned my legs like choarchoal "Aaaaaaaaaah!!! There is no way I'm losing!!!"
My sudden outburst seemed to startle the other girls a little; they had nearly given up, but my making my move so late somewhat gave them the guts to try to keep going. Then I felt it. A sudden surge of power, I could feel the turf under my feet propelling me.
"Orraaaaaahh!" I screamed, filled with resolve as thunder cracked through the sky.
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"We are at the homestretch! 200 meters left!" Kokoro announced, but her voice was muffled by the thunder.
"Happy Meek passed Sasuga Carrot... She is making her move from the outside!" Satoshi was surprised.
"Sixth, fifth, fourth...!" Kokoro was surprised.
"Happy Meek making a late move! She is overpowering the competition!"
"Happy Meek is third!" Kokoro stood up from her chair. "Can she do it!? Will she do it!? Happy Meek! Happy Meek!? Blue Rose is pushing forward; she hasn't surrendered!"
"HAPPY MEEK!!" Both of them screamed in surprise.
The public wasn't that much like Flashy debut; there weren't big media covering this, but the cheers were strong enough to compete with the thunder.
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"Waaaaaaaaahhh!!!" I screamed. Only a few meters were left, maybe 10 or fewer.
"I won't lose!!!!" Blue Rose was right behind me. One second ago, she had been able to pass the exhausted Croissant, but now her glory had been stolen from her in the last moment.
"Aaaaaaaaaaah!!!" Both of us screamed as we crossed the finish line.
The people were chanting both of our names as I collapsed on my knees after some more meters. I was sweating, I was soaking from all the rain and sweat, and my breath was heavy. But... who won in the end?
Both Blue Rose and I turned our gaze towards the screen; it seems they were checking a photo to learn the truth. I closed my eyes and sighed; it was too good to be true. I lost.
"It's a tie!" Kokoro said, almost yapping, she was surprised to the core.
"I can't believe it! I hadn't seen a tie in a maiden race in years!" Satoshi was surprised.
Both Blue and I looked at each other, surprised, while a reporter, probably the only reporter who wanted to come to this race, jumped to the track and took a photo of our dumb faces. None of us could believe it, and the picture immortalized our disbelief.