After getting into our positions, Arianne took the start. The baton clenched in her hand while Robert, Anathasia, and I waited at our marks. A few classmates stayed behind to watch our quick practice, so we asked one of them to signal the start.
"On your marks," a girl from our department called. "Get set…"
She raised the starting pistol.
A beat.
BANG!
Arianne bolted.
Each step made it look like she was gliding across the track, graceful, calculated.
She's fast…
No, she looked like an actual athlete.
Before I could properly register it, Robert had already started his run as Arianne closed in on the second leg.
The baton switched hands, and he immediately picked up speed.
A little over a hundred meters…
I reached one hand behind me, preparing for the exchange. For a split second, I saw him surge forward—
—and suddenly, he was almost on top of me.
?! What the—
I started moving as well, arm still stretched back.
He's way too fast for someone of his size.
As he passed the baton, he leaned in just enough for me to hear it.
"Go. Show me Professor Wang's favorite student isn't just about brains."
I glanced back at him in disbelief as the baton landed in my hand.
What the hell was that supposed to mean?
I didn't dwell on it.
I bolted toward the anchor, Anathasia, already waiting a few hundred meters ahead.
My legs felt heavier than usual, the burn creeping in faster than I expected.
Guess I really haven't been running much since college started.
Still, I pushed through.
—
After the practice run, all four of us regrouped near the bleachers where our classmates were waiting.
What the hell was that supposed to mean earlier…?
Suddenly, Anathasia ran up behind me and bumped into my back, burying her face against my shirt.
—or more accurately, wiping the sweat off her face with it.
"Kyaa~ that was exhausting," she said, stepping away and falling into step beside me.
"…must be nice, huh," I smiled. "Using your boyfriend's shirt as a towel."
She just smiled back, an innocent expression slipping into place.
"By the way," she added. "Did they check the time?"
I glanced toward the bleachers where Arianne, Robert, and the rest of the class were gathered.
Even from here—
"What the hell, dude? You looked like an Olympic athlete back there," one of the guys laughed, patting Robert on the back.
Robert smiled, then glanced toward Anathasia and me as we approached.
"I'd argue Miss Dunaleff was the one who shortened our time by a large margin."
His gaze drifted back to the others.
Arianne, meanwhile, jogged over, waving a hand over her head.
"A minute and forty-three seconds," she said, slowing to a walk. "That's our time."
"Not bad," I nodded, then glanced at Anathasia.
I agree with Robert… she really did shave off a lot of time. It barely took her thirty seconds.
She noticed my look and raised an eyebrow, still tying her shoes.
"What?"
My eyes narrowed.
"Did you…?"
Instead of looking away, her gaze simply flattened.
"I may look fragile," she sighed, "but I'm still fairly athletic, y'know?"
"Really now?"
She stood, patting her shorts.
[My body's optimized, duh. I'm quite literally an Outer God.]
I went silent, then glanced back toward our classmates by the bleachers.
[That's fair… I would've noticed if you did anything sketchy.]
She shrugged casually.
['Course I don't need conceptual manipulation for something this simple. My physical body's already adapted to almost everything.]
"I'll be heading off now," Arianne suddenly spoke up, cutting through my internal exchange with Anathasia. "Take care."
She gave a small wave before turning away.
"Mhm. Take care," I nodded, watching her leave.
"Careful on your way home," Anathasia added, then glanced back at me. "Guess we'll head home as well?"
I looked at her.
"Yeah, we should—"
"Ah, you two!" a classmate called out, making us both turn. "Already heading home? Why the rush?"
He grinned.
"Robert said he's treating everyone to dinner. You two coming?"
Anathasia and I exchanged a glance.
[Sounds like a waste of time…] her expression flattened again.
[Couldn't agree more… but for courtesy reasons, I guess. Let's avoid staying too late though.]
[Ugh… I'm not tired or anything, but I can already see at least three possible timelines where they start asking about us, like Arianne did back then.]
She buried her face in her hands, stepping behind me and using me as some sort of… meat shield.
"…right," I whispered, keeping my smile as the others watched us. "How about we just humor them for a bit, then head home immediately?"
She went silent, then nodded subtly.
I raised a hand, waving at the group.
"We'll catch up in a bit. Anathasia and I still need to change."
"Alright then," he replied. "Don't be late, okay?"
I kept smiling as they turned away, while Anathasia continued grumbling under her breath behind me.
—
After changing, everyone else was already waiting by the road near the gate when we walked out.
…Ah crap. I wasn't actually planning on coming if they went ahead. So much for making an excuse…
Also, why does it feel like there are more of them now…?
Just as we passed through the gate, one guy from the group turned and spotted us.
"Ah, there you are. What took you guys so long?"
"Hey, hey," another chimed in with a grin. "Couples need their private time too, you know?"
[…Are teens usually like this?] Anathasia spoke, her calm facade intact, though I could feel the mental gagging behind it.
[Pretty much,] I sighed. [Hormones. Curiosity. Lack of shame. It's just how it is.]
She didn't reply after that. Instead, she stuck close to me, occasionally retreating into her phone as we joined the group.
Even so, the glances didn't stop.
People walking ahead kept stealing looks back at us, not even bothering to hide their curiosity.
Seriously…?
The walk to Robert's place was anything but quiet. Constant chatter from the front, laughter I barely registered, and a few guys whose eyes lingered on Anathasia just a bit too long.
Each time, she met their gaze with a flat glare.
That was enough to make them look away immediately.
Still, something twisted in my stomach. A faint sense of unease I couldn't quite place.
Eventually, we arrived at Robert's house. A fairly modern place. Not all that different from where Anathasia and I lived.
…I thought we were eating out. Why are we at his place?
Things blurred together after that.
By the time it registered, Anathasia and I were standing off to the side of the living room while everyone else partied. Clothes were draped over couches. Music thumped from somewhere deeper inside the house. Through the glass doors, I could see people in swimsuits clustered around the pool in the backyard.
The sharp sting of alcohol hit my nose.
Some were already staggering as they walked, laughing too loud and leaning too close. Even Robert looked unsteady, slouched on the couch with a drink in hand as he talked about sports with a few others.
"Yeah," Anathasia muttered, her voice flat. "We shouldn't have come."
I ran a hand through my hair and exhaled.
"That's on me," I said quietly. "I should've shut it down."
We stood there for a few seconds longer than we should've.
Then we looked at each other.
"Let's go?"
"Let's go," I nodded.
We turned toward the exit.
Anathasia stepped slightly ahead of me—
—and suddenly, a pair of hands grabbed my waist.
My body reacted before my mind did.
I twisted and drove my elbow back hard.
There was a dull thud as the guy hit the floor, followed by a low groan.
"Ow… bastard…"
"Oh shit—"
"'Oh shit,' indeed." Anathasia stepped past me.
Before anyone could react, she brought her heel down sharply against the side of his head.
His nose bled instantly.
A few seconds later, his body went slack. Dead asleep.
"Pfft. He was actually aiming for me," she said calmly, brushing her hands together. "Too bad I noticed."
I glanced down at him. The bleeding had already slowed, almost unnaturally so.
"…Won't this cause trouble?"
"Nah." She waved it off. "He's drunk. And I tweaked his memories a bit while you were checking on him."
Anathasia glanced around, then back at me.
"Everyone's drunk anyway, and I'll just nudge their perception here and there if anyone saw."
She turned, grabbed my hand, and started pulling me toward the door.
"We're safe."
She didn't look back.
"Let's go home."