What is really necessary in the world? There are three real big things: oxygen, water, and sustenance.461Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsiUNDujhHb
Right now, I didn't have much of all three.461Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu5T0KjrFK6
My heart was pounding. I didn't have the time to wipe the sweat that was running in rivulets down my face. I had been running for the past hour with no let up. I risk the quick glance over my shoulder to check on my pursuers. They were trying, but I was too far ahead. With the last vestiges of strength left in my burning calves, I pushed myself over the finish line.461Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡleNQT4qZbe
"Time!" roared the instructor. "Hurry up, you pansies! Finish up this lap!"461Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1so789Y7eM
I felt my legs slowly giving out. I managed to stumble over to the water cooler where I collapsed under the spigot. As the water poured over my head, I heard someone shambling over to my final resting place.461Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8Kcz4cReJE
"Damn, dude. You probably set a new track record."461Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡahaCOyCL1q
Alex, our school's top athlete and my personal best friend, came over and fell down besides me.461Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeIiV27qWTU
"What, a record on how close someone's been to entering the light?"
He gave a laugh, and sat up.461Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNao04E4ZAf
"But still, how did you piss him off so much? He never makes us run for an hour." Alex's smile turned into a clouded frown.461Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡga6cGylWy6
"Oh, you know," came a sing-song voice from the shade, "Max is always getting into trouble."461Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOKvipEkCpm
"Just shut up, Melissa." I groaned.461Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlvLS1ATVY1
Melissa Achinson. The premier bitch of the school. Everybody hates her. Except for the gym teacher. Everybody knows he sides with the girls about everything, the sexist bastard, but it's pretty funny to hear the rumours of somethin-somethin going on between him and some girl in the locker room.461Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpiy1CIfhT0
"Naughty. Are you being mean to me? I could go tell Mr. Rodriguez." Her grin was wider than the Cheshire Cat's.461Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLnomr90sC9
Alex slowly got up and headed towards her, but the class bell halted his progress. I knew that he was the only one who would take the wrath of Mr. Rodriguez, but punching his favorite student probably would be going over the top.
"Back off, Alex," I warned. "We don't need another reason to get extra laps."461Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmzU65AxJXE
He reluctantly came back to the water cooler where the other runners were. I pulled myself to my feet and the class started walking back towards the locker room.461Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtzWUpcFP2N
"She needs to get hit by a bus," Alex quipped as we walked further away from the track.461Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzRLYR5RvZG
I smiled at the thought. "Or at least break an ankle. That would shut her up."461Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh7lt7uKgnU
I looked back at her posse of lemmings, and just as I did that, my heart felt like it was being crushed. My vision blurred and I grabbed my chest.461Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6pUIV0PR9H
"Yo, you alright?" Alex had his worry face on.461Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY8DY8nnUaV
"I told you, I'm seeing the light."461Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡECpMU8KV8b
He smiled and helped me steady myself. The pain was immense, and I thought I was actually having a heart attack. Then, suddenly, I could see fine. The pain disappeared, and I was back to staring at the bitch patrol.461Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWXkLGKn1zO
I was about to say something when I saw Melissa step wrong. Her foot was suddenly upside down, and a brutal crack echoed around the students, followed by a scream.461Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbxzb8xrafX
Mr. Rodriguez was instantly by her side, asking if she was ok, and checking on her foot. It was quite obvious that is was broken, as we could clearly see bone through the broken skin, but Mr. Rodriguez took his time before admitting that is was, in fact, a pretty nasty fracture.461Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3BwBSaU5DO
Alex had a look of pure glee on his face. "Oh, man. You called it," he kept saying. "You called it. Did you see that? That was friggin' awesome!"461Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7sRhOgytcu
"Dude, calm down. She just stepped wrong."461Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV8oCEJAkEq
"Uh-uh. No. There is no way that an ankle can just turn like that. You had to have done that. You are my hero." He turned towards me and started bowing down.461Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8aZWt6DtpW
I put my elbow into his ribs. "Just shut up. I had nothing to do with that. Let's just go, we still have class.461Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2K7AYuXhGb
It must've been a complete coincidence. There's no other way to explain it.461Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdVYii23mbk
While walking home from school, I reflect on the day. I always do this, mainly to remember what homework I have to do. Today, there's one thing that stands out in my mind.461Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0b3hM7YHgm
"How did she do it?" I asked myself.461Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoUYhGTVQeb
It wasn't everyday when someone turns their ankle upside down, so this was pretty spectacular. Everyone at school knew by lunch, and someone was even able to snap a picture of the gruesome event. I know because it popped up on Twitter. Multiple times.461Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqIV0Wz4US2
I reached the door of my house. I unlocked it and went in.461Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlmVVuyXvge
"K, I'm home!"461Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRekDary6S6
Kaylee, or for me, K, is my little sister. She's a couple of years younger than me, so she goes to middle school. She looks almost exactly like me, but, mentally, we are completely different. I have a few hobbies I'm into. She has more than I care to count.461Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOE3eXkI3Hu
"I hear you broke someone's ankle."461Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJrhix5nbrt
"For God's sake, that wasn't me." It was frustrating having everyone congratulate me for doing something that can't be done by a human.461Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQQuZCfjRCs
"Well, anyway, good job on that," she congratulated me.461Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCtwzDj5Mwq
I found her lying in front of the tv, watching some foreign cartoon.461Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpG1Gx9vGAa
"Can you not watch that weird stuff when I'm around?"461Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT738NIpt6u
"Please," she begged, "just let me finish this episode. It's the newest episode of Henneko. It just came out." She looked up at me with pleading eyes.461Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4xkP4muznO
"Fine," I sighed. "Did they bring something for dinner?"461Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIbeCa48CrM
K had already turned back to the tv. "Yeah, it looks like chicken."461Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqScAjUckBC
"They" was out parents. They were almost never home. They usually just restocked the fridge and brought dinner for when we got home. We've gotten used to living mostly on our own.461Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVpMjn3IaCD
"I'll be in my room if you need me." I called as I headed up the stairs.461Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZLCnOFtuXG
I reached my room and immediately went to my computer. My computer was my life away from school. After all the work I had put into getting it, it should be my main priority. I logged on and was watching some youtube, checking in with my friends, when I saw an email pop up. It was Alex.461Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4EDuSqJoNQ
Dude, you're famous. Everyone at track was talking about you. You're gonna have a parade when you get back to school.461Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXS7iTZDlAk
I rolled my eyes as I clicked the delete button. I didn't want to deal with the fact that I was now the magical ankle breaker.461Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNsmqgNLeY9
I stayed up in my room for an hour while I watched my cult following grow, then I walked down to the kitchen to get dinner ready. All that I had to do was microwave the chicken, so I decided to start with our side, which, by a random selection, turned out to be broccoli.461Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfI1BBWxLVJ
"Seriously, are we really going to have broccoli?" K complained as I told her the menu.461Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwZRGYRW0NZ
"This is the last of the broccoli. Once we finish it, they won't bring any for a while."461Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkXJ5PJUatw
K's frown lessened as she saw the logic in my plan, and finally, after a good minute, nodded her head.461Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwdczDHJHyu
"Good," I said gently, as if I was talking to my own child, "I'm glad we could agree on this."461Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2LkrZ1aaD8
She rolled her eyes and flipped me off before heading back to the tv.461Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8IqY4rjqSl
I smiled and went back to the kitchen as I finished preparing our dinner.461Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGvMBuczTXM
While I was putting everything on plates, K came back in to help me. She got out the utensils and grabbed her plate of food. I grabbed my plate and followed her out to the couch. We sat in silence as we munched on our food.461Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6UETBggDWA
"Hey, what really happened at the school?"461Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1HFCZx77yi
I looked up from my plate. K had set her plate down and was looking at me with an intent look on her face.461Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGrRDogdluy
"Honestly," I admitted, "I don't know. I was walking with Alex and we were joking about what terrible things could happen to Melissa. I turn around and suddenly she's got a broken ankle."461Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXslX0CRsVw
"I don't think that's all of it." She was looking like a scholar trying to figure out an especially hard problem. "It's just not possible for her to completely flip her ankle. I mean, the foot can't do that. It's not made that way."461Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXY7kuTLyYU
"Well, there has to be some explanation for it. Is not like I had a heart attack and that caused her to break it."461Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdhVUCCkIZN
"Wait," she sat up, "you had a heart attack?"461Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJOt4dDdKW5
"I don't know. It sure as hell felt like one, though."461Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqdcOoNJh7y
She stood up and grabbed her plate. "It might just be me, but I think you have magic powers, bro."461Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUk1YOBXVb0
I made a face. "I've told you a billion times. Don't call me "bro". It feels weird."461Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfCoBBRVRen
"I know," she smiled, "but I'll do it anyway. I got the dishes tonight."461Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBX0om8Jnsx
She picked up my plate and skipped into the kitchen. I sat down and looked through what was playing on tv. The only things that were playing were news, so I switched to our Netflix account. I pulled up a movie and waited for K to finish putting the dishes in the dishwasher. She finished up and came out to the living room, she saw the movie and a smile appeared on her face. It was one that we always used to watch when we were little.461Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4BH53Qg3aE
She crawled onto the the couch and snuggled up against me. I hit the remote and the the familiar credits started appearing on the screen. Even though we had seen it more times than we cared to count, the acting seemed just as fresh.461Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0eJ71yZE5v
We were silent throughout the movie. It was a pleasant flick, and it brought back memories for both of us. When the movie was finally over, we both got up and stretched. I quickly checked the time. It was almost 11.461Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5Hh83w6b7t
"Hey, we still have school tomorrow," I said. "Get ready for bed. I'm going to quickly put the dishes away."461Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9rCZieIHxC
K just nodded as she sleepily rubbed her eyes. I patted her on the head and she went off to her room. I grabbed our plates from the dishwasher and set them back in the cabinet. I could hear K splashing around in the shower, and I thought about how hard it is to function without parents all the time.461Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWQMuWWMYaC
I walked over to my room, where I took off my shirt and threw it in the laundry. I could feel my muscles tightening up as I walked to my own bathroom, where I got in the shower. The hot water pouring over my body did wonders to my worn out calves.461Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8onZ3NwKbI
When I finished with the shower, I brushed my teeth, and walked over to my bed. I got in it and just stared at the ceiling before reaching over and turning off the light. The room plunged into darkness, and all I could do was let sleep overtake my weary body.461Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuioNAiCWSP
