Orange Sky at Third Mile

My palms were sweating so bad I could barely grip the plastic water bottle. Tryouts for the cross country team were in ten minutes, and here I was, chugging this mango-vitamin water like it would magically transform me into someone who actually knew how to run.

"You good?" Maya asked from beside me, flipping her dark hair over her shoulder like it was nothing. Maya, who ran like the wind and whose Instagram posts consisted entirely of aesthetic sunrise pics and jogging selfies.

"Yeah," I lied. "Just hydrating."

The truth was, I'd only started running because my crush, Jordan, was on the team. And because my therapist said I needed something that was "just for me"—something that wasn't about grades or college apps or whatever my parents were currently stressing about.

The track stretched out before us, lined with palm trees that looked ridiculously cinematic against the orange sunset. California really was extra like that.

"Whatever happens," Maya said, stretching her hamstrings, "you showed up. That's more than most people do."

Coach blew the whistle. My stomach did that thing where it simultaneously wanted to escape my body and also never exist again.

We started running.

The first mile was okay. The second mile sucked. By the third mile, I was definitely going to die, but I kept going anyway because something weird was happening—I wasn't last. I wasn't first, obviously, but I wasn't last.

Jordan ran past me at one point, their orange shoes flashing bright against the track, and they didn't even look tired. They just looked like they were exactly where they belonged.

That's when it hit me: maybe that's what running was about. Not being the fastest or the best, but finding that place where your feet know exactly what to do, where your lungs burn but your brain finally shuts up.

I crossed the finish line, my hair plastered to my forehead, my legs trembling, and I actually smiled.

"Not bad for a first-timer," Jordan said afterward, handing me a vitamin water. "Same time tomorrow?"

And just like that, I realized I might actually be a runner after all.