Three Miles & A Mess

My cross country career started with spinach in my teeth.

"You got a little..." Marcus pointed at his own front teeth, barely suppressing a laugh.

I had spent all morning crafting the perfect pre-race smoothie — kale, spinach, banana, basically a salad in a cup. Coach said greens would help me "go the distance." Apparently, they'd also help me go viral. I checked my phone in the cafeteria. Yeah. The photo was already circulating. #GreenTeethGrace had three reposts.

"Whatever." I grabbed my tray. "At least I'm fueling my body properly."

"You're fueling your reputation." Marcus fell into step beside me. "But hey, at least people know your name now."

Marcus was that annoyingly perfect senior — varsity jacket, effortless charm, somehow friends with everyone. We'd been paired as running buddies for the season opener against Northwood, their rival school whose mascot happened to be a bear. A BEAR. Their cross country team ran in actual bear costumes. Who does that?

"My sister's bringing her dog to the meet," Marcus said. "Some emotional support thing."

"A dog? At a cross country meet?"

"Long story. Anyway, don't worry about the spinach thing. Everyone's talking about how you almost beat Northwood's star runner at the invitational last week."

Almost. The word hung in the air like the smell of school lunch.

The meet was chaos. Their bear mascot kept doing pushups at every mile marker, their whole team cheering in these deep bear-growl voices. I was at mile 2.5, lungs burning, legs heavy, when suddenly —

A golden retriever bounded onto the course, tail wagging like it owned everything.

"COOPER!" Marcus yelled. "COOPER, NO!"

The dog decided I was his new best friend. He started running alongside me, matching my pace, and suddenly I wasn't tired anymore. I was running with this golden-furred missile of pure joy, his ears flopping, his tongue hanging out like he'd just heard the best joke of his life. The bear mascot actually stopped cheering. The Northwood team was confused.

I finished third. Personal best.

"Sorry about Cooper," Marcus said afterward, handing me a towel. "But honestly? That was legendary."

"Your dog just made me a local celebrity."

"Hey, Grace?" Marcus bumped my shoulder. "Wanna hang out after practice tomorrow? Cooper really liked you."

I smiled. Green teeth and all.

"Yeah. I'd like that."