Greta Brezenski, Lana Rumble, and K'Lah Gause
My First Achilles
Once, I thought I was everything. I truly believed that nothing could stop me. I couldn’t remember the last time something didn’t go my way. Some called it arrogance, but I called it talent. I was the best runner in the state; in the stands my name was all you heard. “Mia! Mia! Mia!” College coaches wanted to recruit me, and all my medals and trophies defined me. I was untouchable. That is, I was, until I received my first achilles heel.
It was just like any other week at East High. The academic part of the days usually blended together, but as soon as 3pm hit, my priorities changed from simply getting through the day to making the final practice before our first meet. I walked out of my English class and sprinted to the girls locker room so I could get ready for practice.
“Are you ready for our meet tomorrow?” a voice shouted out. I recognized it immediately as my best friend Olivia. She is the peanut butter to my jelly. You always see us together, even at meets. She is one of my fellow runners in the 4x200 event. She may not be much of a sprinter like me, but she definitely can jump. I shouted back, “You already know it!” followed by, “Have you seen Em and Ava?” Olivia stared into the distance for a second then simply shrugged her shoulders. Emma and Ava are the twins who will be joining Olivia and I in the 4x200. They aren’t as fast as me, but they can surely keep up when they actually try. We need to practice handing off the batons to each other. Usually the fastest runner doesn’t run last, but Olivia, Em, and Ava, aren’t gutsy enough to be last, so of course I had to step up. By 3:15pm we started walking out to the track, only to find the twins along with the rest of our team. I was looking forward to today’s practice simply because I know that the coach is going to help me beat my 100m time of 12 seconds.
As practice started Coach hushed us and began talking. “Tomorrow is a big day for us. It’s the first meet of the season. Time to show these people what the track team of East Highschool can do!” she cheered. A bunch of whoops and hollers followed from the team as we started warming up. After I practiced shaving my time down for the 100m, I went over to the high jumping mat to grab Olivia. “Mia, watch this!”, she yelled as she was about to use the Fosbury Flop technique to clear the bar which was positioned at 5 feet and 4 inches. I cheered for her as she cleared the bar with ease. “How do you do that?”, I asked in awe. She gave me one of her million-watt smiles while she simply shrugged and walked with me to grab the twins. Emma and Ava are really competitive, especially with each other. Olivia and I waited for them at the end of their 400m mark. They raced each other all the way until the end. Emma was in the lead but Ava was not far behind, by the time they reached the finish line I could’ve sworn it was a tie. “Guys get some water and grab the baton so we can work on our handoffs!” I projected. They both nodded in agreement, while arguing about who was faster. “Mia, Olivia, and the twins, you guys should start practicing for the 4x200.”, Coach shouted.
Coach Liz is one of the best coaches, she guides you while also taking a step back to see how you will take advantage of your own opportunities. She has made me who I am today. She often tells me that I can always get better, but personally my theory is how can you get better if you are already the best? All 4 of us got into our positions on the track and Olivia started us off. She handed it off to Emma who dropped it almost immediately. “Why are you always so clumsy?”, Ava asked. Emma rolled her eyes as she walked the baton back to Olivia and jogged back to her spot. Coach Liz blew her whistle and Olivia started strong again. She gracefully handed it off to Emma who basically flew away as soon as she gripped it securely. Ava started her few steps as Emma got closer and closer, then she bolted as Emma handed it off to her. Although Ava and Emma were both decent runners compared to me, I believe that Ava is the slower twin. As she approached me she reached her baton filled hand toward me. I took it and then I was gone. Olivia told me that it seemed like I was faster than a cheetah. Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. As I reached Coach Liz toward the finish line, I noticed that the jumpers and throwers were all looking at me. Of course they were! Who wouldn’t want a glimpse at the best runner on the team? I sprinted out my last few feet and Coach Liz called time. “Ladies, I am very impressed. I’m not sure what kind of water you guys have been drinking, but you shaved 12 whole seconds off your original time.”, Coach explained.
Olivia, Emma, and Ava looked around at each other in shock, but I knew that we wouldn’t have shaved off even 5 of those seconds without me. As practice ended Olivia came up to me and said, “Well well well little Miss Cheetah. Looks like you were telling the truth when you said you were ready for the meet.” A moment passed and we both laughed. Morning came the next day and all that went through my mind was the fact that it was race day. I was a bit distracted in my classes, because I was focused on how we were going to celebrate after we won the first 4x200m of the season. As the clock struck 3pm I got my homework from my teacher and sprinted to the locker room. When I walked in I saw that Emma and Olivia were already there. “How in the heck did you guys get here so fast?” I questioned. Olivia gave me a well-known shrug and Emma told me that they had gym class before this. I just got done filling my water bottle when my phone pinged. It was a message from Coach Liz telling the track group chat to make sure that they breathe and believe in themselves today. I shut off my phone because I don’t need to read that. Just as I was about to join Olivia on the bus, Coach Liz pulled me aside and whispered, “Hey don’t overestimate yourself or underestimate anyone else today, okay?” I reassured her that I could never and she breathed a sigh of relief.
When we arrived at the track I was the first off the bus. Olivia carried the batons to our designated spot and when the rest of the team caught up we started stretching. I wished Olivia luck because she had to go start jumping, and she simply reminded me to tie my shoes and have fun. Before I could tie my shoes I saw Emma and Ava arguing. I rushed over to see what was going on and apparently Emma wanted to switch places in our line up with Ava. “Ava, I am clearly faster than you so it just makes sense that I’m 3rd” Emma stated. Ava gave her a death glare and strongly suggested we kept it the same. I ran my 100m and got 1st place in my heat, but that doesn’t really come off as a surprise. Little did I know that just a few short minutes later my life was going to take a turn.
Emma and Ava finished their events and Olivia did her jumps for that height then rushed over to the start for the 4x200m. We all got in our line up and before we knew it the shot went off. Olivia started us off with beautiful strides as she got closer and closer to Emma. Em smiled as she received the baton with a gorilla grip to ensure that she didn't drop it. Emma handed it off to Ava and I thought she was a different person. I had never seen her run so fast, not as fast as me of course but she still was very quick. I shake my head as I remember what Coach Liz said about underestimating others. Focus Mia focus! Ava was falling behind a bit but she made it to me anyway. I channeled my inner cheetah and sprinted past the girl who thought she could beat East Highschool. I could hear my coach and my team cheering me on.
"Mia! Mia! Mia!", they shouted. "Music to my ears.", I thought to myself. 100m down with only 100m to go, I focused on my breathing and making it to the finish line ahead. Then all of a sudden I felt smacking against my shins. My laces! I never tied my shoes! My right shoe slipped off and I felt the sharpest pain I had ever felt in my 15 and a half years of living. I stumbled to the ground and all I could do was watch all the other runners make it to my goal.
Coach Liz rushed over to me and put me on her back, and I cried. I cried harder than I've ever cried before. To this day I'm not sure if it was because my foot actually hurt, or if it was the overwhelming embarrassment of everyone watching me fail. Maybe a mixture of both, but all I can remember was that my eyes stung with heavy salty tears that made a nice puddle on Coach Liz's shirt. Olivia came up to me and gave me ice and some tissue. At that moment I was too embarrassed to look at anyone so I told her to go away. She shrugged, but it wasn't her normal shrug. This shrug was full of annoyance and anger. She walked away and told the twins something. They each looked at me with expressions of disgust, then turned their backs to me. "Goddammit!", Coach Liz roared. "Is everything okay coach?", I asked with concern. "Unfortunately you will likely be out for most of the season because of this", she explained. I felt as if my whole world was crashing down. I just lost the race, I may be in a rough spot with my best friend because of my attitude toward her, and to top it all off I won't even be able to play my number one sport all because of my stinking shoe laces.
The next day I was brought to a Physical Therapy facility. "Mia?", the front desk lady asked. Once my dad and I acknowledged my name she continued, "What a coincidence! The name of the trainer who will be seeing you is Dr. Mia!” “How cool is that champ?", my dad laughed. I knew he was trying to make me feel better and to be completely honest it was working. I limped to the back and I saw my trainer. She smiled as she immediately noticed my foot. "Did I hear that right? Is your name also Mia?", she asked. I simply nodded as she guided me to the table and prompted me to sit. "Miss Mia, what is your last name?", she questioned. I looked at her in confusion but answered anyway. "Everest. Mia Everest."
Her eyes widened as she looked at me. I raised my eyebrow and looked at my dad who gave me a smug look. "THE Mia Everest? As in the best high school sprinter in the whole city?", she asked. At this moment words that I never thought I would say escaped my mouth. "Well I wouldn't say the best, but thank you anyway.", I said humbly. This time my dad looked at me confused and I gave him a smug look. Dr. Mia began stretching me and a few times I winced when she moved my foot to the right. "Alright I have good news and bad news", she concluded. "Lay the good news on me first doc", I said miserably. After walking away to grab some weird elastic band she came back and said, "There's no fracture so you may be back in season sooner rather than later." She had grabbed my attention with that as I patiently waited for the bad news. “But you can’t put more force than necessary when at practice and you will need to use this stretch band on your foot at least three times a week”, and she ended with that. “That’s not bad news at all! I will definitely do that”, I exclaimed. With that being said she gave us the PT schedule for the month and I’d be coming back next week.
On the way back home I glared at the blue piece of stretchy rubber. I couldn’t believe that my recovery landed on a simple stretch band. I gave in and picked it up, then I stretched it as far as I could. It went back to the original shape. “What?”, I thought out loud. “What’s up champ?”, my dad asked. “The band just went back to the original rectangle it was after I stretched the heck out of it”, I explained. My dad chuckled and said,” Well yeah, it’s designed to resist stress and go back to normal. You know, I think you and that band are alike.” He paused, probably to string his thoughts together, then he continued, “You’ve been stretched and stretched and stretched but there really was no limit. Instead of going back to your “original” form you continued to stretch yourself. Now you’re finally taking a step back and reflecting on how you stretched yourself. You’re reflecting, taking that information back to your “original” shape, and you’re figuring out how to stretch yourself even better.”
I stared at the road ahead of us while taking in what he said. He’s right, I am taking a step back and going back to me. I looked at the band in my hand and when I got home I immediately started stretching. I called Olivia, but she didn’t answer. “I can’t even be mad at her for that”, I thought to myself. I sent her a huge apology text, mentioning once or twice that I was just really upset and she was just trying to help. I had no reason to yell out at her, and I didn’t want my nasty attitude to ruin our friendship.
The next day I used my new band and worked on actually moving my foot to the right. I ignored a lot of notifications that popped up on my phone, but before I shut it off I saw a message from Olivia. I opened it immediately and read it quietly to myself, “ If you really believe I’d just let our whole friendship be thrown away just because you were having a bad moment, you’d sure as hell be wrong!” I laughed to myself and sent her a picture of my stretch band. She called me and when I answered she said, “ Replacing me with a blue elastic band now?” I responded,” I could never, but I do appreciate you being understanding. I was a little bit of a jerk.” “A little bit?”, she asked. A beat passed and we both laughed.
The next day at school I wore a brace and at the end of the day Coach Liz told me to stretch out. I told her what my dad told me about the analogy of the band. She told me that she agrees with him 100%. To this day I make sure my shoes are tied and my feet are stretched out. I will always remember that my “achilles heel” was my pride. Ever since then, I keep my band close and my mistakes even closer.