WebNovels

Chapter 6 - Chapter 5 - Denial

Rhaine had barely stepped into the classroom when Maya pounced.

"Field day tomorrow!" Maya said, bouncing in her seat. "I already signed us up for the relay race. And dodgeball. And maybe the water balloon toss if we have time."

"Us?" Rhaine asked, sliding into her seat.

"Yes, us," Maya said. "You, me, and Eli are going to destroy everyone. It's tradition."

Eli, who was flipping through his notebook like he actually cared about school this early, looked up. "It's not tradition. We've done it once."

"Exactly," Maya said, ignoring him. "Once is enough to make it tradition."

Rhaine rolled her eyes but didn't argue. It wasn't that she disliked field day it just meant hours of sun, sweat, and noise. Not exactly her scene. But Maya's enthusiasm was hard to say no to.

Then Sam walked into the room.

She was wearing her usual easy smile, chatting with someone near the door before making her way toward the back. For a split second, her eyes landed on Rhaine, and she gave a little wave.

Maya noticed. Of course she noticed.

"Oooh," Maya whispered, leaning in. "Your favorite person just looked at you."

"She's not my favorite person," Rhaine muttered, opening her notebook.

"She's not not your favorite person," Eli said from across the table, his smirk as annoying as always.

Rhaine ignored them both.

---

The next morning, the field was already buzzing when they arrived. Long tables were set up for sign-ups, bright flags marked different event areas, and the smell of grilled hotdogs drifted from the snack booths.

Rhaine adjusted the strap of her sports bag and scanned the crowd for Maya and Eli. She spotted them by the water balloon station, both waving her over.

"You're late," Maya said as Rhaine reached them.

"It's 8:05," Rhaine replied. "The event starts at 8:30."

"Details, details." Maya shoved a bottle of water into her hand. "Hydrate. We have a busy schedule."

Before Rhaine could respond, a familiar voice cut in.

"Morning, Rhaine."

Sam.

She was holding a clipboard and wearing the school's field day shirt tied loosely at the waist. Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail, a few strands framing her face.

"You're volunteering?" Rhaine asked before she could stop herself.

"Helping with sign-ups and… participating in a few events." Sam smiled. "Actually, I was looking for a partner for the three-legged race. Any chance you're free?"

Maya's eyes went wide. "Oh, she's free. She's very free."

"I'm not" Rhaine started.

But Sam was already grinning. "Perfect. Meet me by the track at ten?"

Before Rhaine could say yes or no, Sam was walking away to talk to another student.

Maya nudged her hard. "You're welcome."

"I didn't ask for this."

"You didn't not ask for this," Eli said, somehow appearing behind them with a smug look.

---

The morning flew by with smaller games ring toss, bean bag throws, and a disastrous round of dodgeball where Maya got herself out in under thirty seconds because she was too busy laughing.

When the three-legged race rolled around, Rhaine found herself standing beside Sam while a teacher tied their ankles together.

"This is going to be hilarious," Sam said, adjusting the rope. "You ready?"

"Not even a little," Rhaine admitted.

The whistle blew, and they lurched forward in a clumsy shuffle. Sam laughed every time they almost tripped, and despite herself, Rhaine found the corner of her mouth twitching upward.

Halfway down the track, they somehow got into a rhythm Rhaine setting the pace, Sam matching her stride. When they crossed the finish line second, Sam threw her arms up in mock victory before leaning on Rhaine's shoulder, breathing hard.

"Not bad, partner," she said.

"Not dead," Rhaine replied. "So… yeah. Not bad."

---

Later, while Maya and Eli were at the snack booth, Rhaine spotted Sam near the volleyball court talking to a boy from the soccer team. He was leaning a little too close, smiling too much.

Rhaine told herself it was none of her business.

She walked toward them anyway.

"Hey, Sam," she said, stopping beside her. "We're up for the tug-of-war. You in?"

Sam turned, surprised. "Oh yeah, sure. This is Jace, by the way"

"Cool," Rhaine said, already walking toward the rope.

Sam said a quick goodbye to Jace and caught up. "You're in a hurry."

"Don't want to miss our turn," Rhaine said evenly.

Sam gave her a curious look but didn't comment.

---

The tug-of-war ended with their team losing spectacularly, but everyone was laughing too hard to care. By the end of the day, Rhaine was sunburned, tired, and carrying a bag of snacks Maya insisted on buying "for recovery."

As they walked home, Maya fell into step beside her.

"So… you and Sam seemed to have fun today," Maya said casually.

"We were just in the same events," Rhaine said.

"Uh-huh," Maya replied, clearly not buying it. "And totally not glaring at Jace like you were about to challenge him to a duel."

"I wasn't glaring," Rhaine said, a little too quickly.

Eli smirked from her other side. "Sure you weren't."

Rhaine didn't respond.

---

That night, lying in bed, she replayed moments from the day the steady rhythm of their steps in the race, Sam's laughter, the brief look of surprise when she interrupted her conversation with Jace.

It didn't mean anything.

But the thought of Sam smiling like that at someone else still made her jaw tighten.

And that… was something she wasn't ready to think about yet.

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