Rivalry

Louise burnt a hot fire within her body that melted away any reason and moral limitations that once caged her most violent intentions. She was literally burning a thirty-nine degree fever. This was her fuel, the excruiciating pain and heat she felt nagging at the back of her eyeballs, the need to succeed, the innermost desire to WIN that other girl in her class.

They had been enemies, loggerheads and most importantly, rivals, for the longest period of time. These past few weeks had been the intense but gradual build up for the school's most prestigious competition. The Sports meet.

Louise had sabotaged the entire route they had to overcome in the sports meet. Thus making sure every single thing she did led to her victory and Germaine's humiliating downfall. It would be the best moment of her life, it very thought would have her grinning like a cheshire cat to herself. Louise carried out these plans with utmost discretion, paying attention to the even smallest of details.

It was finally the day, the day of the sports meet. The starting gun fired off with a ear shattering "BANG!" and all the contestants ran for their lives. However, Louise was frowning the entire way. All the traps she had set, all the places where she had slicked the track hoping Germaine would slip and fall. Slip and sprain her ankle, had all been cleaned obviously, for Germaine sailed through without a problem. Louise, huffed unhappily as Germaine shot her a dirty look, taking the lead in the course.

Germaine bounced through the obstacles, gracefully soared over the hurdles, ran like the wind possessed her. Louise was having a hard time comprehending why the obstacles for her lane were not the trickier than usual, why the hurdles were not exceptionally taller than the others, why the floor on her lane was not slippery anymore.

Running, pushing, sweating. Louise had all her joints aching and burning up. She was exhausted, she wanted to give up, but she wanted to win so badly. Her entire life she was behind Germaine, watching her back, watching her get to places first, score better. Louise was perpetually second compared to Germaine. This time, watching germaine on the lane next to hers, with a lope so effortless - Louise only managed to get angrier.

Louise felt a surge of heat rise up from her chest to fill her head, she took it as the sign that the body was ready to start sprinting towards the finish line that was clearly in sight. She glanced towards Germaine and stumbled in her step, Germaine was staring openly right back at her. It was obvious that her rival was just about as ready as her to start sprinting to the finish line.

They stared hard at each other, not losing their tempo, not increasing their speed either, the tension hung in the air. Each was testing how long they were going to run side by side for. Then, both simultaneously made a mad dash for the finish line. Louise ran like she never did before, she closed her eyes and tried to propel herself forward more. She felt the finishing line ribbon snap by her waist and opened her eyes, beaming like never before.

Not long after, the results were announced and against all her beliefs - Germaine was the victor. She reeled back in shock, this was not meant to be, this was the wrong outcome. She narrowed her eyes sharply and questioned herself, "But I felt the ribbon snap on my waist, and did my efforts... Wasted just like that?"

The roar of the crowd drowned out her thoughts and the exaltation of the victor was simply too much for her to bear. She did not want to accept this. She could not accept this. The scene before her faded to black and she crumpled to the ground. Her fall gathered no notice from the thousands that were in the stadium, ironically opposite from how her plots had been. Spotted and cleaned up neatly.

Karma had gone along for a slow leisurely stroll while she was plotting and implementing her cunning, now it had come back to slap her in the face. She had stretched the limits of her mental and physical strength and the last string had snapped.