Childhood Memories Chapter 5 The Race
Childhood Memories Chapter V The Race
Sorry that it's short, all my chapters are short. It took me awhile to start this one and it's not the most exciting thing ever, for a race. Oh well, I hope you enjoy it and please please tell me what you think, I really appreciate hearing from you!
I do not own or claim copyright to Big Time Rush
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Warm vapor swirled in the air, blown about roughly from the nostrils and open mouths of two young boys, their chests heaving in effort to pump their limbs faster. The short darker child with a mop of spikey hair was a few paces ahead of his taller friend, whose eyes were glued to the figure before him.
Determination coursed through James's entire being, seeming to fuel him forward, and closer to his friend in the distance as well as to the target they were aiming for: the Garcia household. Loud slaps and crunches could be heard as their tennis-shoed feet landed on the cold cement, rainwater spurting to the sides of the offending heels.
Carlos zipped past the mailbox, tapping its metal edge with a hand as he ran by. He arrived on the lawn first, followed by a confident James who was swiftly catching up. The grass flattened beneath their rubber soles, creating track patterns in the muddy lawn that stretched upwards from the cement to the porch of Carlos's home. Only a few more feet and they would reach the weathered porch, the toxins of the white paint corroded by the usual harsh temperament of Minnesota's winter, leaving the porch wood abrasive to the touch. An iron wrought table, a potted gardenia resting at its center, reclined beneath the archway of the roof which was supported by white pillars, each connected by a firm picket-fence railing. Two twin love seats resided besides the dark metal table, the pillows encased in a bright texture of turquoise blue and vibrant yellow dots creating a festive pattern across the seat cushions.
A silver minivan was parked in the driveway, making it an obstacle in the runners' pathway. James spotted this a few seconds before Carlos did and in this case, being the one trailing after the person in first place had an advantage-Carlos had run along the sidewalk and was rounding the edge of the backside of the vehicle, making his way up the long side his mother's car while James darted across the lawn, avoiding the car all together by squeezing past the narrow space between the front rim of the car and the garage door. He popped out on the other side, abruptly jumping out in front of Carlos, assuming the lead.
The air was heavy, thick with moisture falling from the sky. James inhaled deeply, willing his arms and legs to pump harder and faster, spurring him on towards the doorway with Carlos hard on his heels. He could hear Carlos's breathing; the puffs of exhaled air hitting his back, telling him that his friend was mere centimeters apart from taking the lead again. But no, James would not stand for it-not another defeat at the hands of Carlos, a pipsqueak half his size!
Dripping bangs smeared across his face, blown about by his frantic sprinting as well as being buffeted around by the pouring rain that was coming down in torrents now. Rough, russet brick rose up in the form of four ledges, serving as a staircase from the first half of the front yard to the second, which was a small clearing of grass surrounded by a series of blue and violet hyacinth bulbs poking through the earth while rosy pink and light yellow snapdragons bobbed in the wind, the hanging blooms dangling and chiming as if they were bells hanging from a church steeple.
The lengthy brunette took the stairs two at a time, slipping beneath the awning of the porch and bounding up the final steps. Carlos and James aligned with each other, the shorter of the two surprisingly able to catch up and maintain a rapid speed for as long as it was necessary to beat James for this competition. But James was not going down without a fight; that he was sure of! Simultaneously, they sprinted up the stairs, their backpacks clattering and sending the inside contents spinning and careening within its fabric cage.
Their air was coming in short gasps now, each breath causing their lungs to labor, busy with the task of replacing the oxygen that was constantly being released from their ribcage. Almost, almost there…they were so close, an inch from reaching the door handle. Two hands shot out at once, stretching desperately towards the metal knob, their fingers groping the air as if beckoning the finish line to touch their skin first.
And then it happened-the bow of Carlos's shoes had become loose without him noticing while he had dashed behind the car. The thin thread untied itself, trailing along the pavement until it got tugged under Carlos's foot, sending the small boy flying forwards. Meanwhile, James's face had lit up, his hand inches from the doorway when he felt his body lurch forward, the weight of Carlos's body sending them both crashing to the floor.
"Ow!" James groaned, his face slammed into the hard, wooden planks of the front porch, the weight of Carlos's body pinning him to the ground. Carlos in turn lay on top of him, sinking into the flesh of his friend who had cushioned his fall. Stunned, they lay there; their heads spinning with bright lights and dashes of black spots on the outer rim of their cornea. James's leg twitched, having grown limp from the applied pressure on his back. Carlos snapped into motion, forgetting that he had been crushing his best friend,
"Oops, sorry James!" Carlos moved off of his friend, a relieved moan escaping James's lips as Carlos's weight left him. James shakily pulled himself up, groggily stepping backwards, holding his head-trying to make it stop spinning in the process. In an instance, he felt solid wood behind him; his hands flew behind him to support himself as he realized that he had just bumped into the door.
"Yay you won!" Carlos shouted, his arms lifted into the air.
"Huh?" James asked, perplexed.
"You touched the door first, silly!" Carlos marched over to his friend, cupping his hand over that of James's which was pressed up against the wooden frame. "You won fair and square." A huge smile spread across his face in realization of his victory, matching the one that was always on the Latino boy's features.
"Hahah I suppose I did!" Carlos offered a hand, which James grasped eagerly, the smaller boy hoisting his much taller and larger friend up off of the floor with a minor amount of struggling on his part.
"Let's go inside-my Mami's probably waiting for us." James nodded, retrieving his backpack that had been flung a few paces away during his crash. He slung it around his shoulders and turned back to Carlos,
"Alright, let's go inside."
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Oh ho ho, anyone surprized that I let James win? I wouldn't be, he's the faster one anyways, what with his long legs ;D