Chapter Text
Half to noon on a sunny day, a runner clad in yellow found herself strolling about alone in the dormitory eatery as usual. She wasn’t particular about the food here, mind, but she had already paid for a meal plan after all. Adjusting her glasses, she locked her eyes onto her phone, carrying a slightly miffed expression.
“Ms. Jovial’s off today in a meeting with her trainer, hmm,” Yellow muttered to herself, tapping through her text messages before she walked up to grab her usual grub—hot ginger and carrot soup, with a club sandwich on the side. Peering through the lightly populated seating area, she found a familiar face before she swiftly galloped towards her.
“Hey there, Grey!” Yellow called out as she rapidly approached, putting on a much more welcoming face in stark contrast to what it was before. “Mind if I take a seat across from you?”
“N-no, I wouldn’t mind, not one bit,” Grey sputtered, stopping her hands from taking another bite of her brunch pancakes. “How have you been?”
“Fine enough,” Yellow blankly replied, hoisting herself onto the plastic chair. She then immediately squinted as the eastern sun beamed through the window directly into her eyes, but she tried to pay it no mind.
The two then silently commenced eating, occasionally exchanging glances before snapping their necks down at their food again so as to not make direct eye contact. Although they knew each other well enough ever since the races started, with them being two of the seven starting runners for their season, they haven’t had much opportunity to converse one to one—Yellow hailed from the same elementary ranch as Jovial Merryment, while Grey came from the same class as Cyan and White.
It was only after several long, painstakingly silent minutes only interrupted by the occasional light clatter of silverware when the two opened their mouths at the same time:
““Hey-””
“Oh! Sorry, sorry, you can go first,” Grey rapidly said, waving a hand around in slight panic.
“Are you sure?” Yellow replied, before taking a deep breath with her fingers entwined.
“Thank you, then; It’s about Cyan and White. They still haven’t come back from that race, have they? I’ve tried calling them so many times, but I haven’t gotten anything—thought you might’ve had a better chance.”
All Grey could give was a solemn shake of the head, still averting her gaze from Yellow.
“You must be worried sick,” she went on, holding her hand above her glasses to block out the sunlight. “I can go tell the manager that you’ll be out if you feel like you can’t run.”
“No!” Grey uncharacteristically shouted out, with shock in her eyes as if she saw a ghost. “I mean-no, sorry, I’ll be fine for the next race…”
Yellow then gave a very doubtful stare before queueing the horse across from her to talk with a flick of her chin. Grey then sat up straight and gave a clearing cough before speaking:
“T-there’s been a rumor going around that Jovial Merryment’s been taking some… performance enhancing drugs, Yellow. Some also say bribery. I don’t know where it started from, but even the new runners, Pink and Red, know it. …it can’t be true, can it?”
“Of course not, that’s absurd!” replied Yellow, her startlement seeping through her tone. “Bah, who could start and spread a rumor like that ? Must’ve been jealousy.”
Yellow then took a rough bite out of her sandwich as Grey meekly prepared her next words.
“...are you not jealous, Yellow?”
“Huh?”
“About being the talk of town, seeing the crowd cheering for you with carrots in your hand, and having a champion title to go by instead of just the color of our outfit?”
“Oh, don’t tell me you believe the rumors as well,” Yellow sighed, palm on head.
“I don’t, Yellow,” defended Grey, finally making eye contact with her conversational partner. “It’s just… surely, you at least understand the envy behind these rumors. It just feels like we’re some side characters in a big play, no? Do you not want a name?”
“God, I would kill for a name, Grey,” Yellow firmly stated. “But it’ll be something I earn, not by harping on people that ran better than me last time. What kind of waste of time is that?”
Silence befell between the two once more, before Grey quickly scarfed down the last of her meal and stood up.
“You’re right, Yellow. I’ll see you on the race tracks later.”
Yellow only gave a playful shoo as Grey walked away, internally preparing to face her later that week. Her soup had already gone cold.