Chapter Text
"That's enough for today, Palmer. Take the rest of the week off; I need you well-rested by Monday."
Mejiro Palmer abruptly ended her spurt. The sudden stop had almost made her lose her balance, but she managed to adjust by walking off the remaining momentum while slightly flailing her arms. She stood up straight, staring at her trainer while raising one eyebrow.
"Are you sure, Trainer? I still have plenty left in the tank!"
An uneasy smile began to form on her face as she wiped sweat with her forearm. She was hoping that the wobbliness of her pronunciation at the beginning didn't give away her nervousness.
"I know, you could probably keep going for at least one more hour. However, as you are right now, it would be pointless."
She felt a lump in her throat as she swallowed; it was hard to lie when she was almost out of breath. The sunrays were beginning to ramp up in intensity and, in order to avoid them, she averted her trainer's gaze. Her eyes were now aiming at the freshly cut grass while missing it completely.
"Same thing as last time?" Leaning further into the railing behind them, Palmer's trainer tried to lend an ear to her woes.
A drop of sweat escaped her chin and began a freefall towards the turf. Raising her head, Palmer looked at the trainer with a heaviness that exceeded her age. It was definitively "THAT" again, and thus it was better to just let the uma alone for a while; there was no point in trying to help. You can bring an uma to water, but you can't make her drink.
Palmer used to look forward to practice. After a whole day of lectures, this was finally the time to let loose; a safe haven where she could be truly free of all the weight of who she thought others wanted her to be.
Then something changed; she met the sun itself.
Dragging her feet, Palmer made her way to the showers with her head hanging low.
"It's still your first year at Tracen; try to just get used to the rhythm of classes and training. As long as you keep practicing and preparing, results will follow."
Her trainer's words echoed loud in her head as she ventured further into the locker room. It was true: she was still getting the hang of it, and she was surely a late bloomer. Despite this, seeing McQueen and Ryan surpassing her so quickly created a stinging pressure tightening in her chest. She turned the cold water knob in the shower and stepped in; unfortunately, instead of cold water, she was met with a scorching hot stream. Palmer reflexively jumped away from the shower to avoid getting burnt.
"Great..."
Palmer waited out the hot (cold) water for a while. It seemed to cool off a bit, but it remained warm despite the hot water knob being completely closed off. Reluctantly, she stepped back in and accepted her fate.
The shower had done little to soothe her. As soon as she stepped out of the water, she could feel the clammy precursor of sweat start to form again on her skin. She grabbed her towel, still very humid from having been used, and wiped off some of the newly formed sweat as she made her way back to the academy dorms.
Her water flask, decorated with gifted stickers and a blue charm, produced an unsteady thumping sound as it bumped against her left leg. After practice, it was customary for her to message Helios. Sometimes they went to the mall to buy whatever new trendy trinket happened to be "in"; other times they simply met near the empty tree trunk where they had first met and talked until curfew, and sometimes past it.
"r u free now?"
Three grey dots appeared under the message. Palmer stood still, her feet rooted to the spot as she awaited Helios's response. With each loop, the dots' animation became sluggish, each small hitch seemingly melting away into the phone. Palmer kept staring at the screen while mildly distracting herself with her custom background that featured her and, of course, Helios sitting side by side on a bench. Tracen often hired photographers to take pictures of the students enjoying their daily life at the academy as part of promotional material for the school.
Palmer remembered the day Helios barged into the cafeteria vividly, shaking a magazine. Smiling ear to ear, she listened as Helios went on about how cute they looked and how they should ask the director to give them the original picture. Was it the way she spoke with such enthusiasm over that new matcha place? Perhaps it was her eyes and how they invited you to agree with whatever plan this cute blue devil had come up with? Not really; what did it for her was how freely Helios would touch her. A gentle pat on the back, a warm hug after a race, and the softness of her hand when she dragged her around the city to visit her favorite spots.
fwoosh
-sowwy twin 😭😭😭😭 I caaaaaaant
-don't worry doe
-i will totes make it up to u some other time 🙏
-but
There was a short pause while Helios typed the next message. Palmer had been brought back to reality both by the notification sound and this horrendous heat. She was sweating again; sweatdrops began to slowly descend from her forehead. The morning rain had left behind some small puddles scattered on the sidewalk. The sun was at its peak. The puddles began to evaporate as the sun's heat turned them into a strange mist that began to slightly coil around Palmer's periphery.
-guess who is gonna have some tea with a very pretty lady??????
-yep
-it me
-W rizz
-ill tell u the deets l8r
-TEA TIME!!!!! ☕☕
Angrily, Palmer stashed her phone away inside her bag. She put her hands on her hips and looked up. At this point, several streams of sweat had already begun to descend to her chin. Her face, now glistening, faced the large fiery orb that had now taken its highest position. Its rays assaulted her with their full force. Palmer took a deep breath and, with her eyes half-open, produced a single thought.
Fuck the sun.