11 A Competition

Emily narrowed her eyes at the sight of Ivy, as she smirked and put on an innocent face, saying sweetly, "Emily, why are you mad at me? Did I do something wrong?" At this moment, Emily had the urge to punch her right in the face but controlled her hand, which had been clenched into a fist. "No" she replied sternly, having a serious expression on her face. Realizing the tension that was building up between the two of them, Henry stated, "Ok, so why don't we just work out?" All of them nodded and split up. Emily moved towards the treadmill. As she started to exercise at a quick pace, she saw Ivy also stepping up the treadmill and starting to walk a quicker pace. Can't she leave me alone, Emily thought helplessly.

Emily increased her speed. To her surprise, so did Ivy! That's it, Emily could not take it anymore. If a competition is what she wants, then a competition is what she'll get. Emily increased the speed of the treadmill further more. Just as she expected, Ivy did the same. They both kept doing this until they were practically running like mad. At this point none of them could increase their speeds, if either of them did, she is just looking for some serious trouble. All it came to now was for how long they could last. Aiden was lifting the free weights, he heard the loud noises of the treadmill and stomping of feet, and thus turned around to see the cause. He was shook at the incredulous sight. Two girls thundering on the treadmills, side by side. A rare view. He felt as if the machines might break due to the pressure of feet by the running. He glanced across the room, finding Henry also staring at the two in disbelief.

Due to lack in experience in sports and exercise, Ivy couldn't keep up more than a minute and turned down the speed as quickly as she could, before her legs and lungs would collapse. Emily on the other hand was doing comparatively way better, as she slowed down the treadmill and kept walking quickly, not even giving her a glance. Ivy turned the treadmill off and plopped at the nearest chair, wheezing and panting for breath. Henry quickly left whatever he was doing and ran to grab a cold water bottle, passing it to Ivy. Wow, he has become a slave, Emily and Aiden thought in unison. As a result of the extreme running, Emily couldn't keep walking longer and switched off the machine, and sat down a few seats away from Ivy. "Do you also want some water?" Henry asked. "I'm good", Emily replied giving a thumbs up. Hopefully she learnt a lesson to never mess with me, Emily thought in frustration. After a complete five minutes of rest, she stood up, stretched a bit and prepared to leave early today. She changed and grabbed the gym bag, ready to leave, finding Ivy still puffing for breath. Hah, what an over reactor.

"Hey, Emily, leaving already?" Aiden asked, catching her off guard. Emily smiled, "Yeah, homework is too much, plus, Chris is back from his long camping trip, so you know, have to spend some family time together." " Well, don't forget to eat healthy, stay hydrated, and keep practicing for the tough weeks of sports ahead." Aiden instructed, "And yes, remember that maybe tomorrow, we will start some practice for different games." Emily beamed, nodding and waving him goodbye.

As soon as she left, Henry put his arm on Aiden's shoulder, smirking and giving him a side eye. Aiden looked at him with a perplexed expression. "What!? No, no, no! Stop whatever you're thinking!" He exclaimed, but Henry just left him, chuckling. Aiden sighed in discomfort.

Emily had reached home by walk, it was late afternoon. She was about to knock at the door, but it opened itself, revealing Chris. "Heya, sis. Mom told me what you've been up to while I was away. Interesting." He laughed. Emily smiled, rolling her eyes, pushing him aside and going inside. "Hi, mom, I'm home!" She greeted her mom, as she smiled, "Hello, dear, you're early today." She stated curiously. "Well, homework was a bit too much, so I thought I'd come over early." Emily replied and went to her room upstairs.

She sat down in front of her desk, taking out the mathematics book and starting to practice the sums. The door knocks after a while, before she could say anything, it opens itself as Chris comes inside with two cups of warm coffee, putting one of them on her desk, while sitting down on her bed. Emily looked at him in surprise. "Why are you being so nice to me?" She asked in suspicion, grinning, "If you have a favor to ask, go on, don't be so innocent." Chris let out a laugh, "Hah, can't I be nice with my lovely elder sister?" Emily stared at him, unimpressed. "Ok, ok. I have a favor to ask." He admitted as Emily raised her eyebrows. "Ok, ok. I have 'favors' to ask." Chris sighed as Emily laughed, "Go on."