Chapter 209: Three-Legged Race
The school's bell rang and echoed through the empty halls.
While the school buildings were empty and abandoned, the sports fields were packed with students playing and cheering on their teams.
The stands were filled with parents of the students..
By one of the grassy hills near the sports fields, some students were there sitting while waiting for their events to start.
Alice was sitting with a couple of her friends, cheering for their classmates.
"By the way, Alice, when's your partner coming?" Laura asked.
"He'll be here shortly." Alice said with a smile. "I just got a text from him saying he's on his way."
"So, he is part of the Government-Appointed Caretaker program?" Reina asked.
"Yup." Alice nodded.
"How does it feel to live with someone who would basically be a stranger in another timeline where plague didn't happen?" Laura asked out of curiosity.
"I was curious about that too," Reina said with a giggle.
"Hmm, I have never thought of that." Alice said, pondering the question. "It's a strange thought to imagine a reality where we never met."
"My parents thought once about partaking in Government-Appointed Caretaker program because they had difficulty getting a child." Laura said. "Then, with a lucky stroke, I was born."
"Why did your parents go through with it?" Reina asked Alice.
"I never asked." Alice said. "My mother is a very serious person, but I feel like they felt pity on Adam after both of his parents died immediately after his birth."
"Whoever created Dark Plague should rot in hell." Reina said hatefully.
"It wasn't created by anyone silly; it was naturally occurring." Laura said.
"You don't know that!" Reina pouted, but when they looked into each other's eyes, they burst into laughter.
They had been arguing about it for years, both having their own theories.
Alice rolled out her eyes.
At that moment, she heard footsteps behind them, and when she turned around, her lips curled into a smile.
"Adam, here!" She waved her hand so that he could see where she was sitting.
Laura and Reina also turned around, and their eyes widened in shock-this was the first time they saw this famous Adam, who Alice keeps talking about, and he was even more attractive in person.
With one hand in pocket and another carrying a plastic bag, Adam walked over to them with his eyes shielded behind dark sunglasses.
"Here." Adam handed over the plastic bag to Alice and then took a spot beside her on the grassy hill, looking towards the sports fields in the distance.
Alice, with a smile, took three cold drinks from the plastic bag and gave one to Laura and another to Reina.
"What's up?" Alice looked at Laura and Reina, who became suspiciously quiet after Adam
came.
Adam side-glanced at Markus, felt slightly sorry, and then turned his head to the front.
He used his Image Training against Markus and went pretty far when fighting against him, so he wasn't shocked that Markus was afraid of him.
After all, Markus treated the fight as just another sparring match, while Adam thought of it as
a deathmatch.
It was most likely his first time ever having to fight someone that fought to kill.
It didn't shock Adam that it was traumatizing for him.
The spectators then started cheering as the three-legged race was about to start.
The teacher grabbed the starting pistol, and went to the grass beside the track to start the
race.
"Ready!"
With a shout, the runners lowered their stances slightly.
The referee raised the gun towards the sky, and then with a gentle trigger press, a loud sound
echoed throughout the sports field.
The eight teams exploded off the starting line, some looking clumsy as it was their first time trying a three-legged race.
"What're you doing, Markus?" His classmate shouted as their rhythm was a complete mess as Markus was still taken aback.
After that shout, he recognized that they were in the race, and started running faster, but because of the sudden shift in the rhythm, his partner almost fell over.
They were currently running in fifth place.
With the race being not too long-only hundred meters-the race soon ended, and the winning team was a pair of father and daughter, who kept the best rhythm.
It helped that the father was a former track-and-field athlete while the daughter was a
volleyball player.
As third place, Adam and Alice crossed the finishing line.
It started very rough, but they quickly got a grip of the rhythm and started passing others
quickly until they reached third place.
Because of his much longer limbs, Adam had to slow down his pace to match Alice's shorter
strides. It was difficult, but it worked in the end.
"Third..." Alice panted slightly and smiled, then high-fived Adam. "We got a medal!"
In the fourth place, Markus and his partner crossed the finishing line-he was immediately chewed out by his partner for the poor start.
'This is actually the first medal I've ever won.' Adam smiled. 'It feels nice. I kind of want to
win a gold medal now.'