[Ah… ah… We’re about to have a tug-of-war match. It’s a showdown between Class 1 and Class 2 of the 3rd grade.]
“Ah! It’s our turn! Let’s go, Hana!”
“Ju… just let me eat a bit more!”
“Where do you have time to eat more!”
Jiyu and Yumi practically dragged me along. I was wistfully staring at the remaining lunch box. Bora was waving her hand at me as if telling me not to worry. I didn’t think Bora would eat it all by herself… but you never know.
What if Bora suddenly gets hungry and eats the rest of the lunch box!
“Alright, is everyone here? We’re going to have a tug-of-war match!”
Following the teachers’ instructions, the students of Class 1 and Class 2 stood side by side. Even though they were 3rd graders, some kids were small, while others seemed to have grown like they were on growth hormones. Overall, the kids from Class 2 were bigger than our class. Did they just eat and sleep to grow that big?
I felt a bit pathetic being so small. I want to grow as big as them… but this darn body just won’t grow taller. Am I really going to live my whole life at this height?
Since there were less than 20 people, it felt different from the tug-of-war matches I remember. Back in my day, over 40 kids would participate, but now, with fewer kids being born, even combining both classes, there weren’t even 40 kids participating.
“Hana, you know you have to give it your all, right? We can’t lose to Class 2!”
“Of course! I can’t even imagine our class losing to Class 2!”
Seeing Jiyu and Yumi so fired up made me wonder if kids these days are really that competitive. Their faces were filled with determination, as if they were going to war.
“Alright! Everyone, grab the rope!”
Following the teacher’s instructions, I picked up the tug-of-war rope lying on the ground.
Even before it started, the kids were already in a fierce battle of nerves. The rope was taut, and the kids’ faces showed they were ready to start at any moment. The teacher, after checking the rope, nodded with a satisfied expression.
Probably because the preparation for the tug-of-war match was perfect.
The teacher, with a whistle in her mouth, raised the flag high.
Seeing the ready signal, my body tensed up without me realizing it. I started to tense my body so I could exert strength at any moment. Then, I anxiously watched for when the flag would drop.
Peeeeep!
“Start!”
“Waaaaah!”
As soon as the teacher lowered the flag, the kids started pulling the rope with all their might, shouting “Heave-ho!” On the side, parents were cheering for their kids. Bora was also cheering for me. I vividly saw Bora holding a camera and filming me.
“Eeeek!”
I pulled the rope with all my might. My face turned as red as a tomato as I used every ounce of strength to pull the rope.
“Pull harder!”
Someone’s cheer erupted, encouraging us, but unfortunately, our class’s rope was gradually being pulled towards the other side. We were outmatched. Probably because the other team had more big kids. Gradually, the ribbon marker on the rope crossed the line drawn on the ground.
[Class 2 wins!]
Unfortunately, our class lost. The kids were all exhausted, lying on the ground. I also sat down on the ground, drained. Even though the ground was sandy, I didn’t care.
“Ugh! We shouldn’t have lost to Class 2!”
Jiyu said, sounding frustrated. Honestly, if we had cooperated a bit more, we might have won. Tug-of-war is somewhat determined by physique, but with the right tactics, we could have won. But it wasn’t that important of a match to strategize that much.
“Hana! Are you okay? Your face is so red!”
Yumi, looking at my face, said in surprise. Probably because I exerted all my strength. I told Yumi:
“I’m fine!”
Even though we lost the tug-of-war, there were still many events left. We could make up for this loss later.
————————————————————————-
“Ahh!”
I consoled myself with the lunch box after the tug-of-war loss. The food in the lunch box wasn’t enough, so Bora brought hamburgers from a fast-food restaurant outside.
We brought two 3-layer lunch boxes, thinking it would be enough, but surprisingly, Jiyu and Yumi ate so much that it wasn’t enough. If I had known, I would have made one more lunch box with Bora yesterday.
“Yum!”
I was holding a burger as big as my face with both hands, munching away. It was the safest choice, a bulgogi burger. It was so big that I struggled to take a bite, and my mouth was smeared with bulgogi sauce. If my mouth were bigger, I would’ve easily devoured it like before.
Bora saw me with sauce all over my face and carefully wiped it with a tissue. The soft tissue cleaned up my sauce-covered mouth perfectly.
“It’s so good, so good!”
“Hana, you can eat slowly.”
It had been a while since I had a burger, and it was just too delicious. I took a bite of the bulgogi burger and then dipped a fry in ketchup. It was the kind of moment that made me smile without even realizing it. I didn’t even think about losing the tug-of-war earlier.
And to top it off, a fizzy cola! My mouth was filled with happiness. I smiled as I savored the taste. I wondered if eating like this would turn me into a pig, but since I was exercising, it didn’t matter.
“Hana! If you eat too much, your stomach will hurt later, right?”
Jiyu, watching me inhale the burger, spoke with a worried tone. It was true that eating and then running right after would hurt my stomach. But the burger was worth it.
“It’s fine, right? It’s almost lunch break, and we have an hour to rest. That should be enough time to digest.”
Yumi mumbled while chewing on fries. As Yumi said, I was out of the relay race, and the rest of the activities weren’t too intense.
Unfortunately, our team, the Blue Team, was losing. The teams were divided into Blue and White, and the points varied depending on the event. Events with fewer participants gave fewer points, while events like tug-of-war with more participants gave higher points.
Since there were more events with fewer participants, it seemed like the scoring was set up that way. If all events gave the same points, people would probably complain about it being unfair.
“Our team is gonna win!”
I was already detached from the idea of winning. Whether we won or lost, I was just soaking in the festival-like atmosphere of the sports day. It was fun to get immersed, but I liked keeping a bit of distance and just enjoying the view.
I spent time on the mat and watched the final highlight, the relay race. The result was a nail-biting victory for the Blue Team.
“Wow!”
It felt like a classic training camp strategy. No matter how much of a lead you built early on, the final event had such a huge point value that winning it meant everything. But since our team won, I felt good.
And just like that, my first sports day in this body came to an end. There were some regrets, but overall, I had a lot of fun and felt satisfied.
“Hana, take care!”
“See you tomorrow!”
After the sports day ended and the closing ceremony was over, I got ready to go home in Bora’s car. The sports day was fun, but getting home was important too.
Jiyu and Yumi lived near the school, so they could take the bus, but I lived farther away, so I had to take a car.
“Bye!”
I waved goodbye to Yumi and Jiyu. We’d see each other tomorrow anyway, so it was cool to part ways casually.
“Hana, did you enjoy the sports day?”
Bora asked while driving. I nodded and said,
“Yeah! I want to do it again next year! I’ll join the running race then!”
I was disappointed I didn’t get picked as a runner this year, so my goal for next year was to make it as a representative. Hearing my determination, Bora laughed and said,
“You’ll have to work hard and exercise until then, huh?”
“Uh… yeah!”
Even though I love lounging around in bed, the word “exercise” made me flinch a bit. But if I wanted to be a representative next year, consistent practice was a must.
‘Right! Maybe just one or two days a week of practice should be enough?’
I confidently set my goal. After all, there was plenty of time.
