Member-only story
Inside Ivory Tower
Introducing friends like no other
It was early evening when I rolled down the bike path. Golden rays glinted off my sunglasses as my overgrown hair whipped past my face. I released the handlebars, lifting my hands up, flying down the smooth decline. The breeze felt cool against my skin. I pulled off my sweaty muscle t-shirt, enjoying the ride down.
Town was only a short distance from the bike trail. Among the first buildings you saw were apartment complexes built in the years before electricity. Adjoining this was an empty studio that everyone had forgotten was still for rent. Me and a group of fellow miscreants claimed this space as our own. For the past week and a half, I’d been ditching.
I felt a sudden dread as I realized I would have to explain my new obligation. Cross-country was the one school function they tolerated me in. And I was in desperate need of a scholarship. Let’s just say there was no way in hell I would still be living with my old man next fall.
My sharp tongue wasn’t welcome on the debate team, I wasn’t patient enough for chess club, the theater folk stuck up their noses to me. I was, to put it nicely, a loner.
When it comes to running, everyone just shuts up and moves at their own pace. It leaves no room for lecture and strategy. It allows me to zone out and burn off any lingering…
