Michael ran to Lily, and it was great to see that she didn’t even flinch at his super-fast approach. He lifted Lily up off the arena in celebration, as if presenting her to the spectators as the real victor. She giggled amidst half-hearted complaints he felt safe to ignore.
As they walked away, Michael scanned the crowd for Eleanor, catching sight of her. He waved with a huge grin, but then realized how she looked not very happy, but rather deep in thought. Maybe even remorseful. Eleanor promptly realized he had eyes on her, though, and smiled wide in return, cheering for him.
Michael grabbed at his heart and shook his head at her longingly, as a gesture of his passion, just so she knew she was important, and that even amid all that competition, she was still on his mind.
Michael hadn’t
