It's Her Tainted Heart

"Izzy Leigh Reinhart, please come forward." I moved my body towards the center stage. 'This is it! I'll be able to qualify in the 2028 Olympics.' My mind is wandering from one scenario to another while traveling to Los Angeles and the other athletes that I'm gonna meet there. My excitement almost consumed me that I didn't quite hear what the judges just said. I looked around with a questioning eyes. But nobody paid attention to me. In fact I heard congratulatory words from behind me. I was turning my head back and about to say 'thank you' yet my words hang in my tongue as reality washed over me. Kelsey Merritt. It's f*****g Kelsey Merritt, the cheerleader, bright, famous and boys describe as 'drop-dead gourgeous' got qualified instead of me. My hate is starting to add up with this chic. But I managed to fake a smile, squinted my eyes and clicked a wink at her direction. 's**t. I did not pass the qualifying tryouts.' I stormed out the room with my duffel bag dangling lazily on my shoulder blades. Disappointed and confused. Some group of girls cheered on me but I was half-deaf because of the thought queueing in my head.. I mean how didn't I got accepted? I'm pretty sure I did better than that nepo baby. But I guess it wasn't enough which make some furious even more. Biggest pet peeve? People who tweak their connections to get things in their favour. Oh, I was mistaken, parents' connection. Someday, I'll have mine and I'd make sure that two-faced whiteface will pay. "Izzy!" Someone from the corner caught my ears. I'm currently at the department store. This is where I drove myself after that hilarious and unfairly judged performance a few hours ago. May she not get to the top 10 or it's best if the committee will find out about the corrupt judges. Might visit them at the zoo, sooner. I'm pretty sure there's a confetti falling down in my head. Someone's standing behind me. And it turns out, it's my cousin, Paul smiling like I just got the a seat for the Alpine skiing in the winter Olympics. Oh, I have a silly idea. "You did well, Iz. Felicitaciónes!" Paul blurted in a gleeful manner. Always the sunshine as he has been. Love this guy but the floor near the parking lot is cluttered with square shaped thin colorful plastic sheets. Mental note:I won't clean those up. Not my trash. I nodded at uncle Jim who is walking towards us. He brought me a couple packs of junk foods and a huge rectangle chocolate. Aww what a sweet gesture. I smiled at him and hugged the foods. Yum. "Hey, Paul. Thank you for that surprise. Didn't expect you guys here." I hugged my favourite cousin and tapped his back. ‌"By the way, where's your chic?" I teased him. He just smirked a little and quickly heads towards the door of the store. He's gonna need some cleaning tools to tidy the place up. Meanwhile, Uncle Jim motioned my gray bike posing seductively at the far right of the parking lot. "What was that about?" He asked. Pertaining to the surprise pop of flying colours a while ago. Pft. The nerve of Paul not letting his dad know an inkling about what's happening. Well maybe, they just met here. "Well that was supposed to be a congratulatory present but I got knocked out from the qualifying rounds. " I said and motioned to my backpack with where a pair of my training skis is towering over my head. He nodded and didn't budge anymore. So, I started walking towards Paul's trunk and rested all my things there. I'll be waiting here for a while and my back starts to go numb. As I opened the Doritos pack, I heard someone playing some beats. "I ride, you ride, bang! One chopper, one hundred shots ,bang! Cop out do you, bang! Two choppers, two hundred shots, bang!" Banging my head slowly with the beat, I realized as I looked about 360°, that the sound must be coming from the speaker of my own damned phone. And how did it play by itself? It could be touched by my legs but wait.. Someone's calling me! I fished out my phone but the timing is excellent, I missed the call. Someone must have changed the ring tone because it was supposed to be "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" by Green Day. I chose that song because of my state of mind, and I often do that. Try it, your stress will lower by a certain percentage. "Alpine Lady, I said do you want Dad to drive your bike instead?" Paul shook my shoulders which made my thoughts flew away. Goddamnit. I hate this guy's sometimes. "Hey, did you know you just ruined my moment of peace?" I spat at him acting furious. And what I love about this guy, he'll just raise an eyebrow on my mini dramas and speaks back his point again? "No, Uncle Jim. I'll take the bike with me." I jumped out and told Unc instead of his son. "But can you please drop this off" pointing at my equipments "by the house, please?" I start to think about wheelie rides back home, well I have to be behind these guys to avoid complications. "No problem, hija". Jim replied, he has some Spanish acquaintances and that explains his choice of words. And Paul is just copying him, a copycat b***h. I rolled my eyes at him, picked a chocolate bar and revved a jog towards my vehicle. I slowly tapped my pants looking for my keys but I couldn't find it. s**t. Where did I left it? Whilst scanning my memory, droplets of water started to hit my skin. Oh hell no. I'm not gonna deal with this. I rushed to Paul's pick-up and slammed the door. "Hi, forgot how to start a big bike. I need a lift." I sheepishly said to him and gave a peace sign while I wondered why Unc Jim wasn't in the car yet and we're about to depart.