‘Set,’ yells the starter.
I raise my back knee off the track, coming up into position. In the next lane, Ben does likewise. Maybe if he beats me, he’ll have the confidence to finally ask me out. Not that I’ll compromise my principles to give him an easy win. Bring on the pistol.
Afterword
The mission: to write a 53-word piece about a “set” (or “set” more generally).
Jelly came first to mind and I played with ideas for a such a piece.
However, this one won out. As usual, I struggled to fit it into 53 words – especially when I was starting the story with “Ready”. It came together when I brought it forward a few seconds in time.
Photo attribution: thanks to Chau Cédric on Unsplash.
I was trying to think whether the narrator was in a mixed race ( maybe a marathon) or a flat race so maybe another guy. Yes set could be alot of things, in tennis, cooking, stubborn etc. Well done. l look forward to your novel.