Fanatics 16.2

Fitness Competition Part Two

The bus holding the High Skool ninth graders pulls up outside Saint Double U’s High School building. They stare at with awe. It’s much bigger and more elegant looking than their Skool.
“It sure is… intimidating,” Squee comments.
“Well, it is the most expensive school in the city,” Aki points out.
“Don’t let it throw you off,” Zim demands, “we are more rugged so we are stronger.”
“Whatever you want to believe,” Pepito shrugs.
They get off the bus and march through the school’s doors. They follow the signs through the hallway and out into the large backyard.
There are bleachers on the left side of the field where the families and friends of the competitors are sitting. Johnny, Devi, Tenna, Professor Membrane, Skoodge, and Rose- Pepito’s mom- are sitting in the one labeled ‘High Skool’ along with the families of the other competitors.
The equipment is set up in the middle of the field. On the right side are benches and refreshments for the competitors. And on the far right corner is a table where an announcer is sitting.
“Alright, good luck, you guys,” Zita says as she and the other ninth graders hurry to the bleachers. Zim, Dib, Pepito, Squee, Jessica, Aki, Poonchy, and Chunk march to the competitor’s side and sit on a bench.
“Welcome, everyone, to the seventh annual Fitness Competition,” the announcer shouts into his mic. A few people cheer. “This year we have four schools competing: Saint Double U’s, G.F Hiller, High Skool, and North Arc. Oh and would you look at that. The High Skool competitors are wearing matching jerseys. How cute.”
Some of the audience giggle the same way one would giggle when watching something cute and somewhat sad, like a puppy trying to walk.
“They pity us,” Dib mutters.
“Not for long,” Zim snarls.
“Well, let’s get right into. The first event is the 100 meter dash. Competitors take your place at the starting line.”
“Alright, Squee, you’re up,” Zim announces.
“Uh, right,” Squee whimpers. He looks around nervously. “There sure are a lot of people.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Pepito smiles, “we practiced this, remember? Just ignore everyone and focus on running.”
Squee takes a deep breath. “Right.” He rests Shmee on the bench and marches up to the starting line with three other runners. They are much taller than he is.
“Runners, take your position,” the announcer orders. The competitors crouch down and rest their feet against the pegs. But Squee is surprised to see that he is too short to reach them.
The other runners chuckle mockingly. Zim and Pepito growl at them, insulted on Squee’s behalf.
“Easy, guys,” Dib coos, “let Squee’s speed do the talking.”
Squee takes his breath and settles his nerves. The horn goes off, signalling the start of the race and he takes off like a bullet. The others are almost too stunned to start.
He crosses the finish line almost blindingly fast. And he’s not even panting when he stops. The others finish the race a few seconds after him, but who even cares at this point.
“How surprising!” the announcer exclaims, “Squee C of the High Skool has taken first place in the 100 meter dash, and probably broke a couple records.”
Most of the audience claps respectfully, except for everyone in the High Skool seats. They cheer excitedly and chant Squee’s name. He smiles, proudly and bashfully.
He walks up to his team. They all congratulate him and pat his back.
“Good job, Squee,” Zim smirks.
“Thanks,” he smiles.
“Next up is shot put,” the announcer announces.
“Shot put. Pepito, that’s you,” Zim states.
“Yes!” Pepito cheers. He straightens his beanie and marches up to the course. “Sup,” he smirks at the other competitors.
They take turns. First is Saint Double U’s, followed by North Arc, then G.F. Hiller, and finally Pepito. Unlike the 100 meter dash, shot put is fairly close. They’re all only a couple inches apart. But Pepito is still the farthest.
“Pepito Diablo of the High Skool gets first place,” the announcer declares, “this is incredible. The High Skool has never done so well before. But it is only the first two events.”
Pepito smirks victoriously as he marches off the course, relishing in the cheers and applause.
“Good job,” Squee smiles as he sits down.
“Thank you,” he purrs.
“110 meter hurdles are next,” the announcer says.
“Hurdles. You’re up, Jessica,” Zim orders, “show us what you’ve got.”
“You bet,” Jessica smirks.
She takes her place at the starting line and gets into a crouching position with the rest of the competitors.
The race starts and they take off. She keeps a steady pace and clears each hurdle with relative ease. Her long, slender legs don’t even nudge the barriers. But she has to push herself to get to the front of the pack, and she only manages to get second.
“Dennis Mayer of Saint Double U’s get first place,” the announcer states. The cheering is much louder than when Squee or Pepito got first place.
“Second place,” Pepito nods, “not bad.”
“It’s not great,” Jessica scoffs.
“It’s still good,” Squee shrugs.
“Don’t worry. We can get second or third in at least three more challenges,” Zim says.
“Next is triple jump,” the announcer says.
“Triple jump. Aki, you want it?” Zim asks.
“Yeah,” she nods and marches up to the course.
The scores are close, just like with shot put. But thanks to Aki’s agility, she manages to get first place by a couple inches. She walks back to the team, smiling proudly as they praise her.
The next challenge is javelin throw. Zim does this one, and of course gets first place. Anything less would be unworthy of the great Zim.
“Easy. Reminds me of my training days,” he gloats as he marches back to the team.
“Okay, we’re going to take a small break now,” the announcer says, “competitors, feel free to use the facilities and rest your muscles.”
“Alright, we’re doing great here,” Zim smirks, “at this rate we will definitely get the championship.”
“Yeah, good job, everyone,” Dib smiles.
“We’re awesome,” Poonchy cheers.
The kids sit themselves on the bench and relax while drinking lots of water. A few of them head to their change room to use the toilet or change into lighter clothes.
Squee notices the competitors from G.F. Hiller glancing at them multiple times. They’re whispering about something, and have odd smirks on their faces.
“What are they saying?” he asks Shmee.
“They’re discussing sabotage,” he replies, “they want to sneak into your change room and mess with your guys’ stuff.”
“Zim,” Squee whispers, “the guys from G.F. Hiller want to sneak into our change room.”
“Do they now?” Zim snarls, “how do you know?”
“Shmee can hear them. You can’t?”
“No. This wig and all of this background noise is muffling my hearing,” Zim grunts then smirks, “but don’t worry. I positioned a bodyguard at our change room door for just this sort of emergency.”
Meanwhile, a couple guys from G.F. Hiller walk into the school and sneak their way to the High Skool’s change room. They’re surprised to see a young, purple haired girl standing there. She looks up from her Game Slave and squints at them.
“Who are you?” one of the boy’s asks.
“Gaz,” she replies, “who are you?”
“Don’t worry about it. Just get out of our way,” he demands.
“You aren’t from my Skool,” she growls.
He ignores her and reaches for the door. She grabs his arm and twists it around. He exclaims in pain and falls the ground.
“Beat it,” she snaps.
The boys whimper before racing away.
Dib pokes his head out of the door and looks around. “What was that?”
“Nothing,” Gaz replies as she goes back to playing her game.
The break ends and everyone returns to the field and prepares for the next set of challenges. The High Skool students are the most hyped up. They’ve never gotten this close to winning before.
“Okay, next is high jump,” Zim says, “who wants it?”
“Oh, me!” Poonchy chimes.
“Alright, get up there,” he nods. Poonchy cheers and races to the course.
The competitors take turns jumping the pole. It goes steady for a bit, then G.F. Hiller is the first to knock it down, followed by North Arc until it’s Poonchy going up against Saint Double U’s jumper.
It almost looks like the challenge could go on forever. Poonchy and his opponent are a near even match. But Saint Double U’s competitor fails first and knocks the pole off, declaring Poonchy the winner.
“Well done,” Aki smiles.
“Thanks, it was fun,” Poonchy beams as he sits down.
Next is discus. Dib takes this one. With his above average strength and his above superior knowledge, he’s able to get first place quite easily. The others don’t even come close to him.
He laughs victoriously and with much arrogance as he walks back to the team.
“Good job, Dib,” Squee smiles as he sits down.
“Thanks,” he smirks.
“Up next is the 400 meter dash,” the announcer says.
“Alright, Squee. That’s you again,” Zim orders.
“Okay,” Squee nods and walks up to the track. Almost the same runners are there from the 100 meter dash, except for Saint Double U’s. Someone new is racing for them. But Squee doesn’t really notice or care.
The horn sounds and the racers take off. As expected, Squee is in the lead. But then Saint Double U’s runner starts catching up amazingly quick. Pretty soon they’re neck and neck.
Squee looks over at him and they make eye contact. The opponent grins, showing off a pair of very sharp fangs.
A shiver runs up Squee’s spine. His feet get tangled up and he trips, slamming face first into the dirt and skidding a couple inches. Everyone gasps with surprise and a few laugh mockingly.
Squee gets up on his knees and winces at the scrapes on his cheek and hands. He looks back with surprise at the other racers as they start catching up. He scrambles to his feet and continues running. He’s not able to catch up to Saint Double U’s racer though, and only gets second.
“Jeff Von of Saint Double U’s gets first place,” the announcer shouts. Most of the audience cheers.
Squee cringes in pain as he pinches his bleeding hands in his armpits and trudges back to his team.
“Are you okay?” Pepito asks worriedly.
“Yeah, I’m fine, I-I guess,” Squee replies, “I’m sorry, Zim.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Zim says, “go clean up.”
Squee nods and hurries to the change room. Johnny, Devi, and Tenna quickly slide of the bleachers and follow him.
“That kid was really fast,” Jessica mutters.
“It must’ve thrown Squee off,” Dib says, “otherwise he would’ve won.”
“No, I think it was something else,” Pepito muses, “Squee looked really freaked out.”
“Next up is long jump,” the announcer says.
“Jessica, you wanna give it a go?” Zim asks.
“Yeah! I gotta redeem myself,” she replies and jogs up to the course.
It’s another close one. The challengers are only inches apart. But Jessica gets her wish and wins first place for her team.
She smirks and saunters back to them. They all smile and congratulate her.
Squee is back a few seconds after. He has gauze wrapped around his hands and a bandage on his right cheek, covering the worst of the scrapes on his face.
“Where’d you get the bandages?” Aki asks.
“Johnny always carries first aid supplies,” Squee replies.
“He must be really cautious,” Poonchy comments.
“Sure,” he shrugs, “anyway, how are we doing?”
“I just got first place on long jump,” Jessica beams.
“Good job,” he smiles.
“Next is hammer throw,” Zim says, “that’s you, Chunk.”
“Finally,” Chunk groans and marches up to the course.
Squee flinches when he notices standing with the other competitors that Jeff Von kid.
“Shmee?” he questions.
“I don’t sense anything evil from him,” Shmee says, “but it’s not good either.”
“What’s wrong, Squee?” Pepito asks.
“That Jeff Von,” Squee replies, “I get a really bad feeling from him.”
The challenge begins. F.G. Hiller’s competitor goes first, and then North Arc. Chunk is third and he throws way farther than the first two. Zim and the others smile excitedly, believing they’ll easily get first place in this one.
Then Jeff Von steps up. He grabs the handle with one hand and tosses it. It flies almost halfway across the field and creates a small crater when it lands.
Everyone is speechless. The first ones to break the silence with their applause and cheers are the Saint Double U’s students.
“D-did you see that?” Poonchy questions.
“He threw it like it weighed nothing!” Dib exclaims.
“Who is that guy?” Aki asks.
“I don’t know,” Squee replies, “but whoever he is, he isn’t human.”
“Yeah. With strength like that, how could he be?” Jessica scoffs. She, Poonchy, and Aki laugh like it’s a joke, but Pepito, Dib, and Zim stare at Squee, incredibly serious.
“Second place,” Chunk snaps angrily.
“It’s fine. We’re still in the lead,” Zim says.
“But the 4x400 meter relay’s next. And if we get second or third, we’ll be tied with Saint Double U’s,” Dib points out, “what happens then?”
“A sudden death round,” Jessica replies.
“That wouldn’t be so bad,” Squee muses.
“If it comes to that, then fine. But we can still win this,” Zim states, “Poonchy, Jessica, Squee, you’re with me. Prepare yourselves.”
“Finally we have the 4x400 meter relay!” the announcers says excitedly, “this challenge will decide the rankings of the schools for the Fitness Competition. Racers, take your place on the track.”
Poonchy starts the finish line, then Jessica is at the second point, Squee at the third, and Zim is last. Beside him, along with the other runners from F.G. Hiller and North Arc, is Jeff Von. Zim openly glares at him. Jeff just smiles politely.
The horn sounds and the racers take off. Poonchy remains at a steady speed with his opponents and they finish at nearly the same time. They pass the baton off to their teammate and the second round begins.
Jessica isn’t as fast as Poonchy but she doesn’t allow herself to lag behind. She pushes herself to get to second place.
Squee watches her come up and takes a deep breath, calming his nerves. As soon as he feels the baton hit his palm, he takes off.
He’s much faster than his opponents, and would pretty much solidify their place in first when he reaches Zim, if it wasn’t for Jeff Von.
He catches up quick and he and Zim run neck and neck for a few seconds. Then Jeff actually starts passing him.
Zim watches him bewildered. He’s never seen a human run so fast. No wonder he threw Squee off. He almost throws Zim off too. But amongst the normal, generic cheering going on, he notices something. He can hear his name being called.
“You can do it, Zim!” “You got this, Zim!” “Come on, Zim!” His team is cheering for him. Not just the competitors, but the ones in the audience too. They all believe in him.
He sighs, a smirk spreading across his face. His short legs start to move faster. He catches up to Jeff and begins to overtake him, just before they reach the finish line.
“Zim of the High Skool takes first place!” the announcer shouts, “the High Skool has won the Fitness Competition!”

“Cheers!”
The High Skool ninth graders are back at their Skool, in the front yard celebrating over orange juice, watermelon, and hotdogs supplied by the parents. They all clash their cups of juice together in a celebratory manner over their newly and first ever won trophy.
They chug their drinks and begin congratulating each other on a job well done. They’re all so excited. Their Skool has never won anything before until now. They’ve won their first ever trophy! What an ego boost!
Zim is the first to split from the celebration. He leaves the Skool yard and sits on the curb next to Gaz, who is playing her Game Slave. He sighs and stares at the darkening sky as the sun begins to set. Dib, Pepito, and Squee soon join him, and they sit quietly on the ground while their peers party behind them.
Squee looks back and watches them. They’re all getting along. Popular girls are laughing with non-popular girls, jocks are complimenting nerds. It’s like cliques don’t even exist right now. Things will probably go back to normal on Monday, but right now they’re treating each other like equals and comrades.
He smiles. “You know, Zim. If this is your way of ‘taking over the world’, then I’m all for it.”
“Really?” Zim exclaims happily, “then you think I make a good leader?”
“I wouldn’t go that far,” Pepito laughs, “but your ambitions and determination are admirable. And you have a lot of good ideas.”
“He’s half right,” Dib says, “I think you make a great leader.”
“Nobody likes a kiss-ass, Dib,” Gaz grunts.
Zim, Pepito, and Squee laugh.
“But you know, it’s not just you who deserves all the praise,” Pepito points out, “we were pretty awesome too. I mean, Squee could’ve easily given up after that fall he took, but he just kept going. And I totally killed it at shot put.”
“Yeah. And I was amazing at discus,” Dib adds, “and Gaz too. She was a great bodyguard.”
“You’re damn right I was,” she nods, “you still owe me for that.”
“Alright, alright. You guys did pretty good,” Zim admits, “but it was my leadership skills that made you that way.”
They laugh and give each other a hard time, the way best friends do. And as the sun sets on this amazing day, and the other students all head home, the five of them remain on the curb for a few hours more, laughing, coddling, and just enjoying each other’s company.