It's In the Shoes

Amanda had been racing for years, and her hard work and dedication had paid off. She had become quite good. Unfortunately, she wasn’t as good as Samantha, her arch rival. Samantha had it all: the looks of a beauty queen, the grades of a rocket scientist and the boyfriend that any girl would want. Especially sixteen-year-old Amanda. Amanda just couldn’t compare, and Samantha reminded her at every opportunity.

“I saw you signed up for the race next month. Doesn’t coming in second ever get old?” Samantha smirked. As always, Amanda ignored her, but that didn’t keep her words from stinging.

Amanda was sure that this race would be different. Over the next few weeks, she practiced every evening and managed to increase her speed. However, she had something that would help her even more – her new pair of shoes.

She had worked hard for weeks to attain the shoes. Her parents were not wealthy by any means, and they were hesitant about spending over two hundred dollars on a pair of running shoes. However, Amanda had been able to convince them by doing extra chores, bringing up her grades and being uncharacteristically respectful toward her younger brother. Finally, her parents gave in and bought them, likely so she would stop talking about how much they would improve her race.

Amanda was psyched on the morning of the race, and she could almost smell the victory. She was completely focused, and she barely noticed Samantha’s perfect boyfriend who was there to cheer her on. The shoes fit her feet like a glove. She even caught Samantha admiring them.

The race began, and Amanda felt like she was soaring. The shoes were wonderful, and she could barely feel the impact of the pavement beneath her feet. She ran harder and faster than she had ever run before. With the race nearly over, she was way ahead of Samantha. She was finally going to win!

Within yards of the finish line, Amanda suddenly found herself lying flat on the ground. Not even realizing what was happening, she watched Samantha whiz past her to victory. She looked dejectedly at her shoes to discover that one of the soles had come off her two hundred dollar treasures. Fighting back tears, she stood up and stumbled to the finish line. She was right…She didn’t come in second with the new shoes. This time, she didn’t even place.