Cutting Loose

Chapter 1

George Myles tore down the track in the first lane. His feet beat time to the cadence of his fists as he began the second half of the 800 meter race. Things were going right for once. He mentally commanded his body to work harder on each stride, flexing his leg muscles. He was breathing hard at even intervals. He felt loose and tight at the same time, and his feet felt light as air. Each bounce off the track felt like the ground was giving him energy. As he rounded the turn for the final 100 meters he caught a glimpse of the runners to his right. For once he was going to beat them.

George gave it his all, forcing himself into a sprint while his lungs burned for him to stop. Only 20 meters left. 10 meters. George sensed someone just edging past his right side. Then another. When he checked the official results he saw he had gotten 3rd place. But George shrugged it off. A 800 meter race in 2:15 was his personal best. This was his fastest time yet, maybe ever. He had brought his race time down from a laughable 2:40 Freshman year when his mom had forced him to join the sport. It had taken years of work. He was proud of the hours he put in. George was also glad that this was the last meet of his career. He wouldn't have to go running in the heat of summer almost on the verge of heat-stroke. High school was just about over, and the truth was George wasn't fast enough to make the cut for the college teams. And he was okay with it.

At 6'1'' and 150 lbs George had six-pack abs mostly from running track. He was slim enough that all his muscles were toned and well-defined. You wouldn't expect it from how his clothing usually hid his physique. Even though his leg muscles were built up, he could still squeeze into a size 28, but he preferred size 30 jeans for the loose fit. With his long, straight hair coming past his ears and the inattentive look in his eyes, he seemed more like a stoner than a jock. In fact, he was one. While the rest of the meet was still going, George was sharing a THC vape with Josh, who was also on the team. It was their post-meet ritual, and was usually something George looked forward to.

Josh was 5'9'' tall, much shorter than George, but it was funny how he was so much faster. Josh had a track athlete's physique as well, weighing in at 130 lbs, but he really put the work in. He would run drills even in the off-season and had gotten his mile time down to 4:10, which was impressive enough for schools to show some interest. His report card of nearly all A's probably didn't hurt either. Josh had a preppy look with shorter hair and didn't seem like one of George's usual crowd. Their mutual interests had kept them friends since Freshman year, both being pretty much only into video games and thinking up new ways to take cannabis.

Usually George celebrated with Josh as if he'd won his race, which Josh usually had. Today he was a bit sad since they would be going off to different colleges. While George was middling at track, he also didn't really vibe with school. His report cards were a mix of B's with some A's, which was fine with him since he didn't really study. George would be heading to Sacramento State (CSU) while Josh had made it into UCLA.

"Woooo," George signed, "I'm so glad we're done with high school track, man." George took a long drag off his vape
"You did great today, bro. I'm so happy for you," Josh said.
"Haha, I'm just happy to not be in the bottom half this time."
"Good on you, bro you deserve it, especially on a PB. I swear you shaved off nearly five seconds."
"Haha, yeah for sure. I don't know if I'm ever going to run something that fast again."
"You're not going to keep up with intramural?"
"I might. But only if the team is cool. No point in keeping up with it if it sucks." George handed Josh the vape and he took a puff.
"Agreed."
"Whoah! Whoah! What's going on down here?" Jamie came around the corner and caught George and Josh beneath the bleachers. Jamie was a wrestler who only came to meets because he had some friends on the team, and George didn't know him much outside of class. Wrestling in the 182 lbs division Jamie looked like a beast compared to George even though they were both 6'1''. His arms were probably twice as thick not to mention his shoulders and pecs that showed through his muscle shirts. Jamie and George didn't talk much, since Jamie mostly hung out with the jocks, but George had heard they were both heading to the same school.

"Be cool, man," George said.
"Hey, it's all right, let me get a hit off that."
"Are you sure, this is pretty high THC," Josh said.
Jamie took a quick puff and held it. "Whoof, I bet that's strong stuff," he paused, "Hey, George, right? I saw we're heading to the same college next year. Hit me up if you want to chill some time." After that, Jamie left.
George and Josh didn't say anything for a couple seconds. Finally, George noted, "That was kinda weird, but I guess he's cool."
After another brief pause, he said, "Let's grab something to eat. I'm starving."

George and Josh piled into the car and hit the In-n-Out drive-thru. That evening it seemed everyone had the same idea and the line was like a mile long. They got out and decided to eat inside. It was part of their post-meet ritual and they usually ordered the same thing every time. George got a hamburger combo with animal fries and a chocolate shake. Josh got the same combo and a coke to drink. George felt invincible, any time he worked out and had some weed in his system he felt like his body could handle just about anything. He downed the 1500 calorie meal like it was nothing. Josh had always been the slow eater, and he was still finishing his fries while George was sucking the last drops from the bottom of his shake. George stretched back with his arms over his head and yawned. "Man, that hits the spot." He lifted his shirt and showed his bloated belly. George was so toned that even though his belly curved outward, his abs were still clearly visible. Josh did the same and showed his smaller belly and they had a laugh. "Let's get out of here."
George and Josh left the restaurant. They were heading back to the car when they saw Jamie pass the drive-thru and George waved hi. "Huh, I'm seeing him everywhere these days."