{"id":5309,"date":"2022-04-04T23:18:15","date_gmt":"2022-04-04T17:18:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/falseducks.com\/theblahg\/?p=5309"},"modified":"2022-04-04T23:18:15","modified_gmt":"2022-04-04T17:18:15","slug":"pippas-passing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/falseducks.com\/theblahg\/?p=5309","title":{"rendered":"PIPPA’S PASSING"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a> \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Hey, has anyone wondered where I’ve been for the last month? <\/span><\/strong>Well, I’m going to tell you even if you didn’t want to know.\u00a0 It’s been a couple of months since I have written a longer blahg.\u00a0 The last full blahg was\u00a0SAY IT AIN’T SO…NO MORE WEEPIES<\/a> at the beginning of February.\u00a0 I followed that with shorter blahgs about the Freedom Convoy and then telling Russia to get out of Ukraine.\u00a0 Hey, Russia, get out of Ukraine!\u00a0 That’s a message worth repeating.\u00a0 <\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I had to go back and see if I had mentioned “Pippa’s Passing” in previous blahgs.\u00a0 I thought I might have talked about it in either the 2021 or the 2022 video blahgs but I just reviewed those and there was no mention of it.\u00a0 So, what is Pippa’s Passing?\u00a0 That is the title of a novel I had promised myself I would write one day.\u00a0 I have been contemplating it now for more than ten years and finally in February I started writing it.\u00a0 <\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 My process for writing it is to write one thousand words a day.\u00a0 I thought I had read or heard somewhere that the author Somerset Maugham would write a thousand words a day when he was writing.\u00a0 I’ve also read somewhere that the total was more likely 1500 words a day.\u00a0 My effort has kept to the 1000 to 1100 word count daily.\u00a0 So far, I’ve written just over 57,000 words and I hope to complete it with another 35,000 words.\u00a0 If the average novel page consists of 300-400 words then I’m on track to have a novel around the 225 to 300 page mark.\u00a0 I think that’s a decent length.\u00a0 <\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 So, again, what is Pippa’s Passing?\u00a0 The story is a memoir of a man who learns that an old love has died and he relates their story together from their first meeting in high-school up to ten years before her death when he last saw her.\u00a0 It has some mysteries in it and some connections to Alfred Hitchcock’s movie “Vertigo” as well as references to Elvis.\u00a0 I have written 13 chapters so far and I thought I would debut one of the chapters here.\u00a0 <\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The background to this chapter is that the events follow a break-up between Pippa and the main character Jeff Carter, also known as Pink.\u00a0 Jeff is a runner and part of the track team.\u00a0 After the summer of 1978 split with Pippa, a new character is introduced.\u00a0 He is a foreign exchange student from Quebec named Bastien.\u00a0 Jeff hates Bastien because he’s now after Pippa and is also competition for Jeff on the track team.\u00a0 Here’s Chapter 12 titled “The Ogre”:\u00a0 <\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

-The Ogre-<\/h4>\n

<\/h4>\n

Bastien appeared at my locker the day after we had run against each other in the half-mile practice.\u00a0 I don\u2019t know what it was about people showing up at my locker.\u00a0 Pippa had done it on more than one occasion and so had Ben.\u00a0 I don\u2019t remember ever giving out my locker number but the alternative was that they had been watching me or they had shook someone else down for the information.<\/h4>\n

\u201cMy friend, I believe you and I may have started off on the wrong step,\u201d he began.<\/h4>\n

\u201cThe wrong foot,\u201d I replied.\u00a0 \u201cThe phrase is off on the wrong foot.\u201d\u00a0 His diction might have been perfect but some words and terms obviously didn\u2019t translate well.<\/h4>\n

\u201cMy apologies, I want only for us to be friends.\u201d<\/h4>\n

\u201cYou said that,\u201d I pointed out.\u00a0 \u201cYou addressed me as \u2018my friend\u2019 and now you say you want us to be friends.\u00a0 Why?\u201d<\/h4>\n

\u201cWe are on the same team.\u00a0 We attend at the same school.\u00a0 Is this not what you wish as well?\u201d<\/h4>\n

No, damn it.\u00a0 That was not what I wanted.\u00a0 I had a friend, Ben, and that was enough.\u00a0 I wanted to tell him I had no vacancies but if he wanted to leave his name and number then I\u2019d get back to him if something opened up.\u00a0 I also wanted to tell him not to hold his breath.<\/h4>\n

\u201cLook Bastien,\u201d I started while refraining from directly calling him \u2018bastard\u2019, \u201cI don\u2019t need you to be my friend.\u00a0 If you\u2019re worried that I need one or think you\u2019ve offended me, you can reassure yourself that I\u2019m fine.\u201d\u00a0 I thought that might send him packing.<\/h4>\n

\u201cYou do not like me very well do you?\u201d\u00a0 I thought he shouldn\u2019t ask a question that he didn\u2019t want an answer to.<\/h4>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s this all about?\u201d\u00a0 I decided to be direct.\u00a0 \u201cIs this about beating you on the track yesterday?\u00a0 That was not about not liking you.\u00a0 That was about racing.\u00a0 Nothing more.\u201d<\/h4>\n

\u201cAre you jealous of me my friend?\u201d<\/h4>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not jealous and I\u2019m not your friend,\u201d I answered.\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019re just another guy around here.\u201d\u00a0 I gestured my hand to indicate the school.\u00a0 \u201cAnd you\u2019re just another guy on the track.\u00a0 I\u2019m not losing sleep on you wondering why I\u2019m not your friend.\u201d<\/h4>\n

\u201cDo you lose sleep on wondering why Pippa Brock is not your girlfriend?\u201d<\/h4>\n

So that was his game.\u00a0 He really did want a punch in his perfect face.\u00a0 I wondered how much a bloody nose would contrast against his jet black hair.<\/h4>\n

\u201cWhat I am and am not to her is none of your business.\u00a0 If you want to go up against me on the track then so be it but I\u2019d stay out of my personal business if I were you.\u00a0 I beat you in the half mile and I can go the distance to beat you here.\u201d\u00a0 Again I gestured to the school.<\/h4>\n

\u201cThen Miss Brock would be fair game?\u201d\u00a0 He looked very smug after saying this.\u00a0 I was keeping my hands tight into my side.\u00a0 It was hard to resist the temptation to physically lash out.\u00a0 I quickly slammed my locker door and started to walk away.\u00a0 I had only gone a few steps before I turned and decided to reply.<\/h4>\n

\u201cYou know buddy, there are trophies in competitions but just try referring to Pippa as a trophy to her face.\u00a0 You might not like her response.\u201d\u00a0 If anyone was going to hit him, I was going to let Pippa do it.\u00a0 I knew it would have more meaning coming from her.\u00a0 \u201cOh, and by the way, the term \u2018buddy\u2019 doesn\u2019t mean friend either.\u00a0 You\u2019re likely to find you don\u2019t have many of those around here.\u201d<\/h4>\n

I started to walk away but I just had to add, \u201cand stay away from my god-damn locker.\u201d<\/h4>\n

<\/h4>\n

After that the game really did begin.\u00a0 He went after Pippa in earnest with a purpose I felt was to throw me off.\u00a0 I tried not to acknowledge them when I saw them together.\u00a0 He obviously had heard about Pippa and I.\u00a0 It was no secret.\u00a0 People had known at the end of the school year that we were a couple even if we weren\u2019t big on public displays of affection.\u00a0 I couldn\u2019t help wondering though how much Pippa had told him.\u00a0 Did he know her other secrets?\u00a0 I tried to put that out of my head or it would have been spinning again with those \u2018if onlys.\u2019<\/h4>\n

On the track, I showed Bastien no mercy in the distance runs.\u00a0 I got to the point where I\u2019d even leave Ben behind.\u00a0 I needed the win.\u00a0 I knew the thoughts of Bastien and Pippa together was getting to me and I had to channel it into my running.<\/h4>\n

One of the events in the Tri-City tournament was the Tri-Mile run.\u00a0 It didn\u2019t mean we were running a single three mile race but rather there was an elimination challenge of three one mile runs.\u00a0 One contender from each school would compete in a one mile race, or four laps around the quarter mile track, and the winner from each would face up in a fourth race.\u00a0 It was possible that one school could have winners in all three individual races and then face off against their own teammates in the final.<\/h4>\n

Ben, Bastien, and I were selected from our school to compete in the Tri-Mile runs.\u00a0 Ben and I were fairly good in the distance runs and surprisingly Bastien had been improving his endurance.\u00a0 I was sure that he wanted to best me and prove he was the better man as he was already making time with my girl.<\/h4>\n

Pippa had become a staple at practices.\u00a0 She was there every day to cheer on Bastien and cheered even louder after I had beaten him by shouting \u201cyou\u2019ll get him next time\u201d or \u201cyou almost got him that time.\u201d\u00a0 I wanted to remind her there was no almost in running.\u00a0 You won or you lost.\u00a0 Even coming in second was not winning.<\/h4>\n

Around the school it seemed true that I was losing out against Bastien when it came to Pippa.\u00a0 She didn\u2019t even glance my way anymore in the one class we did share.\u00a0 I had been determined to find a way to get back in her good graces but she seemed to be moving further and further away from me.<\/h4>\n

One morning she was at my locker again.\u00a0 I gave it serious thought at that moment to request a locker change or to begin carrying everything with me and give up my locker altogether.<\/h4>\n

\u201cJeff, can we talk?\u201d she asked with no introduction to why she was even there.<\/h4>\n

\u201cAre we talking now?\u201d I responded.\u00a0 I guess my hurt was showing.<\/h4>\n

\u201cListen, despite whatever\u2019s going on between us\u2026\u201d<\/h4>\n

\u201cYou mean whatever\u2019s not going on between us,\u201d I said cutting her off.<\/h4>\n

I thought Pippa might walk away.\u00a0 She crossed her arms but she stood firm.<\/h4>\n

\u201cJeff, I\u2019m trying to talk to you.\u00a0 At least hear what I have to say.\u201d<\/h4>\n

\u201cGo ahead.\u201d\u00a0 I crossed my arms and mirrored her stance.<\/h4>\n

\u201cI started to say that despite whatever is not going on between us, I always thought you were a decent person.\u00a0 Why have you been so mean to Bastien?\u201d<\/h4>\n

Oh, sister, I thought, you just asked a loaded question.\u00a0 I had a number of reasons I could have given her at that moment but I didn\u2019t think I needed to justify my hatred of him to her.\u00a0 Instead, I chose to answer her question with one of my own.<\/h4>\n

\u201cTell me something, Pippa, why do you care so much about a phony like that?<\/h4>\n

I expected her to react or to walk away but she stayed where she was and remained calm and collected.<\/h4>\n

\u201cDo you think I don\u2019t know he\u2019s a phony, Jeff?\u201d\u00a0 No one was giving answers.\u00a0 We were just answering each other with more inquiries.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s better to know what someone is and work on changing it than to accept someone as honest and then be disappointed by them later on.\u201d<\/h4>\n

This was where I wanted to slam my locker and walk away like I did with Bastien before.\u00a0 Pippa was obviously still wearing her hurt too.<\/h4>\n

\u201cListen Pippa, there\u2019s really only one reason why I don\u2019t like the guy and that\u2019s because you do.\u00a0 I still love you.\u00a0 I haven\u2019t stopped.\u00a0 If you\u2019re with Bastien now then that\u2019s your business but don\u2019t expect me to be happy about it or be happy for you.\u201d\u00a0 That\u2019s when I decided to turn and make my exit.<\/h4>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re an ogre!\u201d I heard her exclaim.<\/h4>\n

I kept on walking.<\/h4>\n

<\/h4>\n

A few days after my exchange with Pippa, I had to present something I had written for presentation in our Creative Writing class.\u00a0 We had been studying a unit on fables and fairy tales and were required to write something in that genre.\u00a0 I had been inspired by Pippa\u2019s parting words.<\/h4>\n

<\/h4>\n

I saw the assignment as an opportunity to pour my heart into my writing.\u00a0 I wasn\u2019t writing it for Pippa but rather as a showcase as to how I felt.\u00a0 My story was \u201cHow To Love An Ogre.\u201d<\/h4>\n

I had written the story in the first person narrative because I knew that no one better could represent the Ogre but himself.\u00a0 The story was about a princess who was tired of the demands of royal life and the expectations of her royal parents.\u00a0 She was tired of unlikely suitors or the possibility of arranged marriages.\u00a0 The princess used some of her wealth to have a tower built and she willing locked herself away from everybody and everything.\u00a0 I felt this was unique because most princesses get locked away against their will.<\/h4>\n

The princess had sought out the ogre to guard the tower against anyone seeking entry.\u00a0 His responsibilities did not include keeping the princess inside.\u00a0 The princess could come and go as she pleased but when she was inside, the Ogre kept everyone else out.\u00a0 In time, the Ogre came to love the princess for who she was and what she wanted.\u00a0 Above all else he was a friend to the princess who had no other designs on her.<\/h4>\n

In my story, the Ogre spoke about how lovely the princess was and how he had loved her the first time he saw her but was happy just to be near her.\u00a0 Over the years, the friendship grew between the Ogre and the princess and the Ogre felt being her friend was enough even though he secretly loved her.\u00a0 He knew he was only an Ogre and probably didn\u2019t deserve better.\u00a0 Being near the princess was sufficient for the Ogre.<\/h4>\n

In the end, the princess finally found true love and married.\u00a0 The Ogre did not become a prince nor did he become handsome by any magic.\u00a0 He remained an Ogre and his true beauty was inside.\u00a0 When the princess had a daughter, she eventually sought out the Ogre and introduced the Ogre as the princess\u2019s best friend.\u00a0 In time, the princess\u2019s daughter came to love the Ogre as her friend as well.\u00a0 It was enough for the Ogre.<\/h4>\n

After I read the story aloud there was a round of applause from everyone in the class.\u00a0 Pippa was staring at me and I could see tears on her cheeks.\u00a0 After class she approached me.<\/h4>\n

\u201cThat was beautiful, Pink.\u201d<\/h4>\n

I was Pink again.\u00a0 I had moved the needle.<\/h4>\n

\u201cThank you,\u201d I said back to her.\u00a0 I didn\u2019t want to push my luck by asking about the Pink designation.<\/h4>\n

\u201cCan I walk with you after school?\u201d she asked.<\/h4>\n

\u201cOkay,\u201d I said hesitantly.\u00a0 There was hope in my heart and I tried not to relay it in my voice.\u00a0 Was this how our relationship was going to restart?\u00a0 I knew there was power in words but I had never thought that it could move mountains.\u00a0 Hadn\u2019t she been rock hard against me in our last confrontation?<\/h4>\n

\u201cGood, I\u2019ll see you out front, later.\u201d\u00a0 She gave me a little wave and turned.<\/h4>\n

I couldn\u2019t wait until the end of day.\u00a0 Maybe she was on the verge of forgiving me.\u00a0 Maybe she was going to dump that bastard and come back to me. I should have guessed what was coming.<\/h4>\n

Pippa found me after the last bell rang.\u00a0 We left the school and I turned left and she turned right.<\/h4>\n

\u201cWhere are you going?\u201d I asked.\u00a0 \u201cI thought you wanted me to walk you home?\u201d<\/h4>\n

\u201cNo, I\u2019m walking you home,\u201d Pippa responded.<\/h4>\n

\u201cI thought you had a curfew?\u201d<\/h4>\n

\u201cNot since before my Birthday.\u00a0 I think mom trusts me a little more now after everything that\u2019s happened.\u201d<\/h4>\n

But nothing had happened.\u00a0 I had never been revealed to her mother as Steve Wilson or Pink or Jeff Carter.\u00a0 Ours had been a private break-up before her mother even discovered we had been together.<\/h4>\n

Pippa hooked her arm in mine and started to pull me in the opposite direction of her way home.\u00a0 \u201cLead the way, Pink.\u00a0 I have no idea where we\u2019re going.\u201d\u00a0 Neither did I.\u00a0 She was clearly in charge.<\/h4>\n

\u201cYou liked my story?\u201d\u00a0 I thought that was a safe place to start.<\/h4>\n

\u201cLike I said, Pink, it was beautiful.\u00a0 I\u2019m sorry I called you an ogre.\u00a0 I said I never wanted to hurt you again and I guess I did.\u201d<\/h4>\n

\u201cWe both did,\u201d I pointed out.<\/h4>\n

\u201cLet\u2019s not talk about that Pink.\u00a0 I want to talk to you about Bastien.\u201d<\/h4>\n

I tensed up.\u00a0 Why did we need to talk about him?\u00a0 I thought this was about us.<\/h4>\n

\u201cWhat about Bastien?\u201d I asked with caution.<\/h4>\n

\u201cI want you to be nice to him.\u201d<\/h4>\n

I stopped and stared at her.\u00a0 She couldn\u2019t be serious.\u00a0 I thought we had had this out.\u00a0 I didn\u2019t like the guy.<\/h4>\n

\u201cPink,\u201d she continued, \u201cI know you don\u2019t like him.\u00a0 I\u2019ve heard that you and Ben refer to him as \u2018that bastard\u2019.\u00a0 I want you to know why I like him.\u201d<\/h4>\n

I wanted to unhook my arm but it was the only touch we had shared in over a month.\u00a0 I wasn\u2019t about to let her go.\u00a0 I started to walk again and I was prepared to drag her along if she didn\u2019t move her feet with mine.<\/h4>\n

\u201cGo ahead, I\u2019m listening.\u201d\u00a0 I was aware that I was not sounding sincere.<\/h4>\n

\u201cYou said he was a phony.\u00a0 I told you I knew that already.\u00a0 The thing you don\u2019t know about Bastien is that he\u2019s capable of being sincere and caring and honest.\u201d<\/h4>\n

\u201cAnd I\u2019m not?\u201d\u00a0 I had stopped walking again.\u00a0 This time Pippa started forwarded and pulled on me.<\/h4>\n

\u201cThis isn\u2019t about you or about me, Pink.\u00a0 Bastien\u2019s only here for the school year.\u00a0 I know he\u2019ll be gone by next summer.\u00a0 Until then, I think I want to be with him.\u201d<\/h4>\n

Shades of \u2018Grease.\u2019\u00a0 Now Pippa was the John Travolta character committing to a limited time romance because she knew there would be no strings attached at the end.\u00a0 I didn\u2019t think she was capable of that role reversal.<\/h4>\n

\u201cDoes he know all of your secrets?\u201d\u00a0 I had to ask that question.\u00a0 If he had that same intimacy with her then we truly were finished.<\/h4>\n

\u201cNo, he doesn\u2019t.\u00a0 That\u2019s why I want to be with him.\u00a0 I\u2019ve carried my secret around for a long time now and you were the only boy I told and look how that turned out.\u00a0 I can just be me with him.\u00a0 He gets to see Pippa Brock as a girl with no baggage.\u00a0 I can just be me.\u201d<\/h4>\n

\u201cAnd when he\u2019s gone?\u201d I asked.<\/h4>\n

\u201cWell, by then, maybe I\u2019ll have become so used to being me, the way I want to be, then it\u2019ll be second nature to me.\u201d<\/h4>\n

\u201cAnd then?\u201d<\/h4>\n

\u201cAnd then, Pink, I find my next dream.\u201d<\/h4>\n

\u201cThis is where I get off,\u201d I responded.<\/h4>\n

\u201cHunh?\u201d she asked puzzlingly.<\/h4>\n

We had been walking and talking and finally we were standing in the street outside of my house.\u00a0 Ours was a bi-level home.\u00a0 It was a typical one-storey house and the front door opened onto a landing with stairs that led both up to the main floor and down to the basement. \u00a0\u00a0My parents had a bedroom on the main level at the back of the house and both Rod and I had bedrooms in the basement at the front.\u00a0 Our windows were at ground level and faced the street.<\/h4>\n

\u201cThis is where I live.\u201d\u00a0 I pointed to the window on the right.\u00a0 \u201cThat\u2019s my bedroom there.\u201d<\/h4>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s nice,\u201d Pippa observed.\u00a0 \u201cBut what about what I said about Bastien and I?\u201d<\/h4>\n

I wanted to tell her that her current dream was a nightmare that kept me up at nights.\u00a0 The thought of any relationship between her and Bastien haunted me to no end.\u00a0 The thought of any relationship with Pippa that didn\u2019t include me was even worse.<\/h4>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s your dream Pippa.\u201d\u00a0 I didn\u2019t feel like adding the hokey bit about her following that dream wherever that dream may lead.\u00a0 My comment about \u2018this is where I get off\u2019 was going to have to be the answer for our relationship as well.<\/h4>\n

\u201cI know you told me that you still love me Pink and I still love you.\u00a0 But we can\u2019t be together.\u00a0 You\u2019re part of everything I\u2019m trying to move on from.\u00a0 You don\u2019t have to be happy for me but you\u2019re a nice guy and I was hoping you could move on too.\u201d<\/h4>\n

Oh, the nice guy routine.\u00a0 That\u2019s exactly what every hopeful love struck teen does not want to hear.\u00a0 I had to be quick and think of something that would impress her to see me how she once viewed me.\u00a0 I needed that opportunity that would drive Bastien away and bring Pippa and I back together.<\/h4>\n

\u201cOkay, Pippa, I\u2019ll make you a deal.\u00a0 If Bastien can somehow get to the finals in the Tri-Mile race and if I get to the final and if we run against each other and if he beats me, and those are a lot of ifs, I\u2019ll bow out gracefully.\u201d<\/h4>\n

\u201cAnd if you win or you both lose, Pink?\u201d<\/h4>\n

\u201cThen forget about me forgetting about you.\u201d\u00a0 I wanted my own terms.<\/h4>\n

\u201cBut Pink, this is about moving on.\u00a0 I don\u2019t want to be with you anymore.\u201d<\/h4>\n

\u201cI know,\u201d I replied.\u00a0 \u201cBut that\u2019s your dream and I\u2019ve got my own that includes you and I gotta follow that dream to find the love I need.\u201d\u00a0 I guess I couldn\u2019t resist the hokey urge after all.<\/h4>\n

\u201cHave fun trying,\u201d she said and turned and walked away.<\/h4>\n

\u201cOh, I will!\u201d I shouted after her.<\/h4>\n

<\/h4>\n

The following week was the Tri-City tournament and we were the host school that year.\u00a0 Practices had been intense leading up to the event.\u00a0 Ben and I put extra hours into our training for the Tri-Mile.\u00a0 We would meet up on weekends and in the evenings.\u00a0 Ben and I were very strong in the distance running.\u00a0 I was glad that we would each get separate chances to prove ourselves in the mile run.\u00a0 The only thing I was not enthused about was the possibility of running against Ben in the final.\u00a0 I had been outpacing him in some of the practises but I wasn\u2019t sure if I could beat him when it came to a head to head.\u00a0 I was sure he had learned well and was holding back on something that he would release in the competition.<\/h4>\n

Bastien continued to improve as well.\u00a0 Sometimes Ben and I would go to the track in the evening and would encounter him running laps.\u00a0 He wasn\u2019t always alone.\u00a0 Sometimes Pippa was running along with him.\u00a0 That nightmare I had been experiencing was taking on more dangerous visions.\u00a0 I had not seen her run since the Harrier.\u00a0 She certainly had never offered to run with me.\u00a0 On those occasions, Ben and I would wait off at a distance until they were finished before we would take to the track.<\/h4>\n

Pippa obviously wanted her dream to be with Bastien so much that she was prepared to put the effort into training him.\u00a0 That only fueled my hatred for that Bastard more and I was damn sure not going to let go of my dream.<\/h4>\n

I started a game of intimidation by mixing my on-field running with doing laps around Pippa\u2019s neighbourhood.\u00a0 I would pass by her house, loop around adjoining streets and jog past her house three or four times before heading off home.<\/h4>\n

Pippa took up the challenge and soon after I would spot her with Bastien as they included going down my street as part of their training routine.\u00a0 She looked good in jogging shorts but the sight of Bastien with her took away from that vision.<\/h4>\n

The day of the Tri-City was another warm fall day.\u00a0 I wasn\u2019t sure who scheduled the dates for these events but they obviously consulted some reliable weather almanac.\u00a0 The track itself had been well groomed and was sporting new chalk lines for all of the events.<\/h4>\n

Our school did better in the Tri-City events than we had in the All-City.\u00a0 Collegiate was not one of the schools competing.\u00a0 In addition to our school was the aforementioned Bayside as well as Centennial Secondary.\u00a0 Our athletes were ready and even though the Park brothers were off in Toronto opposing each other, we still had a talented roster.<\/h4>\n

Many of our new talent finished first and second in their events.\u00a0 Bastien swept in the short track events in which he participated.\u00a0 He had the speed and, thanks to Pippa\u2019s coaching, he had developed the endurance.\u00a0 He grinned stupidly after every win and I was looking forward to my opportunity to wipe that stupid grin off his face.\u00a0 I also wanted to show Pippa I wasn\u2019t done yet when it came to her.\u00a0 She had said she still loved me.\u00a0 That was an opening I was prepared to exploit.<\/h4>\n

I had not told Ben about the deal between Pippa and I.\u00a0 His relationship with Sandra put him in a difficult position.\u00a0 His girlfriend had been clear with him that the topic of Pippa was off-limits.\u00a0 Ben would not be asked by either camp to solicit information to be passed on.\u00a0 I wasn\u2019t even sure the deal I thought I had made was binding by either side.\u00a0 Pippa hadn\u2019t exactly agreed.\u00a0 She had only asked me what the outcome would be if neither Bastien nor I won the Tri-Mile or if I was the victor.\u00a0 I was the one who dictated my intention if I was the winner.\u00a0 I only assumed with the effort Pippa had put into Bastien\u2019s training that she would hold me to the other part of the deal if Bastien bested me.<\/h4>\n

The day of the tournament, resplendent in our blue jerseys, I thought I should take Ben into my confidence.\u00a0 Bastien had been successful in the short track sprints and Ben had become suspicious when Bastien had dropped out of the half-mile race.\u00a0 I had suspected that Pippa had advised him to excuse himself and to concentrate on the longer Tri-Mile.<\/h4>\n

There were only two semi-contests for the half-mile and these, like the preliminaries for the Tri-Mile, had been spaced throughout the day.\u00a0 I had run my half-mile leg earlier on and had been triumphant.\u00a0 Bastien and Ben and one competitor each from the other two schools had been scheduled to pair off in their heat.\u00a0 At the last minute, Bastien had been scratched from the race.\u00a0 Ben and an athlete from Bayside took first and second respectively.\u00a0 The final in the half-mile would consist of Ben, myself, the Bayside runner from Ben\u2019s race, and the Centennial runner who had placed second behind me.<\/h4>\n

Ben approached me after his heat.\u00a0 He hardly looked winded and I wondered what competing against him in the half-mile would be like or if we both managed to get into the finals of the Tri-Mile.<\/h4>\n

\u201cWhat do you think that was all about?\u201d Ben asked me.<\/h4>\n

\u201cWhat was what all about?\u201d I answered innocently.<\/h4>\n

\u201cYou know damn well what.\u00a0 Bastien drops out of the half-mile and you don\u2019t blink an eye.\u00a0 You know something, don\u2019t you?\u201d<\/h4>\n

I decided to tell him what I suspected and how it tied into my deal with Pippa.<\/h4>\n

\u201cAnd where do I fit into all of this?\u201d he asked after I had told him everything.\u00a0 \u201cWhat if I beat both of you?\u201d<\/h4>\n

\u201cI have a contingency for that.\u00a0 I expect that you\u2019ll give us both a challenge.\u00a0 If you win, you win.\u00a0 May the best man win and all that, you know.\u201d<\/h4>\n

\u201cBut you want to be the best man, don\u2019t you?\u201d<\/h4>\n

\u201cBen, I\u2019m not going to lie to you, I want to beat that bastard more than anything.\u201d<\/h4>\n

\u201cIt won\u2019t get you Pippa back.\u00a0 It sounds like even if you do win against Bastien then you\u2019ve got an uphill battle with her.\u201d<\/h4>\n

\u201cLet me worry about that.\u00a0 You just run as well as you always do.\u00a0 This doesn\u2019t really concern you.\u201d\u00a0 I wasn\u2019t trying to be dismissive of Ben but the deal I had proposed didn\u2019t really include Ben.\u00a0 If I had to lose to Ben it would be better than losing to the alternative.<\/h4>\n

\u201cThe hell it doesn\u2019t!\u201d he exclaimed.\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019re my friend and I\u2019m dating Pippa\u2019s cousin.\u00a0 I\u2019m going to get it from all sides.\u201d<\/h4>\n

\u201cNot from me you\u2019re not.\u00a0 I\u2019m only asking you to run your race and maybe one other little favor.\u201d<\/h4>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s that?\u201d Ben asked with skepticism.<\/h4>\n

\u201cBetween the pair of us, let\u2019s beat that Bastard!\u201d<\/h4>\n

I didn\u2019t know if I had allayed any of Ben\u2019s concerns.\u00a0 I knew he wouldn\u2019t throw his race.\u00a0 He wanted to win the Tri-Mile for himself and I was sure he\u2019d provide great competition to both Bastien and I.<\/h4>\n

Ben and I squared off in the half-mile final and I could tell he was in it to win.\u00a0 I didn\u2019t really care.\u00a0 I had yet to run my leg of the Tri-Mile and I had to save something for that race.\u00a0 I gave it my all and if Ben did beat me out at the finish he was sure he had won it squarely.\u00a0 For my part, I wasn\u2019t sure that he hadn\u2019t.<\/h4>\n

Ben had run his Tri-Mile preliminary earlier in the day and had finished easily.\u00a0 Bastien, after dropping out of the half-mile had a tough go of it in his Tri-Mile heat.\u00a0 Bastien only managed to just beat out his Centennial opponent to move on to the final.\u00a0 It was stacking up to be a first for the Tri-Mile with all three semi-finalists coming from the same school.\u00a0 It only hinged on me running away with the lead in my contest.<\/h4>\n

Both of the athletes in my leg of the Tri-Mile had not competed in anything else throughout the day.\u00a0 They were fresh and they looked lean and ready to compete.\u00a0 Lined up against them at the start I could see both of them on either side of me ready to put me through my paces.\u00a0 After hearing the starting gun I fell in line behind both as they took an early lead.<\/h4>\n

You have a lot of time to reflect when you\u2019re running four quarter-mile laps.\u00a0 Although I was concerned with the other athletes racing against me, I was also consumed with hatred for Bastien and a singular goal to get to the final and put him in his place.\u00a0 I had to win my race because my single purpose was that Bastien\u2019s place would not be at Pippa\u2019s side.<\/h4>\n

I held the third spot for the first two laps before I began to challenge my opponents.\u00a0 This was more than a race to me.\u00a0 My future with Pippa depended on me not losing.\u00a0 The competition against Bastien for my girl depended on me finishing in first.\u00a0 I didn\u2019t care about the other racers.\u00a0 Second and third were the only options I was prepared to leave for them.\u00a0 For me, coming in second was not winning.<\/h4>\n

I took the lead in the fourth and final lap and easily breezed in for the win.\u00a0 I was elated.\u00a0 Bastien, Ben, and I would meet up later against each other.\u00a0 As I saw it, there could only be one outcome and that was with me being victorious.<\/h4>\n

I had watched Bastien off-field whenever he had completed a race.\u00a0 Pippa was there.\u00a0 Students had been given the chance to be excused from classes if they attended the tournament to cheer on their home school.\u00a0 It wasn\u2019t mandatory and there were some who didn\u2019t attend in the school or at the track.\u00a0 That wasn\u2019t Pippa.\u00a0 She was there in Bastien\u2019s corner like a prizefighter\u2019s manager.\u00a0 I couldn\u2019t bear to watch.<\/h4>\n

My thoughts of Pippa were ever present throughout the day.\u00a0 How could she be with a guy like that?\u00a0 I had been asking myself that question for many weeks.\u00a0 I hadn\u2019t liked the answers she had given.\u00a0 She said he was capable of being sincere and caring and honest.\u00a0 She said it was better to know what someone is and work on changing it.\u00a0 She said she could be herself with him; a girl with no baggage.\u00a0 She said I was part of everything she was trying to move on from and that I didn\u2019t have to be happy for her but hoped I could move on too.\u00a0 She also said she still loved me.\u00a0 I thought that if she could say that to me while being with another guy then brother, that\u2019s when I go to work with a clear conscience.<\/h4>\n

The time for the Tri-Mile race finally came.\u00a0 My head was swirling with all those answers from Pippa that didn\u2019t add up to me.\u00a0 I was ready for the race but I was having a hard time clearing my mind.<\/h4>\n

\u201cGentlemen, it is an honor to have you as my competitors,\u201d Bastien said as he, Ben and I took the starting positions.\u00a0 That Bastard and his near perfect grammar was all smiles.\u00a0 I was harboring such hatred for him that I saw his statement not as a compliment but as a challenge.\u00a0 I think Ben might have said something complimentary back to him but I was quiet and focussed on the race ahead.<\/h4>\n

There was one false start as I bolted ahead a split-second before the starter\u2019s pistol.\u00a0 We three had to line up again and I was given a caution.\u00a0 I had to settle down my mind.\u00a0 I was so anxious to get ahead and stay there.\u00a0 I couldn\u2019t give Bastien an inch.<\/h4>\n

The next start was successful and we were away down the track.\u00a0 I had found a moment of calm before the second start and tried to focus on all of the rules of running. \u00a0I had to pace myself.\u00a0 I had to leave a reserve for the last lap.\u00a0 To hell, with all of that, I thought.\u00a0 I had to beat Bastien.\u00a0 I had to show Pippa up in her little game.\u00a0 She would be mine again.<\/h4>\n

We all kept pace with each for the first two laps.\u00a0 Ben and Bastien were on either side of me so I could easily see both of them.\u00a0 Bastien began to pull ahead in the third lap and Ben and I kept pace with each other.\u00a0 We had seen this before and knew that the final lap was where we\u2019d make our move.<\/h4>\n

On that third lap, I kept Bastien in my sights and focussed on not losing any further ground.\u00a0 I had lost so much ground to him already since he had arrived at our school.\u00a0 I had lost my girl to him.\u00a0 Pippa was my girl.<\/h4>\n

Moving into the fourth and final lap I began to reflect on everything.\u00a0 It all came pouring in.\u00a0 Pippa had said she still loved me.\u00a0 I had written the Ogre story and she had called me \u2018Pink\u2019 again.\u00a0 Then I remembered I had only written that story because she had called me an Ogre.\u00a0 The Ogre in my fairy-tale was sensitive and did what the Princess asked and he continued to love her even though he knew she would never be his.\u00a0 Then it hit me, I was the Ogre in my own story.<\/h4>\n

I had been referring to Pippa as my girl.\u00a0 I had been determined to upset her plans with Bastien for my own gain.\u00a0 She was the prize to be won.\u00a0 That was all wrong.\u00a0 Hadn\u2019t I told Bastien that there are trophies in competitions but he shouldn\u2019t try referring to Pippa as one?\u00a0 I had forgotten my own words.<\/h4>\n

I began to realize maybe it wasn\u2019t Bastien who should be the focus of my anger.\u00a0 I should have been angry with myself.\u00a0 I hadn\u2019t been thinking clearly at all.\u00a0 \u00a0Ever since I had met Pippa I had only focussed on how to be near her and eventually make her mine.\u00a0 I had been patient and then thankful and then stupid.\u00a0 After our split I had transformed into a consumed individual who had lost sight of living my own life.\u00a0 Pippa had been my life and here I was racing to stop her from getting on with hers.\u00a0 I couldn\u2019t separate out whether I had done this to myself or it had all been Pippa\u2019s fault.<\/h4>\n

While this had all been playing out in my head, my body had instinctively done its job and I had caught up with Bastien.\u00a0 Ben was there alongside of us.\u00a0 I snapped out of my reverie and focussed on not winning.\u00a0 It had become clear to me that I had to follow through with one thing I had told Pippa when we last met.\u00a0 This was where I got off.<\/h4>\n

I began to ease my speed but not overtly.\u00a0 I had pulled ahead but then I slowed and pulled back until I was even with Ben and Bastien.\u00a0 Ben gave me a look and I shook my head ever so slightly from side to side.\u00a0 The gesture was not lost on Ben.\u00a0 He sped up and took the lead only enough to allow Bastien to move ahead in time with Ben\u2019s steps.\u00a0 Around the last corner I made another effort to regain the lead so it wouldn\u2019t look like I was deliberately trying to lose.\u00a0 Ben and Bastien and I kept up a back and forth in the home stretch but we allowed Bastien to cross the finish ahead of us.\u00a0 I knew I was going to owe Ben an explanation.<\/h4>\n

There was suddenly a throng around Bastien with Pippa in the center with him.\u00a0 Ben and I walked around a little bit and kept throwing glances at each other.\u00a0 How was I going to tell Ben that I had given up?\u00a0 It was bad enough that I had let Bastien win but I had communicated silently to Ben that I wanted him to do the same.<\/h4>\n

My hatred for Bastien had abated.\u00a0 It wasn\u2019t his fault I felt that way.\u00a0 I had played into the old jealousy game.\u00a0 Bastien and I were both pawns.\u00a0 Wrongly, I began to think Pippa was the reason for all of this.\u00a0 I knew I had been stupid and loved her blindly and the one solid \u2018if only\u2019 that ran through my mind was \u2018if only\u2019 I hadn\u2019t loved her the first time I saw her.<\/h4>\n

Everything swelled up inside me and I could only see that my story with Pippa was finished.\u00a0 I saw an opening in the crowd around her and Bastien and I approached them.\u00a0 I was empty and angry all at the same time.\u00a0 I blamed Pippa.\u00a0 I had proposed the agreement and now she had what she wanted.\u00a0 I wasn\u2019t prepared to let her off that easy.<\/h4>\n

\u201cIs that the deal you wanted or should I have thrown in my shirt?\u201d I asked angrily.\u00a0 In a final gesture to our finished relationship, I whipped off my jersey, threw it at her feet, and walked away.<\/h4>\n

 <\/p>\n

I have finished Chapter 13 but the next Chapter will be out of sequence and will probably frustrate the reader to no end.\u00a0 I had written the first 7 chapters before I read them to my wife.\u00a0 She has enjoyed them and likes the story but then she’s also my biggest fan.\u00a0 I can’t wait to finish this book and look at having it published.\u00a0 Until then, you’ll all have to stay tuned.
\n<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Hey, has anyone wondered where I’ve been for the last month? Well, I’m going to tell you even if you didn’t want to know.\u00a0 It’s been a couple of months since I have written a longer blahg.\u00a0 The last full blahg was\u00a0SAY IT AIN’T SO…NO MORE WEEPIES at the beginning of February.\u00a0 I followed […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/falseducks.com\/theblahg\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5309"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/falseducks.com\/theblahg\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/falseducks.com\/theblahg\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/falseducks.com\/theblahg\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/falseducks.com\/theblahg\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5309"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"http:\/\/falseducks.com\/theblahg\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5309\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6627,"href":"http:\/\/falseducks.com\/theblahg\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5309\/revisions\/6627"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/falseducks.com\/theblahg\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5309"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/falseducks.com\/theblahg\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5309"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/falseducks.com\/theblahg\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5309"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}