The Running Dream

Jessica replays a recent 400-meter race in her mind, a race against her rival, Vanessa Steele. She remembers every detail about the race, from Vanessa’s deep-red painted fingernails to Vanessa’s habit of psyching out her competition by being the last girl in the starting blocks. Jessica recalls feeling confident and calm as she settles into the blocks before the gun goes off.

The race begins, and Jessica knows she is running well. Her “kick is good” (10), and she is “soaring around the track” (10) as she approaches Vanessa and the most challenging part of the race: Rigor Mortis Bend. She draws even with Vanessa with 100-meters to go. Both runners give it their all as they speed toward the finish line.

It is right before the finish line that Jessica leans forward one last time and “duck[s] over the finish line in front of [Vanessa}” (11). She has won the race, and not only is she the winner, but she ran the race in fifty-five seconds, a league record. It is also, Jessica remembers, the last race of her life, a race she calls “My finish line” (12).