Tit For Tat (Marnie)

[Riana Skye]

Riana arrived at track practice at her usual time, wearing her usual outfit. Of course this meant she was wearing black shorts, a gray running shirt, with her track jacket over top. She even had a faded Astros ballcap on, protecting her from the sun's scorching glare. 

Good,Riana thought. A lot of sun meant more people were drinking water.

Riana was at practice five minutes early so she could fit in some extra stretching, nothing out of the ordinary. She set her bag down, sat herself down on a patch of grass, and began loosening up her legs. As she touched her toes, Riana's thouhts drifted to the contents of her bag. A change of clothes, a water bottle, and...something else.

Today was not going to be an ordinary track practice. Not that Riana was bored of track, but she did like spicing it up every once in a while. 

[Marnie Sullivan]

Ah, sunny June. Although Vermont was (thankfully) not frying at the same rate as the rest of the country, Marnie was still grateful for the gradual change in warmth. Come midsummer she'd be singing a different tune, but right now the weather was worth revelling in.

Arriving at practice just about on time, Marnie deposited her bag and water bottle in the grass near the edge of the track and gave a wave to her teammate. She hadn't spoken to Riana much since the girl had joined the track team, especially because she was a sprinter and Marnie certainly wasn't, but she seemed nice enough. A glance around the field showed that the two were the first runners to arrive; maybe today would be a good time to properly break the ice. Marnie trotted over to where Riana was working on her stretches, smile on her face.

"Mind if I join you?" 

[Riana Skye]

Riana nodded towards the other girl, "Sure, don't need to ask".

During her short time at Hammel, Riana hadn't met everyone yet. She knew Marnie's name and what she did on the track team, but that was it. It seemed as though this was Riana's chance to learn more about the other girl.

"Hot day today isn't it. I hoped you brought your water".

[Marnie Sullivan]

"Sure did." Gripping her outstretched foot with both hands, Marnie leaned into a full fold and held for a few seconds before switching to the other side. "I like it though, I think it feels great out here."

Sitting back up, Marnie pressed both feet together and her knees down in what she thought of as a butterfly stretch (mostly out of habit from P.E. classes past, since the position actually looked very little like a butterfly).

"I wonder what we're working on today? I hope we get to mix things up a little, the last few practices have been kind of boring."

[Riana Skye]

Seeing Marnie stretch, Riana remembered she should probably do the same. She put her legs together outstretched in front of her. Then she reached forward to touch her toes. After holding this position for thirty seconds, she leaned back and looked at Marnie. Riana's eyes glittered mischieviously as she spoke.

"Yeah, track is fun, but sometimes it doesn't hurt to spice things up a bit".

Most of the other athletes had arrived by now, and practice would most likely start in a few moments. After a quick scan of who was present, Riama decided that Marnie would be her 'victim'.

"I have a feeling this practice will contain a few surprises". After pausing for a moment she continued, "Well, I think it's 'bout time we got up and start those warm-up laps".

Riana then made no move to get up.

[Marnie Sullivan]

Marnie nodded in agreement, oblivious. Maybe the coach had mentioned trying something new today and she just couldn't remember. Hopefully it wasn't the beep test, that involved too much sprinting for her taste. After double-checking that her shoelaces were tied tightly, she got to her feet.

"I hope you're right about those surprises," Marnie said with a grin. "We could definitely use the variety." With another wave, she jogged back to where she'd left her belongings. After stopping for a swig of water, she continued on to meet up with a few of the other long-distance runners who were beginning to congregate near the starting line.

[Riana Skye]

Riana waved good-bye ti Marnie. If variety was what the other girl wanted, variety was what Marnie was going to get. Riana slowly got up, taking her time to allow Marnie to integrate with the other long-distance runners. Then Riana quietly made her way to where Marnie's water bottle sat.

After checking to make sure nobody was watching, Riana reached into her baf and brought out a salt shaker. Another glance ensured her plan's secrecy, and Riana unscrewed the cap of Marnie's water bottle.

This was where Riana hesitated. Marnie seemed so nice, plus the other girl was oblivious to Riana's schemes. Maybe Riama should try get someone else. It was too late to turn back though, so Riana braced her conscience and added a little bit of salt to Marnie's water. Riana could always share her water with Marnie.

It was not enough to cause a stomach ache or sickness, but it would be quite the shock to taste salt in your water bottle. Riana couldn't help but snicker. Then she screwed the cap back on and set the innocent seeming water bottle onto the ground.

"Skye, what are ya doing over there?"

Riana turned to face the voice. Had she been caught? Riana put on her most innocent expression. "I'm thirsty, needed some water".

"Practice hasn't even started yet!"

Riana just shrugged. She was speechless with relief. Riana had dodged a bullet there. Then a whistle blew and practice started.

[Marnie Sullivan]

Twenty minutes in, Marnie was feeling great - she was energized without being exhausted, starting to feel sore in the right ways. She was also overdue for a bit of hydration.

When the coach called for a water break, Marnie headed over to her bag to retrieve her water bottle. Quite thirsty, she managed to get one greedy gulp down before the taste registered and she sprayed a mouthful of salt water all over herself.

"What the - " she sputtered, coughing fitfully, bent over as she tried to catch her breath. What on earth was wrong with her water? It hadn't tasted like that at the beginning of practice, and it was definitely her bottle. When her coughing subsided, Marnie peered at her water bottle carefully - through the clear blue plastic, her water didn't look much different than it ought to, but maybe it did look a little cloudier than before. She hadn't seen anybody tamper with it. Was someone on the team mad at her? Marnie glanced around at her teammates, wondering who might have it out for her, hoping a guilty face might give it away.