Changement De Rythme

Quick! Take your first step, and feel a million grains of hot sand charge against the bottom of your foot.
Now, take a breath and fill your lungs with the salty sea air that you can’t seem to get enough of.
Start to build up your speed, and next thing you know, the ocean itself is flying right by you.
You? You're at your best.
With the wind reaching every strand of your hair and pushing it against your face.
With your heart pumping and you legs striding across the semi-wet ground.
This, is what you love the most.
This, is the exact thing you live for.
And you, you’re at your best.

You’re at your friend’s house.
He wants to try something out.
It won’t hurt, he says. At least I don’t think.
He runs disappears, the reappears with a bottle of vodka.
Clear bodied, read capped, unmistakable bottle of vodka.
He walks to the table, and unscrews the cap.
You go first, he says shoving the red cap in your face.
It was your idea, you say.
He shrugs and takes the bottle back.
If you say so, he says and downs a fourth of the bottle.
Now the bottle is back in your face.
Your friend, looking at you, waiting.
Your vision bounces from him to the bottle, him to the bottle, him to the bottle.

Alternating between crushing sand and breathing, you see the ocean fly past you.
It seems to be getting faster.
But then again, maybe that’s just you.
The sand is making it harder to run, it is too dry.
You smile and only run faster.
And ten minutes later, you’re still running.
And an hour later, you’re still running.
And an hour and a half later, you’re still running.
And an hour and a half later, you’re still at your best.

You’re in the backseat of your friend’s, cousin’s, step-brother’s car.
Squished in between three or four people you’ve never met in your life.
Just try out one party, your friend said.
You’ll like it.
Your friend’s, cousin’s, step-brother stops in front of a house with a white picket fence.
Not the first think you imagine when you think of a party.
Though you can still hear the music blasting out the windows from the car.
You walk in the door and someone throws a red cup in your face.
You take a sip despite what your head is telling you.
You take another.
And another.
And now it’s 4 hours later and you are still sipping down more of what people give you.
And you don’t know what’s going on.
But you think you might like it.

Fast forward to tomorrow. Same time, same place.
Fast forward a week, a month, a year.
Find yourself doing the same thing everyday.
Find yourself never getting bored, or tired.
But find yourself running faster, harder, longer.
Because this, is the only thing you live for.
At least, you think so.

Change your setting from the calming ocean front, to the kitchen of your city house.
You’re not good enough, your parents are yelling.
You haven’t exceeded their expectations.
Not by a long shot.
Run ‘till you pass out, they say.
And don’t come home until you feel like your about to die.
Charming folks aren’t they?

You’re in the backseat of you’re friend’s, brother’s, girlfriend’s, cousin’s car.
She is pulling in front of yet another house.
This party is the best one of the year, your friend says.
You have to go.
Like you were going to pass this up…
You walk in the door and someone throws a red cup in your face.
You take a sip despite what your head is still telling you.
You take another.
And another.
And now it’s 4 hours later again and you are still sipping down more of what people give you.
And you still don’t know what’s going on.
And you know you like it.

You are running down the street.
But this time, for a different reason.
The law is chasing you.
For something that made your life.
For something that you didn’t ever know you would do.
Ever could do.
Now is the time where you are thankful that you spent all those days at the beach.
But you think about it, and wonder why you even wasted your time with something so stupid.

And now you’re in a race.
Still running, and maybe not so much at your best.
You’re in last place.
And you’re not sure if you can catch up.
And everything you’ve ever done is flashing through your head.
Because now you feel like your parents were right.
Now you want to be back at a party, any party.
Now is when you stop.
Turn around.
And run back.
You hear everyone yelling, you hear your parents.
And you don’t care.
You’ve moved on to something better than running.
You’ve found what you really love.
And it’s not this.
Not. By. A. Longshot.