The sports committee member chuckled and quickly ran over to the desk of Henry Clark and Thomas Reed, propping one hand on the edge of their desk, setting down the event list, and asked expectantly, “Henry Clark, no one in our class has signed up for the girls’ 3000-meter event. It’s just you and Thomas Reed left. Can one of you sign up for the 3000 meters?”

Henry Clark looked up and agreed, “Sure, I’ll sign up for the 3000 meters.”

Thomas Reed had just put down her pen and frowned at this, “You just agreed so casually?”

Henry Clark looked at her in confusion, “What’s wrong?”

Thomas Reed: “No one else wanted to sign up so they just gave it to you?”

Henry Clark: “It’s fine, I can run.”

Thomas Reed was still annoyed, threw down her pen, and glared at the dark-skinned girl in front of her.

The dark-skinned girl was startled by her. She could joke around with everyone else, but in front of Thomas Reed she didn’t say a word, her face turned red, and she let go of the desk, stammering, “It’s got nothing to do with me. Henry Clark is really good—she can always run during PE. She’ll definitely win glory for our class.”

Henry Clark paused and asked her, “Or do you want to run the 3000 meters too?” She remembered that Thomas Reed always insisted on finishing the run in every PE class.

The dark-skinned girl quickly chimed in, “If you want to run, then both of you can do the 3000 meters. I’ll write down both your names.”

Thomas Reed: “Run my ass, I’m doing long jump!”

Dark-skinned girl: “Okay, okay, you’re doing long jump.” She finished writing and hurried away.

Not long after class ended, after Thomas Reed left, the dark-skinned girl came over to Henry Clark again and said, “Just a heads up, everyone running needs to wear running shoes or sneakers—shoes suitable for running. Make sure you all prepare your own shoes for the running events.”

Henry Clark paused, “Okay, got it.”

Henry Clark bought a pair of white rubber shoes, washed them until they were spotless, and put them under her bed. When Grace Carter came back to the dorm and saw them, she casually said, “She finally bought shoes. I’ve seen her wear the same pair of cloth shoes for half a semester without changing them. They must stink to death!”

Henry Clark wasn’t in the dorm, but Thomas Reed happened to come back and heard this. She was holding a bottle of water she’d taken a couple of sips from, and she immediately threw the water bottle at Grace Carter’s feet. Water splashed all over Grace Carter, and a patch of her bedding got wet.

“Ah—what’s wrong with you! Are you crazy?!”

Thomas Reed walked over in a few steps and kicked hard at the edge of her bed. “Watch your damn mouth. You’re always running your mouth for no reason. Can’t you talk like a normal person? Every time I hear you talk shit, I just want to hit you.”

Henry Clark did only have one pair of cloth shoes and no spares. Shoes worn for a long time will start to smell. Grace Carter had mentioned it in the dorm before, loudly hinting that someone’s shoes stank and the whole dorm smelled because they didn’t wash them. Thomas Reed didn’t think there was any smell, but Henry Clark immediately knew she was talking about her. After that, she washed her shoes at least twice a week, always washing them at night and leaving them outside to dry, then wearing them the next day.

If the weather was good, the shoes would dry, but if it rained and they didn’t dry overnight, Henry Clark would still wear them to class all day.

There was a period of continuous rainy days, and Thomas Reed was in a particularly bad mood, even the puddles on the road annoyed her.

“Grace Carter, take a look at your own shoes. You’ve left them under your bed for a month without washing them, and you’re still judging others. Who stinks more than you? Who has a mouth as foul as yours? Aren’t you disgusting?” Thomas Reed swept all her shoes out from under the bed and threw them out.

……

When Henry Clark was returning to the dorm from the teaching building, she passed by the sports field and saw a figure jogging inside. That silhouette was very familiar—it was her deskmate.

“Thomas Reed.”

Thomas Reed was wearing headphones, the intense electronic beats almost bursting her eardrums, so she couldn’t hear anything.

Henry Clark stood there patiently, waiting until she ran closer, then called out again, “Thomas Reed, why are you running at this hour?”

Thomas Reed still didn’t hear, but she saw Henry Clark, took off her headphones, and asked, “Back to the dorm so early today?” As she spoke, she walked over and went back to the dorm with her.

When the two of them returned to the dorm, Henry Clark noticed it was unusually quiet. No one was talking. Grace Carter was sitting on her bed messaging someone, her eyes red and swollen as if she’d been crying.

Thomas Reed’s expression was cold. She didn’t speak to anyone and went straight to wash up.

The next day after morning self-study, everyone went to breakfast. Henry Clark finished eating first and headed upstairs, when she suddenly heard voices in the stairwell above. It was their classmate David Miller.

Henry Clark remembered him. When Thomas Reed first became her deskmate, David Miller had come over several times to talk to Thomas Reed, but later, when Thomas Reed got impatient and ignored him, he gradually stopped coming.

Now his tone was not very friendly: “My girlfriend Grace Carter said you bullied her. What’s going on?”

Thomas Reed was standing in front of him, blocked by him, and her expression wasn’t good either. “You’re dating Grace Carter? Well, you two really are a perfect match—an idiot with a moron.”

David Miller held back his anger: “Watch your mouth. I don’t hit women, but I’m warning you, don’t go too far. If it happens again, see if I won’t hit you!”

Thomas Reed sneered, “You don’t hit women? I hit women. And I’m warning you, if your dumbass girlfriend targets Henry Clark for no reason again, I won’t just throw her shoes—I’ll throw her. Do you really think I have a good temper?”

Author’s note: