Unsung

Chapter Eighty-Two

Shaking my head, I set off into a jog, dodging blocks and obstacles around the course as I went. When I reached the structure in the back of the parkour area, I stopped and stared at it with trepidation. Just getting up to the Parkour office was going to be a challenge I wasn't sure I was ready for.

Looming three stories in the air, the solid construction jutted up out of the floor like a miniature apartment building. Only, instead of the nice, smooth outter surfaces of most buildings, this one was littered with pipes, bars, handholds and other objects meant to challenge those who dared to try and climb its walls. And at the top was what students called, "The Office." Inside was a desk, a couch and a mini fridge.

At least, that's what I'd been told, as I'd never actually made it past the first level before.

Luckily, I was pretty sure I only needed to make it to the second story to be able to get a good view of the main floor while staying out of sight. And that wasn't entirely impossible.

I think.

I secured my phone in the waistband of my stretch pants and then backed up a few feet, guessing I'd need the long runway to make it up to the first bar, which was attached to the side of the building 15 feet in the air. Taking a deep breath and remembering which leg I needed to lead with, I took off running as hard as I could toward the wall. When it looked like I might crash face-first into the concrete surface, I placed one foot on the wall, then followed it with two more steps, and then reached my hands up toward the bar jutting out above me. As my fingers closed around the cold, hard metal, I let out a whoop of triumph. In fact, I was so surprised to have caught it on the first try that I almost let go out of sheer shock.

Excitement coursed through my body, and I found myself able to yank my body into a pull-up position before stretching my arm out a few feet to grip the drainpipe that extended all the way to the second story. As I was about to let go with my other hand, the hold I had on the pipe suddenly slipped and I gasped as I began to fall. Dangling high above the ground by just one hand, I took a deep breath and forced my limp hand back up to meet the other.

I was sweating now. It was probably the reason I'd slipped when grabbing the pipe in the first place. My arms were also starting to grow tired with exhaustion and I knew that if I dropped to the ground now, I'd have to wait a considerable amount of time before trying to get back up again. I looked up at the drainpipe I needed to get to in order to make it to the second story of the structure. Gritting my teeth, I let go of the bar with one arm and clumsily wiped my hand on my pants before regripping.

Satisfied I wasn't going to slip again, I grunted as I heaved myself up into a pull-up position and then shot one of my arms out toward the drainpipe. When it connected, I gripped it as tightly as I could and then said a little prayer as I let go of the bar with my other hand. With both hands firmly around the pipe, I slid down into a cat hang. Giving myself a few seconds to let my muscles rest, I glanced up at the landing above me before beginning to shimmy up the pipe ninja-style. Every few feet there were brackets securing the pipe to the wall, which provided some footing for me as I ascended. But besides that, I was moving on sheer will and adrenaline. After more grunting than a professional tennis player, and climbing with arms that felt like they might actually fall off, I finally dragged myself up and onto the floor of the second story, collapsing as I sucked in air like I'd just run a marathon.

"I did it!" I gasped out loud. Then I peered around the dark and empty room, and realized I was talking to myself. "Please tell me somebody saw that."

I rolled from my back onto my stomach and then peered out the gaping hole of a door, to see if the others had witnessed what I'd done. As I searched the big blue mat for my friends, my eyes finally zeroed in on McKayla, Ty and Ris, who were all standing in a group just to the left of the spotlight.

As I was about to yell out to them, their heads suddenly jerked to the right and their bodies visibly stiffened. I leaned forward and squinted to see what they were looking at.

Then I watched as Jake, Lauren and Trick walked out intothe middle of the floor.