Soon, the whistle blew, and over a dozen girls started running. Iris Kensington disliked running, but she wouldn't just phone it in, so she gave it her all from the start.
Holly Winslow and Anna Willow simultaneously waved their pom-poms and shouted, "Go, Ellie!!"
"You've got this, Ellie!!"
"Go, Jane Langdon! Go, Jane Langdon…"
"Go, Jack Webb! Go, Jack Webb…"
Anna Willow and Holly Winslow's voices were drowned out by the others. Unwilling to be outdone, Anna yelled at the top of her lungs, "Go, Ellie! Go, Ellie!"
Holly joined in for a few more cheers, but her voice soon gave out and she had to rest. Before long, Anna couldn't keep shouting either.
Panting, Anna said, "Ellie's losing steam."
Just into the second lap, Iris Kensington's pace began to slow.
Seeing that other runners had people pacing them, Holly Winslow and Anna Willow quickly conferred and decided to take turns running alongside her on the inner track.
