62 - The chapter with the Campbell marathon

Rose

" Think on the bright side, the girls will leave you alone. " I assured Camille as I dragged her up the stairs to my room.

" That I doubt very much," she sighed, "The last time they saw me talking to Christian it only served to make them pick on me more.”

" This is pure jealousy, and it will only increase, after all, you and Chris study together, he will be very close to you," I assured.

I had seen that red-headed girl who seemed to be the leader of the group  that was bullying camille, and I remembered clearly the party where she was dancing with Christian and I managed to drag him from the dance floor to a closet at the end of the hall. I didn't pay much attention to her that night, I was just frustrated because the guy I was flirting with seemed more interested in talking about the team's next game than giving me any compliments, so I was forced to turn to Christian to regain some of my high self-esteem, and in the process I ended up throwing that redhead out of the picture.

" Studying with Christian means nothing," she returned.

" It means more than you can imagine. The first time they see you going out to lunch with him, everything will change," I assured her.

" Going out to lunch with him? Are you out of your mind?”

" You're right, on Monday I'll arrange with the guys that they should all pick you up from the classroom! Imagine their faces when they see Van Derr Waal and Peterson," I winked at her.

That possibility turned her face bright red, making me laugh as I opened the bedroom door.

" She must have been very angry with you for confronting her like that," Camille began, looking around, "and she must think that you're Christian’s girlfriend.”

She might think so. I don't want someone as petty as her around him, he deserves better.

" You can back that story up if you think it will piss her off," I winked at the girl as I took off my clothes after grabbing a pair of shorts and a gym top from the closet.

She looked away, looking embarrassed, before continuing with the subject.

" You two…”

" We have a friendship with benefits, that's all. When we feel like it, we spend some time alone," I shrugged.

That seemed to have aroused the girl's curiosity; she stared at me while I put on my pantyhose over my gym shorts.

" Wow, that sounds so exciting! " she stared at me, "And you and him already…”

I couldn't help but laugh at the look on her face. That girl was really cute.

" What do you think we do when we decide to be alone? " I returned the question.

Her face turning even redder, she handed me the T-shirt that I would wear under the sweater she had separated, looking determined to drop the subject.

" Come on, I have to face this once and for all before I lose my nerve. " I put on the sweater, put on my boots, and stood up, ready to leave.

I found everyone waiting at the entrance of the villa, and it was no surprise to find a few curious people waiting for what was about to happen, but my gaze was immediately drawn to Christian who was talking to the boys. My father approached, looking at me haughtily, before smiling broadly

" Are you ready to lose?”

" I'm going to ignore you, old man," I muttered, feeling a breath of cold air hit me, making me shiver.

It's okay, Rose. The cold will go away as soon as you start moving.

" Rose, tell me you can beat this, because your father can be worse than you," Christian approached.

" Of course I will, and you will take care of me when I get sick later," I murmured.

" Sick? " He frowned.

I took off the coat I was wearing, handing it to him before walking over to where my father was already waiting for me without his coat.

" Who is that guy? " I heard a familiar voice ask.

I looked over at Christian, seeing Ellen, the girl who occupied a dorm room down the hall, who he had already had sex with, approaching him, making my blood boil for a second.

Focus, Rose. FOCUS.

" Her father," he explained.

" You're kidding me, right? " she returned in astonishment.

" Hey, Davis. You'll be responsible for my clothes. You better not lose any! " I warned in a harsh tone, receiving a surprised look in return.

" Clothes? Rose, what are you talking about?”

But my mother caught everyone's attention before I could answer, starting our marathon tiebreaker.

" Okay, let's start the 1000th Campbell Marathon tiebreaker," she began, holding up a full red balloon.

" Miller-Campbell, Mom," I corrected her.

" Honey, that didn't come from my part of the family, it's completely Campbell " She returned with both eyebrows raised.

I could hear some surprised murmurs among our audience at my calling her Mom, but I paid no attention, focusing on my father beside me, trying not to let the chill I was feeling at that moment affect me.

Pull yourself together, Rose. You just have to be quick.

" You will start with a short run to the far end of the building, there you will have six rings to hit three targets, remember that for each mistake you will have to take off an article of clothing and remain without it until the end of the marathon," my mother began to explain the rules. “After hitting all three targets, you will run to the next stop, where two bowls of grapes are, and you will need to eat and swallow them all before going on to the next ring challenge, this time you will only have five available, and in the last challenge, you will have four. Whoever arrives first at this exact spot and has hit the most rings, going around this building, wins. You may encounter some obstacles along the way.”

" Let's get started, little girl," my father got ready to run.

" Are you wearing the same amount of clothes? " My mother confirmed.

" Are they really going to take their clothes off in subzero temperatures? " Alex's eyes widened.

" Welcome to the family, sweetheart," my mother mocked before popping the balloon, setting my father and me in motion.

Our crowd began to grow, following us as we ran, feeling the freezing winter air invade our lungs with every second. With a one second head start I caught the red rings while my father, who arrived soon after, took the purple ones, starting to throw them towards the target.

" CRAP! " I heard my father curse as he missed the first ring, quickly taking off his sweater, cheering up our female audience a bit.

" You started well, old man," I teased him, then regretted it, as I missed the second ring.

" I'll say the same for you, little girl," he returned as I quickly tore off my sweater and threw it in Christian's direction.

DAMN, IT'S COLD!

I threw another ring, hitting it while my father made his second mistake, taking off the shirt he was wearing under his sweater, leaving his muscles exposed to the delight of the girls watching us, making me roll my eyes. Getting the last ring right, I took advantage of the small time advantage to run to the next place, what my mother didn't warn me about, was that the grapes were in small boxes on top of a high window sill, forcing me to climb the frozen bricks on the wall of the building to reach it.

She could not make it any easier!

Just as I started to eat the grapes, hoping not to choke, my father arrived, and the great injustice was that with his height, he only had to stretch a little to pick up the box, winking at me with a victorious smile on his face, making me wish I could hit him with that box.

Pull yourself together, Rose. You can't be banned again!

Another unfair advantage. My father had a terrible eating habit of barely chewing things before swallowing. The guy was practically an ostrich! So, even though I started eating before him, he finished first, causing a lump to form in my throat as I watched him laugh as he ran to the next challenge.

" Rose, hey. Just swallow that, you're not going to let him win, are you? " Christian caught my attention, helping me to regain my focus.

It didn't take long for me to catch up with my father, who was kneeling on the ground, digging with his hands into several freshly formed snow piles. She buried the rings!

" She's a sadist, you know! " I murmured, stooping down beside her.

" I know, she learned it from my mother," he returned, trying hard not to shiver.

Every minute more people gathered to watch us, especially after we were shaking so badly that it was almost impossible to hit the rings, and when we finally crossed the finish line, I was wearing only my shorts and gym top with my low top boots, while my father was wearing only his shorts and boots.

Liam was the first to wrap me up with a blanket in an attempt to make me stop shivering, leading me into the villa.

" Jack, you have to admit that she won this time! " my mother scolded my father.

" We can play another…”

" For God's sake, this was already the tiebreaker, you can't demand another game," Alex held up his hands.

We started to make our way back to the game room, but before we could cross the foyer, the dormitory inspector came toward me.

" Miss Campbell, have you gone mad? Are you trying to kill yourself with hypothermia? " she raised her voice.

" It was just a competition, Ms. Dawson," I struggled to keep my voice steady, even though I couldn't stop shaking.

" A competition? And what would your parents say if you died because of such a competition? " she put both hands on her waist.

" But I was competing against my father," I pointed to the man next to Alex, also wrapped in a blanket.

" We promise to take full responsibility if she dies," Addison warned, "My God, Jack. We are terrible parents!”