Stolen Fatigue: I Die in His Place
During the freshman orientation, Fletcher Stone, the campus heartthrob, leads a protest in front of the orientation leader, Lindsey Quinn. As a result, Lindsey decides to make everyone run laps around the field.
While Fletcher has volunteered to run everyone's laps on his own, the truth is, he has transferred the fatigue to me.
He finishes his 30-mile run without a shift in his expression. After that, he tells Lindsey that he's willing to take on everyone's orientation training on his own.
Because of that, everyone becomes Fletcher's fans. I, on the other hand, keep getting admitted into the infirmary because of exhaustion, which results in me being late to the orientation.
My tardiness ends up affecting our class' chances of receiving a good rank. I get berated by the entire class as a result.
When I try to explain my condition to everyone, they all look at me as though I were crazy.
"You've barely attended the orientation for a few days, so how is it possible for you to be this exhausted? I think you're just pretending to be exhausted!"
"Are you jealous of Fletcher because he's way fitter and more handsome than you? Now, he's even more popular than you!"
Driven by despair, I demand answers from Fletcher. But he just changes into his uniform nonchalantly.
"Please step out of my way. I need to go on a weighted cross-country run as the college's representative, so I have no time to fool around with you."
Once Fletcher is done with the run in the 104-degree weather, his expression remains cool and collected.
But I'm so exhausted that I suffer from organ failure, leading to my immediate death.
When I open my eyes again, I've returned to the first day of the freshman orientation. This time, I decide to take the initiative to report to Lindsey.
"I'll take on the punishment for the entire class."