A Little Excerpt

Friday, April 19, 2019
 
A couple of Levi Cranston’s (The Magic Video Game) friends, Kevin Maggliardi and Mike Wong, decided to spend this evening together working out. Levi, Jack Andrews, Asad Prejesh, and Jing Hao spent an evening in downtown Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Kevin and Wong had been wanting to run up all of the flights of stairs in Wong’s high rise building in Cambridge, and now was the best day to do it.

“Are you ready to die yet, Wong?” Kevin asked his best friend with a smile.
“As ready as always,” Wong responded, flexing his right arm.
“Me, too. Ready?”
“Yes!”

After a brief warm-up session, the two boys started running up each flight of stairs. After about five flights of stairs, both boys started breathing a little harder, but they still felt like they could accomplish this feat.

Twelve flights of stairs in, and Kevin noticed himself gasping for air, and his face felt flushed. He was not going to let this stop him. This was his goal for over six months, as was Wong’s. He had used his inhaler before running up the stairs.

Wong started feeling a burning sensation in his chest, and he could hear his heart pounding in his ears. He didn’t care. They were a few flights up from the top, and this was not going to stop them.

Before they knew it, they made it to the top. Both Kevin and Wong slowly finished their last flight and found a ledge to sit on. They were both breathing very hard and were extremely sweaty.

Wong’s chest hurt even more than it did before. He tried some deep breathing exercises without much luck. He had to catch his breath before he could relax.

Kevin’s hands were on his chest. He could both hear and feel his heart racing. He thought it could pop out of his chest at any moment. He buried his head inside his shirt so that he could dry the sweat off his face.

“Well, unless we decide to shower, I don’t think we should go anywhere tonight,” Wong remarked, after a few minutes.
“I’m winded. I don’t think I’d want to go anywhere tonight,” Kevin replied.
“How are you now?”
“Almost recovered. How about you?”
“I’m fine. Your face is flushed,” Wong said.
“It feels flushed. You in the mood for pizza?” Kevin asked.
“Of course. I’m probably gonna be hungry within the next hour.”
“I call a large pineapple and ham pizza for myself. What about you?”
“Feeling cheese today. My heart is racing.”
“Just take some deep breaths. You’ll be okay.”