Patina

At the first track practice after the disappointing meet, the Defender’s team captain, Aaron, confronts Patty. He tells Patty to remember that she is part of a team and needs to be supportive of her teammates regardless of her individual performance. Patty is frustrated by this, but she smiles for the first time since the track meet when her friend and fellow team newcomer, Sunny, compliments the nail polish she did in the Defenders’ colors.

During warm up, Coach pulls Patty aside and the two run the track together. Coach carries a silver relay baton, which he explains is a symbol for the energy of the team. Coach also reminds Patty that she is a part of the team and that while she can be frustrated with her performance, she can’t “check out” and negatively affect her team (48).

Coach assigns Patty to the girls’ 4 x 800 relay team, an event she has never run before. Patty is familiar with the event and believes she understands the event because “all you had to do was take the baton, then run as fast as you could to hand it off to the next person” (51).