The winner

The naysayers. The mockers.
The teasers. The idle drifters.
The defenders. The comforters.
Their eyes were watching.
Their watch crawling
on her spine
like a lizard sneaking on the wall.
She shook off the feeling.
Felt the lizard fall.
And busied her mind.
Running the 800 metres,
perfecting the high jump,
revising the broad jump.
The crowd had 14000 chances.
To cheer and boo.
She had but one.
This one.
The uniform beckoned.
The background faded.
And with that denial,
she succeeded.
In her soul.
In her home.
In her street.
And in her test.
The standards were finally met.

Linking with Thin Spiral Notebook :100 words: Denial

And with Thin Spiral Notebook :100 words: Lizard