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But she won’t look up She’s locked in to her own zone, and that’s okay She looks great in warm-ups, not that I knohole hell of a lot about soccer But she looks just as good as the other girls out there--girls who have been training with the teae trainer in a wheelchair In a way, it gives er But I don’t think I really did er than everybody else all along

She looks incredible in her soccer shorts I sketch a h socks pulled up over her knee That’s a look I’ her to replicate

Coach subs her in pretty quickly I can tell it pisses off the girl he subbed out Good She should be pissed Cass is better, and that chick is going to lose her spot Cass is faster than everyone out there Her legs work the ball better She anticipates, and then she capitalizes on her opponent’s errors By the tioal to her naain when they jog by, but she’s not looking my way It’s okay--I don’t want to be a distraction I dohe says so I can pass on to Cass

"Looking good, Preeter That girl? She ht just save our season," he says

"Well, what can I say, I kno to scout," I say back, h as he turns away I can raise my hand to take the credit until I’m blue in the face But all of that? The forty-fiveturf that I just witnessed? That’s one hundred percent Cass and her drive I can see she wants this, not just forthe dreaht to have alanted it in the first place

Cass

Nothing is wrong I’ood I’ I lie here on the bench, an ice pack on the back of hts, the sounds of the other girls and lockers and chatter all ether into one obnoxious cacophony aroundthe words over and over in my head, because if I don’t, if I let up theto cry

And once I start, I’m not sure I’ll stop

For once, it’s noth today, are in ht now is new And I don’t deserve to have to have it there I didn’t ask for it I didn’t want it I didn’t go looking for it But it found me anyway I can’t deny that the last few hours have scarred ain

I shouldn’t have stayed I should have just taken the F But I can’t let rades slip That’s a deal-breaker for my parents And just one F--risks it all

Maybe I should have risked it? No…don’t let those thoughts in Don’t think about it Just think about the goal, your ga is fine Your legs feel strong You are winning

Win Win Win!

I was the only one in the roo But I slid into the small desk I let him hand me the stapled packet for the retest I wrotefor answers and reeling froht I didn’t notice how close he’d gotten I didn’t see it coh

No My body is strong--just forty-fiveI want this I can do this

I jerkedquickly, startled, almost as I would be if a spider landed on me A spider--this was so incredibly far froladly accepted venom instead I can still hear it all infor doht to keep myself on top, to remain in control

"Oh, I’m sorry Cassidy I just wanted to check your work,it this ti His breath hot, the stench of stale coffee nauseatingly pungent

I pretended it was nothing I played along with the ood this tiht

And then his hand slid back in place, his chair behind s on either side ofto stop He Was Not Going To Stop

A single tear falls downit aith the back of my hand I open my eyes and am relieved that I am in a corner…alone Coach has come in I missed his entrance I was lost for a few minutes, but I’m here now