Blow Out (2 page)

But that wasn't the worst of it. Dr. Sinjaya had said that her injury was one of the worst he'd ever seen. The day he told her she might never play soccer again was one of the most devastating of her life.

But she hadn't let that happen. She'd proved him wrong.

Lacy let go of the railing for the last three steps. As she reached the top landing, she heard, “Lace!” Someone grabbed her from behind in a huge hug.

She panicked as her right leg twisted awkwardly. “Nita!” she cried. She pushed her best friend away. “My knee! Be careful!”

Nita pressed her hand over her mouth, eyes wide. “I'm sorry! You're not wearing your brace, so I thought—”

“No, it's okay,” Lacy said. “You just scared me.” She gave Nita a quick hug and grinned. “I'm okay, see?” She held out her arms and turned in a slow circle.

“Yay! I don't know what I'd do without you making me look good for the scouts.”

“Um, thanks?” Lacy laughed and glanced at Nita's hair. “Touch up?”

The tips of Nita's hair were a vibrant blue. She had dyed the ends in honor of the University of North Carolina, where she hoped to attend on a soccer scholarship after graduation. As always, Lacy felt a little pang of envy. She wished she had cool parents like Nita's, parents who didn't care so much about appearances.

Nita flipped her hair with her fingers and batted her eyelashes. “U-N-C!”

Lacy smiled. “Come on, or I'll be late for chemistry.”

Nita sighed. “Are you aware you have the worst first period
ever
?”

“Uh, yes.”

As they walked through the entrance, Nita asked, “Want to run this afternoon?”

Lacy hesitated.

“I mean, if you want to wait a few more days….”

A few more days
, Lacy thought.
How about a few more months?
But she said, “No. I mean yes. I'm ready.” She had to be. Team practice would start in a few weeks. If she didn't get in shape soon, she'd never be up to speed with teammates who'd played on club teams during the off-season. Who knew what soccer phenoms were trying out for this year's team? The thought sent a nervous shiver through Lacy.

“Actually,” Lacy said, unlocking her locker and grabbing her chemistry book, “running after school is a
great
idea.”

“Good!” Nita said. “See you at lunch.” She trotted off to her locker at the end of the next hallway.

Lacy closed her locker door. Fraser High seemed more crowded than usual. The clamor of friends greeting each other reminded her of stampeding buffalo. She took a deep breath and stepped into the throng. Without Nita to distract her, she was suddenly aware of every enormous foot and every broad shoulder. She wished she wore a sign that read, “FRAGILE! DO NOT TOUCH!”

You're okay
, Lacy told herself.
It's only first-day jitters
. She turned left. The sciences hallway beckoned, looking a little less crowded. Lacy sped up. She just wanted to reach her classroom and sit down.

“Hi, Lacy!”

Lacy glanced over her left shoulder to see who'd called. At the same moment, someone's foot struck her right ankle. If she hadn't been in a school hallway, she would have thought it was a soccer tackle. Her right leg swung out behind her. It happened so fast, she wasn't able to catch herself before she sprawled onto the hard floor.

A scream lodged itself in Lacy's throat.
My knee. My knee!
She sat up, her legs folded under her. Kids swarmed around her like gawkers at a car wreck.

“Back off!” she cried, terrified they'd step on her. “Please!”

“Lacy!” Alyssa Duncan, Fraser High's goalkeeper, crouched and touched Lacy's arm. “You just went down. What happened?”

“I … I'm not sure.”

“Are you okay?”

“Um … yes. I think so.” So far, she didn't feel any pain. She stretched her legs out in front of her and gently pressed her fingers around her knee. No tenderness.

“Want me to get the school nurse?” Alyssa asked.

Lacy shook her head. “No. I'm okay.” She realized she was crying and brushed the tears off her face. “But can you help me up?”

“Sure.” Alyssa took Lacy's hand as someone else said, “Here.”

A girl Lacy didn't recognize extended her hand. Lacy hesitated, then grabbed it, grateful for the help.

“Thanks,” Lacy said, brushing herself off.

“Are you sure you're okay?” Alyssa asked.

“Yes. I'm sure.”

“I've got first period upstairs, so…”

Lacy nodded. “You'd better go.”

“You
are
playing soccer this season, aren't you?” Alyssa asked.

“I hope so.”

“Great! We really need you.” Alyssa gave Lacy a warm smile and a thumbs-up before she headed down the hall.

The other girl hovered nearby. She was the same height as Lacy, about five foot seven. Her blonde hair was cut short, with slanted bangs, and she wore a nose ring. Lacy could make out the tip of a tattoo on the side of her neck—it looked like a scorpion.

“Nasty fall,” the girl said.

Lacy still felt shaken, but the fear was turning into embarrassment. Her cheeks felt hot. “I can't believe this happened.”

“For real. Some kids sure have big feet.” She smiled and waved. “Well, see ya.”

“Sure. Thanks again.”

“Anytime.”

Lacy took a shuddering breath and headed to the restroom. At least the hallway had almost emptied out. As she splashed water on her face and waited for the redness in her eyes to fade, she realized she hadn't introduced herself. Lacy could hear her mother's lecture on manners.

It hit her as the bell rang.
How did the girl know it was a foot that made me fall?

Lacy shook her head and walked to class.
What else would it have been? A gust of wind?

L

acy inhaled as she stepped onto the field and began to grin. Nothing reminded her of a new soccer season like the scent of freshly mown grass. She felt like she was home.

After her tumble in the hall the first day of the semester, life had settled into a pretty dull routine: classes, then running after school with Nita. Then homework and a delicious, if lonely, meal cooked by Sam, her family's chef. Just as Carrie had predicted, “Mum and Da” decided to stay in Europe an extra two weeks.

Her parents had offered to hire one of their former nannies while they were away, but Lacy was seventeen. She didn't need a nanny. Even so, Mrs. Langley had agreed to stay on weekends until Lacy's parents returned. That meant Lacy wasn't completely alone in that big house.

Coach Berg looked up from where he was setting cones on the grass. “Hey, Sheridan. How's the knee?”

Coach Berg was a little younger than her dad, maybe in his late thirties. He was in much better shape, though.

“It's good, Coach.” Lacy answered, trying to sound confident. Coach didn't take pity on players he thought were coddling injuries.

“Great,” he said, pacing off to set another cone. “We need you healthy and scoring.”

As Lacy greeted her returning teammates, she once again felt at home. Madison Wong, Dayton Frey, Elise Heisel, Addie Williams—she'd been playing on clubs with these girls since third grade. They didn't always get along perfectly, but that didn't bother Lacy. It just made them feel more like sisters.

Suddenly, Lacy realized that jogging across the field hadn't bothered her leg. Sprinting was okay. She and Nita had even practiced a little dribbling, passing, and shooting at the soccer park. But Lacy hadn't attempted the sort of sharp turns she'd need to make during a real game. And the thought of tackling drills made her heart race.

“Okay, get stretching!” Coach yelled.

Lacy sat on the grass and began toe stretches. After extending one leg in front of her, she breathed out slowly and leaned forward.
One-one thousand, two-one thousand…

Her physical therapist had told her the right warm-ups were critical to keep from reinjuring her leg. She'd been doing these exercises for months. Sometimes she still expected to feel a painful twinge.

“Hey, Lace.” Nita plopped down next to her and let out a satisfied grunt as she stretched. “I can't believe how good this feels! Another season. Finally here.” She glanced over at Lacy. “Nervous?”

“As nervous as I was on the first day of school without my brace.”

“Hey, guys!” Dayton, who played right forward, sat down across from them and whispered, “So what do you think of the new crop of Copperhead wannabes?”

It was a subject Lacy had wanted to avoid. Even without the players who had graduated last year, the team still had a full load of forwards. And Fraser, North Carolina, had an overabundance of soccer talent on club teams. Plenty of sophomore girls would be eyeing all of their positions. Just what Lacy needed—more pressure.

She counted seven girls scattered across the field who hadn't been on the team last year. They were stretching alone or in small groups. One of the loners—a girl with short, blonde hair—sat up from a low stretch. She looked at Lacy and gave her a smirking smile and a two-fingered wave.

Lacy smiled back, then quickly lowered her eyes. After falling in the hallway, Lacy hadn't seen the girl again. In fact, she'd pretty much forgotten about her. But seeing her at practice brought all of the embarrassment rushing back.

“Nita,” Lacy whispered. “That's the girl. The one in the hallway, right after I fell.”

Nita raised her eyes. “The fake blonde with the nose ring and tattoo?” She turned in a sideways twist toward Lacy. “Well, ya know what I think?”

“What?”

Nita lowered her voice. “I bet she did it. I bet she
tripped
you.”

“Are you kidding?”

“You said it felt like a tackle.”

“Well, yeah, but—”

“Lace. Even with your sheltered upbringing, you've got to admit she has a delinquent vibe. And she's a soccer player, so she knows how to use her feet.”

“But you've never even met her.
I've
never met her. Why would she do something like that?”

“What are you guys talking about?” Dayton asked.

“Nothing,” Lacy said, looking at Nita. “I'm going to withhold judgment on the newbies until we watch them play.”

After they'd stretched, Coach Berg started them on warm-ups, then long and short sprints. Even though Lacy didn't share Nita's poor opinion of the blonde girl, she kept her distance. Maybe the girl
did
have an unfriendly vibe.

 . . .

Practice had been going fine until Coach Berg announced change-of-direction drills. Lacy cut around the cones, but she was so focused on feeling for twinges and pains in her leg that she had trouble keeping up. Everyone got through faster than she did, including the blonde girl.
Especially
the blonde girl. She was crazy fast, and she did a good job of staying low and driving off her outside leg around the cones.

“Good sprinting, McAlister,” Coach Berg told the girl after her return run. Then he clapped his hands. “Okay! Everyone gather around. Cool down.”

As the team stretched again and did some light exercises, Coach Berg picked up his clipboard and announced, “We've got a tough schedule this season. It starts in two weeks with a scrimmage against Norcross.”

A few of the Copperheads groaned, including Lacy. Norcross High School was in another conference. They had a really strong, aggressive 4A team.

“There's a reason for the tough matchup. So stop grumbling,” Coach Berg said. “We have a good returning team. We can win regionals this year, if—and I repeat
if
—we start strong and get better from there. I'm putting a lot of emphasis on this scrimmage. All of your positions are up for grabs.”

As he spoke, Coach Berg scanned the returning players. His look lingered on Lacy—at least that's how it felt to her. She wanted to say,
Yes, Coach, I understand. My head's on the chopping block.

Then he glanced at the newbies and continued, “I'm going to use the Norcross match to decide who gets cut and who starts the first conference match.”

He paused again, then finished by saying, “Okay, that's it. We practice Monday through Thursday. Be on time. And remember… behavior matters.”

Lacy had always felt charged up after practice. This afternoon, she felt drained and discouraged. As she walked in a fog to the locker room, a familiar arm wrapped around her shoulder. “You okay, Lace?” Nita asked.

“Coach is going to cut me from the team.”

“Are you nuts? You're one of our best scorers.” Nita jumped in front of Lacy and grabbed her by the arms, stopping her. “Look me in the eyes and listen carefully. You are going to be fine.”

Lacy didn't say anything.

“Nod or something, so I know you're alive.”

Lacy cracked a smile.