Knee Pads

16 | major penalty

CHAPTER SIXTEEN | MAJOR PENALTY

a foul that has a measurable physical force or effect which causes harm or adversely affects the game. assessed if the infraction has extensive impact on safety or game play.

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          "Can you please stop beating yourself up?" Katrina asked, for the millionth time, exasperated. "What happened wasn't your fault. We won the bout. Even if you didn't complete the first jam, we completely wiped the floor with those girls from Quinnipiac. You have absolutely no reason to be sulking."

          I groaned, sinking into my bed, and shivered when she pressed an ice pack to the sore area on my hip. "For starters, I'm injured. It hurts like a bitch."

          "You'll live."

          I let out a pained hiss when she refused to ease the pressure. "Not like that, I won't." Kat scoffed. I was lying on my side, facing the wall, while she sat behind me, by my knees, so I couldn't even see her face, but I didn't think I needed to. She still thought I was overreacting, but I begged to differ. I certainly wasn't sulking, either; if anything, I was worried. "I could have completed that first jam."

          "You could have, yeah. But—"

          "—Corinne," Theo completed, sitting on Kat's bed. I'd almost forgotten she had followed us back into our dorm room after the bout, as she hadn't said a word until now, probably taken aback by the reality of roller derby. Regardless, I wasn't a fan of her treatment of Corinne, even though it wasn't that different from my own when I first met her, but I'd had a reason to do so. To get to Corinne, she'd have to go through me, however little that meant. "She'll be fine, right?"

          "She's tough," Kat said. "She'll be okay. Wren, however, will be a lot sorer than she currently is if she doesn't stop squirming."

          "She's tough," Theo echoed.

          "That, she is. Atta girl."

          I sighed, not wanting to continue this conversation.

          Technically, there really wasn't anything I could have done to make things better, and yes, we were lucky that we still won the bout without Corinne. All those speeches Coach had made about us learning to play various positions had paid off, but, fortunately for me and for the rest of the team, I remained the jammer. The blockers switched places, ultimately making Marley the pivot, and the irony of it all wasn't lost on me.

          The jam I hadn't completed, the one I'd personally interrupted to help Corinne, hadn't meant much, but it just showed me how dirty the girls from Quinnipiac were willing to play just to win the bout. Surely, they expected our morale to have tanked following the loss of our captain—no co-captain jokes allowed at a time like this—but, if anything, it had made us want to kick their asses even more than before. We'd successfully managed to do so, even though I already felt a nasty bruise forming on my hip, and I supposed we owed it to Corinne to win after what had happened. I knew I'd done my best, but part of me couldn't help but think I could have done something to help Corinne not get hurt and subsequently get benched until she recovered, something she'd certainly hold against me.

          Regardless of my opinion, she'd be okay. Drew had taken her to the hospital to ease everyone's concerns regarding her health and I'd learned from Kat there was nothing wrong with her, as she'd been wearing her helmet. She'd stay out of commission for the rest of the month to recover properly, but she'd be back in no time. We'd all live.