The 13th Grim Reaper

Chapter One - One too Many Bumps to the Head

The sky above was growing increasingly more grey as the clouds rolled in, thick and ready to let out a huge cry of tears. Today seemed a day for mourning. It was as if Mother Nature herself was preparing for a funeral. These were the thoughts from those who knew more, the ones with a stronger bond to death than the rest. But for those unknowing, the sky simply said there was going to be a storm later that night. For me though the sky said that something had just gone wrong. For I had fallen to the floor with a huge thump.

 My head was pounding as I tried to sit up. I felt dizzy, with a loud ringing sound shaking my head around. I must have hit it pretty hard. I opened my eyes to see a blurry Kate mouthing something in my face but I couldn't make out anything she was saying. Then suddenly.

"Sage are you okay?" She said, her voice breaking through the ringing sound.  

"I think so," I managed out, blinking a couple of times as I rubbed the back of my head. Some pyramid. I thought as I looked at all the other girls, standing with their hands across their mouth as if they'd just witnessed a terrible accident.Of course I was okay. Just a little light headed. The ringing sound died away and I rubbed the back of my head to check for a bump. It was small but it was there. 

Kate had decided to add a new type of pyramid to the cheer squads routine and for some reason she had decided that I should be the one at the top, despite the fact I am not the smallest girl on our team. We all knew that Kate wanted to change up our routine since they had become too predictable in the last few competitions but I don't think having a taller girl at top of the pyramid would do much good when surprising the judges. 

"I'm so sorry Sage. I just thought that maybe it would be a good idea to try having someone else at the top of the pyramid for a change," Kate said apologetically. 

I shook my head smiling a little. "It's fine Kate, honestly I'm okay."

"Maybe you should go see the nurse just in case, I think she's still in school," she suggested. 

Usually I would just say no because I honestly felt fine. It was a small bump to the head and it wasn't even that bad. But Kate was one of those coaches that always wanted to make sure that her team was in top shape. Even the slightest of injuries could jeopardise our chance at winning this years Winter Championships. Besides practice was almost over and if those clouds suggested any chance of rain I wanted to be home before the storm. I had only had my license for a couple of months and I still didn't feel completely comfortable driving in bad weather.

So instead of insisting staying, I just agreed with Kate and decided to go see the nurse. I gave the rest of the girls a smile to reassure them that I was totally fine before heading to the locker room and grabbing my bag. Before I had the chance to close my locker for myself it slammed shut before me as if by magic, my fingers barely making it out before the door slammed shut.

Of course it wasn't actually magic. It was Holly McDonald, a fellow cheerleader. 

"Hey Sage you still coming to Wilko's after you've been to see the nurse?"

"I'm not sure I can go tonight, mum wants me home before she goes away this weekend."

Besides the chances of rain this was actually true. My mum was going down to London for some major book signing that she had going on. Ever since her book "Managing a Teen," had blown up all she's been doing is travelling places to do interviews and signings. But I was also glad I couldn't go. I suppose that we are supposed to want to hang out all the time with our friends, but when you're friends with a girl like Holly it is physically draining to be around someone who can talk about herself like that was the only topic in the world. The only reason we were actually somewhat friendly with each other was because of the cheer team. I know that if I wasn't on the team then we most likely would even speak to each other.