The Lucky Paw

Chapter 16

The next day was by far one of the worst ones of Katy's life. The only thing that comforted her was reading the diary after her track practice.

Track practice was awful. That morning, Katy was rushing. She nearly walked out without her inhaler, and she completely forgot about her lucky necklace. All day, Katy was nervous. Her day so far had been horrid, and track lay just around the corner. She had chosen shorts with pockets, so that she could carry her inhaler.

But Katy didn't want to face the mob of girls, especially Brianna, who had probably never even heard of Katy losing anything having to do with track.

The simple fact, the one that was making Katy so nervous was this: If she did not use her inhaler, something bad, possibly an attack, was bound to happen.

But if she did use it, the girls would laugh at her. Who ever heard of a track star using an inhaler? Even more, a cross-country track star!

Katy was scared. She knew that asthma attacks could kill people. So, finally, she made her decision. She couldn't risk dying. She would use the inhaler.

"I guess," Katy thought, "I'll have to just take the girls' teasing!" But she made another drastic decision, also.

She could tell that Beth and Anna were worried about her, and she thought she owed them an explanation. If they knew about her struggles, they could help if the other girls teased her.

Right before practice, Katy hailed her friends. "What's up, Katy?" Beth asked in a nonchalant tone, although she looked eager and hopeful. Anna exchanged a look with Beth, and they trained their eyes on their friend.

Katy pulled her inhaler out of her pocket. "This is what's up," Katy said, meeting her friend's eyes. "So, big deal! It's just an inhaler. My cousin used one of those," Beth said.

"Do you have asthma, Katy?" asked Anna. "I do," Katy replied. "I need to use it to run today, but what if the girls make fun of me?" she asked.

"If they do, big deal! It's yours, not theirs, so they have no right. Besides, they wouldn't do that, Brianna being an exception," said Beth.

"Yes, I know those girls well." Anna said. "They wouldn't do that." "Are you sure?" Katy inquired. "Positive," they replied. "Okay," Katy said.

Still nervous, Katy was already drenched with sweat before the race even began, because she had been pacing so much.

"What's the matter, Katy? Don't got what it takes?" Brianna sneered. Katy tactfully ignored her. As soon as the coach blew the whistle, everyone, including Katy, took off running. She paced herself, but, before long, felt the same down-to-the-bone exhaustion that she had felt so many other times.

She kept on as long as she thought she could. But soon she was forced to take out the inhaler.

She turned her head away from her teammates. She did her best to conceal the shiny inhaler in her fist, then lifted it to her lips quickly. She took a deep breath from it, and immediately felt her breathing return to normal. She returned the inhaler to her pocket, all the while grinning as if she had won the lottery.

She half-turned her head, and gave her friends, watching from their events, a huge grin and a thumbs-up sign. They cheered, "Way to go, Katy!"

She smiled, and kept running doggedly. Her face was slick with sweat, her hair was falling in her face, her clothes were streaked with dirt, and she reeked of sweat, but she didn't care.

The inhaler worked! It really worked! And even more pleasing, she had been able to hide it from the others! Her face was a picture of sheer delight. But then Brianna had to ruin it all.

Katy had been doing her best, and won! But after practice, she took out her inhaler and smiled. She felt like thanking it. Instead, she held it to her chest, grinning, unaware that Brianna was peering over her shoulder, watching.

"So, the queen has herself a helper, does she?" Brianna's mocking tone came from behind. Katy whirled around, facing her. She was so stunned and scared that she could only utter a tiny squeak, filled with despair. "Brianna!"