The Game Plan

21

When Nick asks, I still don't really know what happened.

The whistle blew and someone came at me. He hit me low and hard, and it was completely illegal.

But I felt the pop.

"No. No. No. No. NO!" I screamed, unable to move because of the pain in my knee.

"Britt!" I heard Matt yell as he ran across the field toward me.

I tried to move my leg but something felt wrong.

A black and red helmet landed next to me as Nick's face came into view.

"Britt, breathe. Just breathe. What hurts?" He said, trying to take my helmet off.

"Its my knee." I said, trying to take a deep breath. Suddenly, all of my padding felt like it was cutting off my air supply.

My family and Kenz ran across the field and got to me right after Luke and right before the paramedics.

"What happened?!" A booming voice rang out as Cole jogged toward the group of football players.

Basically, there was madness on the football field.

And it had nothing to do with having six minutes left in the state championship game.

"It popped. I heard it pop." I was saying to anyone who was listening.

"Okay sweetie, we need to get you on this stretcher." The female paramedic said.

The paramedics lifted me onto the stretcher and started to wheel me off the field.

"No! The game!" I tried to sit up, but I was strapped to the stretcher.

"Britt, calm down." Cole appeared next to me.

"I'm leaving them. I can't leave them." I said to him, a different set of tears brimming.

Matt, Luke, and my team were standing behind him.

"I need to stay." I said to them.

"We got this captain." Luke said, looking more serious than I have ever seen him.

I took a deep breath and nodded.

"I'm coming." Nick said, running over.

I saw Cole pull him aside and talk to him while they loaded me into the ambulance.

"Nick. You have to stay." Cole said, his hand on Nick's shoulder.

Nick frowned and looked back where I was being loaded into the ambulance.

"No. This doesn't matter." He said, shaking his head.

"There are scouts here. For you. If you leave you might lose that opportunity." Cole said.

Nick's brows knit together as he looked back toward the stands, trying to make a decision.

"Okay. But Cole, you have to know-" He said and Cole stopped him.

"I know. And I believe that you would have stopped it. But she can't know about this." He said.

"Okay. I'll be there as soon as this is over." He promised, and Cole ran back to me.

Cole climbed in the back of the ambulance, and it pulled out of the field.

"What did you say to Nick?" I asked.

"It's not important right now Britty." He said, smiling down at me.

When we pulled up to the hospital, there was even more chaos.