Two Truths and a Lie

Chapter Nine

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I pick up the mirror on the table next to me and examine the bruise forming on my right cheek bone, directly under my eye.

“You’re lucky you fell forwards onto your arm and not backwards,” Ms. Roberts, the school’s nurse, says to me as she grabs a new ice pack from the freezer across the room, “if you had fallen backwards on that gym floor you’d most likely be in the hospital right now and not here with me.”  She offers a warm smile as she removes the old ice pack from my hand and replaces it with a new one.

“Maybe you’re right,” I say as I look back into the mirror, frowning at my reflection, “but my arm begs to differ.”

She lets out a small laugh before going back to her desk, rummaging through piles of papers.

I sigh and place the mirror back on the table to my left.  Leaning back against the couch, I slowly try to ease the ice pack onto my cheek, but give up after two attempts, the pain being too much.

The pain being too much.  I roll my eyes at myself.  Here sits the girl that acts strong, while she can’t even handle the coldness of an ice pack against a bruise.  Pathetic.

“I know it’s a terrible feeling,” Ms. Roberts says with a small frown in my direction, “but try to keep the icepack on.  Trust me; you’ll be thankful when the swelling isn’t there in the morning.”

I nod my head and, reluctantly, ease the icepack onto my cheek, one thought running through my mind in the process.

This sucks.

“How embarrassing,” I say aloud.  Ms. Roberts turns in her chair, eyebrows raised and gives me a curious look.  I continue.

“Passing out in a gym full of fifty people or more.  That’s a new one for me.”

“I wouldn’t let it bother you,” she says waving her hand dismissively, “you have nothing to be ashamed of.  Sometimes people have off days, you know?”

“Yeah,” I agree meekly.  Some people have off weeks.  Or if you’re me, an off life.

I stare down at my lap.  Still dressed in my gym clothes, I’m not completely aware of what went on after I fell to the floor.  The last thing I remember is Coach calling my name.  Then it all went blank.

I lift my eyes from my lap, and stare at Ms. Roberts.  Once I had gained a decent enough level of consciousness, she had told me a boy by the name of Declan Rhodes had helped coach bring me here.  Other than that, Coach just told her out of nowhere I went completely pale and fell forwards, onto my arms.

I look down at my right arm, a small bruise forming on my bicep, obviously taking quite the impact compared to my left arm.  Nevertheless, I guess you could say I was lucky to not walk out with a shattered nose.

The growing sound of heels against tile catches my attention and I look up just in time to see my mom come bolting through the door, a frantic look in her eyes.

“Oh Kadence,” she says out of breath.  Her words hold so much emotion that the bruise on my cheek feels like it has been slapped.

“Mrs. Greene, I’m terribly sorry we’re meeting under these circumstances.”  Ms. Reynolds stands, shaking my mom’s hand, a warm smile on her face.

“What happened?” My mom asks her in a rush, turning to look at me in the process, “I received a phone call saying you passed out from Coach Reynolds but other than that I wasn’t told anything else.”