The New Kid

Chapter 9

I was so busy with homework after dinner that I didn't even have time to spend on sketching or time with Reagan as I usually did for an hour or two after. He was my kid brother, my only brother, and I liked being a good older sister to him. He wasn't artsy like me, but we did often just hang around the living room being silly, watching a show, or working on his latest homework project together. Reagan always had a few good stories and jokes up his sleeve from school. I could see him growing up to be a comedian one day.

Today though, he was getting on my nerves.

"Avalon," he whined from my door, "I'm boooored! When will you be done with homework?" I was flopped on my belly on my bed scribbling away on a rough draft for an English essay when I turned to look at him, "Reagan, dude, just wait until you have high school homework to do. It's such a drag." He was about to whine again when I looked him straight in the eye and said, "Don't. Please. I'm busy right now." I got up to close my bedroom door and he actually listened to me and meandered away to his room. Thank goodness, I thought.

I belly-flopped onto my bed again and picked up my pencil. I had lost my train of thought for a moment. I had a good sentence and scribbled that down. Just then, my phone buzzed angrily. Goodness, I thought, I need to set that to silent. It scared me every time I would concentrate on my writing. 

Worse yet,  this time it was a message from Christian on the app again. 

Christian: Hey! Where are ya? Thought you would be cheering us on tonight?!

Oh! I had absolutely forgotten. I checked the time - the boys' football game was at 7pm and it was a quarter to seven now.

Me: Christian! Ohmygosh! I am so sorry I forgot about it - I have a lot of homework but I'll try to make it by half-time!

He probably thought I was lame for doing my homework right away on a Friday night. But it worked for me because then I had the whole weekend worry-free.

Christian hadn't viewed my response by the looks of it - probably because the game was about to start. Ugh. I wish I hadn't been so scatterbrained today.

............................

Twenty minutes later, I had submitted my rough, rough draft via email to my English teacher several hours before the midnight email deadline. I picked out a denim jacket I hadn't worn in awhile and scrambled out the door. Mom and dad were fine with me heading out, but Reagan wasn't. 

"You're leaving now?" he asked me in a concerned voice. "Yes, believe it or not, I made some friends and I'm late for their football game. I'll be all yours tomorrow, okay bud?" 

He looked grumpy for a moment but at the promise of going out for shakes tomorrow after lunch, he smiled. "Okay, bye Avalon!" Reagan shouted after me as I revved up Robin. 

I got to the game right before half-time, as promised. I was feeling very proud of my newfound friends - we were winning the game. I heard they were good but I'd never seen them play in person. I paid my discounted student's ticket, and climbed up the bleachers. I found an empty seat between a few parents cheering on their players. 

I spotted Drew, Tyler, Tristan, Joey, and even Monty running around on the field...but I hadn't seen Christian yet. I took a look at the event brochure. He was jersey number nine.

It was half-time, and still, no Christian. Then I saw him. He was on the sidelines, helmet off, and was waving me down. Wow, he had good eyesight. I started running down the bleachers, as if that was a great idea in the first place. Moments in, I lost my footing and went tumbling down. Fear gripped me, this was more than embarrassing, I was terrified!  

I was going so fast that I actually avoided too much inflicted pain, but once I hit the bottom, I felt a throbbing sensation in my shoulder. The pain was growing worse. I had bumped a few people on the way down and was glad I didn't take a kid down with me. 

I grabbed my shoulder. Yup. That was gonna bruise. Lots of bystanders looked shocked on my behalf and some asked me if I was okay. I apologized to those nearest to me. Christian must saw the whole thing, and before I knew it, he came to my rescue and helped me up and sat me down on one of the front-row seats. "Ohmygosh Avalon, are you alright?!" I was still rubbing my shoulder, though some other parts of me were sore too, but that was the worst spot. 

Christian helped me up again and instinctively took me to the locker rooms to get me a pack of ice and have one of the team's physical therapists look me over. "I wish I was a physical therapist already," he joked. "Then I wouldn't feel so useless right now." I smiled a half-smile at him.

I was icing my shoulder and grimaced a bit, but told him, "No, seriously, you have been really so nice to me. Thanks for being so quick to get me checked out. My shoulder is in bad shape." He touched my other shoulder soothingly and said, "If you feel okay, I gotta go. The game is starting up again. Coach is gonna wonder where I went." I nodded my head, knowing full well he was one of the stars on the football team.

He turned and jogged back to the field and I slowly followed behind with the team's physical therapist's okay. I went back to find a lower seat in the bleachers, still icing the throbbing pain away in my shoulder. It was definitely going to be bruised.

Take two. 

I watched the football game intently and tried not to make a fool out of myself for the rest of the night.