Emma: Seventh Grade

Chapter 5: Secrets Revealed

The last bell of the day rang, and Emma threw her backpack over one shoulder and readily left the classroom. She was so relieved that classes were finally done. Today was Wednesday, which meant that Emma had volleyball practice after school. Emma enjoyed volleyball, and she didn't have to worry about Kendra and her friends picking on her because they all played soccer. The only thing she didn't like about practice were the laps they had to run; Emma always grew extremely weak and tired during that time.

Emma hurried to the girl's locker room to change clothes before practice started. She always kept a T-shirt, spandex shorts, and tennis shoes in her locker to change into after school. Ignoring all the other girls around her, Emma stripped down and quickly got dressed in her athletic clothes. She pulled her blonde hair up into a messy bun, stuffed her unneeded things in her locker and hurried upstairs.

When Emma arrived at the gym, her eyes scanned the room. Some girls were bumping volleyballs back and forth to each other, while others were standing around in groups talking to each other. Emma finally spotted Maggie across the room bumping a volleyball in the air to herself, and ran over to join her.

"Hey, Emma!" Maggie greeted her cheerily, tucking the ball under her arm. "How did the rest of your day go?"

"It was OK," Emma replied. "Kendra and her friends didn't bother me too much." Reality was different, however. In art, Emma discovered that someone had smeared her painting that she had left out to dry last night, and it would have been ruined if her art teacher, Mrs. Hanke, hasn't helped her fix it. In gym class, Mr. Ferrington made them play dodgeball, and there were a couple of times Emma's dress had lifted up during the game. And finally, in English, Nate was assigned to sit behind Emma and he wouldn't stop kicking the back of her chair. But Emma didn't tell all that to Maggie. She was afraid it would be too much of a burden on her; she was too sweet the way it was.

Just then, Coach Thurmond summoned everyone to gather around her. After doing role call, she told everyone to run five laps around the gym to warm up.

"Ugh, I hate these," Emma complained, as she and Maggie started running.

"Yeah, I hear ya," Maggie agreed. "Laps are no fun." 

Emma and Maggie ran side by side. Even before the first lap was done, Emma began to get short of breath. But she carried on; she hated showing the others how weak she really was. She felt like it would only open another avenue for people to pick on her.

Emma continued running. She really had to push herself to match Maggie's pace. They had just completed the second lap and Emma was increasingly short of breath. Her throat was so dry it hurt, and she was starting to feel dizzy and lightheaded. But she pressed on and completed the third lap. By this time, Emma was gasping for breath. Her throat and chest burned, her legs like they were about to give out, her heart was pounding, and she was extremely dizzy.

Emma pushed herself as hard as she could. It was always around this spot that she felt like she couldn't go on anymore. A few times, she had actually passed out from pushing herself so hard, but Emma was determined that she would finish her laps. As she completed the fourth lap, Emma felt like she was dying. She was hyperventilating to try and catch her breath, and she felt like her heart was going to beat its way out of her chest. All of a sudden, Emma's vision went black and she collapsed to the ground.

When Emma opened her eyes, all she saw were the lights on the gym ceiling. She was aware she was lying on the cold, gym floor, and her forehead was wet with water. She tried to sit up, but a hand on her shoulder pushed her back down.

"Just relax, Emma," Coach Thurmond's voice came from above. "You passed out."

Emma turned her head so she could see her coach's face. She had a half-empty bottle of water she had used to pour on Emma's forehead to wake her up. A ways away, the other girls were bumping volleyballs back and forth to each other as part of a drill.