I sighed, falling back on my chair. It wasn't very surprising - I had already prepared myself for disappointment. It seemed everything after the that fateful game had just gone downhill.
The clouds peered down at my pitiful steps, a colossal contrast from my once smooth strides on the field as I returned to school on Tuesday. The crutches weren't too bad, just a lot of weight on my arms. I mastered them easily. Even though I detested my days in the sterile hospital, this wasn't much of an improvement. However, I had become determined to make the most of it.
Besides, at least I wasn't alone with my thoughts. I met up with Avery as we walked to chemistry class with Mr. Woods. While walking through the halls, I heard whispers from nearby conversations.
"Is that Sandra Millers? Wow, it's been so long since she's been here."
"We’ve been losing, like, all of our games”
"They’re blocking the hallways. How slow can they go?”
I didn't really mind the ruminating conversations - or so I told myself. All I cared about was the fact that the first game of the spring was this afternoon, and I would have to be watching. According to the doctors, I would be able to play in two weeks. Two weeks, compared to the three months I'd been waiting was nothing.
Watching the game wasn't as boring as I expected. I wished I could have played on it myself, but it was just as exciting seeing my friends score. We were still losing 2-5. As I saw our team fall apart a little at the end, I wished I could hop in to fix things up. I'd have to give them a piece of my mind later, and Coach seemed to feel the same as he shook her head in disappointment.
Then, a week later my leg was unveiled from its cast. I’m not sure what I was expecting, but it looked pretty deflated. But, with a wave of hope rising in me, I knew that I could train it back to normal in no time.
And then, finally, the day of my first soccer game arrived.
I glanced up at the warm blue sky. Hard to believe that it had been three months since I'd played in an official school game. But I was finally able to land my bag on the benches and listen to the coach talk strategy.
As the starting whistle rang, I ran forward, looking for openings. My knee was slightly complaining, but I wasn't doing too bad.
At least that's what I thought.
Avery and Penny seemed to be moving so fast, I could barely keep up. I accidentally curved a pass a little too much, which sent me cringing into the next universe. I felt myself panting heavily when the whistle was called for halftime. Not the comeback I had hoped for.
During halftime, as I drank my water, I tried to figure out what went wrong. Then I remembered the beginning of my time in the hospital. Adapting to the constant pain was something I would never get used to but depending on my functioning limbs became a usual practice. I had to take everything one step at a time, slowly inching my foot forwards, testing the limits of what I could do without a painful reminder. Everything was unknown, but eventually I found my way back to soccer.