Read Online Going Wild by Lisa McMann - Free Book Online Page B

Charlie—I’m worried it could be broken.” She glanced quickly at her watch. “The nurse will haveleft by now. Are your parents around? We should call them and get you checked out.” She pulled a cell phone from her pocket.
    â€œMy mom’s a doctor—she works at the hospital.”
    â€œOkay, good. What’s the number?”
    â€œI can’t remember. It’s in my phone, though,” Charlie said. “In the locker room.” She tried hard not to cry and failed miserably, but the pain was intense. She’d never broken a bone before. Plus, she was surrounded by strangers staring at her, and that just made her feel worse. And what about soccer? A broken leg meant she wouldn’t get to play this spring at all. The one thing she was looking forward to in this boring nothing town. She closed her eyes and put her arm over her face.
    Coach looked up at the other players. “Any of you know where Charlie’s stuff is? We need her phone.”
    â€œI’ll get it,” Maria offered.
    Charlie told her the lock combination. Maria broke through the crowd and ran for the building.
    Coach looked at Charlie. “You’re going to be okay. It might just be a bad bruise, but we should make sure. Do you want to try to stand up? Let’s see if you can put any weight on it.”
    Charlie wiped her eyes with her sleeve and nodded, grateful for the distraction. She pushed herself to a sitting position, and Coach and another girl helped her to stand on her good foot. She slung her arm around Coach’s shoulders and tried putting some weight on her bad leg. She yelped in pain but gritted herteeth, and slowly Coach helped her hop to the sideline and sit down in the grass. Coach Candy ran to grab her emergency kit and returned to Charlie’s side. She broke open an ice pack and handed it to Charlie, who held it gingerly against the swelling bruise. Not long after, Maria burst out of the school and ran toward them.
    â€œAre you hanging in there with me?” Coach asked. She searched Charlie’s face.
    â€œYeah,” said Charlie. “I’m okay.”
    â€œKeep the ice on it.”
    Charlie nodded. She tried not to look at the other players, who were all stealing glances her way. She wished they would stop.
    Maria reached them and handed over the phone.
    Charlie turned it on and hesitated, staring at her contacts and trying to focus through the threatening tears. She glanced at the staring players, and her lip trembled.
    Coach Candy leaned closer. “Do you want some privacy?” she asked in a quiet voice.
    Charlie nodded numbly.
    â€œAll right,” said Coach. “I’ll keep the other girls occupied. Maria, stay with Charlie until her mom comes, okay? I’ll be nearby if she wants to talk to me.”
    â€œGot it, Coach,” said Maria.
    Charlie nodded again.
    â€œYou played great, Charlie. I’m impressed.”
    Charlie swallowed hard as more tears came. “Thanks.” She dialed her mom’s new cell phone number and held the phone to her ear.
    Coach Candy stepped a few yards away, staying close enough to monitor Charlie, and called out to Kelly, who was dribbling the ball nearby. “You okay to play, Kelly?”
    â€œI’m good, Coach,” Kelly said.
    Coach yelled to the other girls and clapped her hands. “Okay, everybody! Let’s get this game moving. Direct kick blue!”
    Charlie’s mom’s cell phone rang five times and went to voice mail. Charlie hung up and texted her mom to call immediately because of a soccer injury. Then she tried the ER desk and left a message for her mom to call Charlie’s cell phone right away.
    When Coach Candy saw Charlie set her phone in her lap, she checked in. “Still doing okay? Were you able to reach your mom?”
    â€œI talked to the receptionist,” Charlie said. “She’s going to tell my mom to call as soon as