Ten Things

Ch.32-Heart of a Champion

Grace

I was scared.

And I was angry.

And being scared and angry wasn’t a stellar combination.

I was sick. Bad sick. And it was just such horrible timing because it was the day of the state championships and Cole was well enough to start, and he needed me there.

My father was at work, but my mother was sitting in the car waiting for me to emerge to take me to the game. I asked her to drive me because in all honesty, I was just too exhausted to drive myself. It took me a good twenty minutes just to get dressed. I was bundled in my coach’s jersey, along with a sweater and a sweatshirt, and jeans. And my comforting holy boots. I only had my hair loose so it would keep my ears warm.

On my way to the door I had to grip the banister of the staircase for a moment as my head began to swim. I heard my mother honk the horn and I gritted my teeth, pushing through it. It seemed like such a large accomplishment when I slid into the passenger side seat without first collapsing.

“Finally. Couldn’t decide what to wear?”

“Something like that,” I muttered, clicking in my seatbelt. She peeled away from our house. The drive to the school was much too short. I could still use some time to get myself together, and not feel like my head was about to splatter all over the place. The headache was terrible. However, nothing I hadn’t felt before.

I was required to arrive early. I could see the opposition warming up on their side of the field, trying to keep warm and nimble in this frigid cold. A few students lingered around with nothing better to do, nursing hot chocolates. The rest would arrive when the actual game started.

“Good luck, sweetie,” my mother grinned as I slid out. “You’ll win for sure!”

I certainly hoped so. “Thanks, Mom.”

She flashed a thumbs up and drove off, leaving me along in the gates to the field. I released a long sigh and started—slowly—toward the locker room. I stumbled over something along the way, and it was disconcerting when I looked behind me and saw that nothing had blocked my path.

I knocked on the locker room door, and Coach Wilson opened it. He grinned brilliantly at me. “Loving! You made it just in time for pre-game pep talk. Come on in.” I stepped inside, seeing all the boys dressed in uniform gathered on the benches. On instinct my eyes honed in on Cole, sitting on the bench leaning forward, with his forearms on his knees, helmet hanging from his fingers between them. He sent me a nervous smile.

“Well, I think I’ve already drilled my words into them,” Coach stated. “What about you, Loving? What do you have to say?”

My eyes widened. “Um, I don’t have anything—”

“Nonsense!” he interjected. “Think of something. Anything. It’s customary for all coaches to share tidbits of wisdom.”

“Okay.” I swallowed hard, turning to the boys were all gazing at me expectantly, as if my next words held the secret of their future. The secret of the next four quarters. “I think you all will do great,” I told them, and I was being honest. “You’re the best and I don’t see why the best should be worried. I know it’s a championship, but it’s really just a fancy label for another game. So treat it like another game, and just go out there and do what you do. If you play like you did in the playoffs, I don’t see how we can lose.”

They just stared at me, as if they hadn’t quite expected such a spiel to come from my lips. I blushed, fidgeting with my sweater. Cole’s lips spread into a wide smile and he winked at me.