you can get back on the track and compete on the team your senior year.”
I look from Kyro to Fiona and back again.
I want to say something, but what can I possibly say?
There are no words for this moment.
And I’m almost afraid to believe that I actually might be able to run again.
A T HOME I ’M STILL HAVING TROUBLE believing it’s true.
I’m going to be able to run again?
I watch the YouTube videos on our computer over and over, and slowly it sinks in.
I’m going to be able to run again!
I make my mother watch them.
She’s amazed. “I have never seen anything like that!”
I make my sister watch them.
She’s … direct. “That is
freaky,
” she says after seeing the clips.
“It’s
awesome,
” I tell her, and give her a playful shove.
She wants to watch them again, and when we’re done, she says, “You’re really going to get one of those?”
“My team is doing this huge fund-raiser and they’re going to buy me one! They’re doing bake sales and raffle tickets and car washes.…”
“Seriously?” Kaylee asks.
“Seriously.”
My dad, however, is secretly not convinced. I hear him inthe kitchen later, talking to my mom. “How are cookies and raffle tickets going to raise twenty thousand dollars?”
I hold my breath, eavesdropping from around the corner.
Twenty thousand dollars?!
For a curved piece of metal?
The team will never be able to raise that much money!
“Don’t give her doubts,” my mom whispers sternly. “She’s happy. She’s hopeful. She
needs
this.”
My dad’s voice is hoarse as he whispers, “But if it’s a pipe dream, it’s cruel! And what about the hospital bills and the twenty thousand for her regular prosthesis? Does he have any idea what we’re going through to cover
those
bills?”
I hold my breath harder.
Twenty thousand?
Twenty thousand?
My mind is reeling.
If a leg costs that much, what did the hospital cost? For that matter, what did it cost to cut off my real leg?
“Look,” my mom whispers. “Let’s hire that lawyer and let’s apply pressure. But let’s not say anything negative about the team’s plan to raise money. They’re just trying to help.”
“The lawyer wants half of whatever settlement we reach, and it might take years!”
“So let’s interview another lawyer. And if they tell you the same thing, well, half of something is better than half of what we’ve got right now.”
My dad sighs, and I can feel the tiredness that he seems to carry around everywhere. “Why can’t they just step up to their responsibilities? Haven’t we been put through enough?”
The kitchen falls silent, and even though it’s hard to hop quietly, I do my best to hurry away without being found out.
And I do get away, but I can’t escape the guilt.
Maybe the team’s money should go to pay my medical bills.
Or pay for my regular leg.
Maybe there really are more important things than running.
I feel like such a burden.
Is it fair to even hope?
F IONA PICKS ME UP FOR SCHOOL the next morning, and she’s a little chatterbox, which I find exhausting. Especially since it feels like I didn’t sleep a wink the whole night. “They cost twenty thousand dollars!” I finally blurt. “Twenty
thousand
dollars!”
She pulls into the student parking lot. “What do?”
“Those running legs. I looked it up online.”
She shrugs. “So we’ll raise twenty thousand dollars.”
I blink at her for a full minute, then shake my head and slouch in my seat. “You’re dreaming.”
She just smiles at me and starts chattering about something else.
First and second periods seem to drag on forever, and at break I seriously consider going home “sick.” But I’ve already missed way too much school, so I tough it out, convincing myself that it’s important to stay.
At lunch Fiona decides we should eat in the courtyard. “It’s gorgeous out today! Who wants to be inside?” She parks me on a bench near a scrawny elm tree, where I
I look from Kyro to Fiona and back again.
I want to say something, but what can I possibly say?
There are no words for this moment.
And I’m almost afraid to believe that I actually might be able to run again.
A T HOME I ’M STILL HAVING TROUBLE believing it’s true.
I’m going to be able to run again?
I watch the YouTube videos on our computer over and over, and slowly it sinks in.
I’m going to be able to run again!
I make my mother watch them.
She’s amazed. “I have never seen anything like that!”
I make my sister watch them.
She’s … direct. “That is
freaky,
” she says after seeing the clips.
“It’s
awesome,
” I tell her, and give her a playful shove.
She wants to watch them again, and when we’re done, she says, “You’re really going to get one of those?”
“My team is doing this huge fund-raiser and they’re going to buy me one! They’re doing bake sales and raffle tickets and car washes.…”
“Seriously?” Kaylee asks.
“Seriously.”
My dad, however, is secretly not convinced. I hear him inthe kitchen later, talking to my mom. “How are cookies and raffle tickets going to raise twenty thousand dollars?”
I hold my breath, eavesdropping from around the corner.
Twenty thousand dollars?!
For a curved piece of metal?
The team will never be able to raise that much money!
“Don’t give her doubts,” my mom whispers sternly. “She’s happy. She’s hopeful. She
needs
this.”
My dad’s voice is hoarse as he whispers, “But if it’s a pipe dream, it’s cruel! And what about the hospital bills and the twenty thousand for her regular prosthesis? Does he have any idea what we’re going through to cover
those
bills?”
I hold my breath harder.
Twenty thousand?
Twenty thousand?
My mind is reeling.
If a leg costs that much, what did the hospital cost? For that matter, what did it cost to cut off my real leg?
“Look,” my mom whispers. “Let’s hire that lawyer and let’s apply pressure. But let’s not say anything negative about the team’s plan to raise money. They’re just trying to help.”
“The lawyer wants half of whatever settlement we reach, and it might take years!”
“So let’s interview another lawyer. And if they tell you the same thing, well, half of something is better than half of what we’ve got right now.”
My dad sighs, and I can feel the tiredness that he seems to carry around everywhere. “Why can’t they just step up to their responsibilities? Haven’t we been put through enough?”
The kitchen falls silent, and even though it’s hard to hop quietly, I do my best to hurry away without being found out.
And I do get away, but I can’t escape the guilt.
Maybe the team’s money should go to pay my medical bills.
Or pay for my regular leg.
Maybe there really are more important things than running.
I feel like such a burden.
Is it fair to even hope?
F IONA PICKS ME UP FOR SCHOOL the next morning, and she’s a little chatterbox, which I find exhausting. Especially since it feels like I didn’t sleep a wink the whole night. “They cost twenty thousand dollars!” I finally blurt. “Twenty
thousand
dollars!”
She pulls into the student parking lot. “What do?”
“Those running legs. I looked it up online.”
She shrugs. “So we’ll raise twenty thousand dollars.”
I blink at her for a full minute, then shake my head and slouch in my seat. “You’re dreaming.”
She just smiles at me and starts chattering about something else.
First and second periods seem to drag on forever, and at break I seriously consider going home “sick.” But I’ve already missed way too much school, so I tough it out, convincing myself that it’s important to stay.
At lunch Fiona decides we should eat in the courtyard. “It’s gorgeous out today! Who wants to be inside?” She parks me on a bench near a scrawny elm tree, where I
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