Page 12 of Slapshot Obsession
Oh. That must be why my face feels wet. “Aww,” I whine. “It’s dripping all over my top. My training uniform is ruined.”
“Don’t worry about that.” Lexi’s tone is soft. “Here, tip your head back.” She says, putting a wad of tissues against my nose.
“Actually,” I do my best, grateful to have something to soak up the blood. “It’s a wrong practice to have your head back to stop a nosebleed. Forward is the way to go, so the blood that’s coming out doesn’t drip back down your throat.”
Carole and Lexi help me lean forward.
Gen snorts. “Really? Who are you to contradict our trainers?”
“She’s a nurse, dick head.” Jodie sounds furious. “And I saw you. It was you. You kicked her. If you gave her a concussion, I swear I’m gonna go to the cops.”
“It was an accident. Her line was dancing too close to us. I can’t help it if I have super long legs.”
Talia intervenes. “Bullshit. We didn’t move. You kept inching closer to us.”
“And I literally felt you shifting your weight as you prepared to kick her.” Jodie accuses her. “You’ve had it out for Taryn since tryouts. You feel threatened because she has a million times more talent than you.”
Gen’s hands go to her chest. “Oh my God. You’re somean. It was an accident. If anything, I should be mad because my foot and my entire leg hurt after the impact with her head.”
“Girls, this is enough. I just replayed the video I was shooting with my phone so I can review it later. Genevieve definitely made contact with the back of Taryn’s head. But I can’t tell if it was intentional or accidental.”
“Lexi, you have to believe me. I would never hurt one of the best dancers on the team.”
Carole cuts in. “We’ll see if the film crew can provide some footage from another angle. In the meantime, did someone call 911?”
“I don’t want to go to the hospital.” I take the tissues away from my face. “Look, my nose stopped bleeding. I’m just banged up. Nothing a painkiller and some rest can’t fix.”
“I’d prefer it if you got checked, sweetheart.” Carole’s maternal tone makes me miss my own mom.
As a nurse, this is probably gonna sound weird, but I hate hospitals. As a patient. In a professional capacity, of course, it’s different. “I promise I’ll be ok. Hopefully, I won’t have any bruises that can’t be covered with makeup.”
“Bruises are the least of my worries right now,” Carole says. “What if you have a concussion? These things can turn into serious problems. Let’s do one thing. The hockey team has a doctor and a nurse on site. Let them take a look at you. But if they say you have a concussion, you’ll go to the hospital. End of story.”
Carole’s tone brooks no argument, so I nod. “Ok.” I fight the urge to wince when the head movement sends pain shooting everywhere in my body.
Our director’s expression softens as she grabs my forearm. “Look, Taryn, I don’t want you to worry. Let’s see whatthe team doctor says, and we’ll take it from there. If they clear you to dance, we’ll see what we can do with makeup if you bruise. Worst-case scenario, we’ll have you sit out Friday’s performance. Unless you have a serious concussion. In that case, we’ll have to see what the prognosis is.”
My stomach drops at the thought. If it’s a serious concussion, I might not be able to practice for a few weeks. Carole isn’t saying it, but I’m pretty sure that would mean not making the team.
“Can someone go to see the doctor with Taryn?” Carole says. “I’m going to message ahead, so he’ll be expecting you.”
Talia and Jodie volunteer, and so does Genevieve.
“Talia, Jodie, go with Taryn. Gen, Lexi and I would like to see you in my office.” Carole looks at the rest of the girls. “We would also like to see Sam and Fiona. Everyone else is dismissed. Go to dinner, and I’ll see you all tomorrow for rehearsal at 8 a.m. sharp. I expect to see perfect kicks. Lexi and I will pick the best eighteendancers to perform on Friday’s game.”
Carole’s announcement is met with a murmur of surprise from the team.
“Girls, sometimes we might need everyone on the roster to perform, but other times, depending on game location and other factors, we might select some of you to dance rather than the entire team. In this instance, we’re selecting the girls who we think are more performance ready. By the end of camp, we expect each of the thirty-two selected dancers to be performance ready at all times and to let us know in a timely manner if that changes for any reason.”
CHAPTER FIVE
IF YOU LOVE SOMEONE
NASH
It’s happening again.
My teammates hate me. Coach Harrison’s suicide drill has the desired result, and people start going down like flies.
