Page 29 of Play For Me

Anne seems pretty cool, though, and by the time she’s finished showing me around, I’m relieved she’s the one on the schedule today. Devon, the head trainer, had been intimidating as shit the few times we met.

“Anything you’re missing,” Anne says, pointing to a clipboard hanging on the wall, “tape, ice packs, whatever—just make a note of there so we can get it restocked.”

“Sounds good.”

She starts gathering up her things. “So, who are you scheduled to evaluate today?”

I list off the three girls. Her eyes widen a little when I get to Cecelia. “She’ll give you a hard time,” she says.

“Yeah, I’m kinda getting the impression she’s not crazy about the student trainer program.”

Anne tilts her head, as if thinking about that. “Ransome is awesome. Plays harder than anyone, trains longer, whatever she has to do. She’s one of the most dedicated athletes I’ve ever met.” Then she grins. “She also might be the most stubborn person on the planet.”

Thankfully, I manage to bite back the groan that wants to break free, because a throat clears a moment later and we both turn to see Cecelia standing in the doorway.

If Anne is feeling guilty that Cecelia might have heard her stubborn description, she doesn’t look it. She merely gives the athlete a stern look and instructs her to “be good,” before leaving the two of us alone in the room.

Cecelia looks just as happy to see me as she did the other day on the field. She has her arms crossed in a defensive posture and she’s not meeting my eyes.

“It’s nice to see you again,” I say in my most professional voice. “Have you been having any issues the training staff should know about?”

“Nope,” she says, popping thep.

I take a deep breath, trying to ignore the antagonism rolling off her in waves. “Let’s get started,” I tell her. “You can take a seat.”

She doesn’t say a word as she passes me and lowers herself into the chair, and she won’t meet my eye.

I look down at my clipboard as I take a seat on a rolling stool, figuring I’ll start with some questions. Maybe if I can get her talking the rest of this will be easier.

I ask her about her game—how long she’s been playing, her position, what she sees as her strengths. She gives one- or two-word answers, her voice flat. So much for making things easier. When I transition into questions about her injury, she somehow gets even colder.

“Were there any setbacks during your rehab?” I ask and she scowls, finally meeting my eye.

“Isn’t all of this in my file?”

“Some of it,” I concede. “But I notice that you haven’t talked to your trainers about any remaining pain you’re having.”

“Because I’m not having pain,” she bites out.

I know that’s bullshit—I saw her wince during her drills yesterday, more than once, and always when she was landing on her left leg.

“No swelling?” I press. “No instability?”

I think she might actually take a swing at me. “I’mfine.”

Okay, so Cecelia Ransome does not like to talk about her injury. I wonder if that’s just me or if she’s this closed off with the rest of the training staff. That would be pretty dangerous.

“Let’s move on to the rest of your body,” I say, flipping a page on my clipboard.

“Goody,” she mutters and I find myself biting back a smile in spite of myself. It sucks that she’s taking it out on me, but it sounds like Anne wasn’t exaggerating—Cecelia is stubborn as hell.

I ask her about concussion history, previous sprains, and her nutrition plan. More one-word answers. More sighs. She seems determined for me to see how very little she wants to be here. Bythe time we’re ready for the physical portion of the evaluation, I feel just as tense as she looks.

“I’m going to have you do some movements for me,” I tell her. “Let’s start with body weight squats.”

She stands without saying a word and drops into a squat. I direct her through a few reps before switching to single leg squats, then lunges, step-ups, and balancing on one leg. I keep my eyes on her knee, watching for any imbalance or hesitation, any signs of pain or favoring of the injured leg.

“Okay, let’s get you up on the table.”