The Collectors by Lorien Lawrence

Author:Lorien Lawrence
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Abrams
Published: 2021-08-31T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 9

The thunder continues throughout the night, threatening a storm that doesn’t come. Part of me wishes it would storm; then I’d have a legitimate excuse to miss the track meet. My stomach twists and turns as I roll around in my bed, trying but failing to get comfortable. By the time my alarm goes off, my eyes are burning with exhaustion.

My phone vibrates on my nightstand. It’s from Mike: Good luck today, he writes.

I don’t bother to text back. I’m sure Mike can guess how I feel.

Instead, I get dressed, tugging on my Rocky Hill uniform with a heavy heart. Luckily, Mom’s working, so at least I don’t have to explain my feelings to her. Mike’s parents offer me a ride, and in the car I keep my cheek pressed against the window, too embarrassed to even look at Mike or talk to anyone. The drive is over too quickly, and then I’m faced with the moment I’ve been dreading: the walk down to the track field. Kaylee is waiting for me by the gate. She joins my side and squeezes my hand.

“It’s just one meet,” she whispers, but the encouragement falls flat, and I can’t manage an answer.

She then looks up at the sky, pointing out the dark clouds that still threaten thunder. “Maybe you’ll get lucky and it’ll storm and the meet will get canceled.”

“I doubt I’ll get that lucky . . .”

“Nope. Not having it, Parker,” Mike says, interrupting us with a shake of his head. “Wipe that frown off your face. You can’t let your teammates see you like that.”

“What do you want me to do, Mike?” I mutter. “I’m barely on the team today.”

“You’re still a captain, Parker. You’ve got to cheer on your team.”

“Sorry. I don’t have it in me to be a cheerleader.”

I start to turn away to head to the bleachers, but Mike cuts me off, blocking my path.

“You don’t have a choice. You want your teammates to still see you as a captain? Or not?”

“He’s kind of right,” Kaylee says. “I mean, look at Jess.”

My eyes scan over to the bench, and I see Jess hunched over with her hoodie drawn, hiding her face. Her arms are folded across her chest, making her look grumpy and so un-captain-like. She’s not even wearing her uniform. The image causes me to take a sharp inhale.

“OK, you’re right,” I tell them. “Let’s do it.”

With this, Mike cups his hands around his mouth and yells, “Let’s go, Rocky Hill!” before breaking off into a run.

I exchange looks with Kaylee, and then we both join him, charging forward, yelling wildly and waving our arms in the air until we join our teammates on the field.

“Let’s go! I want to see you stretch!” I tell them, taking my position in front.

Without a word to Coach, I lead the stunned girls in a series of stretches and warm-ups while Jess continues to sulk on the bench. For a moment, I almost forget that I’m not running today.

“Nice enthusiasm, Parker,” Coach tells me, placing a firm hand on my shoulder.

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