Under Pressure by Emma Carlson Berne

Author:Emma Carlson Berne
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Lerner Publishing Group

“Come on, come on!” Coach Berg shouted. “Let’s keep it up!” He yanked the baseball cap lower on his brow. His expression was as dark as the clouds overhead.

Elise panted, struggling to return the shots Nita was firing at her. They were paired up on the field, practicing passes and returns. Elise had almost laughed when Coach announced the drill. With her newfound skills, she could have done passing games in her sleep.

But in the moment, she felt slow, clumsy, as if her veins were filled with molasses. She managed to return a few of Nita’s lightning-fast passes, but many more bounced past her, forcing her to scramble for them in an embarrassing way.

What’s the matter with you? Elise scolded herself. Get it together! She’d taken her pills this morning like always. But she felt like her old self, not the Super Elise of the last weeks. Maybe she needed a little boost.

When Coach Berg blew his whistle, signaling the end of the drill, Elise slipped off the field. If anyone saw her, they’d just assume she was going to the bathroom. In the empty, echoing locker room, she dug through her gym bag and located her little cloth toiletry case. There, between her deodorant and a bar of soap, were three pills wrapped in plastic. Just for emergencies, Elise had told herself a few days ago when she’d put them in the bag.

She dry-swallowed the pills one at a time, slammed her locker door, and then ran back out toward the field. There—she’d be ready to play like Super Elise again.

Everyone was dribbling up and down the green. Elise slipped in beside Madison. She kept the ball in play between her feet, waiting for the familiar floating feeling to return to her legs. But nothing happened. And she was falling behind the others in the dribbling line, Elise realized with a little shot of panic. She ordered her feet to move faster.

“Pick it up, Elise!” Coach Berg yelled.

Her heart was pounding. She stumbled suddenly on a tuft of grass, and the ball spun out of range. A little farther down the line, Sophie shot her a concerned look.

What’s wrong with me? I’m playing like I used to! Had the pills stopped working? No. No. Elise pushed that thought away. She just needed to try harder. That was all.

The practice couldn’t end soon enough. When Coach Berg blew his whistle, Elise followed the other girls to the locker room and collapsed on a bench. She resisted the urge to bury her head in her hands. She needed to appear as if everything were normal. Even though that couldn’t be further from the truth.

“Did you see my new shorts? Like six dollars at Sports Authority!” Sophie was saying.

Elise did her best to admire the new shorts, but inside, her mind was spinning. Did she need something more than the pills? Maybe there was something else holding her back. Elise closed her eyes for a long moment.

When she opened them, she was staring directly at Nita’s chiseled abdomen.

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