Punch Like a Girl by Karen Krossing

Author:Karen Krossing
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: JUV039180, JUV039210, JUV039050
Publisher: Orca Book Publishers
Published: 2015-01-31T16:00:00+00:00

FREAK

to explode with panic

Seconds pass like hours. I stand at the edge of the pond, rigid.

Call 9-1-1. Tell Jia. Find Casey. My brain fires off thoughts, but my body refuses to react. Inside, I’m screaming, thrashing, punching holes in the sky.

How could this happen?

The sky is a cheerful blue. My clothes are covered in muck and feathers. My shorts drip water down my legs. The Velcro straps on my cast have come loose.

I pick up Casey’s sunhat and hold it to my chest.

Jia. Go to her.

I force my feet to move.

My shoes squelch with every step.

Jia. I need her.

I break into a run, desperate to tell her the horrible thing I let happen, desperate for her to fix it.

I slip on wet goose poop and slam backward onto the brick path.

I arrive at the playground smelling like goose crap and pond scum.

My mascara must be smeared down my cheeks.

More than one mother gives me a fearful look, as if I’m the monster, but there are bigger monsters than they can imagine.

My skin feels raw. I stumble toward Jia.

She’s watching Jonah swing across the overhead bars. When she sees me, her smile wilts.

“Tori, what happened? Where’s Casey?” Her eyes dart to the pond and back to me.

I open my mouth.

Gone, I want to say. Let me tell you what happened. We need to find her.

Instead, a wail comes out. I dive at Jia and bury my face in her shoulder.

“Tori, talk to me,” she begs.

I can’t breathe.

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