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“It’s going to be fine, Mack, okay? Just breathe, honey.” I pushed her hair back from her face as Dom stayed on the phone. The hospital actually wasn’t far away, so we got her standing and walked her slowly to my car.
“Dom, stay with everyone else and keep running what we planned on. I’ll be in touch. Make sure you have them condition again for dropping her.” He agreed, and also called Mack’s mom so she could meet us at the hospital. Dom and I had done this routine before and we each went with our strengths.
Mack’s cries had shifted to whimpers as I drove as fast as safely as I could. I left my car in front and walked her in, where she was descended upon by nurses.
From then on it was just a rush of x-rays, Mack’s mom showing up, Mack seeing a doctor to tell her that she had two broken fingers and would be out for at least two months. That made her cry harder than she had when the initial injury had happened. My heart broke for her. This was her senior year and it was officially over.
“It’s okay, baby, it’s okay.” Her mom tried to soothe her, but there was only so much she could do. They gave her pain meds and put a cast on her. I stepped out at that point to call Dom to give him an update. Camille had showed up to do damage control, which I appreciated.
“I can’t believe you told them to whine, this is a nightmare. I’m ready to quit.” I knew he wasn’t serious, but I understood where he was coming from. We needed to tell them to tone it down a little.
“Listen, I’m going to be back in a few. Mack’s all doped up and going home with her mom. She’s out, so we’ll have to get a new top girl. I’m thinking Ciana, Becca, or Amy. They’re the only ones who can really handle it. We can try each one of them and see how it goes. We’ll have to move other people around. Shit, this is going to be exhausting.” I rubbed my face and yawned.
“We’ll handle it. They’ll handle it. This has happened before and we’ve been fine. Tell Mack everyone loves her.” There were shouts of encouragement in the background.
“Thanks. Tell them all to text her and wish her well, and give them hell for dropping her. I mean, blood coming from your eyeballs rage.”
“Will do.”
I hung up and went back to talk to Mack’s mom one more time. She was used to her daughter getting injuries, including at least one concussion from her freshman year when I hadn’t been the coach.
“She’s a tough girl. She’ll be fine. It’s just that it’s her senior year.” That was the part that killed me. This was Mack’s last chance on the mat in high school and now she was going to miss it. She’d already been accepted to college and planned to try out for the college squad, but it wasn’t the same. There was a sweetness and a purity to high school cheer. Something you could never get back.
I hugged Mack’s mom and said I would check in with her later tonight and headed back to the gym.
Everyone wanted to know how Mack was, and bombarded me when I first walked in. I saw contrition in all their eyes, so that was good. I told them as much as I could, and then looked up to see the Bulldogs coming around the barrier.
“Everything okay with your flyer?” Echo asked, and for a second, I could swear she was asking out of real concern, but the moment was so quick that I blinked and it was gone.
“She’s tough,” I said. “She’ll be fine.” I didn’t need to share Mack’s medical details with our rivals.
“Let us know if you need any extra spotters. We have a lot of alternates.” She even made an offer of help a dig at my squad.
“Great, thanks.” I turned away from her so I wouldn’t scream at her in front of everyone and put my attention on seeing what progress they’d made while I was gone.
It was nearly time for their hour lunch break and the food I’d ordered was arriving in a few minutes. I wondered what the Heartwood kids were doing for food, but I realized I didn’t care. Echo probably had kale smoothies on ice and protein bars or some shit. My kids were getting sandwiches and chips from a chain store and they’d suck it up and enjoy it. I wasn’t made of money and I was footing the bill with my stipend.
The jump clinic had gone well and I gave a few more pointers on pointing toes and arm positions and keeping smiles while some of them showed off and then we broke for lunch.
I was busy setting up and handing out paper plates and making sure no one made a mess when two of Echo’s assistants wandered by with tons of takeout bags. I saw the logo on them and knew that they were probably salads and sushi from the swanky restaurant about ten minutes away from Corsica where a bunch of rich people lived since it was closer to the ocean.
My squad definitely noticed, but then the nice food disappeared behind the curtain and we were left with our sad sandwiches and crushed chips.
“Right now, I don’t want to hear any complaining,” I said, pointing to them.
“I didn’t say anything,” Kevin said, putting his hands up.
Lunch was a mostly quiet affair, and one or two of my kids used the time to take a quick nap. I hoped they were fueled up because this afternoon was going to be grueling for them.
First, I sat them in a circle and made them tell me three things they were grateful for. It was a tradition I’d had when I was a cheerleader and it was one of the first things I’d instituted when I’d come on as a coach. Working hard was important, but it was also good to stop and take a breath and sit in gratefulness.
“I’m grateful for all of you, I’m grateful that Mack wasn’t more seriously hurt, and I’m grateful for my three cats.” They all laughed because I literally always said that I was grateful for my cats. I actually had a social media account for them that all my cheerleaders followed and they were always commenting on the pictures. It was really cute.
Everyone had some laughs and that lightened the mood from the darkness of Mack’s injury earlier. I had them meditate for a little while, which less than half of them took seriously as fits of giggles broke out periodically.
“Okay, let’s get back to work. Now that Mack is out, we’re going to have to move things around in the pyramid. Ciana, how would you like to try being top girl?” The blood drained from her face but she gave me a scared smile and nodded her head.
“Okay.”
