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The nurse has the needles and tubes set in front of her. "So I hear homecoming is this weekend. Do you have a date and a dress?"
"I have both," I tell her.
"How exciting!"
I shrug. "I guess." I don't tell her that my boyfriend and I broke up but I'm still going with him to keep up appearances.
The nurse tries to make more small talk as she starts the IV. I'll be here for two hours, which sucks. But afterward the inflammation and pain in my joints will subside, at least for a little while. I'm excited about that.
I'm not excited about the side effects of Remicade, the medicine about to drip into my body. Last time I puked and had a headache for days. I also wanted to sleep, because I felt like I had no energy and couldn't even keep my eyes open. I hope this time is different.
The nurse puts the IV in my vein. I turn away, but my mom watches as if the medicine will cure her daughter. There is no cure though.
As soon as my mom leaves and the medicine is dripping slowly into my body, I settle back into the big leather recliner at the hospital and close my eyes. Being here makes me feel like I'm incapable of living a normal life without meds. I don't know how anyone in their right mind would take meds if they didn't need them.
Like Trey.
Leaning my head back, I imagine I'm anywhere else but here.
"I don't understand how someone who can hardly move without meds wants to be a mechanic."
I quickly jerk my eyes open at the sound of Vic Salazar's voice. He's standing in front of me, staring at the Remicade drip. Ugh. "What are you doing here?"
"I figured I'd keep you company," he says, sitting in the chair my mom abandoned a few minutes ago.
"How... I didn't... you shouldn't be here, Vic. I told you not to tell anyone about my condition."
"Relax. I didn't blab."
I look over at him. He's got his hands crossed on his chest as if he's a sentry looking after me.
"Aren't you supposed to be in school? How did you know I was here? How did you get a visitor's pass up here?"
He rolls his eyes. "Yeah, I'm supposed to be in school. I was called into Finnigan's office and heard the attendance office get the call from your mom that you were in the hospital for treatment today. I got up here 'cause I mentioned my dad's name to the receptionist in the lobby. He's kinda given a shitload of donations to this place."
"You're going to get in trouble for ditching," I tell him.
He winks at me, and butterflies dance around in my stomach. "Ask me the last time I cared about gettin' into trouble?"
My throat is dry as he steps closer. "Why did you come here?"
"To convince you that it's stupid to work at Enrique's Auto Body. You'll end up hurtin' yourself."
My spirits lower at his words. "You have no faith in me, just like Trey."
"Oh, I have faith in you, Monika. I think you can do whatever the hell you want to do. I just think it'll end up with you regrettin' it. Look at you," he says, gesturing to the drip going into my veins. "I'm your friend. Listen to me and don't work at a place that could land you in the hospital. Or worse."
"Thanks for caring, Vic. But I'm going to do this whether you tell me to or not."
"You're stubborn like my cousin," he says, disappointed. "Your ego is in the way of all reason. I know this is gonna sound corny, but we'll be on this earth for less than a hundred years, then our time is up. I don't want you to waste it doin' things that aren't worth your time. I like workin' at the shop. You're doin' it just to prove you can. That's not a good enough reason."
The nurse comes in to take my blood pressure. "I see we have a visitor," she says. "Are you the boyfriend taking her to homecoming?"
Vic shakes his head, then looks away.
"No," I say, my face turning red at the thought of Vic being my boyfriend. "He's just a friend."
The nurse checks my vitals. "Well, he's a mighty special friend to sit here with you while you go through treatment."
"Yeah," I say, briefly wondering what it would feel like to have a guy like Vic as my boyfriend. I quickly toss that thought away as I look at the monitor and see my blood pressure rising quickly. "He is mighty special."
I wish he wouldn't have come here just to convince me to give up on working at the auto body shop. I guess if I wanted someone to believe in me, I'd want it to be Vic.
Chapter Twenty-three
VICTOR
On Thursday after school, Dieter tells all of us to gather around him in the locker room before we suit up for practice.
"Tomorrow isn't just homecoming. It'll be one of our biggest games," Coach Dieter tells us. He stands in the middle of the locker room, scanning the team as if he's sizing us up. "We're playing our biggest rivals. I've been hearing rumblings that Fairfield High is better than us. Is that true?"
"No, Coach!" we say in unison.
Our enthusiasm doesn't convince him.
"I don't know," Dieter says. "The way some of you have been playing during practice, I'm not sure you want it." He writes WINNERS on the white board in bold, black marker. "You don't become winners by being lazy during practice. Don't practice as if it's homecoming, don't practice as if it's for the state championship. You should play like you're a team in the damn NFL. Put in all your effort, energy, passion, and skill. Each and every one of you. Anything less means you're not playing up to your potential. It means you might as well get off my field, because you don't deserve to be on it. Now, when you go out there today, I want to be looking at winners. Because that's what I think you are. The question is, do you have what it takes?" He holds a hand up. "I don't want you to tell me, gentlemen. Show me. Your performance speaks louder than words."
While Dieter's message sinks in, he takes his clipboard and leaves the locker room. The assistant coaches follow him.
It's quiet now.
"We have to win tomorrow," Ashtyn says. "To show Fairfield and that traitor of a quarterback Landon McKnight that the team he abandoned is stronger without him."
"We're gonna win," I assure her.
"Not the way you've been playing lately," Trey says with a chuckle.
"Trey, I can tackle you with both my eyes closed," I tell him, meeting the challenge.
"You've got to catch me first, man." He pats me on the shoulder. "Not easy with those two left feet you got there."
"You do fall down a lot," Jet says with a big grin.
"The last time I fell down I was drunk, Jet," I say.
"Yeah, well, drunk or not, Trey here is a beast."
Trey flexes his muscles, then kisses each bicep. "Face the facts, Vic. I'm faster and stronger than you."
My friends and I have perfected trash talking over the years. "Facts? Hell, the fact is that I'm gonna kill you on that field today, Matthews."
Trey laughs. "Yeah, right. The only way you'll kill me is with a gun, man, 'cause you can't catch me with those slow feet of yours." Trey brushes off fake lint from his shoulders before putting on his practice jersey and pads.
Slow? Nobody has ever called me slow. I can tackle someone and still bring down a QB without him knowing what hit him.
Derek, who's usually just a spectator when it comes to me and Trey challenging each other, points to us. "As Dieter said, your performance will speak for itself."
As I walk out of the locker room all dressed and ready for practice, all I can think about is proving to everyone that I'm worth something... on the field, at least. Nobody can outrun or outplay me.
Not even Trey Matthews.
Trey is walking next to me, but then says, "I'll be right back, man. I forgot something."
"Where you goin'?" I ask. "Runnin' away already?"
"You wish," he calls out over his shoulder. "I just forgot something in my locker."
If he's late for practice, Dieter will rip him a new one, then make him run laps and do push-ups just for fun.
By the time Trey rushes back, we're all in line about to do warm-ups. As our captain, Ashtyn leads us in j
umping jacks then stretching. I glance over at the cheerleaders, practicing in front of the bleachers. I should look away, because when Monika turns around and watches us, my adrenaline starts pumping hard through my veins and my groin twitches in response.
She ignites something in me that no girl has ever been able to do. Not even Cassidy. Not by a long shot.
"You checking out my girlfriend?" Trey says in a mocking tone. When I shake my head he laughs. "Dude, I was just jesting. I know you asked Cassidy to homecoming. I knew you still had the hots for her."
I don't, but whatever.
Trey and I stand in line for sprints.
When it's our turn to face off, I look at him, ready to do my best to beat his ass.
He pats me on the back. "See you on the other side, bro."
This feels like war.
