School. Could anything be more awkward? Maya and I aren't really talking, and even though Lucas seems to be on my side, there's something different between us. Farkle and Smackle stay to the side whereas Zay stays close to Maya. What's going on? Do they all know?

At lunch, I'm sitting next to Lucas, with his arm around me, and maya sits across the stable, eating in silence. Angelina comes over. "Hey, Riley!" I smile up at her. "I didn't know you had sixth period lunch," she turns to Lucas. "You must be Riley's boyfriend." Well... it's complicated, but I guess he's more my boyfriend than he isn't, so he just nods and shakes her hand. "My name is Lucas, nice to meet you." She pokes me. "Hey let's play soccer today, do you have a free period?" I look across the table at Maya, who's looking at me. "Okay. I brought my stuff, I actually have a free period next." Angelina's eyebrows shoot upward, "No. Way. So do I! Let's meet at the back field after the bell rings, 'Kay?" I nod, and she dashes back to her table of jocks.

Lucas looks at me. I look back. I think he's mad at me, but to my surprise, he plants a soft kiss on my lips. "Why'd you do that?" I ask, smiling. "Well, I am your boyfriend."
-

I run to the girl's locker room, throw on my red shirt, shin guards and my cleats, then sprint to the field. A couple other girls are there, I already met them this weekend so they smile and wave at me.

"Let's play!" Angelina passes me the ball. Same teams as always. I pass it to a girl named Brittany, also on my team. We play for fifteen solid minutes, then we stop for water. "Riley," Angelina calls, "how about a little one-on-one?" I sigh, she'll beat me for sure. But who cares? I dash onto the field. She sends the ball soaring, I turn around quick to try and trap it, but as I rotate around I hear a loud pop come from my leg. Next, the pain shoots around my knee. I fall in slow motion. I'm in so much shock, but it feels like my knee is twisted the wrong way.

I hit the ground hard, and tears gush out of me. My leg feels like a bomb exploded in it. "Riley!" Angelina calls. I grab my leg, rock it back and forth. God, I've never been in so much pain before. It's so surreal. I don't even fully know what's happening. "My knee!" I shriek. It. Hurts. So. Bad. I swear under my breath and look up at the crowd of girls. Angelina squats down and holds my hand. "Oh, Riley. It will be okay." She turns to Brittany. "Go get the nurse!" Brittany sprints away. My leg won't quit feeling like this. I look down at it, red and puffy. This can't be good.

A couple minutes later (felt like years) Brittany returns with the nurse and gym teacher. The nurse inspects my leg. "What happened?" I try to speak through the sobs. "I turned around and then... I heard a pop." The nurse looks at the gym teacher with wide eyes. Like they know what something means that I don't. The gym teacher scoops me up and starts to carry me towards the school. "Angelina," he says, "go and get Mr. Matthews."
-

My dad holds my hand, we're sitting in the waiting room of the emergency room. "Riley Matthews," the nurse calls. We've been waiting for hours. The pain has lessened a little bit, but when I try to walk I feel like everything's wrong it just hurts so bad. My mom stands up. Auggie clings to her shoulder as my dad makes sure I can get into the wheel chair they've provided for me.

In the hospital room, I have to fill out paperwork.
Name: Riley Matthews
Age: 14
Weight: 110 lbs
Height: 5'6"

The doctor comes in. He's an orthopedist, my dad says. "Hello, I'm Doctor Wagner. I'm here to help figure out what's the matter with your leg, right?" He crosses the room to me. "Riley," he looks down at the paperwork. "Alrighty then. So, it says you were injured playing soccer. What exactly happened?" I tell him the story about turning, and then the pop. His face turns grave, "A pop? It sounds to me like you might have torn something like a ligament in your knee." "What does that mean doctor?" My mom asks. He turns to face her. "Well, it depends on what is torn exactly, if something is, I mean. We're really hoping not. I'll order and MRI. Come back after that, make an appointment to avoid the long wait. We'll see what needs to be done by then, okay?" I nod. My dad helps me back into the wheel chair. "You can get an MRI on the third floor, take the elevator." Doctor Wagner bends down to look at me. "Riley, I can already tell that you're a fighter. You're not giving up. That means you'll definitely recover." I smile at him. "Thank you, sir."

As my dad pushes me away towards the elevator, I catch Maya. She's holding a teddy bare and a bouquet of flowers, followed by Lucas, who has a balloon in hand. She sprints over to me. "Peaches? What on earth?" Lucas is right behind her. "Riley, I'm so sorry." The elevator arrives. We all pile in. My dad glares at the two of them. "Guys, I don't think you should be here. She needs an MRI." Lucas frowns. "That means she might have torn something. Then she'll need surgery. Mr. Matthews, some people never recover from that." I feel the tears run down my cheeks. "Oh, Riley," Lucas bends down. My dad shakes his head. "Go home, Mr. Friar. We'll keep you updated. You too, Maya." "But dad-" I start, but the elevator doors open. "Riley." My dad shakes his head again. "Bye," I say quietly.