The Accusations Fly

Kimmy hit the floor hard.

She landed first on her knees and elbows.

Everyone heard a sickening crack. And then a heavy thud as her forehead smashed against the floor.

Her head snapped back and her mouth let out a whoosh, like air escaping a blown-out tire.

And then her eyes closed, and she didn’t move.

At first no one reacted. Everyone seemed as paralyzed as Bobbi.

But then Heather’s shrill scream pierced the air, echoing off the high gym ceiling.

Several other girls cried out.

Corky dropped to her knees beside Kimmy’s unmoving body and stared up at Bobbi.

Her eyes locked on Kimmy, Bobbi stumbled back. One step. Two.

She raised her hands to her cheeks.

I can move, she realized.

I can move again.

I’m me again.

Jennifer was wheeling her chair frantically toward Kimmy.

Miss Green leaned over Kimmy, took her hand, slapped at it.

Kimmy groaned.

“She had the wind knocked out,” Miss Green announced. She raised her eyes to the girls huddling around the fallen cheerleader. “Quick—call for an ambulance. Call nine-one-one.”

Megan and Heather, pale and shaken, went racing from the gym.

I can move now, Bobbi thought. But what happened to me?

“You didn’t try to catch her!” Debra’s words stung Bobbi. Stepping close, Debra pointed an accusing finger. “You didn’t even try!”

“No—” Bobbi didn’t know what to say. She took a step back, away from Debra’s accusing finger.

“You just let her fall!” Ronnie cried shrilly. She had tears running down her cheeks.

“No!” Bobbi cried. “I tried, but—”

“You didn’t try!” Ronnie screamed. “We saw you. We all saw you!”

“You just stood there!” Debra cried angrily.

“It was deliberate,” Ronnie said. “She did it deliberately.”

Corky, still on her knees beside Kimmy, stared up at her sister. “What happened?” She mouthed the words silently.

“I couldn’t catch her,” Bobbi explained, knowing how lame her words sounded. “My arms—”

Bobbi stopped. It didn’t make any sense to her. How could she make it make sense to them?

“You were mad at her. So you let her fall,” Ronnie accused.

“How could you?” Debra cried.

Kimmy stirred and opened her eyes.

“You had the wind knocked out of you,” Miss Green said softly, still holding her hand.

Kimmy groaned. Her eyes darted from face to face. “My arm,” she groaned.

“Your arm?” Miss Green lowered Kimmy’s hand to the floor.

“The other one,” Kimmy groaned. “I can’t move it. I think it’s—”

“We heard a crack,” Miss Green said. “Maybe you broke it.”

Kimmy tried to raise herself.

“No.” Miss Green pushed her gently back down. “Don’t try to get up. There’s an ambulance on the way.”

“Ohhh, it hurts.” Kimmy stared up at Bobbi. “You—you did this to me. On purpose,” she said, her voice a pained whisper.

“No!” Bobbi protested.

“You just let me fall,” Kimmy accused, wincing from the pain in her arm.

“Lie back,” Miss Green instructed her. “You’re going to be okay, dear. You’re going to be just fine. Don’t worry about Bobbi now, okay?” She glanced up at Bobbi, and her expression became hard and cold. “Bobbi and I will be having a good, long talk. Bobbi has a lot of explaining to do.”

“I’m sure it was an accident,” Corky said, suddenly bursting, into the conversation. “We’ve done this dive a million times. Really.”

“She tried to hurt her,” Debra insisted. “I watched her the whole time.”

“It’s attempted murder!” she heard Ronnie tell Megan, deliberately loud enough for Bobbi to hear.

“Ronnie—you’re going too far!” Miss Green scolded.

“We saw her!” Ronnie shot back angrily.

“No!” Bobbi screamed, tugging at the sides of her hair. “No! No! NO!”

She couldn’t take any more of this.

She couldn’t take the eyes, so many eyes, staring at her with so much hatred.

She couldn’t take the accusing frowns, the pointing fingers.

She couldn’t take the sting of their words.

“No! No!”

And without realizing it, she had turned away from them, away from their eyes, away from their hatred. And now she was running, her sneakers loud against the hard floor, running blindly, her eyes blurred by hot tears, running with her arms outstretched, running to the double doors.

And pushing through them. Into the coolness of the hallway. Out of the heat, away from their eyes, their unforgiving eyes.

She turned and ran toward the stairs. Past the white-coated paramedics hurrying toward the gym, carrying a stretcher and black bags of equipment. Past a surprised group of students gathered in the middle of the hall.

Up the stairs and out of the building, without stopping for her jacket, without stopping for her books.

Out into the cold, gray afternoon. Her sneakers crunching over dead leaves, hot tears stinging her eyes.

She ran as fast as her heart was pounding.

She just wanted to run forever.

But then two hands grabbed her roughly from behind.

Bobbi gasped and flailed out with both hands.

“No—don’t!” she cried.

Date: 2015-04-20; view: 553