Tuesday, October 6

   Yesterday I was out of school because I literally couldn’t eat anything without throwing up.

   It was the worst thing ever.

   At first, I got up to go to school since my fever broke, and I felt better. I went to eat a little granola bar, and immediately felt sick. Skyler and Mom hurried to the bathroom to see what caused my upset stomach, and then tried to give me something else. Three seconds later I was running to the bathroom again. The third time I tried eating some crackers, and still couldn’t hold them down. Mom decided it would be best if I just rested in bed and didn’t go to school.

   My next game was on Wednesday, so if I went to school tomorrow, at least I’d be able to sit on the bench at the game. Mom took Skyler to school while I went back to my room to sit in bed. My teachers did post the homework online, so I was able to take a look at it to try and figure it out. As soon as I texted the team, they all told me to stop being sick and get back to practice. Paul told me to get better, and said he’d help me with my schoolwork when I got back to school.

   I spent the rest of the day resting and doing schoolwork. The others texted after school about practice and I couldn’t help but wish I was there with them. Night came, and I went to sleep early, managing to keep some apple sauce in my stomach.

   Now it was Tuesday morning, the day I was going back to school. I saw Travis and Aidan as I headed into the school from the parking lot, and they pat me on the back.

   “We’re glad you’re okay now,” Aidan said. “Practice wasn’t the same without you yesterday.”

   “We have games tomorrow, Thursday and Friday,” Travis sighed. “Then club on Saturday and Sunday. Not to mention our college deadlines are coming up soon.”

   “Senior year is something to look forward to,” Aidan drawled out sarcastically.

   “I’ll see you both later,” I said, heading to my locker. My first class was English, and I knew we were going to spend some time working on our college essays. After closing my locker and putting the lock back on, I headed towards my English classroom.

   As I reached the top of the stairs, I saw Paul with Jack talking in front of some lockers. I went over, and put my hand on Paul’s shoulder, catching him by surprise.

   “Oh good timing,” Jack said. “How are you doing with your college essay and applications?”

   I flinched, looking away. “W-well okay, I guess.”

   Paul’s stern look made beads of sweat form on my forehead. “Don’t lie to me. I know you’ve only started thinking of ideas.”

   “S-shut up! I bet you’ve already finished yours!”

   “Yeah. So?”

   “Ok, ok, calm down you guys,” Jack said, putting his arms between us and pushing us apart. “It’s fine to be in different places at the moment, but Alex, I’m a little worried you haven’t even started yet. If you’re aiming for a soccer scholarship, you’ll need to apply and stand out, right? You’ll have to explain what makes you different, right?”

   “I’m working on it,” I muttered. “I have games the rest of this week, so I’ll call you in the evening for help, okay?” Paul nodded, turning to walk towards his English classroom.

   The day went by fairly quickly, and I talked to my teachers about what I missed. I didn’t miss too much, but there were some things I didn’t understand in Calculus or Chemistry. Travis explained the French sentences structures to me during lunch, and continued to help in class. Practice was normal as we prepared for the three, back to back games in the following days.

   I just wished it was Saturday already so I could relax.

   Not because I was hanging out with Paul…

   Totally not.