In My Head

Friends ~ Kaden

"Psst. Kaden."

I turn over on the nurse bed. Ow, my head! The room sways and the bed tilts to the side, so that I feel like I should be sliding to the floor. Slowly everything goes back to normal. Then I remember, the nurse told me not to move around.

I realize someone is in the doorway. I squint my eyes-it's Jake. His nose and eye are red and swelling up. I wave for him to come in. He steps in, pulls the door shut, and stands there with his hand on the doorknob. "You okay?" he asks.

"I guess. Nurse says I have a concussion."

"I'm sorry about the fight. I didn't know he was your brother."

"It's okay . . . I'm kinda glad someone finally hit him."

Jake frowns at the floor. "You shouldn't say that. He's your brother, so what if he was being a huge jerk. That doesn't make it right."

Dang, he probably blames me for getting in trouble. "Sorry you got in trouble."

"Ah, it's okay." Jake actually smiles. "I couldn't just stand there and let him do that to you." He stares at me. "You know, we totally had those two beat."

"Yeah," I say. Too bad it doesn't really matter now that I got beat, literally.

"You really think you're not good at sports?" he asks.

I shrug and stare at the ceiling. "I just guessed I wouldn't be. My brother is the one who's always good at everything."

Jake smiles and comes up to the bed. "Well, not anymore. Your brother sucks at basketball . . . And you're really good."

I am? I think back on the game we just played. Jake is an awesome player so it makes sense that we were winning, but I'm the one who scored every point. That wasn't all just because of Jake. It's almost too good to be true. I finally found something cool that I'm actually good at.

"We're still friends, right?" Jake says.

He still wants to be my friend? After he got in trouble for sticking up for me? My throat swells up and my nose burns. I have to look away to keep my eyes from filling with tears. For the first time in my life, I have a friend-someone who will look at me and see me for who I really am instead of comparing me to my perfect brother. Someone who thinks my drawings are cool instead of a waste of time. Someone who actually wants to help me out instead of make excuses for me, and who won't see me as the biggest disappointment in the world the way Mom and Dad always do. Finally, here's someone who actually likes me more than Logan. Heck, he even hates Logan. This is the best day of my life.

I hold my fist up. Jake raises his eyebrows at me, and I nod. He bumps his fist against mine.