Momentum

Chapstick.

I look down at the gash on my knee, wincing as the athletic trainer uses a cotton ball to dab alcohol on the wound. Christen is next to me, and I grab at the sleeve of her jersey as I wait for the sharp pain to pass.

"Alright," says the athletic trainer, placing a large Band-Aid over the wound. "Make sure you put another Band-Aid over it after you shower tonight. Then come see me tomorrow before first period, and I'll take a look at it again."

"Thank you."

Christen hands me her water bottle. "Here. You should drink some."

I squirt some into my mouth and hand it back to her. "Thanks. I think I left mine in the locker room."

The adrenaline that overwhelmed my system while I was playing is beginning to subside, allowing me to become aware of my own exhaustion. My limbs feel heavy as a result of running back and forth across the pitch since kickoff, and I have to take deep breaths to replenish my oxygen levels.

"Good thing we got this one," she says, looking at the scoreboard. "Keeps us in the running for league."

I nod, looking at the 2-0 score. "Yeah. Hopefully Hillsborough can pull something off against Millville next week. Then we'll be in first."

"Hopefully," she echoes, and then looks at me. "When did you, uh, want to work on the project again? Since we didn't get to meet up this week."

"What about next Friday?" I suggest. "I'll have the powder ready by then; we'll just have to put it in the aerial shell and do a test-run to make sure everything works correctly."

She nods, smiling. "Alright. I'll give you a ride home after practice that day."

We both look back at the pitch to watch the final minutes of the game, and I suddenly realize something. The money from the science fair. I could use it to help out my mom while she's looking for another job.

The crowd behind me cheers, as Rose has scored the third goal of the night, and I turn around to face our supporters. I spot my mom right behind me, her gentle smile the same as when I would look at her during my pee wee games. Jeffrey is next to her, in a jacket that is far too thin, with a styrofoam cup in his shaking hand. I can see steam rising from it, causing me to assume that he went to the snack bar and bought a hot chocolate. I wonder if he asked Mom for the money; if he knows just how precarious of a state our family is in financially.

A long, loud whistle causes me to look back at the field, and I see my teammates walking towards the bench, triumphant smiles on their faces. We needed this win. Alex and Kelly are walking next to each other, and I get up to meet them.

"Nice shot," I tell Kelly.

"Would've been nicer if it went in," she remarks wryly. "But I can't complain."

Alex nods towards my knee. "What did the athletic trainer say? That fall looked pretty rough."

"Just that I should keep it covered up until I can go see her tomorrow morning. It didn't look that bad, once they cleaned it."

"Good," she says. "Can you walk?"

"Yeah," I say, slightly confused. "I mean, I walked over here."

"I don't know," she says, tilting her head slightly. "You looked like you were limping a bit."

"I was not," I object.