A Difficult Choice

Chapter 1

"I won't ever play any type of sports again," I vowed quietly to myself, concealed in the darkness of my room. Just last year, I wouldn't have dreamed that one day I would make a promise like this. I would have laughed at such a ridiculous idea. But recently, things had changed. A new year had started - which meant making some new decisions.

"Andrew! Are you up yet?" my mom yelled from the kitchen.

"Just a minute, mom!" I shouted back.

Grabbing my backpack, I quickly opened the window blind and raced to the kitchen. My mom was spreading strawberry jam on a piece of toast.

“About time!” she snapped, “You have 10 minutes to get to school.”

I sighed. Another typical day.

I shifted my feet restlessly on the blinding white tiles. Fiddling my thumbs, I leaned back on my plastic blue chair as far as it would let me. 

“The square root of 25 is simply 5. Now, I know this seems pretty easy, but it gets harder as we move on -”

Groaning quietly, I let Mr. Wilson’s voice drift to the back of my mind. I let my gaze rotate around the class, stopping at an empty seat. That seat belonged to Kevin, my best friend. His seat had been empty for over 3 months, ever since he’d gotten an injury. I stiffened as my brain raced back to last year, that one day I tried to forget.

“Josh, pass!” I yelled, sprinting towards the goal. My feet seemed to skim the wet grass as if I was flying. Josh, who was terrible at soccer, attempted a pass. The ball veered completely off course, sailing towards the brick wall that circled the soccer field.

“I got it!” Kevin hollered. His eyes were focused on the ball as he raced towards its destination. The ball flew just over the wall. Kevin, still running at full speed, crashed into the wall with a sickening THUMP. After that, everything was a blur of motion to me. I was lost in a world of fear, shock, and panic. The ambulance came. I could hear the sound of sirens that had always frightened me. There were cries, shouts, but I was running. Not towards Kevin, but in the opposite direction. I was running to the one place I felt safe. I wanted to run, to hide in my bed and never come out.

Chapter 2

I slowly walked back to my house for lunch. On the way, I made up my mind to stay home after lunch. I didn’t want to face the dreadfully long hours of sitting and doing nothing again. Several of my teachers, noticing my restless energy, suggested that I play some type of sport that use up my energy. I refused. 

It was hard to believe that just a year ago, sports were my favorite activity. Whenever I found out about a tryout for two weeks of soccer, basketball, swimming, or some other sport, I was the first to join. Sometimes I had more than one sport running at a time. It took up most of my free time after school, but that didn’t bother me. I already spent enough time sitting at school. But recently, Kevin’s accident changed everything. I had already been a pretty scared kid. It never occurred to me that people could get hurt playing sports.

I always confined everything to my mom. She always knew what to say to make me feel better.

“What’s wrong, Andrew?” questioned my mom after I finished my pasta.

I sighed. 

“I don’t know what to do, mom. I miss playing sports, but I don’t want to get hurt!” I wailed.

My mom looked at me. There was no pity in her eyes, no sympathy, just the calmness of someone who knows the truth and doesn’t try to conceal it.

“Andrew,” she began, “I know you stopped playing sports because you’re afraid of getting hurt. But you know, there isn’t anything you can do or change to stop you from getting hurt.”

I wasn’t sure I agreed. I mean, how could I get hurt if I stayed at home, or if I was at school?

“I don’t get it, mom.”

“Well, what if you were in bed and one of your figurines fell on your head? Or what if you tripped and banged your head against the wall?” 

Is that supposed to reassure me? I thought.

“So you see,” my mom went on, “there isn’t anthing you can do or anywhere you can go to keep you from getting hurt. It’s part of life!”

I considered this. I guess what she was saying was true, but at the same time...I didn’t feel ready to take extra risks of injuries just for a sport that I chose to do.

“I don’t know, mom,” I sighed, “playing sports is very dangerous.”

“Danger is all around us, Andrew, but you can’t let that stop you. Look how many famous sport players got injuries. Did they let that stop them?” she swept on before I could say anything, “No, sir, they kept right on playing, because it was their life’s passion. If you love to do something, do it, and don’t stop because your fears get in the way. Even if you do get hurt, you could go back to playing after it healed, right?”

“But what if it’s a really big injury?” I said, “what if I can’t play sports anymore afterwards?”

“Then at least you enjoyed sports before you got injured, and you could always find a new passion.”

Chapter 3

I dashed out of my classroom as soon as the school bell rang. 

“Hey, Andrew, you wanna hang out at the park?” one of my friend called.

“I can’t, I’ve got soccer practice!” I yelled over my shoulder as I grabbed my duffel bag.

I raced out the school building towards the soccer field - just two minutes away - feeling lighter than I ever had since Kevin’s accident. Everything looked brighter that day. The breeze whooshed against my face, which felt wonderfully cool. The sun shone upon the rippling green grass, while happy chatter filled the air. I swung my duffel bag on bench and started putting on my gears.

“Andrew!” a voice called, and there was my mother, walking fast towards me.

“I thought I’d come and watch you play today,” she said breathlessly.

“That’s great mom,” I said happily, then added in a lower voice, “just don’t cheer for me too loudly, okay?”

She just smiled and ruffled my hair, then took a seat at the bench.

I turned and sprinted towards the grass, where everyone was gathering to listen to the coach. I thought of the vow I had made just a month ago. Back when I had made it, I didn’t think I would break it so soon. Mom and I had decided to wait a couple of weeks before trying out for soccer again, what with all my homework and everything. But now that it was nearly summer break, I wanted to tryout immediately. And I don’t think I’ll regret it.

-  The End -