Rough Couple of Days

They weren’t quite running, but they weren’t taking a leisurely stroll through the stacks either. It was dark inside the library; it was a moonless night and none of the indoor lights were on, save for the small lamp in the library office that never seemed to go out. The bookshelves were illuminated by the streetlights in the parking lot and Emma could see the dust particles floating through the air, but the musty smell of her favorite place in the school other than the locker room or the soccer field did nothing to calm her nerves. She could hear Zach breathing behind her and as petty as it was, it was starting to grate on her nerves.

Zach had been driving Emma home after a study session he had been hosting at his house; Emma’s car had broken down the previous week and was still in the shop, but neither of them minded. Emma paid for his vending machine coffee or Starbucks on game days to make up for the gas money, and Emma thought of Zach as good company, and he knew better than to ask why they needed to turn around and go back to school.

To be honest, it wasn’t Emma’s first time breaking into the building, but it had been the first time she had done it for a reason that wasn’t a forgotten homework assignment or boredom. Out of the Four, Emma was definitely the one who would know how to: Carine had a key to the locker rooms that connected to the school building, Goldie never forgot an assignment, and if Sav ever realized that she had forgotten something, she simply decided to forget about it until the next day.

“Emma, what the heck are we doing in here?” Hearing his voice in the quiet of the library made Emma frown deeper. His footsteps somehow echoed on the carpet floor and Emma felt her shoulders tense.

She didn’t find the need to respond, so she didn’t. All the text she had gotten from Carine said, Get back here ASAP. Carine didn’t use acronyms (or texting in general, really) lightly, so when she did, it was an immediate cause for worry.

Zach continued on, “If Mrs. Scheme knew we were in here after hours on a weekend, she would ban us from library privileges for the rest of the year.”

She whirled around and Zach nearly slammed into her.

“If it matters to you that much, then just go home,” she hated the tears that had sprung to her eyes, “We don’t want you here if you’re going to ask questions at every turn, then leave.”

“What’s going on, Emmy?” he waited for an answer and when Emma couldn’t find the words to answer, he continued on, “Everything seemed fine after practice and now here I am, it’s almost midnight, and I’m in the school library after hours and I have no idea why.” 

“I don’t know either,” Emma spit out and continued walking, “Carine just said we needed to get back here. You got the text.” 

“Goldie was in an accident tonight,” Carine came from the opposite direction, matching Emma in front of her and Savannah at her side in team sweats, “She sent Sav a text earlier and hasn’t replied back. We don’t have all of the information, but Coach told us to meet him here.” Savannah draped herself over Emma’s shoulders and Emma could feel her shaking. The familiar weight of one of her best friends made her relax momentarily and she felt her mind clear a little bit.

“In the library?” Zach asked, “That’s awfully sus. Why couldn’t we meet him in his office?”

“It’s under construction,” Savannah said, “and he has Scheme wrapped around his little finger, so if she finds out we were in here, it’s fine.” 

“Thank you for your bluntness, Birch, but yes, this seemed like the best place to meet all things considered,” Coach Danberry appeared out of nowhere and Emma suppressed a squeak. There was something about the man that made him look like a mob boss in another life.

“We could’ve met down on the field,” Savannah muttered.

“You want to freeze?” Coach shot back.

“So Goldie was in an accident,” Zach seemed to have recovered from his shock and apprehension, “So what? She’s okay, right? It was just a car accident or something, right?”

The four teenagers looked to their coach for a response and Emma felt her heart sink when he pursed his lips and cleared his throat several times before answering, “It was her dad.”

Emma felt like someone had dumped an entire bucket of ice over her head, Carine gasped like she had gotten sucker punched, Zach’s face went pale and Savannah tore herself off of Emma’s shoulders, “What the fuck happened?”

“It was my fault,” Coach started, “Goldie told me about the scholarship offers she’s been gettin’, and she told me that her dad’s been a little better recently, so I figured I’d give him a call, ask him what he was thinkin’ about Goldie doin’ so well.”

“Goldie hadn’t told him,” Carine said.

Coach nodded, “I didn’t know that until Goldie called me an hour after I hung up with him.”

“How bad is it?” Zach asked. Emma didn’t know how they had words to speak. 

“She’s concussed at the very least, but it’s probably worse than that,” Coach cleared his throat again, “I had to carry her out to my car and they pulled her in the back for MRIs and x-rays and all of that stuff when we got there. They didn’t want me back there cuz I’m not a guardian, but I’m gonna go back and explain the situation, see what I can see. I just wanted to let you all know what was goin’ on.”

“Keep us updated, Coach,” Carine said, “Please.”

“Of course. I have your phone numbers. You’ll be the next ones to know. Try to go home, get some rest. It might be a rough couple of days.”