The next morning, Shaena woke up with a growling stomach as the smell of pancakes and bacon drifted up from the kitchen. She stretched in bed and smiled before the dull pain in her head reminded her of everything that had happened last night. Suddenly, she wasn’t so hungry anymore.
After tossing on a sweatshirt, she walked downstairs to find Marisol sitting at the kitchen table. Mom was flipping pancakes at the stove. Confused, Shaena looked down at her cell phone in her hand. There were no new text messages from Marisol.
“Hey, Shaena!” said Marisol brightly. “Good morning!”
“Hey, Mari,” replied Shaena, not entirely sure what was going on.
Mom turned from flipping pancakes and smiled. “Good morning, honey,” she said.
“Morning,” Shaena replied slowly.
Mom put a few more pancakes on an already full plate, switched off the stove, and set the plate on the table before walking over to Shaena. She looked closely into Shaena’s eyes, brushing a stray strand of hair out of her face. “How does your head feel this morning?” she asked.
“Fine. I don’t know. It . . . it hurts a little,” Shaena admitted.
“Do you want to take anything?” asked Mom.
“I don’t know,” Shaena said again, feeling a little annoyed. She still felt fuzzy with sleep, and she was trying hard to remember inviting Marisol over for breakfast.
Did I text her back last night? Shaena wondered. Her stomach twisted. What if this is the some of the confusion Dr. Lee mentioned last night? What if my concussion is worse than everyone thought?
Mom must’ve noticed Shaena’s confused expression. “Oh! I forgot to tell you last night after all of the excitement,” she said. “I invited Marisol over for breakfast. I thought you might need a little cheering up.”
Excitement? thought Shaena. Last night was not exciting.
“I bet you’d feel better if you ate something,” her mom continued. “And Marisol, don’t wait for Shaena. Dig in!”
With a grin, Marisol happily pulled three pancakes onto her plate along with several pieces of bacon.
“Hey,” Shaena said again as she sat down across from Marisol. There was already a plate and a large glass of orange juice waiting for her.
“Hello!” Marisol mumbled through a full mouth. She gave a big, goofy grin stuffed with pancakes.
Shaena laughed despite the pain in her head. Her friend always knew how to make her feel better. Then, with jolt of guilt, Shaena remembered that she’d never responded to Marisol’s text message.
“About last night, sorry I —” she began.
Marisol interrupted her. “Don’t worry about not texting back,” she said, swallowing her mouthful of pancakes. “I know you didn’t feel well. I just wanted to let you know I was thinking about you.”
Shaena gave her a half smile. “I’m sorry,” she said, apologizing anyway. “Thank you. I should have responded.”
Marisol waved away Shaena’s apology. Then, Shaena’s stomach let out a loud growl. The girls looked at each other and burst out laughing.
“Pancake time!” Mom announced, laughing too.
* * *
After breakfast, Shaena and Marisol were sleepy with their full stomachs. They lay on the couch listening to their favorite radio station.
“So . . . what did the doctor say?” Marisol asked quietly.
Shaena let out a loud sigh. She had been trying not to think about Dr. Lee’s diagnosis. “She said that I have a minor concussion. I can’t play basketball for at least a week.”
Marisol cringed. “Oh, man. A whole week?”
“Yeah,” replied Shaena. “I have to sit out of gym class too. And I still have this headache.”
“That girl did hit you pretty hard, but you’ve taken hits to the head before,” Marisol said, confused. “It’s not like you got knocked out. How is this time different?”
“Beats me,” said Shaena with a shrug. “Although Dr. Lee said you don’t have to get knocked out to get a concussion.”
“But you’ll be back for the game against North in a couple of weeks, right?” asked Marisol after a few seconds of silence. “They won state last year — we need you!”
“I hope so,” said Shaena.
“This is so unfair!” cried Marisol. “I mean, Christine played all last year with a sprained finger. And I get my ankle taped. Why is your injury such a big deal?”
“Dr. Lee says it’s because it’s my brain,” explained Shaena. She picked at the pillow she held in her lap. “I just wish everyone didn’t think I was so weak. I don’t want to let the team down.”
“Oh, Shaena!” Marisol exclaimed, sitting up with a start. “You’re not letting anyone down!”
Shaena winced at Marisol’s volume.
“Sorry,” her friend continued, lowering her voice. “You’re not. Seriously. You just need to rest. The team will be fine — but it’s a good thing we have Jessie in the meantime!”
Shaena’s stomach dropped at the mention of the new post player. “Um, yeah. I guess you’re right,” she replied. “Hey, I think I’m going to go back to sleep for a while. My head hurts.”
“Oh . . .” said Marisol. “Okay. I’ll just talk to you later, then.”
“Yeah, okay,” mumbled Shaena. “See you later.”
Marisol stood up to leave, and Shaena wrapped herself in a blanket, trying not to think about Jessie taking her place on the court. If only she had just kept playing instead of lying there holding her head.