This_Is_My....

“Whoosh!” The sound of the wind was going through my brown curly hair as I ran on the black cement. I stopped for a brief moment “Ah uh ah uh ah uh ah uh ah uh.” I breathe in huge breaths and breathe out. I have to keep on running I cannot get caught. I start to run quickly all over again, being determined to get to my destination. As I look back I see the other players behind me, I see them catching up. The competitors look as determined as I am to reach that white line. One had pale skin with a blonde ponytail bouncing up and down her back, and side to side as she runs with self-control, her name is Ashley. The other two look alike, both have concentrated faces on, dark tan skin, and neon yellow shirts on that say their names in bold black letters on the back, Melissa and Jessica. I accelerate my speed as I think about how I have to get to that white line. My light brown arms move quickly to follow the speed of my feet. It almost felt like was flying off the ground. One meter, one meter left until I reach my goal, the white line. Getting to that white line can solve all of my problems. Winning this race will solve all of my problems. I heard my mother screaming “Melody” as she held up a poster that said “Keep running, Honey.” About two feet, no one and a half feet to go until I reached that line. I am too tired to keep running but I have to. I felt my feet are getting all tangled up. “Boom,” the sound of me dropping into the hard black cement. I fell flat on my face. There was a serious pain that was going through my whole body because I thought I broke something. I started to get very dizzy. Everyone was looking very blurry as my head started to spin round and round. Suddenly everything went dark and turns black. “Melody!” “Melody!” “Melody!” I heard my name echo in my head as I start to open my eyes to reveal the light hazel color. I find myself in a hospital bed surrounded by many people. My three best friends, Ashley, Melissa, and Jessica, my mom, and my coach were all surrounded me. A grin showed up on all their faces when they find my eyes open. “Thank the Lord you are okay.” I heard my mother say gladly. “I don’t look okay,” I say as point to my left leg. It is wrapped up tight in a white cocoon. My mother sees my confused face and said, “You broke your left leg.” My eyes widen and all of these thoughts went through my head so I started to get a headache. I wanted to know what happened and how it happened because everything to me was just a big blur. All these questions I wanted to ask and finally, every question I had busted out of me. “What happened to my leg' Why did it happen' When did it happen' How did it happen' Who did this to me' What did this to me' ” “Slow down, Honey,” I heard my mother say. I couldn’t slow down I was in panic mode. Running was my life and if this broken leg ends that right now, I will have nothing. Running was that only reason why I wanted to keep my grades up because if I didn’t I would be kicked off the team until I did. I hated my leg for braking and I still wanted to know what happened. I looked at my coach, hoping he knew what happened to my leg. He saw my curious face and asked everyone to leave the room because he wanted to talk to me alone. Hopefully I would be getting an explanation of all the things that happened to me in this last five hours or so. “You broke your leg went you were running to the finish line in the race,” he said. “How can I have broken my leg in the race, when the race is tomorrow'” I asked. He said, “The race was today, Melody, and you broke your leg on the way to the finish line. Your legs got all tangled up, so you fell flat on your face.” “So I didn’t win the trophy, and everyone saw me fall flat on my face.” “Yes, I also don’t think you will be able to join the track team after you recover because your twisted ankle damaged something in your leg.” “So, I might not be able to run ever again'” I asked sadly. “Yes,” said the coach. “You might not be able to ever run track again because of the leg.” My face turned as red as a ripe cherry that is ready to be picked. I might not be able to ever run track again because of the stupid leg. Now I have lay here and act like nothing is happening. I am in pain not because of the leg, but because of the thought that I might never be able to run track again. After I took in my coach’s words I said, “What am I supposed to do now' Act like nothing is happening'” He said, “Don’t think about it now. Just wait until your leg heals, then panic if you can’t run ever again.” My coach left the room then my mother came in. I have not noticed that she was wearing a black suit with a white blouse. She was also wearing pink crocs that just did not look good with her business suit. She just probably came from work, and didn’t have time to change before coming to my game. She looked at me as if she felt something was missing, not something that is missing for her, but for me. She looked at me as if she could see my soul being taken apart because there was now something missing. I had to break the silence that made me feel very awkward. “The coach told me I might never be able to run track again. He also told me not to worry but I am panicking.” “Maybe that is the best thing for you,” she said. “Maybe God is trying to tell you that you have another purpose on this Earth besides running track.” I could not believe she just said that. My dreams are being turned into dust, and she is telling me the best thing is to move on. It is like saying you can make a word without vowels. Then the doctor came in. “You will be going home on crutches because you have woken up. We need you to leave by three and it is two fifty five right now. Would you might trying to get out of bed now'” The doctor said. I wanted to go home. I wanted to be in a place where it all made sense, and somewhere I know I can find the answer. I could be mad all of the time, but there was still one minor problem ahead, how was I going to get off this hospital bed' I moved my working leg first than I moved my broken leg. My mother handed me the crutches that fit me perfectly. When I went into the car I only had one thought in my mind “I have to get to the place I know the best, my room.” But when I got in the car, it seemed like the longest ride home I ever had, and the hospital is only thirty minutes away from my home. My mother was talking about how I have options and how I can try something new and different. The conversation went something like this. “What are you going to do now that you cannot run,” my mother said as friendly as ever. “Well, I don’t know what I am going to do know. I am probably going to go to school, have to tell everyone what happened to my leg, than everyone signs the stupid cast on my leg. Then when I get home, I do my homework, and then watch TV in my sweatpants if I can put them on.” After I said that I heard a burst of laughter come out of my mother. It wasn’t one of those cute laughs that sound like “HaHaHaHa” but a loud laugh that sounded like various laughs put together like “Heh Heh Ha Ho Ho.” “Are you laughing at me' Why are you laughing at me'” She said, “I am laughing at you because this was your last day of school. Honey, you need a new plan.” I always forgot this. The race is always on the last day of school. I had to spend my last day of school at the hospital. I SPENT MY LAST DAY OF MY JUNIOR YEAR IN THE HOSPITAL! Instead of being the hospital, I could have been celebrating that I am now a senior in high school at school. It is always the best party because the teachers aren’t there because they know we are responsible. They also always pick the class president at that party also. If you are not there you would be seen as a big loser, and now I am one of those losers, but that wasn’t the problem. My mother was right, and she is never right most of the time. I had to find something to do now that I am not in school anymore. I needed a new plan. There was nothing interesting to do in Tennessee. Tennessee was as boring to me as watching the reruns of television shows or watching a movie twice. We finally pulled into the driveway while I think about what I am going to do for the summer. My mother opened the wooden white cracked door that looked about thirty years old. We were greeted by my little sister, and all of a sudden she had the same questions I had in the hospital. “Kiki,” my mother said. “Mel broke her leg in the race that happened at her school. Please don’t annoy her until her leg heals.” “Okay Mom,” Kiki said. Then she ran upstairs to tell the babysitter that we were home. The babysitter came downstairs, and my mother paid her thirty dollars. Six for every hour she babysat. Then she left. Day after day and night after night, I did the same thing, watch TV. My mother told me to stop being a couch potato, but I always stated “I am not a couch potato; I am training for the Couch Olympics.” I also didn’t watch TV for that whole time I was at home I just never left the house. Every time I said that to my mother the same thought always popped into my head. What am I doing here sitting on a couch when I can find something else to do' Then a letter came for my mother while looking through the mail. I wanted to open the envelope to see what would come next for my mother, but that is when my mother burst opens the door as if she knew something was coming for her. “Mom,” I yelled at the top of my lungs. “You got a letter from the company.” “Did I really' What did it say'” She said as if she already knew what the letter was going to say. “I don’t know. I didn’t open it because this is your letter.” I said. “Why don’t you open the letter, I have to change out of this suit. I have been running around all day because I had so many meeting with prestigious people. It is so hard being a CEO in this world.” I opened the envelope, which was halfway ripped when I was finished with it, and saw a bright folded white piece of paper. I read the letter to myself, and the first line was all I needed to read to know what the whole letter said. “Ahhhh!” I screamed. “Mom, you have to read this letter.” “What is it honey' What is so important that you had to scream so loud that everyone could hear you'” She said. “You got a job in New York for the summer.” I said. “We are going to have to move there for the summer.” “Melody, I am not going to take the job. New York is kind of out of my reach. I don’t like being in new places especially if I don’t know the state.” What does she mean when she says New York is out of her reach' New York is only a sixteen hours away, and she always talked about traveling the world and this could be the first step. Also she loves being in different places, but that wouldn’t change her mind about going to New York for the summer. It just had to take a little convincing to make her work in New York for a while. “Why don’t you want to going to New York' Don’t you want me to get off this couch and do something productive'” I said. “You can do that here in Tennessee,” she said. “But I can’t do anything here in Tennessee because there is nothing to do. Tennessee is just a big trap for the both of us, and you know that Mom. ” “I know you are right but I can’t go to New York right now. There are so many things we will be leaving behind if we go.” “What will we possibly be leaving behind if we go Mom' We will only be in New York for the summer. I will be back to make it to school, and you will be able to come back to work here in Tennessee.” “We are not going Melody!” Great now I had to find something else I can do for the summer, there is no chance I am going to New York. I might as well just go upstairs and see what Kiki was doing in her room. I entered her room. I never knew her room was painted pink with purple flowers on the wall. I never hung out with her as much as I could have because I always had track practice. “Kiki, what are you doing'” “I am painting with watercolors. Do you want to paint with me'” she asked. “No, why don’t you start cleaning up so we could go do something.” “Okay,” she said. We started to clean up together. First, we started with the paint on her clothes and her skin. She had orange, blue, and red on her chocolate skin, and green, yellow, and red on her pink shirt and skirt. We hung up the papers than she painted on and they were beautiful. Then we cleaned up the supplies that she used to paint, paintbrushes and her hands. The colors looked beautiful going down the drain in a spiral, and that is when I knew what I wanted to do for the summer. I went downstairs, and I yelled “Mom! I know what I want to do for the rest of the summer and for the rest of my life maybe, if it works out.” “And what is that'” she asked in a caring and happy voice. “I want to learn how to paint.” I said confidently. “All I have to do is get the art supplies I need to get started.” She seemed fascinated about why I chose to learn how to paint so I continued with my reasoning. “I saw Kiki’s water paints go down the drain, and they looked beautiful going in a spiral. I really want to know how they made such beautiful things with just a brush, paint, and a canvas. I want to speak to people without having to use words.” She seemed pretty convinced about what I was saying so she told me we should go to the nearest art store as soon as possible. She took my hand, called Kiki and we went out the door. My mother took the drivers’ seat and I took the passenger’s seat. Kiki sat in the back. We did not even know where we were going but my mother did not stop until she found something. We found the nearest A.C. Moore about fifteen minutes away from my house. My mother parked her car on the street because the parking lot was full. I got into the store and it truly had everything I could only dream about. I have never seen anything like it because I have never went to that part of town. I grabbed a cart and headed for the aisles that said it had paint, and there were about three of them. I go for the acrylic paint because it seemed like the sturdiest to me. I gave all of the colors that I can find, and throw them in the cart. Next I go for the brushes but I seem to have forgotten about them because I ended up in the sticker aisle. I left that aisle and met up with my mother because I saw she had found some brushes for me. Canvases were the last thing on my list that I needed. I found that after asking one of the employees. My mother and I made our way to the cash register. There were so many people that we had to wait about twenty minutes to get to the front. The cutest guy with short brown hair and green eyes scanned all of my items. He looked at me and asked “Are you a painter'” “No,” I answered. “I am hoping to be.” Then he said “Well that’s 72.63.” My mother handed him her debit card then she took the receipt and her card back. She took half of the bags filled with art supplies, and I took the other half. We made our way back to the house, then up to my room. My mother put all the art supplies next to my bed while I through my half next to the television. I lie on my bed, close my eyes and start to drift away. I dream about what will happen if this painting thing did work out. I woke up and opened up the things that my mother bought me a couple of hours ago. I stared at the canvas, not knowing what I am going to do. I closed my eyes, and my hand started doing random strokes on the canvas. I don’t think about what this might actually come out to be, until I step back and see I have painted a picture of myself. I was amazed at my ability to draw myself without even using a mirror. After that day, night and day, you will catch me painting anything from flowers, Tennessee, and my mother, Kiki, and me. A loud clapping sound echoed in my head as I remember I was reading a book to my children. I seemed to have been lost in my thoughts like I always do when I read. Running seemed like something as distant to me as I remember those good old days until I made it to New York. I imagine that white cocoon surrounding my leg as if it was a couple of days ago. Laying in the hospital bed and listening to my couch and mother’s wisdom. Why did I panic when they said I might never be able to run again' All thoughts like these seem to vanish in a flash, as I snap back into reality and read another book.