Free Hell's Belles by Megan Sparks Page B

a ladder and had a few minor bumps and bruises.
    An older nurse, who introduced herself as Martha, helped Annie into a wheelchair and pushed her to a curtained partition at the end of the hall. Lauren came along, swinging Annie’s skate bag.
    â€œAre your folks on their way, hon?” Martha asked, making some notes on a chart in a file folder.
    â€œMy dad is,” Annie replied. “He should be here soon.”
    Minutes later, a cute young doctor entered through the curtain.
    â€œHello, there. I’m Dr. Borden.” He cast an eye at Annie’s swollen ankle and frowned. “If I had to guess, I’d say someone got hurt at cheerleading practice. Bad basket toss, perhaps?”
    Annie had no idea what a basket toss was. “No, doctor,” she replied. “I hurt myself in a roller derby scrimmage.”
    Martha looked up from Annie’s file, intrigued. “Roller derby?”
    Lauren nodded. “We’re on a junior team in Liberty Heights.”
    â€œI didn’t know we had roller derby in the area,” said Martha, smiling. “When I was a little girl, my granddad used to take me to bouts in Chicago. Of course, that was years ago. But, oh, how I loved to watch those ladies skate!”
    Dr. Borden had taken Annie’s foot in his hand and was carefully tipping it this way and that. Annie cringed as another stab of pain sliced through her ankle.
    â€œSorry,” said the doctor. “I know it hurts, but can you try to move it? Point your toes toward the ceiling.”
    Annie bit her lip and, with a great effort, managed to tip her foot upward. It throbbed but at least the movement proved that everything was still connected.
    â€œThat’s good,” said the doctor. “I’m going to send you off to radiology for a quick X-ray, but that’s just me being cautious. I’d bet my stethoscope that it’s just a really nasty sprain.” He nodded to Martha who stepped out to make arrangements.
    Dr. Borden put his hands on his hips and grinned. “Roller derby, huh? My twins love to roller skate — they’re only seven. Maybe they’d be interested some day.”
    â€œYou should bring them to our Halloween bout!” said Annie. She motioned to Lauren to hand her the duffle bag and quickly fished out one of the flyers. “It’s going to be great! We’re wearing costumes and giving out sweets — I mean candy. And the bout itself is going to be pretty exciting. It’s kind of a grudge match.” She handed him the flyer.
    â€œThanks. Sounds like a lot of fun.” He folded it neatly and tucked it into the pocket of his white coat, just as Annie’s dad came skidding into the room.
    He looked frantic.
    â€œAnnie!” He crossed the room in two steps and threw his arms around her. “Are you all right?”
    Dr. Borden answered for her. “She’s going to be fine,” he said in a pleasant, confident tone. “I’m sending her for a little photo shoot down in radiology, but I suspect it will confirm what I’ve already told her. Nasty sprain, nothing more.”
    Annie took a deep breath and asked the question that had been worrying her since the minute she fell down in the rink. “When do you think I’ll be able to skate again?”
    â€œWell, Annie, that’s hard to say,” Dr. Borden said thoughtfully. He frowned and said, “Off the top of my head I’m going to say about three weeks. But a lot will depend on you. If you follow my instructions and don’t push yourself, it could be sooner. If you don’t follow —”
    â€œOh, I will!” Annie blurted. “I’ll do whatever you say. I just really want to be able to skate in the Halloween bout, and it’s three weeks from Saturday.”
    â€œSlow down, Beanie,” said Dad, holding up his palms. “Let’s just see what happens. I won’t risk you doing any more damage