Soccer Queen
by Andrew ( anr )
Chapter 8

Waking up cuddled next to Samantha was a pleasant experience for David, but he could *really* feel the plaster between his legs. Then he remembered the events of the night before and lost the pleasant feelings.

In the bathroom, David noticed the plaster between his legs was working loose, so he looked for a replacement. He noticed a pack of Band-Aids in the medicine cabinet, but they were the type with sticky stuff all round. Taking a pair of scissors, he carefully trimmed one so that he wouldn't be sticking any- thing on his penis and used it to replace the old one.

When both he and Samantha were washed and dressed, they both walked down to her kitchen. There, Mrs. Davis had obviously decided that a proper meal would make them feel better. The smell of cooking bacon had been giving them hunger pangs since they first smelled it as they walked down the hall.

After breakfast, Mrs. Davis offered to drive David to the hospital. This was a relief to David, as he had wondered how he was going to get there. Samantha asserted that she was going with him "to provide support".

It was a quiet drive, with a pensive David imagining all sorts of dire possibilities. Samantha was also worried, she hoped her new friend would be OK, and that her father wasn't too badly injured.

A very tired Mrs. McCall met them at the hospital. "He's still unconscious, but should wake soon. When he does, he's going to have some difficult decisions to make.

"You see, he was drunk last night and was slow to stop at a red light. He ended up crashing into the back of a pickup truck carrying a load of steel rods. One of the rods fell through the windscreen and smashed into his groin. The doctor tells me that it has completely severed his penis and crushed his scrotum.

"They have stopped the bleeding, but are unwilling to make any further repairs until they have talked to him. It will be his decision how he lives his life from now on.

"They can't even re-attatch his penis, as was done for John Bobbit. After slicing it off, the rod then hammered it into the chair. There's nothing left of it."

As his mother described his father's injuries, David felt sympathy pains in his groin. He had a thought, though.

"How come he's unconscious ? Didn't the air bag stop his head from colliding with the column ?"

His mother then told him that the rod had speared through the air bag making it explode. This had pushed his head back against the headrest with terrific force.

David and Samantha were then led along to the ward in which David's father was lying. He was surrounded by wires and tubes and appeared to be sleeping. A monitor above his bed gave off a steady beeping noise as it traced his heartbeat.

After a quick look, David collapsed in tears, and Samantha practically dragged him to the ladies' room. She held him and rocked him in her arms, murmuring "It'll be alright, Davina. He'll get better," as she did.

When he had recovered, she led him back to the ward. David stared down at his father, feeling really scared. What if he didn't recover ? How would he live if he did ?

David's mother returned with a cup of coffee, and told them she was going to stay with his father until he woke. She gave David some money to buy food, and suggested he stay in his own room.

"I'm wondering what we should do about Gail," she said to him. "Should she be told about your father, or should we let her finish her camp in peace ?"

"I don't know, mum," replied David, "but if Dad doesn't get better, she'll be devastated if she hasn't seen him."

Mrs. McCall made up her mind. "I'll call Irene. She can collect Gail from camp and drive her to the airport. We'll have to change the arrangements for her flight." She then walked to the nurses station and asked if there was anywhere she could make an international call from.

While she was away, David held onto Samantha as if he were drowning. Samantha hugged him back, murmuring encouragement in his ear.

Eventually, Mrs. McCall returned. "That's taken care of. Why don't you girls go home now. You can't help your father, Davina, so why don't you go hang out with your friends ?"

David really wanted to stay with his father, but knew his mother spoke the truth. She would be staying with his father, and any extra people would only get in the way.

Samantha turned to David and said "Come on, Davina. It's just upsetting you to be here. Let's practise soccer, or some- thing."

With a last tearful glance behind him, David followed Samantha out of the hospital to her mother's car.

****

Gail McCall was really worried. She had been tidying up after tea, when the Captain had called her over to her tent. What had been really surprising had been to see Irene Robertson, her mother's best friend, sitting on a camp stool.

The Captain had indicated that she should sit, and she was glad she had. No sooner was she sitting, than Irene had told her that her father had had an accident. He was in a serious condition in the hospital, that was all she knew, so Gail should come with her now and catch the next flight to San Francisco.

With barely enough time to get all her stuff packed, she had been hustled out of the campsite. A quick hug in parting to all her friends - she knew she would not see them for a long time, if ever - and they had got into Irene's car and left Abbey-St-Bathans.

Now they were speeding up the A1 to Edinburgh. According to Irene, her mother had booked her on a flight tomorrow morning, but she could stay with Irene overnight. The flight would be at 5.00am, and she would have to be at the airport by 4.00am. Fortunately, Irene had told her that she would drive her to the airport.

Gail knew that no amount of pestering would get any more information out of Irene. Either she didn't know, in which case she knew no more than Gail, or her mother had asked her not to tell. Since she was her mother's friend, and not hers, she would be loyal to her mother.

Still, there was a knot of worry in her stomach. Without her father, she didn't know what they would do. They had just moved to America after her dad was promoted, and her mother had given up her job. What would they do for money if her father died ?

As they were travelling, Irene talked about normal, inconsequential things as if trying to cover her own worry. They discussed Gail's school work, what she was most looking forward to when she moved to America and what she would miss most about Edinburgh.

A journey that usually took about an hour was completed in 40 minutes. This was another sign of how worried they both were - Irene was usually a very careful driver, and must have been speeding on this journey.

Fortunately, they had not encountered any police speed traps, so they were not delayed. Whether they had been photographed on the motorway section between Haddington and Edinburgh was anyone's guess.

They arrived at Irene's house on the outskirts of Edinburgh at about 7pm. "Go and get ready for bed now, Gail, we'll be getting up at about 2.30am to get you on your flight."

Gail nodded and went to the bathroom to get ready for bed. *Thank goodness I don't wear much makeup* she thought as she washed her face and brushed her teeth. Changing into a night gown that she had taken from her rucksack, she gathered her clothes neatly together. Relieved to have hot water on tap, she washed her underclothes and hung them on the shower rail to dry.

Returning to the living room, she found Irene already wearing her own sleep wear. Guiding Gail to the spare room at the back of the house, Irene kissed her softly on the head and said goodnight.

*Getting up at 2.30 is torture* Gail thought when Irene woke her the next morning. Her eyes were glued shut, and she just wanted to go back to sleep. However, the lifting crane that had hold of her shoulder wouldn't let her. When she managed to get her eyes open, she saw Irene shaking her, telling her it was time to get up.

Grabbing a hurried meal, she went to the bathroom and hurriedly dressed in the clothes she had on yesterday. Even the underwear was dry, so she didn't have to get fresh stuff out of her pack.

When she was ready, having hastily brushed her hair before packing everything away in her rucksack, she went to the living room to wait. It wasn't long before Irene joined her and shooed her out to the car.

At this time of night, the bypass was nearly empty and it only took about 20 minutes to get to the airport. There was very little chatter this morning, as they were both tired.

On entering the terminal, they went immediately to the Air UK desk to collect the tickets reserved in Gail's name. *It's a good job we sorted out the passports before I went to camp*, Gail thought.

Irene asked Gail if she would be alright on her own. Knowing how tired Irene must be, Gail said she would. Irene then kissed her goodbye and returned to her car and drove home for some more sleep.

Despite her worry about her father, Gail was really excited about her first flight. Knowing that she was being trusted to make the flight on her own, she felt really grown up.

While she waited for the flight to be called, she visited an all-night newsagent to buy some reading material. She found numerous magazines that she had not read, and decided to buy some, selecting five. *That should last me for some time* she thought.

Sitting the passenger lounge waiting for her flight to be called, she reflected on her life for the last few years. David , who used to be so nice to her when they were little, had been an absolute pig since he joined the school team. He had tweaked her nipples when they were just budding, and were very sore.

His comments were very hurtful, as well. He seemed to take every opportunity to belittle her.

Her father, too, had been really hurtful lately. Mum said that it was the drink that made her father so bad. She had promised to see if there was anything she could do about either problem.

As for school, well, it had been tough since she started secondary school. The work was a lot harder than it had been in primary, and there were so many people it was easy to get lost. Of course, all her friends from primary were still there, so it wasn't too lonely.

The early hour, and the warmth in the lounge, caused Gail to drift off to sleep. She awoke when a stewardess gently shook her shoulder and told her that her flight was boarding.

Gail was mortified. Here she had been feeling *so* grown up, and now she fell asleep like a baby. She stood up and followed the stewardess to her seat on the plane.

Once seated, she took the magazines out of her pack and struggled to place it in the locker above her seat. The help- ful stewardess took her bag from her and put it in the over- head locker for her.

As she watched the plane speeding over the tarmac in preparation for takeoff, she felt great excitement at the prospect of a new start in America.

****

David grumbled as his mother shook him out of a sound sleep. He remembered when she had picked him up at Samantha's the day before. She had been crying even harder, telling him that his father had slipped into a coma, and it might take months for him to recover.

She had then sent him to bed early, telling him that Gail would be getting an early flight tomorrow, and they would have to be at the airport early in the morning to collect her. Now they were getting up at *5.00 am* in order to catch her flight.

David continued to grumble as he went through what was now his normal preparations. He made sure that the plaster between his legs was OK, then dressed in panties and bra before putting on makeup. It was warm outside, so he decided to wear his short skirt with a light sleeveless top.

They left for San Francisco with plenty of time to spare, which meant that he had to wait in another boring air terminal for ages. At last, Gail's flight appeared on the "Arrivals" board and they started walking towards the rope barrier in front of customs.

****

Gail woke up as the plane came in to land at San Francisco. She hoped her mother would be there to greet her.

After a perfectly ghastly meal, they had been treated to an insipid movie. Gail had ignored the movie and concentrated on her magazines. Some of the models had hair and makeup she was just dying to attempt. They looked so cool.

The magazines had not been enough to last for the whole flight so she had started fretting about her father. It was a really horrible feeling to know that there was nothing she could do, even after she could see him in hospital.

To avoid worrying herself to death, she had taken another nap. Her helpful stewardess had lifted her rucksack down for her, and helped her put the magazines away. She had no other luggage, so she walked straight past the carousel.

Clearing customs, she looked round trying to find her mother. *There she is* Gail thought *but who's the girl with her ?*

Walking toward her mother, she kept looking at the girl. It was like looking in a mirror, and suddenly she realised who it must be. Gail suddenly collapsed in laughter, pointing at her brother, or should that be *SISTER*.

David's face became extremely red when his sister started laughing. *Here we go again* he thought.

More Soccer Queen Coming Soon!