Lindsey had asked Barbara to drop her off early at school. She wanted to speak with the band teacher and get his opinion about the song she had just finished. She had put it on a thumb drive so, he could listen to it when he had a moment.

She heads down to the band room to see if Mr. Simmons was in. She knocks on the door as she enters the band practice room.

“Mr. Simmons, are you in?” Lindsey looks around for her teacher.

“I’m in here Lindsey.” Mr. Simmons was doing an inventory of the instruments that needed to be taken to be restored or replaced.

Lindsey looks in the storage room and found her teacher checking instruments. She notices the instrument she turned back in was placed on the repair self.

“Did I damage my Sax, Mr. Simmons?” Lindsey was always careful and cleaned it after she used it.

“Oh, no. I’m sending it out for cleaning. You did a good job of maintaining it, but it's school policy to send return instruments out for cleaning. Some students don’t maintain their instruments as well as you do. What brings you in this early today?” Mr. Simmons liked Lindsey.

She could read sheet music and had a love for music. He had seen and heard it when she played. He had spotted her a few times when he went to the cafeteria to get his lunch, sitting with her eyes closed and tapping away to a beat in her head.

“I was wondering if you wouldn’t mind listening to a couple of songs I compose. They are mostly instrumental, but I think you’ll like them.” Lindsey holds out a thumb drive to him.

“What other instrument do you play Lindsey?” Mr. Simmons accepts the USB drive from Lindsey.

“The synthesizer. My foster mother bought me a Casio. I was given a Hammond SK2 synthesizer, a JamTec "Slim Daddy" Keytar and my new saxophone for Christmas. I’m still learning how to play my keytar properly.” Lindsey liked it and had downloaded many YouTube videos she could find on how to play one from the internet.

“Who is your music teacher, other than me?” Mr. Simmons was impressed that Linsey could play an additional instrument.

“No one, I go on YouTube and try to find videos on what instruments I am learning. I learned how to play the piano from the internet and from music books” Lindsey had to teach herself how to play.

“So, you're self-taught?”

“Yes, sir. Music just seems to come easily to me. I can see the music in my head and play it as I see it.” Lindsey had a smile on her face.

“Interesting. I’ll listen to what you got and give you my opinion about it.” Mr. Simmons was very interested to hear what Lindsey composed.

“Thank you, Mr. Simmons.” She turns and heads towards her first class.

The rest of the day things are as usual. Gym class this week was in the gym. They were doing indoors volleyball. The ground outside was still wet from the heavy rains they had. She was the last picked for a team.

During class, some of the girls on her team that didn’t like her, would push her or trip her. She wasn’t going to allow their slight bullying to bother her. One of the older girls in her class slams into her so hard, that she falls hard on her right knee.

Coach Jerkins had seen Christy Warren latterly push Lindsey aside, causing her to fall hard on her right knee. She blows the whistle to stop the game and walks over to check on Lindsey. She tries to help Lindsey stand up, but Lindsey couldn't without crying out in pain. She notices that Lindsey’s knee was starting to swell. It was already red and bruised.

“Let’s get you to the nurse.” Coach Jenkins helps Lindsey down to the nurse’s office.

Nurse Sumner looks up as Coach Jenkins brings one of her students into her office. She recognized the student as being Lindsey Sabberton.
She had been at the meeting the principal had held about her.

“What happened?” As she helps Coach Jenkins with Lindsey.

“It happened while she was playing volleyball.” Coach Jenkins wasn’t covering for Christy Warren.

She would handle Ms. Warren herself. She had nothing against Lindsey. She was a good student and tried hard to keep up with her classmates.

Lindsey was in too much pain from her injury to tell the nurse the truth. She had tears sliding down her face. She grits her teeth and as the nurse probed her knee.

Nurse Sumner probes Lindsey’s knee carefully. Just from what she was seeing and could tell without an x-ray machine. She thinks that Lindsey might have fractured her kneecap.

“She needs to go to the hospital. Her kneecap might be fractured and without an x-ray. I can’t be sure.” Nurse Sumner looks up at Coach Jenkins.

“Alright, I’ll call her mother. You go ahead and call the paramedics.” Coach Jenkins walks over to the nurse’s desk and calls the office to have them call Lindsey’s mother.

Barbara:
Barbara was at the office working on the paperwork of a house she had just sold. When she receives a phone call from Lindsey’s school.

“Hello, Mrs. Weathers. This is Carol Highstreets from Spring Hill High. I’m calling to inform you that Lindsey hurt her knee severely during gym class and is on her way to the hospital.”

“Do you know how bad the injury is?” Barbara was already gathering her stuff to head to the hospital.

“Nurse Sumner thinks she might have fractured it. She can’t be sure without an x-ray.” Nurse Sumner had given her best guess to Lindsey's injury.

“Is she being taken to Fairview General Hospital?” Barbara was up and out the door.

She drops a note off at the receptionist desk informing her where she was heading. She heads over to her car and unlocks it. She switches the call to her earpiece and starts driving towards the hospital.

"Thanks, Ms. Highstreets.” Barbara disconnects.

When Barbara pulls into the parking lot and head to the emergency entrance. She is taken to examination room 1 where she see’s Lindsey still in her gym clothes on the examination table. Barbara could already tell how bad Lindsey’s right knee was. It had swollen up to the size of a soccer ball.

Lindsey:
On the way to the hospital, the paramedics had straightened out her leg and immobilized it. They had given her a shot of morphine for the pain. She wasn’t feeling any pain at all right now.

Once they brought her into the emergency room. They had her fill out some paperwork till her mother could arrive. An emergency room doctor and a female nurse had come in and took her vitals They checked her knee. The Doctor on duty said she was going to need an x-ray done so they could see how bad the fracture was on her kneecap.

She had been waiting for about fifteen minutes when Barbara comes walking in with a nurse.

“How are you feeling Lindsey?” Barbara could tell Lindsey was a little scared.

“Scared.” Lindsey holds her hand out for Barbara.

Barbara holds her hand to try and calm her down. She could tell that Lindsey was trying to be brave.

“So, how was the rest of your classes today?” Barbara was trying to distract Lindsey.

“They were fine. I managed to talk with Mr. Simmons before my first class. I gave him a thumb drive with some songs I recorded to see what he thought about them.” Lindsey hadn't shared any of her music with Barbara yet.

“You know, I wouldn’t mind hearing what you have recorded.” Barbara felt a little hurt that Lindsey hadn’t shared her music with her.

“Really?” That had surprised Lindsey.

“Of course. I know how much you enjoy playing and making music. I would love to hear some of your work and give you some feedback on it.” Barbara squeezes Lindsey’s hand.

A female Doctor comes into the examination room and introduces herself as Dr. Sheilah Hollander. She has Lindsey taken to x-ray and have an x-ray of her knee taken. The x-ray showed that Lindsey had a Displaced fracture break that went across the kneecap. She was going to need surgery to pull the two pieces together, so they would heal properly.

It was 9:00 pm by the time Lindsey and Barbara got home. The doctor performed an open surgery and wired the kneecap back together. Lindsey was going to have physical therapy once her kneecap was completely healed. She wasn’t feeling anything from the pain pills they had given her.

Barbara was going to let her stay home from school tomorrow. She’ll go up to the school and get any assignments Lindsey will miss tomorrow.
She is going to work from home tomorrow and take care of Lindsey. She helps Lindsey to bed and tucks her in. She places a kiss on her forehead.

“Sleep, tight sweetie.” Barbara backs out of the bedroom and turns the light off.