galaCTiC aCadeMY of sCienCe out of control Clinton saw the goalkeeper’s knee an instant before it struck his hairline He spun over and thunked the back of his skull onto the hard turf Worried faces half-blocked Clinton’s view of the sky His teammates his coach all of them leaned in ask ing questions Clinton’s head hurt He blinked The sky was too bright so he closed his eyes again for a moment I think he blacked out again That was Jimmy Ongking the wing I did not Clinton said opening his eyes wide and glaring at Jimmy What’s your name asked Coach who was actu ally Ms Winchell the art teacher Clinton Chang How many fingers am I holding up Two Can you say the alphabet backward Z Y X thought Clinton but the other letters trailed away in a blur Who tackled me he asked Their sweeper Jimmy said He got a red card and we get a penalty kick Now we’ll win for sure Way to put your body on the line man Jimmy please Coach said Clinton the alphabet backward 2
The Baffling Case of The BaTTered Brain 3
galaCTiC aCadeMY of sCienCe Clinton clenched a fist I’m going to drill that pen alty shot Not until I check you out The alphabet backward please Glaring up at her Clinton said We don’t have time for this We’ve got a game to win Coach Winchell waited her head tilted to one side Clinton gave her his best disarm ing smile Look I can do it extra fast Z Y X a bunch of letters A Now let’s get this game going He sat up but his head throbbed and he felt like he might throw up Without meaning to he groaned You’re coming out Coach Winchell said She and Jimmy took hold of Clinton’s arms They hoisted him to his feet and helped him wobble off the field The watching crowd cheered for him as Coach settled him on the bench What about my penalty kick Clinton asked but nobody paid any attention Out on the field the two teams lined up behind the penalty line while the goalkeeper from the Pioneers bent over rubbing his knee A man probably the goalkeeper’s father backed away and walked toward the stands on the far side Your knee man and my head Clinton shouted The words echoed painfully inside his skull but he shouted anyway Go Wildcats Someone slipped onto the bench beside him Clin ton are you okay 4
The Baffling Case of The BaTTered Brain Clinton turned to see Mae Jemison Harris next to him with her hair swept up in a scrunchie and her brow fur rowed in concern You’re not allowed on this side of the field he said I’m helping Ms Winchell Mae said I cut up the oranges and I’m handing out water You want some Clinton shook his head A mistake because his head clanged like a heavy bell He peered out at the field where Jimmy backed up to take the penalty shot that should be his Clinton’s Jimmy loped in and shot to the left corner but the ball was too slow The keeper dove for it and clutched it to his chest A wasted chance I’d have made that shot Clinton said to Mae Coach Winchell walked in front of them Hey Clinton said When am I going back in Coach turned to look at him Let’s give Raùl a chance at striker shall we she said Maybe you can go back after the half The half dragged Mae slipped away to her duties Clinton’s team kept losing control of the ball Even with one man out because of the red card the Pioneers domi nated playing keep-away in midfield The half ended at 1 0 Pioneers If Clinton’s team had ever needed him it was now As the team ran off the field Coach Winchell stood in front of Clinton Any symptoms Headache nausea blurry vision 5
