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
galaCTiC aCadeMY of sCienCe I’m fine Clinton said Coach looked uncertain She bit her lower lip and gazed at Clinton I wish Coach Kane were here Okay tell you what Why don’t you jog slowly up and down the side line and we’ll see how you feel Clinton stood up shook his arms and began to jog along the grass His teammates cheered At first his head throbbed with each jolting stride but soon enough he was jogging lightly without pain and his limbs began feeling loose and workable again Clinton bumped against a man he didn’t know a tall youngish man who held himself very straight and who had short wavy brown hair The man stumbled then reached out a hand and took hold of Clinton’s upper arm steadying both of them Hey I know you the man said You’re a good kid I’m Mark Helmut Remember me Uh no Clinton said I’ve never seen you before in my life Mark Helmut looked confused for a moment but then gave his head a shake Never mind Come on we’ve got to talk to your coach He kept hold of Clinton’s arm as they walked back Helmut’s gait had something wrong with it some kind of sideways lurch in every other step Maybe he’s drunk Clinton thought Coach Winchell who had been instructing the team looked up at Mark Helmut She dismissed the team and 6
The Baffling Case of The BaTTered Brain they gathered around Clinton You coming back in man We need you Come on suck it up Just one more half But past his teammates Clinton heard disturbing words from Mr Helmut who bent his head and spoke down to the shorter Coach saying things like concussion risk of further injury two weeks at least subtle symp toms Coach blinked her big brown eyes at Mr Helmut and nodded earnestly Clinton clenched his fist Of course I’m going in No one can stop me But in fact someone could When the whistle blew to mark the start of the second half Coach said You’re sitting this one out Clinton I’m sorry Your health is more important than any game My health Clinton objected I’ll explode if I have to sit here and watch our team blow it In that case Coach said seriously I think you should go inside Mae can you help Clinton find a nice quiet classroom where he can put his head down and rest And stay with him won’t you and make sure you can wake him up every ten minutes or so No Clinton said hastily I can watch the game But the game was painful to watch The Wildcats just couldn’t seem to pull together without Clinton They made sloppy passes their fast breaks were slow and the defense 7
