Cross Country

Today, I went to my brother’s cross country meet right after school.  We arrived a little early, just in time to catch the beginning of the girls’ varsity race.  I had never been to a race before, so I was a little lost, in terms of what was going on.  I kept annoying my father with questions about where they would be coming from, how long the race was, etc. while he was trying to concentrate on taking pictures.  He finally started ignoring me, so I just stood in silence and watched.  After five minutes or so, a huge group of girls came running towards us.  I watched in amazement, as the kept their form and ran hard, drenched with sweat.  And as quickly as they came, they disappeared over the next hill, and around the corner.  My father started off to the next location they would come, and I hurried to catch up to him.  The next place was the finish line.  We waited another five minutes and the girls came again.  They raced down the stretch at a full stretch, pushing it top the limit.  The first few girls were happy with their time while the others scolded themselves.

Next, it was the boys’ turn.  When they ran their warm up pacers, I thought they were starting to actually run, so I started to cheer. No one else did, and I realized they were only warming up, and I felt dumb.  I think yen is weird; that is just my opinion. Oh no! Yen is leaving now (Janice).  After that incident, they actually began.  My brother, Duc, took the lead instantly and took off.  We then moved onto the next station, and waited.  They came, and were off again.  It was much like the girls’ run but much faster.  Finally, we headed towards the end of the circuit.  They soon came rushing over the hill at a full sprint.  Two Berkley High students were up front.  After about five seconds, I saw my brother heading towards us, neck and neck with another Berkley kid and… dog?  The dog kept cutting off Duc, forcing him to slow down.  It kept this up until the end of the race, not even bothering the other kid.  My brother made forth in the race, even thought the dog had been cutting him off for about half a mile.

Broken Bones Part 2

Richard gawked, anxious, at the end of the lift.  He was supposed to leap off the lift and skate out of the way in time for the next person to exit the lift.  He began sweating and forgot all about the amazing ride.  He tried to observe every graceful movement of the man in front of him: he confidently lifted his body into a standing position, sliding his snowboard on the snow, barely touching it.  He glided over the snow and turned to the side when he got to the end of the runway.  Richard tried to imitate the perfect, precise movements of the previous person but could not copy him.  He started lifting his body over the chair but instantly got his board stuck on a small lump of snow and fell over instantly.  The workers were forced to stop the lift and help him back up. His face turned completely red, and he quickly walked to the beginning of the slope.  He had no idea what to do now; he didn't know how to snowboard.

Richard thought he would be able to maneuver the snowboard well because he skateboarded, but soon found out that it was a completely different concept.  He rushed down, through the woods and a pace that was much too fast.  Now, the trees that looked so serene on the lift looked like Richard’s enemy, trying to kill him.  He awkwardly swung his arms around to keep his balance.  Once he thought he got the hang of it, he hit a small snow pile that he thought he could jump and flipped over. 

It was as if he were in slow motion.  He heard the crunching of snow at each bounce.  He saw white, more white, and then black.  He smelled nothing but sweat.  And all he felt was searing pain in his left wrist.  He struggled to get up with out putting any pressure on his left hand, falling twice before he got to his feet.  He fiddled with his bindings until he could take them off and took a look around his surroundings.  He noticed that he strayed from the path greatly and all he could see was the brown and green of trees.  He decided to take a rest so he sat down.  Within five minutes, he spotted a red jacket coming down the slope, dragging a red sled behind him.  Someone had called for help.  The man strapped him in so tightly, it was uncomfortable, and they rushed down the mountain faster than Richard had gone, but this time, he felt safe.  The trees that looked like enemies before, now looked like guardians, making a path for them to go by, while watching over them.  This snowboarder was in complete control.  Richard felt safe, so he closed his eyes.  The next thing he knew was that he was in the hospital for a broken arm.

Broken Bones Part 1

Richard sat in the car surrounded by white, with a huge frown on his face.  His parents forced him to visit the snow, away from his much loved bustling city.  The car smelled like the Chinese chow mien and fried rice they stopped for right outside of town for.  The sound of crunching snow under the tires emerged, and reminded him of his destination.  Once they arrived at the cabin, Richard decided to wash his disappointment away with a nap; he missed his city already.  When he woke up, he decided to do something interesting during the horrible visit to the mountains: snowboarding.

Richard stood there quite comfortably as he stared in awe as the gleaming red lift as it screeched and grumbled to take the other snowboarders and skiers up the slopes, and to their demise.  He stood there, frozen.  The loud snap of the lift brought him back to reality, and he took up his heavy, metallic green rental board and dragged it behind him while he started the short walk to the lift.  As he waited in line, all he could smell was the distinct odor of gasoline that filled up the air.  Before he knew it, he was next in line, and Richard quickly waddled up to the lift area, and before he knew it, a big lift chair bumped into making him fall into it with much force, taking him off in an instance.  On the way up, he completely forgot about the rickety design of the lift and the disgusting smell of the oil.  All he could do was take in the great view that he was faced with.  The ever green trees standing tall with piles of snow on each branch looked oddly like the city buildings that Richard grew up with.  The icy wind cutting through his face reminded him of the wind that comes in every morning from the ocean.  He pulled up his collar to protect against it.  And now the end of the ride approached.  The snowy mountains are not that different from the city after all. 

The Ball Game

As I stared in awe at the players in red and white running around the bases, admiring their skill, the world seemed perfect in my three year old mind.  I clung to the fence, not listening to my parents’ repeated warnings to stay way from the seemingly safe barrier. Three innings in, the baseball collided into my skull. With my ears roaring, I blacked out at the sound of the sirens of an ambulance.

I shook my head dazed and confused, finding myself on a roll-away-stretcher.  I had no idea where I was.  After my eyes adjusted to the light, they focus on the shelves lining the walls.  My ears keened in to the medical tools clattered around in the boxes while we rolled along the high way towards the Children’s Hospital.  Hearing my mother’s voice behind me, I tried hoisting myself up, but my head was injured much more severely than I had expected.  With a cry of pain, I lied back down with my head throbbing. I lied there sobbing until the doors were opened, and squinting out of the flaps; I spotted my mom.

As they brought me out, my mother informed me that my brother, Duc, and my dad were on their way because they were not permitted to ride on the ambulance.  We enter the Children’s Hospital and into an examining room.  The doctor had me climb up onto an exam bed.  At this point, tears continued to pour out my eyes.  My blurred vision allowed me to see doctors frantically scrambling around with sheets of papers and medical instruments like bees in the spring.  Stressed voices conversed using medical terms that left me thinking that they spoke a different language.

After performing countless tests on me, the doctors led me to my mother.  They address her and spoke softly, making sure that it was impossible for me to hear.  My mother gave the doctor her undivided attention and frequently nodded.  Finally, she smiled and sighed in relief; their conversation was over and she and I were free to leave. As we headed down to the ground level, my mother explained to me that I was fine and that we have to tend to the bruise every few hours.  I didn’t understand why I wouldn’t be all right but I was glad to hear that I didn’t have to stay with the odd doctors.  We walked out to the parking lot and found Duc playing with a toy castle set with my dad.  They smiled and rushed to hug me.  I couldn’t help but grin.  After much celebration, we determined that we were all hungry and decided to pay my grandparents a visit for dinner.