Monday came, and it was back to school. Sierra rolled into school between fifth and sixth periods. “How’d the doctor’s appointment go?” I asked, concerned.
“New doctor wanted to see if my spine was still stable, so I had to go get x-rays. Things are good, but man I got to look at them, and man, Jimmy, I didn’t fully realize how bad the accident left me.” She cringed slightly at the memory. “They had to put so much hardware in my back, if I had to get on a plane, every metal detector in the airport would go crazy.”
She laughed, but I could see that Sierra was shook up about seeing just what her injuries entailed. The lenses of her glasses began to fog up with the beginnings of tears. Her trying to keep strong and calm was starting to take a toll on her.
I wanted to tell her it was okay to let it all out, to just pull her into a hug, but the wave of students rushing to sixth period kept pushing us forward.
She was one tough girl. No wonder I was so attracted to her.
"Anyway, on to better things," Sierra said, blinking back the tears. "The site is blowing up. I'm already getting commission offers for my art, and the forum is full of people sharing their own stories. I mean it, Jimmy—I never could have done this without your coding magic."
“Anytime. I’m just glad the site is blowing up—and seriously, glad the appointment went well, even if those X-rays were a lot to take in.”
“Seeing the damage is just a part of coming to terms with what I have to live with,” she said while maneuvering her wheelchair through the hall to our next classroom. “It could have been worse, the accident could have killed me.”
My God, where do you get all this strength? I thought.
“You’re incredible, Sierra. Seriously. Life threw up a massive roadblock, and you’re already figuring out how to roll right past it.”
“Like I said, I come from a long line of stubborn women,” she winked.
“You won’t get any argument from me about that,” I said while walking to my next class. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
I went home after school with one thought in my mind: I was falling really hard for Sierra, and how could I tell her that without making an idiot of myself?
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