Chapter 1

You’ve heard all the stories. A kid on the football field gets sacked, then falls down dead. A kid dribbles a ball down court, makes a successful jump and basket, then dies right there. Soccer, tennis, even golf. Kids with bad hearts die while doing something they love ... playing sports.

That wasn’t me.

I did go up for a layup, but it was at practice ... not during a game. I passed out, but I didn’t die. To this day, the doctors don’t know why I even passed out. I have an idea, but I’m not sure if I’m right. You see, I now have an ... ability ... that no one else has. It surprised me, to say the least. I have only told one other person, and she almost hated me for having it. I’m sorry. There was one other.

I can read minds. I know, it sounds ... outlandish, at the very least.

We had been practicing our layups. The coach had us do fifty each, then he broke us into teams to play. During that game, we were to use what we had just learned. I had felt fine throughout the practice, until Jim tossed me the ball for me to lay one up. I had the perfect shot. No one was around to stop me. I got the ball ... and that’s all I knew until I woke up in the hospital.

I went through every test known to man, and then some. Nothing ... I mean nothing showed up on any scans or tests. The doctors were baffled. Everyone that saw, talked to, or probed me didn’t know what caused me to pass out. Before the doctor would allow me to go back in to play, he had to watch me for a couple of hours. Coach reluctantly let him, then said that I could play.

Naturally, when I woke up in the hospital, I was confused. All I remember is that I had the ball in my hands, I knew the steps I was going to take ... then I woke up in the hospital.

At first, I played off the sounds in my head as noises in the ER. People were all over the place, and it was rather noisy. It wasn’t until I was put into a room that I realized that it wasn’t getting that much quieter. I didn’t really hear voices, as much as a constant hum. After a while, it was getting to me.

I couldn’t sleep because of it. Even though everyone else on the floor was asleep that night, it kept on. It wasn’t as bad then, but it was annoying. It finally got down to something tolerable, and I went to sleep.

I was awakened the next morning at six. A tray of hospital food was thrust in front of me while a nurse was checking my vitals. They left, and I started picking at the food. It wasn’t really that bad. The same girl came back later to get my tray, and she smiled at me. That’s when I heard it.

“He’s fucking cute. I’ll bet he licks a mean pussy.”

I looked at her, and she blushed, then left with my empty tray. She was hot too. She looked to be about five feet tall, and maybe a hundred pounds, soaking wet. She had her hair pulled up under a hairnet, so I couldn’t even tell what color it was.

I had visitors all day long. Of course, my teammates had to make an appearance, as did Coach Anderson. My parents, of course, came up. Mom wanted to stay with me until I was let go, but I convinced her to go home. She did, reluctantly.

I wasn’t in my room all day either. I had one test after another, all day long. I’m surprised that they let me even take a shit. When I did that, I had to shit in something so they could test it. Better them than me. I was actually exhausted at the end of the day.

Dinner was over, what meds they gave me were in my system, and I was able to just sit back and relax. I was going to turn on the TV when I thought I heard something. I didn’t actually hear it. It was more like a thought ... but it wasn’t my thought. I didn’t know what it was. I heard it again.

“ ... that dick head is ... but he wouldn’t do ... and I’m going to ... but if I was to ... giving the wrong meds...”

The thing is, the quieter I was, the more I heard. I didn’t know then what it all meant, but I soon found out.

They woke me again at six. The same food girl and the same nurse came in at the same time. The girl put the tray on my table, then smiled. I smiled back. That’s when the needle went into my arm, but I still heard her.

“I wonder what he would do if he knew I wasn’t wearing panties today.”

“A little underdressed today, aren’t we?” I asked her.

“Excuse me?”

“Your hairnet. You don’t have one on. Is that auburn hair I see?”

“Yes.”

“I like it. The shoulder-length looks good on you.”

“Um, thank you.” She started for the door.

“Auburn is my favorite color.”

She turned back and smiled again. “It’s too bad I shaved it off of my pussy then.”