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Chapter 1
"Kick it Delia!" My
coach shouted out at my soccer game. I was the captain and a starter. Soccer was
my life. I was in the last quarter, and about to make the winning goal to break
the tie. I stole the ball and dribbled it down to the opponent’s goal. I
stopped and focused. I ran to kick it when I got dizzy. I missed the ball and
fell flat on my butt. I was still dizzy and my head wouldn't stop swimming. My
coach and my dad ran to me to help me up but I fell backward. My legs were in so
much pain. I tried to get my 5''5' and 122 pound body up but I couldn't do it. I
fell back and my short-layered black hair came across my bright blue eyes and my
fair white skin. My coach lifted me and carried me off the field so my dad could
drive me to the hospital.
"What hurts?" My
dad drilled me. My dad was my best friend in the whole world. My mom left us
when I was one, and we'd been a team ever since. That's why I grew up as a
tomboy.
"My legs!" I cried.
I'd never cried before in my life. I forgot how too. But my legs were in such
pain that tears overflowed.
"Did
you break them?"
"No."
"Ok
kiddo, you'll be fine," my dad said as we sped to the hospital. My dad also
had black hair and blue eyes and was only 33. That's because he was 18 when he
became a dad. He always told me not to rush growing up and not to make the same
mistake he had made, even though he never calls ME a mistake. I was 15 and had
been playing soccer since I was born. My dad was a soccer star himself and it
got passed on. I looked a lot like my dad. A lot of people mistake us for
brother and sister, which makes him happier than ever.
He was young, but a great dad. We got to the hospital and he rushed me
in. The doctors rushed me to x-ray and my dad had to wait patiently in the
Boston Medical Hospital, near where we lived.
The
doctors took my blood and practically did every test they could. I was fast
asleep in my hospital bed when the doctors went to talk to my dad.
"Mr.
DeKator?"
"That's
me," my dad said, standing up.
"Your
daughter.... well, sir, she has leg cancer." My dad gasped and fell into
the chair.
"What?"
My dad whispered.
"We
found a tumor in her legs and it spread today. That's why she collapsed. We are
going to undergo emergency surgery, but the cancer already spread throughout the
legs." My dad felt tears over-flood his eyes.
"Doc,
enough with the science terms, is my daughter gonna be ok?"
"We
can't tell yet. She will go through a lot of pain and she might not be able to
play soccer again..."
"WHAT?!
Doc, soccer is her LIFE! You can't.... thank you doctor," my dad said. He
walked past the doctor and into my room. He took my hand and rubbed it.
"Hey
kiddo," he whispered. I opened my eyes weakly.
"Hey
daddy," I said. Even though was 15, I was still hooked on calling him
daddy.
"How
ya feelin'?"
"My
legs hurt. What's goin' on?" I asked.
"Honey,
Delia, you have.... leg cancer," my dad said. My heart stopped.
"What?"
I choked out. My dad explained it to me and I started to cry when he said I
couldn't play soccer. My dad sat on my bed and held me while I cried for hours.
I underwent surgery the next day and they got the tumor out. It didn't spread as
much as they thought, but I was still bad. Every day, my legs got worse. More
pain. More aches. My dad was with me 100%. I couldn't walk, let alone play
soccer. My team came in and they all got my get-well gifts. Slowly, but surly, I
was getting better. A couple months had flown by in the hospital when one day, a
lady walked into my room.
"Hi
Delia. I'm Mrs. Willis, the head coordinator for the 'Make a Wish' foundation.
We make dreams come true for people like you," she said with a cheery
smile. She was in her mid-forties, with blonde hair and red lipstick on. I
bushed my hair back and said, " 'Kid's like me'"?
"Well,
kids who are very... um... who have diseases," she said quickly.
"Oh,
I see," I said. I was sick of people telling me I was sick. I WAS. I had
been getting better.
"So,
is there anyone you would like to meet?" she asked.
"Do
I have a choice?"
"Well,
it has to be a well-known celebrity."
"Oh,
I was gonna ask to meet the whole Italian Soccer team, but I guess THAT'S out of
the question," I said, using the humor I got from my dad. She stifled a
laugh.
"Most
people pick bands, or movie stars," she said.
"What
makes you think I'm 'most people'?"
"I
didn't mean it that way," she said, not looking one bit sorry.
"Oh,
then, I dunno."
"Don't
know what?"
"Who
I want to meet. Besides, I'm just a normal person," I said. She looked into
my blue eyes and pity swept through her. I knew what she was thinking. When you
have lived with cancer for a while, you recognize these things. She had that
"If only you knew" look on her face. Well, I knew. I looked away and
out the window.
"I'll
think about it," I said. I heard her leave the room. Then my dad popped in.
"Hey
Dee, check this out!" my dad said. He had an issue of Seventeen Magazine.
He had it opened to the cover story. There were five guys in the picture. One
had black, spiked hair and an amazing pair of bright blue eyes, one had sandy
blond hair with adorable green eyes playing a guitar, and the other three
weren’t that visible since this was a concert photo and the main focus was on
the first two guys.
"Are
those the Cabbage Garden or somethin'"? I asked.
"That’s
Savage Garden. And look at this one," he said, pointing to one of the
background guys playing guitar.
"What
about him?" I asked.
"That's
Ben Carey, he went to school with me! We played football together," my dad
said.
"Really?
Cool," I said.
"God,
after all these years, he and the band are famous now. I read this article and
they even have a CD out," my dad said.
"Really?
I bet Mimi has it," I said. Mimi is my best friend, who has every
teenybopper CD possible.
"What
a small world. I'd love to see him and talk to him, but I bet it's impossible,
since they're so famous," my dad said, handing me the magazine. Then, a
little light bulb went on in my head.
"Hey
dad!" I said.
"Yeah?"
he asked. I told him the story about the "Make a Wish" lady and that
could be how we could meet them.
"Wow,
I'd love too, but is that who you wanna meet?" my dad asked.
"Sure,
I mean, I can't meet any pro soccer team, and besides, the one with the black
hair is cute," I said. My dad laughed.
"Ok
kiddo, well, wanna call that lady back?"
"Sure,
but under one condition, no matter what, the Cabbage Garedn will NOT know about
my cancer. No matter what," I said.
"Deal.
But honey?"
"Yeah?"
"Its SAVAGE."
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