Fictional Audiobook YA
Description
Vocal Characteristics
Language
EnglishVoice Age
Young Adult (18-35)Accents
North American (General) North American (US General American - GenAM) North American (US West Coast - California, Portland)Transcript
Note: Transcripts are generated using speech recognition software and may contain errors.
I hadn't won any of my events, but I hadn't placed last either. For me, that was the same is winning. And for the first meet of the season, I was thankful to just be average. For once, it meant I belonged here, too. I wasn't just a charity case anymore. I was a part of the team. But John stood out on the platform as they placed a medal around his neck. The corners of his lips tugged against a smile as he tried acting like he wasn't over the moon, excited about his win. When we finished clapping and cheering, I leaned over to the others and said, I'm going to the team meeting and then I'll take a quick shower. Marta smiled at me. Take your time, sweetie. Our dinner reservation is until six. The watch on my wrist said we were still an hour and 1/2 off, which royally stunk. I was starving, turned out, Ah, girl could get used to eating more and still do well in college track. Grandma stood up and gave me a tight squeeze. I'm going to get you all sweaty, I cried. She held on even tighter. It's worth it. I'm so proud of you. I hugged her back and said, Thank you. Even though the words didn't convey enough, I wouldn't be here without her. I went down to the place where the Girls Distance team was supposed to meet and sat on the floor beside Nikki. She was absently stretching, not really putting too much effort into it. You did awesome today, I said. She smiled. It wasn't first. It wasn't last, either. I said Second place isn't anything to turn your nose at that. She pushed the end of her nose up and snorted like a pig. I shoved her shoulder laughing. Okay, ladies, Coach Cadence said. Silencing us and our teammates. We had a good first meet. Today we placed sixth as a team, which is very promising for our season. We let out a few exhausted woops, and she smiled until we quieted down. She went around the group offering congratulations and quick pieces of advice, but she skipped me. Go shower up, she said. And then she added, Abby, can you stay behind? I nodded, not wanting to meet her eyes. I've been happy with how I ran, But now I wondered if I should be worried had I done something wrong? As the other girls left, I stood up to face whatever coach Cadence had to say to me. How are you doing? She asked. Good. I I'd her waiting for the real reason. She asked me to stay behind her. Chocolate eyes were softer. Now I know you've had a hard start to your semester, but I'm proud of how far you've come and you should be too. Relief flooded my chest, making my heart boy so high I worried it might float away. My lightweight sneakers wouldn't do anything to keep the rest of me on the ground. You mean it with a smile. She nodded. You've worked hard to get better, both on the track and up here. She tapped her forehead. I just nodded because weekly therapy sessions hadn't been easy. My therapist dug through the darkest corners of my mind of my past and worked with all the painful memories until I was exhausted in every sense of the word. It was all I could dio to go back to my dorm and curl up for a nap afterwards. Now go shower up. She nodded towards the stands where I'd been sitting with John's parents, Gramma and Jorge. It looks like you've got some fans waiting to celebrate you. Thanks, Coach, I said. My smile was still on my face as I showered, changed and met the others in the stands. John was nowhere to be seen, so I guessed he was still getting cleaned up. Grandma gripped my arm. Can you show me where the bathroom is? Sure, we walked through the thinning crowd to a bathroom. I stood off to the side to wait for grandma, but she stopped beside me. We need to talk. I girded my heart as I stepped closer to the cinder block wall away from the other people walking by. What's going on? Are you okay? My mind was going into all the horrible places. Cancer, disease, financial struggles. I needed her to just tell me so I could quit imagining every terrible scenario. Your father is up for parole