Thanks for the reviews and the votes. It was really close, but Blue Mountain Eagles pulled out on top.

Chapter 5

Mack laid in the stiff hospital bed wanting to be in her own, covered by her red and white sheets. The phone rang loudly and she winced, the woman in the bed next to her had just gotten to sleep. She picked it up. "Hello," she said softly.

"Hey Mack, how you feeling."

She smiled. "I'm fine Troy."

"Sorry its so late, I just got back to the dorm. So you having fun in the hospital?"

"A blast," she said sarcastically. Troy laughed on the other side.

"I know what you mean. Who are you sharing a room with?"

"Ms. Darbus' evil twin," she said flatly.

Again he laughed, "I think Ms. Darbus is the evil twin. This lady can't be that bad. You'd rather have her than Ms. Darbus."

"Oh, you haven't met her. I think I'd rather have Ms. Darbus."

"So you're pulling a Troy, not being able to play basketball?"

"I can play, I mean, I wont die if I do. It's just there a chance of arthritis or something. I don't know if I'll be able to sit still as long as they want me to with the championships! They want me resting for a few days and then I can walk on crutches. I want to play Troy!"

"I know," came the reply. "I know you do, but listen to me. Take it easy. You don't want to do more damage to your knee, you're going to need it for the rest of your life. If you hurt it too much there'll be more surgeries and believe me, they're not fun."

She sighed. "Are you scared," he asked.

"Yeah," she said. "I don't know what to expect."

"Expect Mom and Dad there for you if you need it. Oh, and Calum will probably wait on you hand and foot." Mack snorted. "I'm serious! That guy will probably come by every day and you, milk it to all it's worth."

She yawned. "Have you gotten any sleep," Troy asked.

"Are you kidding me, I can't think straight. All I see are knives and knees when I shut my eyes."

Troy laughed. "I know, I know. You're going to be worried and scared all night long, but remember nothing will happen. You're in good hands. Dr. O'Neil is a good doctor."

"How do you know?"

"Mack, I know all the doctors in that hospital. Don't question me."

She shook her head. "Well I got to go, I got a class at eight tomorrow that I'm not ready for. I'll talk to you later. Alright, don't be afraid to call. The guys all know where I'll be if I'm not here and if you really need to talk, I'm sure Colby will talk to you."

Colby was one of Troy's roommates, there were four of them. Colby, Troy, Frankie and Gio. Colby was a really goof ball. Frankie played basketball for UCLA, something that both excited Troy and disappointed him. Troy and Frankie would talk about basketball for hours, but being with Frankie also reminded him that he would never play competitively again. Gio was a genius and he and Gabriella got along good. While Troy, Colby and Frankie were just being guys, Gio and Gabriella would do their work.

They hung up and Mack laid her head on the pillow. She wanted to go home, but she couldn't. She got pre-op medication at six and her operation was an hour after at seven.

Dr. O'Neil did seem like a good guy. He was funny and looked like he was around fifty. They were going do arthroscopic surgery to fix her knee. She didn't know what that meant. Dr. O'Neil had told her that they would insert a camera and instruments into her knee joint through tiny incisions in her skin.

The best part of the day was going to be when Calum came after school. Her father was letting him skip the first half of practice so he could see her. She thought it was sweet and a little too nice of her father. When Jack had told her what he was doing she had turned to her mother and said, "this isn't Dad, Dad wouldn't let Calum skip practice before the big game at the end of the week!"

Her parents had laughed and Jack had told her that Troy and the musical had opened his eyes and that there were more important things in life than basketball. Mack thought something had to be wrong and when Dr. O'Neil came to talk, she had told him to check her dad out first because he was being too nice.

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"Hey Calum!"

He turned to see most of the basketball team behind him. Adam ran up and threw an arm over his shoulder. "So Captain, what are we doing for free period workout?"

Calum hadn't thought of that. For the most part, he hadn't thought of anything except Mack. "Captain, hello? You in there?"

He shook his head slightly and looked to Adam. "You know, I haven't thought about that."

"So, what have you been thinking about," Teagan said, standing on the other side of Calum.

"Homework," Calum nervously lied. Adam raised an eyebrow and stood in front of him.

"Homework? Are you kidding me?"

"No," Calum said. "Now move." When Adam didn't budge, Calum pushed him over and walked right over him. Adam jumped up and gave him a dirty look.

"What has gotten into you?"

"What's gotten into me? You blocked my way!"

"Because you're lying and I know you are! Why don't you just tell her that you like her?"

If looks could kill, Adam would have been dead. The rest of the basketball team stood at a distance, watching the show down between the two friends. "I can't."

"Why, she obviously likes you too!"

"We're just friends," Calum said, leaning against a locker. "She told me so on New Years."

"Of course she said that! She wont tell you how she feels until she's one hundred percent sure that you feel the same way." Adam walked over to Calum and looked him in the eye. "You two are made for each other, can't you see that?"

"Just stay out of it," Calum yelled. He turned around and stormed to his next class. He stopped and turned to them again. "All of you," he shouted before turning and running up the stairs.

"Guys," Adam said. "We're in for a lot more than I thought we were."

"What are we going to do? Will Bailey's plan sill work," Teagan asked.

"I think," Adam said. He looked over his shoulder at the stairs Calum had just disappeared from. "I hope."

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Jack walked into Mack's room. The other bed was vacant now, the older woman had been discharged and Mack had a room to herself for now. As he neared Mack's bed, he raised an eyebrow. Calum was sitting in the chair by her bed with his head down. One of his hands held hers and both kids appeared to be asleep. He gently shook Calum. "Calum," he whispered.

Calum moaned and opened his eyes to look at Jack. Upon seeing his coach his eyes widened and he looked at the clock on the wall. "Oh man! I missed practice. Coach, I'm sorry-"

"Calum," Jack interrupted him. He stopped and looked down at his feet. "The guys told me you weren't feeling to good during last period. They said they told you to go home."

He thought back, they guys had never said that. They had said see you later because they knew he was going to see Mack. Then again, Calum had been a little out of it during Ms. Darbus' class last period English. "Yeah," Calum said, going along with what Coach Bolton said.

"Why don't you go home and get some rest before you get still laying like that."

Calum sat up and stretched a little before leaving. He mentally kicked himself. The rest of the week's practices were really important if they were going to win their game against the Blue Mountain Eagles on Friday. It was Tuesday and he couldn't believe he missed practice, especially when he had told Coach Bolton that he'd be back halfway through. Coach Bolton wasn't known for being the nicest coach, sure he was a great guy but he was a really strict coach and when he had told Calum that he could miss to see Mack...that was a once in a lifetime thing.

When he was outside the hospital, he took out his cellphone and dialed.

"What?"

"Nice way to answer your phone," Calum laughed.

"Sorry, thought you were Bridget. She just called four times," Adam said, referring to his little sister who was twelve.

"Why did you do it?"

"Do what," Adam said. From the tone of his voice, you could tell he was trying to do two things at once.

"Why did you make an excuse. I was horrible to you today."

"That's what friends are for," Adam said. "So, why didn't you come back?"

"I fell asleep."

Adam laughed on the other line. "How did you fall asleep? Was Mack really that boring?"

"She was asleep too," Calum said. He smiled remembering how cute she looked when she was asleep. "Adam," he said.

"Yeah."

He took a deep breath. "Promise you won't say I told you so-"

"I knew it! I knew it! You so like Mack and you got it bad! Now, I have the perfect plan to get you two together, well actually...it's Bailey's plan, but it's really good. Now. . . ."

So...what is this big plan?

Tell me what you think!

Review!