Chapter 4
The next day, excitement was amongst everyone in the school gym, waiting anxiously for the volleyball game to start. Nate was busy stretching out outside the gym, confident about this one game. He took a sip of the water bottle in his hand and set it down on the table across from him. He was in his attire of his blue and white volleyball team uniform.
"Hey there, stranger." Steph chirped as she went over to him, hands on her hips. "You look like you're ready to go."
"As ready as I'll ever be, I guess." Nate took a sip of his water and set his bottle down once more. "I'm a little nervous. I mean, we're playing against Charlotte High School. They're a tough team, Steph."
"But you're an awesome player. Probably the best the school has." Steph said encouragingly. "Just keep a clear head out there. You'll be fine."
"Thanks, I'll keep that in mind." Nate smiled some. "You better get back to your folks, though. They're probably waiting, too." The young athlete slipped his white armband onto his left bicep and smiled at her. "Anything else you want to tell me before I go out there?"
"Yeah...Good luck." Steph placed a hand on his arm and leaned up, pecking him gently on the cheek. She pulled back and smiled softly. "Now we're even." With that, she skipped away back into the gym to wait for the game to start. Nate tried to force back the blush coming to his cheeks and went back to stretching. Something caught the corner of his eye, turning around and coming face to face with the two football players from earlier, Rich and Paul.
"Hey, Thompson." Rich greeted.
"What do you guys want?" Nate narrowed his eyes at them.
"Whoa, calm down. We just wanted to talk to you." Paul threw his arms up innocently.
Still a little uneasy, Nate nodded hesitantly. "Fine. What do you guys want to talk about?"
"It's about the game today, dude." Rich stood infront of him and began to speak, making sure he was the only person he saw. "That team from Charlotte is a pretty rough group. You got to keep your head up, you know." While he spoke, Paul took a white stick out of his back pocket and went over to Nate's water bottle, pouring a white powder from the stick into the water. "You got your friends watching your every move. It's go time for you."
"I know, I know. The coach told us before we got changed." Nate smirked, oblivious to their little plan. "But thanks."
"No problem, good luck out there." Rich said before taking Paul by the shoulder and leading them out of the hall. They then hid near a phone booth and snickered quietly so no one could hear. "So, you poured the whole stick in his water?" Rich questioned.
"Every last bit. Man, this is gonna be great." Paul rubbed the palms of his hands together. "We said we'd get him back for what he did. Well, he's gonna get his soon..."
When the referee blew the whistle, both volleyball teams entered the gym through different doors. The crowds in the bleachers cheered. Supporting Nate was Stephanie, Gia, DJ, Michelle, and Jesse Katsopolis, the Tanner girls' uncle and famous musician.
"So, how good is Nate?" Michelle asked curiously.
"Pretty good, if he's on this team." Jesse stated, folding his arms over his chest.
Nate was standing in the back of the court, tossing his empty water bottle away. He then resumed his spot on the court, ready for anything. The opposing team served the ball first, which Nate was able to bump with his head, letting his teammate spike it down, earning themselves a quick point. Nate was next to serve and he hit over the net. One of the opposing players in front managed to hit it back towards Nate, who dove for it, striking it up in the air with his closed fists, soaring over the net, earning themselves another point. Stephanie smiled, admiring how great a player he was, and clapped from the bleachers.
"We'll take a short time out." The coach announced into his microphone. Nate, feeling too game to quit for a while, went over to Stephanie, DJ, Michelle, and Jesse.
"So, how do you think I'm doing?" He asked, trying to take a light breath.
"Nate, if you were any better, you could be playing for England." Michelle smiled a toothy grin. Giving a confused glance, knowing that she was mistaking volleyball for soccer, only chuckled and patted her on the head gently.
"Thanks, kid. That means a lot." He replied.
DJ smiled and then studied Nate's facial features for a moment, knowing something was off. "Nate...Do you feel alright?" She asked, noticing his skin had paled a little.
"I feel fine, Deej. I never felt better." He said with a shrug of his shoulders, not noticing his appearance change, or his physical change, right away. The coach blew the whistle again, signaling the players to return to the court. Nate jogged back to the playing field and took his position at the back of the court. He served the ball over the net, starting the game again. One of the opposite team members returned the ball back with a bounce up, which Nate tried to hit. It didn't make much of an impact, but one of his teammates, Sammy, was able to save it and spiked it over the net.
"Nate, what's going on?" Sammy questioned, noticing his friend's change in performance. "You're usually playing better than this."
"I dunno...I feel fine, though, don't worry." Nate shook his head, trying to shake off the dizzy feeling that was evident. "Give me the ball."
Sammy caught the ball tossed to him and passed it to Nate, who walked to the back once more. Tossing the ball up, he hit it over the net, but then something happened. The dizziness clouding his mind suddenly became too much and he passed out on the floor. Soon, the competitive mood changed to worry as Nate's teammates huddled around to check on him, murmuring going on in the bleachers. Stephanie and Jesse were quick to leave their seats to go check on him as well, leaving DJ to comfort a shaken up Michelle.
"Everyone, get out of the way. Give him some room to breath." Jesse instructed before kneeling down beside Nate. He then tried to shake him awake. "Nate...Nate, can you hear me?"
Stephanie swallowed hard and quivered out a sigh. "I don't know what to say." She said softly, kneeling down beside Nate's fallen form. She then took his pale hand in hers, running her thumb over his knuckles.
"The less said, the better, sweetheart." Jesse said gently.
