Under Pressure by Emma Carlson Berne Read Free Book Online Page A

long tube—an IV, she realized—and a steady beeping sound coming from somewhere.
    â€œElise? Honey?” Her mother’s face loomed into sight. Her father peered anxiously over his wife’s shoulder.
    Honey? Elise thought. She couldn’t remember the last time her mother had called her that. She shook her head. “Where—what’s—?” Her lips felt parched.
    â€œYou’re at Bethesda Hospital,” Sophie said from the other side of the bed. “You fainted. Do you remember that?”
    Elise pushed herself higher on the stack of pillows. “Sort of. I never made it to Coach’s office, huh?”
    â€œNo, you didn’t,” a voice said from the corner. Elise looked over to see Coach Berg sitting on a chair with a laptop balanced on his knees. “They said you’re low on electrolytes, Elise. Dehydrated.”
    Her mother bent over her again. “That’s what the IV is. Just some fluids. The doctor said you should be fine in a couple of hours.”
    â€œThat’s good.” Elise looked from one serious face to the next. “So I guess I just fainted—it happens to everyone.” She tried to laugh casually. “You all look so serious.”
    For a long moment, no one spoke. Then Sophie cleared her throat. “I, ah, told them about the pills, Elise. And the not-eating thing.”
    â€œOh.” The word clunked into the room. There didn’t seem to be anything else to say. Elise looked from one serious adult face to another. She swallowed back the tears that suddenly choked her. “Mom, Dad, I’m really sorry. Coach, I’m—”
    He waved his hand. “Don’t apologize. Jacobs wasn’t coming to watch me play.”
    Elise looked down at her hands as a fresh wave of shame engulfed her.
    â€œLook—” Coach’s voice softened. “What I mean is, Elise, that something is wrong here. We’re going to help you, but whatever’s going on is your own battle. You need to help yourself.” He leaned forward. “You’ve lost a lot of weight. Are you eating at all?”
    Elise’s face grew hot. She looked down at the muddy rims around her fingernails to avoid her mother’s face. “Not much.”
    Coach Berg sighed. “How ‘bout today. What’d you have?”
    Elise hesitated. But what did she have to lose at this point by telling the truth? Her UNC dreams were gone. “An orange.” A little note of defiance crept into her voice.
    â€œJust an orange? It’s after four.”
    Elise nodded. She thought she heard her mother sigh.
    â€œElise. How much weight have you lost recently?” her father asked.
    She looked up at his familiar, craggy face. “Twelve pounds.” She didn’t feel defiant anymore. Just tired.
    â€œIn two weeks?”
    Elise nodded. Sophie reached out and squeezed her hand.
    Coach Berg leaned back. “Well, that explains it.”
    â€œExplains what?” Sophie spoke up.
    He looked from girl to girl. “Explains why you were so weak on the field. You’ve lost far too much weight, far too fast. And no one can perform on 50 calories a day.” He glanced at Elise’s arms. “You’ve lost muscle mass too. Have you been feeling generally weak recently?”
    â€œYeah,” Elise blinked. Like all the time , she thought, but she didn’t say that. “But I thought it was because I didn’t have my—”
    â€œPills?” Her mother finished. The “honey” tone had left her voice, and now she sounded angry.
    Elise swallowed and stared at the rumpled sheet in her lap. Do people get expelled over stuff like this? She thought fleetingly of the big poster in the school hallway that blared the drug policy in huge, red letters—No Tolerance. Coach Berg was watching her. She had the feeling that he could read inside her mind. So what if I do get expelled? At this point,