Page 12 of Zone Protection

I open the bottle and swish some of the water around in my mouth. Before she starts driving, I spit it out the side of the cart. “Sorry, I know that’s gross.”

“Doesn’t bother me. I see all kinds of things with the teams I work with.” She laughs.

Our speed on the way to the clubhouse is a little fast, but she probably doesn’t want me to puke in the cart while she’s driving. Can’t say I blame her.

We reach the clubhouse, and she parks near the back entrance. “Do you need to use the restroom before we get you settled?”

“No, I’m good. I just want to sit down in the air-conditioning for a bit. I’m hoping that will help me feel a little better.” I move my legs from the cart and stand slowly. I don’t feel dizzy anymore, so I’ll take that as a win.

Miranda takes my arm and leads me into the building. We make our way to a room that has a small couch, two oversized chairs, and a coffee table in the center. There’s also a fireplace in here, but thankfully, it’s not running.

I can see the course through the floor-to-ceiling windows and watch as people move around outside. Some of the teams are likely finishing up by now. Livi and Peyton were a few holes behind me and Mia, so they probably won’t be back for a while.

Miranda leads me to one of the chairs. “I’ll be right back. I’m going to go grab you some ice packs and some Gatorade.”

“Thanks, Miranda. Should I put my feet up or anything?” I ask.

“Try just sitting for a few minutes, but if you feel like you need to lie down, absolutely do it,” she tells me, hurrying out of the room.

Underneath my golf skirt are shorts, which have a pocket I keep my phone in. I pull it out and start googling to see if there is anything going around right now. As I’m looking, Miranda comes back into the room with a cold cloth, some ice packs, and some Gatorade.

“I got you the orange flavor; I hope that’s okay. Our choices were limited.” She hands me the drink.

I open the bottle and carefully sip it. It’s not turning mystomach, so I take that as a good sign and try to drink some more. When I put the cap back on, I set it on the coffee table in front of me. Miranda hands me the ice packs and cold cloth.

“Try putting the cloth on the back of your neck first. If that doesn’t seem to help, go ahead and add in the ice packs for a bit.”

“Okay, thanks, Miranda. You don’t have to sit in here with me. I’ll be fine. Just tell me where the bathroom is, in case I feel like I’m going to be sick again.”

She tells me where to go, then leaves the room.

I place the cold cloth on the back of my neck and lean back on the chair. I must drift off because the next thing I know, Livi is standing next to me, telling me it’s time to get on the bus to go back to Walker.

Our drive back to campus takes a few hours, and I’m not feeling as bad as I was, so the girls fill me in on what I missed from the tournament once the coach has given us her speech.

As soon as we get home, I hop in the shower and practically dive into bed, even though it’s early for a Saturday night. My friends are planning to go out, but there’s just no way.

They all stop in before they leave to check on me. As soon as I hear the door to the apartment close and lock, I shut my eyes and sleep.

The sun is shining right through my blinds in my room. It must be pretty early still, but once I’m up, I can’t fall back to sleep.

I don’t remember hearing my roommates come home last night. I was so dead to the world. But I can hear music coming from the kitchen, which is next to my room, so someone must be up already. We don’t have practice today, so I’m surprised one of them is up before me. I’m usually the earliest riser in the apartment.

I’m not feeling as dizzy this morning or sick to my stomach, so I sit up and pause for a minute to test if I’ll get sick. Nothing, which is a good sign. Maybe I just needed a good night’s sleep. I’ve been moving on all cylinders lately between classes and golf.

I move my legs to the side of the bed and stand. Again, I wait for a minute to make sure I don’t get dizzy. The coast is clear, so I make my way to my door, unwrapping my ponytail and retying it.

When I open the door, I see Livi standing in front of the coffee maker in the kitchen, her back to me.

“Morning, Liv.”

She turns and looks at me with a smile. “Hey there, sleepyhead. Are you feeling better today?”

“Yeah, so far, so good. I think I’m just tired from everything I’ve had going on lately. The heat didn’t help yesterday either. And why is it so hot in October? Freakin’ wild Oklahoma weather.”

“Girl, I know. It was brutal yesterday. I’m ready for the temperature to drop. My hair was a frizz ball from the heat.” She reaches up to grab a coffee mug from the cabinet. “You want some?”

“Yes, please. I need a pick-me-up so I can start working on some homework.” I walk over to the refrigerator to grab my almond milk creamer, which no one likes but me.

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