Page 165 of I Can't Even Think Straight

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given my injuries and the predicament I’m in.

“You know,” I begin,

“when I was falling,

I thought of a Bible verse

I heard at your church.”

“Oh yeah?” asks Matt.

“Which one?”

“Proverbs 16:18,” I say, having looked it up

in preparation for this conversation.

“That’s deep,” says Matt.

“Thank God for crash mats,” I joke again.

Matt looks serious.

“I’m sorry I froze when

you fell from the wall.”

“It’s okay,” I say.

I try to lighten the mood once again:

“Spider Girl swung in and saved the day!”

“And I was useless,” says Matt.

“Well, it wasn’t your responsibility,” I say.

Then I ask, “Do you reckon I could

sue Coach for not supervising me properly?”

A jokey tone for a few seconds:

“Yeah, I reckon you could.”

Then Matt’s seriousness descends.

“I know it’s not Coach’s fault you fell,

but he wasn’t looking out for you, Kai.

He never looks out for us.

I don’t know, man. It pisses me off.

His work ethic is so slack.”

“I was saying exactly that

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