The Red Slippers (Nancy Drew Diaries #11)(22)

There was another cracking noise, this time louder than the last, and one side of the tree dropped dramatically, as if the cable holding it had snapped.

Acting purely out of instinct, I leaped out of the way, covering my head with my arms, just as another crack echoed through the theater, and the tree came crashing down onto the stage.





CHAPTER TEN





A Shift in Perspective


I KEPT MY HANDS OVER my head and my eyes shut until the crashing stopped. I could hear people screaming all around me.

“What on earth?” Jamison yelled. “What else can possibly go wrong?”

I was wondering the same thing as I quickly took stock of my body. I ached from hitting the stage as hard as I did, and a sharp, piercing pain was shooting through my right foot.

Slowly I opened my eyes. A dozen members of the corps de ballet, all in matching tutus, hovered over me. I felt like I was inside a kaleidoscope; I started to wonder if I had hit my head, too.

Before I could do anything, I felt an arm wrapping around my shoulder. I turned my head and saw a small but strong-looking woman next to me; her entire presence exuded calm. I immediately felt safe.

“I’m Linda, the medical trainer with the theater. Does anything hurt?”

“My foot . . . ,” I started, reaching down to grab it. Now that the adrenaline was wearing off, the pain felt even more acute. “A piece of the set hit it. I think it might be broken,” I said.

“Let’s get you back to my office and we can take a look.” She helped me up as I balanced on my good leg. “Can you put any weight on it?” Linda asked.

Gingerly, I tried to take a step, but the pain intensified and shot up my leg all the way to my knee. Tears sprang to my eyes.

“I don’t think so,” I said. I tried to stay calm, but I was already imagining trying to navigate around River Heights on crutches in the snow. Ned and I were supposed to go on a ski trip for Valentine’s Day. Now who knew if I would be able to go?

Linda helped me down the hall to her office. I knew George and Bess would be following as soon as they could. Behind me, I heard Jamison bellowing at his dancers, telling them rehearsal was over and to go back to the hotel to rest before the show.

Inside her office, Linda helped me up onto the exam table. Before she could get started, Bess, George, and Maggie burst in. I was grateful to see them.

“Nancy! Are you okay?” Bess asked frantically.

“Are you hurt?” George added.

“We’re about to find out,” I said.

Linda gently removed my shoe. “Well, I see a nasty bruise already. Can you flex your foot forward?” she asked, supporting my ankle in her hand.

Wincing, I rotated my foot forward. “It hurts, but I can do it,” I said.

“That a good sign,” Linda said. “How about back?”

I flexed it back and gave her small nod.

“Good. Now tell me where it hurts,” she said. Carefully she worked her way up my foot, starting with my toes, softly applying pressure.

“There!” I yelped, instinctively yanking my foot out of her hand.

“Okay,” Linda says. “I don’t think it’s broken. Probably very badly bruised. I’m going to get you some ice. You need to take it easy, use crutches for a few days, and take aspirin as needed for the pain.” She headed toward the door to get the ice but stopped before leaving, turning back to face me. “You’re a very lucky girl,” she said. “This could have been much, much worse.”

I let out a breath I hadn’t even realized I was holding, so relieved that my foot wasn’t broken.

“She’s right,” Bess said. “You are extremely lucky. If you hadn’t gotten out of the way in time, that tree could have come down right on your head. Who knows what might have happened to you?”

“Yeah. I wish you could have seen yourself diving out of the way,” George said. “You were like an action star. If I hadn’t been so terrified, I would have recorded it. That dive was epic.”

“That was pure luck,” I said. “I wasn’t even thinking! I just heard the cracking sound and my legs moved.”

“Nancy, I’m so sorry,” Maggie said. “If you hadn’t been here helping me . . .”

I looked up at her. “This isn’t your fault,” I said. “I wanted to help you. There are risks involved in every case.”

“You should go back to the hotel and rest,” Bess said to Maggie.

Maggie looked torn. “I want to stay.”

“You need to be ready for tonight. Bess and George are here. It’ll be fine,” I said.

Maggie hesitated. “I wouldn’t feel right.”

“Look, this isn’t the first time I’ve been hurt on a case,” I said, “and it won’t be the last. Tonight is your big break. You need to do everything you can to be ready.”

“If you’re absolutely sure,” Maggie said hesitantly.

“I’m positive,” I said.

“Okay, Thank you again, Nancy, for everything you’re doing,” she said as she exited.

Bess, George, and I sat in silence for a moment. “What’s really lucky,” I said, “is that the stage wasn’t full. If Jamison hadn’t wanted me to dance on my own, that stage would have been covered with people! Any one of them could have been injured.”