On Thin Ice 2 by Victoria Villeneuve Page B

over, trying to get everyone to move away.
    I immediately went over to her, and I saw Daniel climbing down the steps from the bleachers as well.
    “Everyone move back, give her some room,” I ordered. Slowly, between both Adam and myself ordering people around, everyone began to move back. We both leaned over Amanda, who was clutching her leg.
    “I think... I think it’s broken,” she told us in between tears. I took one look at the swelling and knew she was almost certainly right. The bottom of her leg had swelled up, it was the size of a grapefruit already.
    “Daniel, I need you to find me a piece of wood and some string or something. Adam, I want you to organize an ambulance to come and get Amanda, and then bring me some ice in a bag.”
    They both went to do as I had told them. I ordered everyone else to go back into the building, and they grudgingly did so.
    “It’s going to be ok, Amanda,” I told her as Daniel came back with a plank of wood and some sheets which he immediately set about tearing into strips.
    “I’m scared, Kylie. I’m really scared.”
    I took Amanda’s hand.
    “Listen to me Amanda. You’re going to be fine. I want you to take some deep breaths and lie down, ok? Adam’s calling an ambulance, they’re going to take you to the hospital, they’re going to do some X-Rays and then put a cast on your leg. I know it hurts, but you’re going to be fine. Deep breaths, ok? I’m here, I’m not going to leave you.”
    Daniel handed me the board and I slipped it carefully under Amanda’s leg as she lay down. I carefully made a splint with the torn pieces of sheet, careful not to tie them around the injury, then piled up the remainder of the sheets and placed the splint on them to keep Amanda’s leg elevated.
    The entire time I gave her all of my attention. I made sure her pulse stayed relatively normal, that she didn’t go pale or break into a sweat or become short of breath. I didn’t want her to go into shock.
    “Kylie?”
    “Yes, Amanda?” I asked.
    “ I don’t want to die.”
    “ You’re not going to die, Amanda. You’ve got a broken leg, that’s all. No one dies from broken legs in America these days. You’re going to be fine. Trust me.”
    Just then I saw Adam coming back towards us.
    “The ambulance is on its way, here’s some ice,” he told me, handing me the bag, which he had wrapped in a towel.
    “Perfect, thanks Adam.”
    I carefully iced the swelling on Amanda’s leg, which had gotten even larger, until the ambulance arrived.
    “Do you want me to come with you to the hospital?” I asked. Normally we had to get permission if we wanted to leave the grounds of the building, but I figured there wouldn’t be a problem granting me an exception in this case.
    “No, thanks Kylie. You’ve done so much for me already, I’m sure I’ll be fine.”
    “You will be Ama nda. You will be.”
    Daniel stood next to me as we watched the ambulance drive off.
    “You were really amazing, you know?”
    “Thanks, but it’s nothing. It’s what I was trained to do.”
    “I think there’s more than that. You care for others. It’s obvious in the way you act. You could have just done the first aid part of things, but you didn’t just do that, and exceptionally well I might add , you did more than that. You really made sure she was ok. I like how compassionate you are.”
    Embarassed , I didn’t know what to say, so I just stepped closer to Daniel, until there were only centimeters separating us. I could practically feel the heat radiating off him, and I felt tingles running through my skin. It seemed like he was coming close to the same comment he had made before about me having a gift for healing people, but the way he phrased it was different. I didn’t feel that shadow cross my face, I didn’t have the terrible flashbacks and memories of that terrible night coming back to me.
    “We should go back in,” I eventually said, and Daniel agreed.
    “I’ll see you at dinner