One Enchanted Summer

Chapter 25

CHAPTER

TWENTY-FIVE

Grayson

I’ve only been doing the pirate show once a week now that my schedule is so busy with the movie. I don’t want to stop doing the show because I get paid well and don’t have to work much. So, once the movie is done filming, I’ll come back to the pirate show more. I don’t want to put my position at risk so here I am putting in my time, when I can.

“We miss you around here!” the blue pirate calls as he passes me.

“Thanks, man,” I reply. I do miss it too. The crew is great and interacting with the crowd is usually pretty fun, but I’ve been spreading myself way too thin lately. Quinn has brought up a few times that I’m running myself ragged, but I honestly don’t know what the solution is.

The crowd is a lively one tonight. I love it when they are active participants. It makes the experience a lot more fun for all of us. They cheer loudly and play into the competition side of the show, and my section is particularly loud.

I’m a little sluggish, but I’m focusing on the positive. We get to one of my favorite parts, a fight scene in the middle of the show, where we fight with swords and do lots of flips and tricks. It goes well; the crowd oohs and ahhs with each stunt, and I’m feeling my spirit pick up.

The blue pirate and I move into a sparring match over a large mallet. He falls dramatically as we both hold the mallet, and he uses that to pull me up and over him so that I land on my back. This time, as he pulls me over him. I can already feel that it’s off. I can feel a difference as I fly over him, and when I land, pain shoots through my knee. I bite back a curse as I struggle to get up. The rest of the show is continuing as it should. I’m still struggling to put weight on my knee. I’m not on my mark, and when I finally stand up, the purple pirate has dramatically grabbed the mallet to spin it through the air exactly where I’m standing. I don’t have time to react before it smashes into the side of my head. I feel myself fly backward and stumble, my knee screaming in pain. I collide with something behind me, and suddenly, everything goes black.

I wake up with a horrid throbbing in my head. I try to open my eyes, but the room is too bright. I’m not sure where I am. My head feels fuzzy, and I can’t move my leg. My anxiety is starting to build as the seconds pass. I hear a beeping, and my stomach drops. I slowly remember the show and the accident. I know exactly where I am.

I’m in the hospital.