A Matter of Heart Read Online Free PDF Page B

of tulips. It’s supposed to look like a happy place, not somewhere you come when you’re sick or due for a shot. But even the fake painted window with fluffy white curtains can’t make up for the smell of antiseptic and the scratchy sheet of paper I’m sitting on.
    The nurse is a blonde who doesn’t look much older than me. Her hair is up in a ponytail, and it swishes over her shoulder as she straps on the blood pressure cuff.
    Mom is sitting in a chair in the corner, watching. She’s an ad for Ann Taylor in her work clothes, right down to her navy pumps, one of which is tapping the air.
    The cuff tightens around my arm and I sigh, trying to even out my breath. It’s pretty even anyway. I haven’t felt weird since yesterday’s swim class. I didn’t tell Mom or Dad, but when I gothome I drank a gallon of water and spent the afternoon on the couch reading
The Martian Chronicles
for English. Just to be extra safe, I didn’t tag along when Jen walked her dog, and I texted Connor that I was going to turn off my phone and go to sleep early. Which I did.
    I feel great this morning. It’s obvious now that I overdid it yesterday. With all the training hours I’ve been putting in, I let myself get run-down. But this morning I slept in—first weekday in months I wasn’t up for a five-thirty swim practice. I’m nearly waterlogged with rest. Now I just need Laney’s okay so I can get back in the pool.
    The nurse scrawls some numbers on a chart, takes my temperature, and tells me the doctor will be right in.
    It’s actually eight minutes later, but who’s counting, when the door opens. Dr. L walks in, her heels clicking across the tile, and I check out the four-inch beige pumps. She does love her heels.
    “Hey, beautiful,” she says to me, smiling wide enough that I see a teeny bit of red lipstick on one tooth.
    “Hey, Dr. L.” It’s the name I’ve always called her in the office, but I think of her as Laney. She’s close enough to Mom to be like an aunt.
    Mom stands. “Thanks for squeezing us in.”
    “Anything for my favorite patient.”
    They give each other a hug.
    “When are we going to have coffee?” Laney asks.
    Mom gestures to her tooth. “Lipstick.”
    While Laney wipes off the red, Mom says, “Maybe next week. I think I’ve got a break Wednesday afternoon.”
    “Perfect,” Laney says. She heads to the sink and washes her hands. “So, what’s the problem?”
    “Dizziness,” Mom answers. “David was with her. She might have blacked out for a second or two.”
    “I was just dizzy.”
    Mom shoots me a look.
    “At a swim meet?” Laney asks.
    “After my race,” I say. “Which I won.”
    “Congrats,” she says as she studies my chart.
    “New record for Horizon, and I’m on track to win State and qualify for the Olympic trials.”
    “Wow!” She holds out her fist and we pretend to knock knuckles. But she’s just washed, so we tap air instead. It’s a stupid tradition, but we’ve been doing it since I was old enough to make a fist.
    “Have you been feeling okay?” Laney asks.
    I nod and she checks my ears, my eyes, and my throat. “Anything new with the diet? No sudden weight loss or weight gain?” Which is code for
Do you have a secret eating disorder?
    “Nope.”
    She sticks in the earpieces of her stethoscope and presses the cool metal end against my chest. She listens for a second and I wait. I’m ready for her to be done when she says, “Just breathe normally.”
    Ummm, okay? Because I wasn’t breathing normally a minute ago?
Now I’m breathing a little faster.
    “Is something wrong?” Mom asks, hovering over Laney’s shoulder.
    Laney doesn’t answer. A few seconds later, she pulls out the earpieces and looks at Mom. “I’m hearing a little something.”
    “What does that mean?” Mom asks.
    I get this weird vision of rock music coming from inside me, like my heart is an iPod. I put a hand to my chest but it feels like a regular heartbeat.
    “It could be a