Busted

The novella Busted tells the story of a mischievous 12 year-old that jumps out of a tree into a pile of leaves and cracks two vertebrae. It chronicles his struggle back to 7th grade and back to playing ice hockey.Here is an excerpt: "I'm first." I grab a limb, pull myself up, climb, and reach the launch pad. I stand on the thick tree branch and look up. "I'm Superman " I yell. "Indestructible." The empty branches above remind me of the rib cage of a dinosaur that I saw at the Boston Museum of Science. I look out and see the bus stop, the woods, the stone walls, and the tractor cutting down a field of cow corn . . . I've got in trouble before and got out of it. I'll just act all sorry for this latest stuff and say I won't do it again. I can do what I want. Nothing can stop me. I'm invincible. I'm going to have some fun. "Tony, it's show time."I press my weight down. This limb springs back like a diving board. I spring up and leap out. For a few seconds, I seem to float in the air. I hit the pile and the leaves crunch and crackle. Wham My head slams into the ground. I am buried in black. My body feels tingly, and then it feels numb. It's quiet. Suddenly, my body aches and feels smashed. Then, it goes away. I get up, take a few steps forward, and fall flat. The back of my head throbs like when I bang my funny bone. My fingers are numb, and I can't seem to hear anything.