Personal Narrative: My Mind-Rye Neck

1 I woke up monday morning with the one thought in my mind - Rye Neck. We had gone all the way last year to the section final with them, and after me hitting the pipe in the final minutes to win it, they scored on the counterattack and won the the section. I had never experienced a loss like this one. I was the kid on the team who before the season started, no one really knew if I was good or not. The season I had my freshman year ended up pretty well - nine goals, six assists, and a spot on the all-league team. I proved myself as a starter on the squad, and our season almost ended in elation. The section final would have been a big win for the program, as we had been to the championship three times prior and never won it since our state championship win in 2010. 2 I

I probably looked like the craziest person in the world, all bruised and scraped on the floor, with my banged-up bike flipped over next to me. Somehow Thomas managed to make me feel good about the situation.
I got to chorus 15 minutes late that day. Those few hours with Thomas were so much more than worth it.

6 The lights in the cafeteria were turned off. Teachers and other faculty members were running in and around the cafeteria, talking on their walkie-talkies and handing out tissue boxes and water bottles to students. I opened the door to the cafeteria and sat down at one of the octagonal tables where I saw a couple of my friends were sitting. Besides the sound of some of the students crying, the room was dead silent. A couple of the people who, like me, were close with Thomas came in in tears. I had no idea how to feel. I did not cry. I did not speak. I left the cafeteria after half an hour and texted my mom asking to come home. Five minutes later my mom picked me up and said, “I’m so sorry, Jeb,” with a hug. I did not reply. I barely even looked at my mom when she got out of the