Fumble Recovery
By Pepper Espinoza
The cold football slipped from numb fingers, dropping to a blanket of snow just inches from the goal line. The stadium fell silent, eighty thousand people holding their breath, as the final seconds of the game clock ticked to zero, closing out the world championship. And then eighty thousand ecstatic fans erupted into pandemonium. Everybody clapped and shouted, except the beaten California Wildcats and Melanie Smith. She stared as hundreds of people took the field, rushing to congratulate the New York Bulldogs and ignore the losers as they slunk into the locker room.
Melanie fought her way to the stairs, pushing through the celebrations to break free from the stadium. A light snow began to fall as she trundled to the parking lot, and all she could see
