Jess Gets Hurt By Geri Murray

Ben had a big game to play. Mom was in a hurry when she left Jess waiting for her. “You can stay here while Ben plays ball. Since you have Scat with you, I can’t take you shopping.”

Jess sat on the curb petting Scat’s soft fur. Scat purred. “How did your fur get so dirty?” Jess asked her cat.

Jess saw a bird on a low perch. Scat saw it, too. She was off like a whirlwind, leaping from the curb. Jess jumped after Scat but did not see the truck turning at the curve. It was not going fast, but the driver did a quick swerve to miss Jess.

Jess hit the truck and fell with a thud in the dirt. Her leg really hurt. Her hands were scratched and her fingers burned. Her shirt was ripped. Her head hurt. Then all was a blur. The man in the truck stopped to see if Jess was hurt. He called her and tapped her, “Little girl, are you hurt?”

Jess did not say a thing. She did not hear the man. She seemed to be asleep. Then he saw that she was bleeding. The man ran to his truck and called for help.

The game went on until the man ran to the batter’s circle. “There is a little girl hurt by the curb,” he yelled. “I have called for help, but we must find her family. Please come and see if you know her.”

The team ran to see the girl. They made a wide circle. Ben squirmed to see. Ben shivered when he saw it was Jess. “Stand back,” Ben cried. “That’s my sister. She is hurt. My Mom is shopping. We must find her.”

Ben turned to Jess and wiped her face with his shirt. “Jess, please wake up. Help is on the way. I will get Mom.”

The man in the truck drove Ben to the shop. Ben ran to the help desk and had them call his mom. When Ben saw her, he burst into tears. “Jess is hurt, Mom. She won’t wake up. She fell by the curb.” Mom hurried to get to her girl.

Help had come for Jess. “It’s a nurse to give first aid,” someone said. “Stand back, kids.” The nurse checked Jess. Her pulse was firm. The bleeding had stopped. She had a small bump on her head and lots of dirty cuts. The nurse put a strange scent by her nose. Jess awoke and was alert. She sat up and turned to see the whole team staring at her. “Let’s clean off this dirt. It’s full of germs,” the nurse said.

Jess saw Mom and Ben running to see her. Jess got up and ran to them. “You are a sight,” Mom sighed. “I’m so glad you are not badly hurt. This is Mr. Turner. You hit his truck.”

“I was just trying to get Scat back.” Then Jess began to cry. She hurt all over and now her cat was lost.

Mr. Turner ran to his truck while Mom tried to make things better for Jess. He opened the door to get Jess and Ben a pass to the circus. When he did, out jumped a fat cat from the cab. It was Scat! Scat jumped up on Jess and purred.

“This is the last trip you take from home, Miss Scat,” Jess moaned. “Let’s just sit and watch Ben win his game.” That’s just what they did and Ben’s team came in first.

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