“Nothing good comes from those.” I cross my arms over my chest.
“JP was razzing me about how I’ve only ever kissed Becca and that when I went to college, we’d break up and that the girls at college are on another level.” His eyes widen, silently asking me.
I went to college, I played in college and at one time I thought maybe I’d hit the majors. Not that I even knew if I had a shot, but family responsibilities brought me back to Lake Starlight. Now I teach and try to advise kids like Elijah not to make the mistakes I did. Then again, youth is your free pass to do stupid shit. It’s a rite of passage.
“Girls in college are just girls that you went to high school with but a little older.” I sit in my chair, grabbing a pen. I always have to hold something in my hand. Sitting still is kind of a hard thing for me.
“He said that I’d regret not having experience.”
My gaze lands on the clock. Elijah has about five minutes before first class bell.
“Listen.” I hold my hand up to stop him from his rambling on.
Elijah is good enough to be drafted first round and this town can’t wait to see him succeed. He’ll have plenty of temptation come his way over the years and he needs to decide now how he’s going to handle it.
“Did you kiss Sara?” I ask.
“No, but…”
“I’m gonna guess here and tell me if I’m wrong.” He closes his mouth, so I continue. “You let your friends get to you. JP, whose mom probably follows him on dates you realize, tells you that you don’t have enough experience and should kiss another girl.” He’s nodding now and smirking because everyone knows JP’s mom will probably put up spy cameras in his dorm room next year.
“You thought hey, what if Becca does break my heart and fall for someone next fall. Where does that leave me? So, you went into a bedroom or somewhere private with a very willing Sara. Then Becca somehow walked in on you right before you finished debating in your head if you were going to kiss her?”
You see me trying to make it seem like he would never cheat on Becca? Probably bullshit. He’s seventeen. He would’ve kissed Sara and blown his own relationship with Becca into smithereens and only realized what a mistake that was down the road.
“Exactly Coach.”
“Now you have to grovel.”
I check the clock one more time. Three minutes until first bell.
“I did. I went to her house. I texted her.”
I stand to let Elijah know he’s leaving before my class arrives.
“Sorry,” I smack him on the back. “You need to pull out the big guns.”
His shoulders slump.
“Just think of what makes Becca happy. Why she fell in love with you and you’ll figure it out.”
“How do you know, Coach?”
I open the door and wait for him to walk through.
“Because I was you at one time. And another piece of advice?” He waits for me on the other side of the door. “Don’t go listening to your friends. They usually give shit advice and, honestly, you usually get a lot more experience with a girlfriend then by flipping around with multiple girls. Teenage boys have shit for brains. Don’t listen to them.”
I really don’t want to know how far he’s gotten with Becca. Especially with Phoenix and Sedona being the same age as Elijah.
“Well, we have…” He looks up at me sheepishly.
“That’s a conversation I don’t want to hear and no one else should either. Don’t be a dick and kiss and tell.”
The bell rings. “Go to class.”
He turns around. “You mean assembly.”
“Assembly?”
We walk out into the hallway where everyone is filing toward the auditorium.
“Yeah, remember Principal Miller had the baby?”
Shit. Now I’m running my fingers through my hair. All the teenage angst this morning had me forgetting that we all have to meet the new Principal of Lake Starlight High School this morning. The last principal I’ll ever be under because next year I’m heading to the college level—I hope.
“Yeah. Go. You don’t want to be late.”
“Thanks Coach…for everything.” He jogs down the hall, catching up to his friends.
I turn to go through the back entrance since I’ll have to sit in a chair in front of all the students so that we appear as a united front for the new principal. A symbol that says we have their back.
I run smack dab into Fay Murphy, the office assistant.
“Hey, Fay.”
“I’m so happy I found you.”
She seems a tad flustered, and her face has that beet red overlay she gets when Principal Miller used to reprimand her for not refilling her stapler. It’ll be a nice change around here without that dictator. Let me tell you—pregnant women do not like it when they have to give up coffee—something we all paid the price for.
“What’s up?” I start walking because we’re going to be late if we don’t hurry.
“We need you to introduce Principal Radcliffe.” She peers behind me and then pushes up on her tiptoes to whisper in my ear. “Dick, I mean Vice Principal Ealey, called in this morning. I think he was still…”
Fay doesn’t have to finish the sentence. Dick Ealey went through a very public divorce last year and has been spending a lot of his time at the Lucky Tavern drowning in a helluva lot more than his sorrows.
“Why me?”
She hands me a piece of paper. “The kids look up to you and everyone thinks that the kids will welcome Principal Radcliffe if you introduce her.”
Her. Another woman.
Hopefully, this one is well caffeinated and not pregnant. We’ll all stand a better chance that way.
I accept the piece of paper, looking over what I need to say.
“Fine.”
I’m not scared of public speaking. I’ve got two teenage girls at home. You don’t know a hostile environment until you’re trying to break up a fight between those two.
“You’re the best, Austin.” Fay squeezes my forearm and walks down the hall.
My footsteps slow as I read over the new principal’s bio. What the hell is a Yale graduate doing in Alaska at Lake Starlight High School? I fold up the piece of paper, after skimming over her education. I can wing it from there, besides the kids could care less about what’s printed on that sheet.
Heading into the auditorium, I search out the new face of our principal, but I know everyone here.
“She’s running a tad late, so if you could stall, I’ll tap you on the shoulder when it's safe to announce her,” Fay informs me.
“I’m not a zoo keeper.”
Fay laughs.
I will not miss this part of my job next year. I sure hope when I decide to stroll in during second period, Principal Radcliffe doesn’t raise a paddle to my ass.
Before I realize it, I’m in front of the podium, clearing my throat. My gaze searches out Sedona who rolls her eyes and looks away. I have no fucking clue why she’s so embarrassed of me. I mean, look at me. Six foot two, two ten, short and neat haircut. I work out four times a week, hike, bike, ski. My muscles aren’t from just the gym…
Okay before I keep sounding like a male seeking female want ad, let’s get on with how my day went into the shitter in a matter of twenty minutes.