First Day of Practice
"Oh my gosh I can't believe he's our new coach!" I said when I made it to lunch that day.
Emily smiled, "And your worried?"
"No…I'm a little intimidated actually. Do you see how big he is?"
Emily's boyfriend, Glenn chuckled, "He may be big, but that doesn't mean he isn't a softy. Trust me I know firsthand."
"How?" Emily asked.
Glenn sighed, "Because…he's my older brother."
Emily smiled, "You never told me that."
"I know…I wanted you to stay away from him." Glenn said through gritted teeth. "That guy pisses me off."
Scottie smiled, "Why Glenn? Did your dad let him give you wedges or something?"
"Shut up Scottie! That has nothing to do with it." He said.
"then why don't you like him?" I asked.
Glenn looked around at all of us before getting up and leaving the table. Emily sighed in anger and then got up to go find him. I always hated when he acted like that. I mean aren't we in high school? Still, part of me wondered just what the heck made him so angry when it came to Mark.
When school was over, I met up with Emily so we could go change for swim practice. I had almost forgotten that Mark was the coach until I seen him standing outside of our locker room with a clipboard.
"Hello ladies," Mark said. "Thanks for being on time for practice."
We looked at each other and then at him, "No problem...Coach Calaway."
He cracked a smile, "I like the sound of that girls. Oh yea, you're Emily right?"
Emily's face lit up, "Yes, that's me."
"Wow so you're my brother's girlfriend then?" he said.
She nodded, "Right again,"
"Cool it's nice to finally meet you." He said as he shook her hand.
"Same here, now since we know each other…will you go easy on me and my friend here."
I shook my head and placed my hand over my forehead.
"Not a chance ladies. I'm here to coach you and that's what I'm going to do. Besides, I hear you two have the best times out of the entire team, seniors included."
We looked at each other, "Yea, that's true."
"Excellent, now that I know that, I'll probably be working with you two the most alright?"
We nodded and then walked into the locker room. On my way in, I couldn't help but look back at him for a second. He was a real stud himself, standing there looking all professional. I quickly erased those thoughts from my mind and headed to my locker. The entire team greeted me as "baby" since I was the youngest of the group. I was excited to know that none of the girls had a problem with me being the captain. I guess it was because I had to take all the phone calls from the coach, e-mail the team about practices…etc.
"So, do you think he'll be tough on us?" my teammate, Lucy asked.
I shrugged, "I'm not sure, I just hope he's good like they say he is."
"If he's not good at coaching that's alright…I'll just take my time eyeballing him." Brittany said.
I shook my head, "Oh no, not you too."
We all laughed and then finished getting changed into our swimsuits. I always wore an all black one piece that was cut low in the chest and had my entire back out. It also tied behind my neck which made it a lot cuter. I brushed my hair up into a messy bun and grabbed my towel and goggles before heading out to the pool with the team. As usual we sat down on the benches and waited for our new coach to grace us with his presence.
When he finally did, we were all shocked to see him dressed in some swim trunks and a white beater. There was a whistle around his neck along with a towel.
"Um…Kitty? Since when does our coach swim with us?" One of the girls asked me.
Before I could answer, he spoke up. "Since today ladies. For those of you who don't already know me, I am Mr. Calaway or just call me Coach."
"Hi Coach," we all said at the same time.
He smiled, making a few of the girls melt in their seats. I tried hard not to roll my eyes, but of course…that didn't happen.
"Alright ladies, first let's get warmed up. Everyone knows how to play Marco polo right?" he asked.
Some of the girls gasped as for me, I was kind of confused. I knew how to play the game but I couldn't see how it would get us warmed up.
"Ok, girls, in the water." He said. We all quickly got up and went to get in the water. I sighed to myself, not really agreeing with all of this but I guess I wasn't in any position to say anything.
For a few minutes we played Marco Polo with Mark being the one who was it. To my surprise, he caught us all within five minutes.
"How did you do that?" I asked.
He shrugged, "You tell me my dear."
I thought about it for a few moments and then came up with an answer, "I don't know..maybe it helps us learn how to listen without actually seeing?"
He cracked a smile, "That's precisely right."
"It is?" I asked.
"Yes ma'am. Think about it ladies. When you're at a swim meet, and you're swimming next to other girls, what do you think they are focused on?"
"Winning of course," Emily said.
"Yes and no…once they are in the water, they are focused on seeing how far their opponents are. If you eliminate seeing the other opponents and just listen with your ears…your speed increases."
We all looked at each other. "Seriously?"
"I use to swim for the guys team at this very school. Some of you may recognize my nickname as Speed Demon."
I gasped remembering a story my mom had told me about him. "I've heard of you. My mom use to come down and watch this team all the time."
"Really? Well then you'll also know that I won this school six of the ten national championships."
Emily whistled, "He's a beast."
We all giggled including Mark. "Man you girls are funny. But anyways that's what we're going to work on today."
I nodded, feeling real excited about Mark being our coach. Not only was he good looking, but he was energetic, funny, and entertaining to play Marco Polo with. When practice was over, we all headed back to the locker rooms to get changed. The girls couldn't stop talking about Mark and it slightly annoyed me. I ended up walking out of the locker room just to get away from all the buzz.
"Hey, good practice today Kat,"
I turned around and saw Mark leaning against the wall. He was wearing his sunglasses again with his pants and polo shirt. He had his bag on his shoulder like before and his keys in his hand.
"Oh thanks, but I think I should be telling you that." I said with a smile.
He smirked and stepped closer to me. "Well thanks. Do you need a ride home?"
I was going to say no but then my cell phone beeped. I looked at it and saw that my mom couldn't come and get me since she was stuck in court.
"Uh sure, my mom is stuck in court." I said.
"ooo that sucks. Is she a lawyer?" he asked.
I nodded, "Yea, and a real good one too."
"That's cool, and what about your dad?" he asked as we started to walk to his truck.
I sighed, "He's actually a real estate salesman…who is currently on vacation."
"You don't sound delighted by that." He said as he held the door open for me.
I shrugged, "I'm happy for him but I hate that he's constantly gone. It's almost like I don't have a dad around."
"I'm sorry to hear that kiddo but maybe you should try telling him how you feel. I'm sure he'll understand."
"True…uh is this your truck?" I asked, pointing to the large black pick-up truck that shined in the sun.
"Yes ma'am, do you need help getting in?" he asked as he opened up the door for me.
I smiled, "I'm a trooper, I think I can handle it."
He smiled as he watched me struggle to get into the truck. After a few attempts, I turned to him, "Ok…so I do need some help."
He laughed and lifted me into the truck with ease. I couldn't understand how he could be so strong but of course it didn't really scare me. Once he got in the truck I texted my mom back to let her know that he was bringing me home. By then, he had started up the truck and we were pulling out of the parking lot.
"So tell me Kitty kat,"
"Kitty kat?" I asked with a smile. "Where did that come from?"
He laughed, "I made it up myself. I heard the other girls calling you baby so I made up my own name for you."
I smiled, "Well I kind of like it, just don't call me that in front of my parents. They might get the wrong idea."
"No problem, anyways, how old are you?" he asked.
"Fourteen, but I'll be fifteen in November." I said.
He nodded, "That's cool, do you have any siblings?"
"Nope, just me I'm afraid. Emily is like a sister to me though." I told him as I took down my hair.
He glanced at me for a moment as I racked my hand through my hair and then adverted his eyes back to the road. "Have you two been friends for a long time?"
I smiled, "You sure do have a lot of questions."
"Sorry, I guess I just want to get to know my new neighbors." He said with a smile.
I looked out the window at the passing streets and neighborhoods. "Yea we have."
"Good. It's nice to have at least one best friend nowadays." He said.
I nodded and then decided to ask some questions of my own, "So…is that girl your wife?"
He smiled, "I knew you would get involved in this conversation at some point."
I giggled, "I was involved,"
"Yea but I was the only one asking questions Kitty,"
I shrugged, "Sorry…now where is my answer."
"Yes she is my wife."
"What's her name?"
"Samantha," he said.
I smiled, "Awe that's pretty. How long have you been married?"
"Five years." He said.
I looked at him slightly confused. "Five? I thought you've been out of high school for that long."
He laughed, "No…who told you that?"
"My mom."
He looked at me in confusion and then smiled, "Is your mother Lita by any chance?"
I nodded, "Yea how did you know that?"
He sighed, "Your mom and I…well…we have a history."
"Oh boy." I said. "Please spare me the details."
He laughed and then we pulled up in front of my house.
"Thanks for the ride Coach." I told him.
"No problem, Kitty kat. See ya tomorrow ok?" he said.
I nodded and hopped out of the truck. I waved to him once more before running up to my house and going inside. I wasn't all that certain but I felt like I had just made a new friend in Mark. I only hoped that this little friendship wouldn't get too far.
