CHAPTER ELEVEN- HIDDEN HEROS

Megan jerked away from Sebastien. "Quit tennis? Are you crazy? Tennis is my life! You know I need this more than anyone!" She was seething in hot anger.
"You don't understand!" said Sebastien quietly.
"Damn right I don't understand! You want me to never see my family again? Is that what you want? How can you SAY THAT?" she yelled.
"Please Megan, you have to listen to me!"
"Listen to you say what? I think you've said enough already." She turned to walk away, but stopped in her tracks.
"O'Connor, Mr. Dubé may have a point," cut in Coach Gunnerson.
"Excuse me?" She turned, and the coach took a step back. "He does NOT have a point. If I quit playing, I'll never be able to see my family again. I'll never be able to step onto a court again! Tennis is keeping me ALIVE."
Without looking up, Sebastien muttered something under his breath, just loud enough for Megan and Coach Gunnerson to hear. "And at the same time, it's killing you."
"What?" She was still burning with rage, but it had cooled down. Somewhat.
"Didn't you wonder why you were beating Ekaterina Mishna so badly?" He hastened to add to his statement. "Apart from your amazing tennis skills."
"Don't try to butter me up, Sebastien," she spat out.
"I'm not! She'd been in the Hamstead last year, but she passed out in the finals. The doctors said it was because she had anxiety, and advised her coach and parents to stop her playing tennis," started Sebastien.
"What does this have to do with me?" asked Megan, starting to soften. Coach Gunnerson merely eyed the couple warily.
"I think- and so does Coach Gunnerson- that your spasms come from anxiety. It's hurting you Megan, and I can't stand that." Before Megan could reply, he started talking again. "Ekaterina had a choice- she could have stopped playing tennis and saved herself from a lot of pain. Both emotional and physical. The difference between you two is that your choice is a lot more difficult. Family versus your health- and I can't bear you losing either one. But if you get so sick from this that you can't play, you've lost both things. And I've lost you." He exhaled, and cautiously took Megan's hand. She didn't resist. "I can't lose you."
She looked into his eyes, memorizing his face and everything about him before speaking. "I can't stop playing Sebastien, I can't." Soft tears fell from her beautiful eyes before she turned and walked away from the love of her life. Sebastien was crying too, not because she was walking away, but because she'd chosen family over everything. Even though she'd been abandoned by them, Megan had decided to sacrifice herself for them. Sebastien could only wipe away his tears and stand in awe of her great selflessness.
Coach Gunnerson too was amazed by Megan's choice. The past few days had indeed taught him a lot- about himself, and about his students. Then a jolt of reality shot him- where was Megan GOING? Without a word, he started to follow her down the hallway.
Sebastien grabbed his arm, "No. She needs time to think this over." He looked resigned to the situation, but also very lost.
"She may not come back," stated Coach Gunnerson bluntly.
"If she doesn't, she'll have thought it through and that will be what she wants, and what is best. I trust her to make the smartest decision," said Sebastien.
"This is a difficult decision."
Sebastien sighed and turned back to the court, now empty of all spectators. "We have to trust her Coach. There is no other way. If she cannot decide, it is our responsibility to help." He turned away again. "I shouldn't have pushed my opinion on her before explaining."
"You were only interested in what was right for her. In times like these, we are allowed to lose our minds a few times," said Coach Gunnerson.
"In times like these, we can't afford to lose our minds." Sebastien picked up his backpack from where he'd tossed it on the floor, and walked away. He hopped in a cab and headed for the tennis club to practise. In his head, he hoped to find Megan there. In his heart, he knew she needed time alone. As he pounded out his thoughts on the helpless tennis balls, his head was filled with all that had happened in the last few days. Each ball was a memory and vow, "This is for my first game, I will not lose. This is for Megan's dad, I will not step back. This is for Coach Gunnerson; I will not make hasty decisions. This is for dad, I will not fail you." For the third time that day, tears filled his eyes and he wound up for the next few balls. "This is for Megan…and mom." The racket exploded against the ball and he promised, "I will never let you down."
Megan thought about retreating to the hotel room, but that idea was quickly burnt out as she realized she shared it with two other people. Who BOTH wanted her to quit tennis. She decided to run back- it would take her a while, but that would give her time to train and think. Megan got into her pace pretty quickly- she had gotten used to the difficult standards she needed to meet. How could they expect her to decide between her family and her health?
Coach Gunnerson also thought about the hotel room. Instead, he headed for the hotel café and sat in a corner, trying to escape his thoughts. He had almost succeeded when a noise brought him back to the café.
"Coach Gunnerson?" He turned and saw Ekaterina Mishna standing behind him, still clutching her racket from the match.
He swallowed his coffee and tried to keep the astonishment out of his voice. "Mishna? What are you doing here?"
She laughed. "All the players are staying in this hotel, Coach. I saw you at my match. Megan O'Connor is your student, isn't she?"
"Yes…I'm still at Cascadia," he answered.
"I heard. She's quite a player…and her boyfriend is pretty cute." She blushed and looked up at the Coach to make sure she wasn't going too far. "But he seemed a little…emotional during the match."
Gunns was a little uncomfortable. He wasn't sure if Ekaterina would be happy with him sharing her story- but he couldn't lie to her. "I was explaining about the Hamstead's last year." She nodded, knowing what he was getting at. Coach Gunnerson hesitated before continuing, but realized he had a valuable resource in Ekaterina. "O'Connor seems to be in a similar position to you last year."
"To..me? She couldn't be- I didn't crush my second opponent as thoroughly as she did." She smiled wryly and looked away.
"You know what I mean." Ekaterina looked back at Coach Gunnerson and a hardened look appeared on her face, but she expected him to explain. "Megan's family has fallen on hard times. Her father felt her tennis was going nowhere, and demanded she pay him back for all the years at Cascadia, and disowned her from the family. All this has put a lot of pressure on her, and she's been having health problems."
"And she has to choose between playing, getting sick, but possibly regaining her family and quitting, staying healthy, and losing her family," summarized Ekaterina.
"That's pretty much it."
"She should stop playing." He looked up at her interestedly. "She can still talk to her family and if they want payment, there are other ways of earning money. It'll take her a long time, but she can do it. This way, she'll be healthy enough to succeed at something else."
Coach Gunnerson accepted her ideas and offered a seat to Ekaterina. "I'm sorry. You shouldn't be here…I tried to stop your coach."
"I know you did. So I can't imagine how hard it must be for you to see Megan in such a difficult situation. Coach Gunnerson- you may not see the way now, but things get clearer as time goes on. You help me see that."
"I helped you?"
"Yes." She glanced at the wall clock and stood up again. "I better go…coach is pretty mad after I lost the game."
"He shouldn't be. You'll do well Ekaterina, I know you will," assured Coach Gunnerson.
"I owe you one sir, you really helped me out last year."
"No, we're even. You've helped me see things more clearly This year." Gunns watched her slim figure walk away and tasted his coffee. "Cold. No one likes a cold cup o' joe…" He threw out the cup and headed back to the room to make a phone call.