Chapter 3

Four weeks. Not a lot of time for a country. Barely a wink of time for a mountain. But for a teenage girl longing to get back to her teammates, it was an eternity. The season was going to end while she was on crutches. The girls were wonderful to her showering her wish praise, hugs, and fawning over her back in school. She didn’t have a cast to sign, so some of her classmates made cardboard sleeves for the crutches to let people sign those instead. For all that silliness and support, what she cared for most was getting to practice.

Coach Klein wasn’t surprised to see the young girl appear and make her way to him crutch by crutch. “Hey, champ, how you holding up?”

She shrugged, “Well, I’ve been better.” She bit her lip and holding the crutch with the opposite arm, flipped her hair out of her face and smiled to her coach, “but I guess it could be worse, right?”

He smiled and patted her shoulder.

His gesture, a simple touch made her feel so much more. She wondered if he knew. They were alone for the moment while the girls got ready. She smiled really wide, revelling in this small moment.

“Come on, grab a seat, I’m sure the girls’ll be out soon. You here to cheer them on?”

“Hell no,” she grinned, “I’m here to make sure they work. Then afterwards, I’m going to have a photo shoot with a fashion magazine.”

He gave her an odd look.

“Oh, didn’t you know? Crutches are in for winter fashions. It is very sexy to be on crutches now.”

He smirked, “I can see that.”

Her silly joke had sounded much funnier in her head where she’d meant to say glamorous, not sexy. But the way he smiled at her and looked her over with his reply made her blush hot lava. She peered up, even as she tried to hide her blushing face.

“Go on, grab a seat,” he chuckled at her.

The next two weeks, if anything, she spent even more time with him. Whenever she could, she’d be with the team, cheering them on, yelling at them, helping out with anything she could do. She ached to be back on that court, but that ache was minor compared to the ache she felt being so close to him. It was a beautiful ache, a feeling like her heart was filling up with more and more love, growing inch by painful inch and when she’d be about to burst, it’d just grow a little more.

After cheering for her team during practices, she resumed her yoga routines and now more as physical therapy. Dutifully, Coach Klein decided to spent some extra time working with her, a few minutes here and there. She was grateful for those minutes, if that is what being in love meant. Her recovery was moving along faster than prognosticated thanks to the irrepressible spirit. For a moment, the coach sat in his car and marvelled at the young woman. If she came back tomorrow and said she was good to play, he’d believe her. But he wouldn’t let her play. There was too much of a nagging fear that he’d be seen as too reckless with her welfare. He could already hear the parents questioning him keeping her in so many rallies in the game where she got hurt. The sky had been overcast to match his mood except for the gym which was always brightened by her presence. That small bit of shame in him prompted him to shake off the thoughts and head back to an empty home. He was already alone in the teacher’s parking lot in his car. Already alone no matter where he went.

It was that sense of deep lonliness that weighed his foot on the break when he saw the overcast skies had let out into a drizzle, and a lone figure was waiting by the public bus stop. She was there, getting sprinkled on, the little girl lost taller than most grown women. He should just drive on. He shouldn’t get her into the van. How evil would he be, how much of a cliche would he be? Except, she was hurt, and alone. She was his player and his responsibility. She spied him as he pulled up with his two sides warring inside. He rolled down the window, “Tricia?”

“Coach!” her eyes beamed and her face brightened so much he thought the sun had poked through the clouds.

“Do you need-”

“Need a ride? Oh my god yes, you’re a lifesaver!”

“Well, get on in,” he invited her silently cursing himself. He unlocked automatic sliding door to the back, but she just opened the passenger door and pulled herself in, crutches and all. He let it go with the gallows thought, ‘in for a penny... ‘

“I’m surprised you didn’t have a ride set up.”

“Yeah, I usually do, but my mom is meeting up with some friends from out of town. I sometimes take the bus.”

“You should definitely bring an umbrella, it’s getting cold out.”

“I take it that’s why you stopped for me? Cause it’s cold and rainy.”

“You take it right.”

“Coach Klein, you’re my hero.”

He took a quick glance at her, “You know if you’re being sarcastic, you need to add a little more inflection to that.”

She smiled at him, “Who said I was being sarcastic?”

“Okay, so I sit corrected.”

“So surely I silently sit still,” she grinned.

He cracked a grin, “Such a sublime set of statements.”

She nodded, “So surpassing stanza to soliloquy.”

“Shall I simply say you are S?”

She smiled, “What’s S stand for?”

“Oh, you didn’t get the movie reference?”

She ignored his question, “Is it silly? A lot of my friends think I’m silly.” She regarded him with pursed lips, “No I don’t think that’s it. Hmm, now I have to figure it out, what do you think of me that’s an S.”

“Super Student?”

She sat up straight and mimed reading. She slumped back after a moment, “Nope, doesn’t fit. Try again.” Tricia was flying high with their little flirtation. It was just as fun every single time they did it. Completely innocent, completely benign, and yet utterly exciting.

“Soldier? Sailor?”

“I don’t salute.”

“Have you tried?”

“Sir, no sir,” she said with a mocked low voice.

He chucked, “Alright, you tell me what I think?”

“Really? Wow, that’s a lot of power. Cool. I am the most Powerful Girl In The-,” she puffed her chest and raised her voice before dropping off with, “neighborhood.”

“Don’t let it go to your head.”

“Would I ever coach?”

“I don’t know, power does corrupt.”

“Oh, so now you’re corrupting me? How superbly sumptuous.” She bit her lip. It was a crazed gambit, but this teasing flirtation was tearing at her. More than anything she wanted him to say an ‘s’ word that would satisfy her.

“Okay, do you even know what that word means?”

“What, corrupt?”

“No, ‘sumptuous’.”

“Is it like, delicious?”

Coach Klein shook his head. “Think extravagant or luxurious. Something that is obviously expensive, well then it is sumptuous.”

She quipped back, “Well, I ain’t cheap.”

“Just saying.”

She rolled her eyes, “I think I figured out what you think of me. Stupid.”

“Hey, not in a million years.”

“So what is it then?”

He looked over to her and said some words that were probably a mistake. Definitely a mistake, he corrected himself later, but he was caught up in the moment. “Oh, I definitely have a couple in mind, but I definitely can’t say them without getting in trouble.”

“What, you chicken?” she said quickly before the second part of his statement sunk in.

The car quieted as she gaped, then blushed. She sought his eyes and caught them glancing down at her body. The air thickened around them until she felt like she couldn’t even more through it, much less breathe. She wanted him to say it, she knew he knew how she felt, and he chose to pick her up, he chose to be alone with her, she was sure he wanted to be with her as much as she wanted to be with him. They were destiny. Maybe. If only he’d say those words to her, too.

She felt her heart at the point of bursting again, so much that she dare not even more less she die that very moment from love overload.

“So, are you doing alright in your studies?” He broke the silence with completely meaningless banter.

She deflated. Of course he couldn’t say anything. He was her coach. She wanted to say something, anything to make it okay. But for all her searching through her memories of teen dramas, she couldn’t come up with something that was right for her and him. Instead, she unbuckled her seatbelt and leaned on him. If she couldn’t come up with the right words at least she could take this small comfort.

A small part of his mind warned him against it, but he told himself, ‘There’s nothing wrong here, this is perfectly innocent.’ He took one hand off the wheel and draped it around her shoulder allowing her to cuddle in to him where she smiled and love took hold.

An instant and an eternity later, he withdrew his arm, and she scooted back to her seat. They were a block away from her home. “Just stop here?” she asked him.

“You sure?”

“Yeah, I’m fine.” They didn’t need to say the obvious, better to not be seen by her parents getting out of his van. Despite the perfect innocence of it, he knew he didn’t want to raise any questions. She felt the conspiratorial connection with him. They never kissed, they never did anything illicit, yet still she felt more strongly than ever that they were destined to be.

Over the coming days, she was starting to try to walk more despite the doctor’s orders. Around her parents, she’d use the crutches, but at school, she’d limp along and carry the crutches as much as she could. She cheered her teammates on from the sidelines and dutifully did her homework much to her parents delight. But what she truly looked forward to were the moments she could be around the coach, which came to an end with the last game of the season.

Her crutches were left behind and she had fully recovered, but that meant little since she no longer had a practice to go to, nor a yoga session to enjoy.

She joined the basketball team that winter, which delighted the team that included some of the same girls, Ali even tried out, but she didn’t make the team since neither Ali nor Patty ever really played it much. Tricia only made it for her raw talent (read height) since she could play as their center. It never really sparked the same passion for her, though.

Spring came around, along with dances that she went to with friends. She’d been asked and went with a nice boy but they hadn’t even kissed, and mostly she spend the time with Ali the others. At the dance she kept her eyes open for the chaperones but he wasn’t there. She’d sighed and chastised her own solitary disappointment. Ali noticed and pulled her out of her funk and on to the dance floor which was a little weird because it was a couples dance song, but that was Ali: always unconventional. Through the whole dance she kept making weird faces and crossing her eyes until she got Trisha to giggle. Trisha felt so lucky to have a friend like Ali. For all her YouTube obsessions and foul mouth, she was really a great best friend. At the end of the dance she’d hugged her and said, “You’re the best friend anyone could have.”

When her sixteenth birthday rolled around towards the end of the year, her father woke her up and instead of telling her happy birthday, he said, “Go take out the garbage before you go to school.”

She trudged down with a sigh, collecting the trash from all the bathrooms and the kitchen. She got to the garage and dropped the bag in shock. “Oh my God.” It was an absolute dream. A brand new silver Hyundai Elantra complete with a bow on top sat right in front of her gobsmacked face. She spun around to her father, “Oh my God, are you serious right now?”

“I can take her back if you don’t like her,” her father teased with a shrug.

“No!” she charged and hugged him, “Oh my god I can’t even.”

It was true, she couldn’t even. She couldn’t even speak at that moment and she couldn’t even drive yet without a licensed driver accompanying her. Still, she had a car and was overjoyed at the possibilities.

There was only one drawback to having a car. She’d concocted this little fantasy in her mind where she’d be stuck in the rain again and Mr. Klein would come get her again. Except this time on the drive he’d tell her the word he had for her was sexy. He’d tell her that he knew it was wrong, that everything was wrong, but they had a connection and he’d be willing to risk everything to be with her. She’d confess her love, finally able to say it out loud and they’d kiss. Finally he’d take her in his arms and ... the thoughts from there were variations on a theme.

Summer as a sixteen year old girl had such possibilities. She’d managed to avoid having to get a job for the summer by promising to take up more chores at home and spend a lot of time conditioning for Volleyball in the fall. She’d argued that there was a good chance she might make it to college on scholarship if she did well this season. Her father appreciated the logic of it and her mother had secretly wanted her daughter to just be a little girl a little longer if she could help it. So she had a summer mostly free.

The first week out, she was driving to a get together she’d been invited to with some boys. Vanessa was overly excited for it, but Ali wasn’t all that hyped. She reluctantly agreed to go after Patty said she’d go, making Vanessa squeal with joy. But on the drive there, she saw a familiar van parked in front of the Starbucks.

It’d felt like forever since she’d seen the Coach Klein. She smiled and pulled into the parking lot. It might be nice to see him and say hi. She paused looking in through the window to see him standing waiting for his drink. Should she go? She should just go to the party. Except, it would be fun to say hi. She never really drank a lot of coffee, but maybe a bit of caffeine before the party might be a good jolt. And she got a little extra money from her dad for chores, so she could afford a little something. It was NBD, just coffee.

Feeling the tickling in her stomach, she checked her hair and make-up then headed in.

“Andrew,” the barista called out, and coach Klein picked up his cup.

So that was his name. Andrew Klein. Andrew and Tricia. Triciandrew. She smiled to herself. It was a good strong name.

He never even saw her until she sat down right in front of him.

“Howdy stranger.”

He looked up and smiled, “There’s a face I haven’t seen in a while.”

“Mind if I join you?” she asked even though she’d already sat down with both elbows on the table and leaning toward him.

“Do I have a choice?”

She gave him a fake scowl, but quickly shifted, “Would you like to play a game of questions?”

“Ah, have you started reading Shakespeare?”

“Why would I read during the summer?”

“Why would you ever stop reading?”

“So what are you reading there?” quickly she rephrased, “What is the name of your book?” she grinned, there was no way he could answer without a statement.

“Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?”

She play scowled at him again, pausing for a moment. “Is it any good?”

“Are you interested in reading?”

“Should I be?”

“Do you want to go to college?”

“Hmm...”

He grinned to himself saying in a low sing-song, “I win.” He opened the book back up and took a sip.

“How’ve you been? Lonely without me?”

He smiled back to her, “The game’s over, kiddo.”

Behind her, the barista called out, “Double Chocolate Mocha Whipped cream for Diana?” It suddenly dawned on Tricia that it was her drink.

“Oh oops!” She quickly collected her drink and some side eye from the barista who’d been calling her name.

“Diana?” He asked with an arched eyebrow.

She smiled, “It’s a Wonder Woman thing. I figure if people are going to call you an amazon, might as well be the best one.”

“Alright, I’ll be sure to call you Diana from now on,” she said as he turned once again to his book.

She laid her hand on his to lower his book, desperate to keep his attention, but once there, it felt right. “No, she complained softly, I like Tricia.” She stopped there for a moment, her hand on his, her eyes searching his. He glanced from her hand to her eyes.

“What are you doing here?” he asked, serious but not stern.

“Getting a coffee?” she withdrew her hand and cupped her brew defensively.

“Do you even drink coffee?”

She nodded, taking a sip.

He smiled, “That’s not coffee, that’s dessert in a cup.”

She smiled, and brushed her hair away from her face. Nervously, she nibble her knuckle and rubber her lower lip. In a moment of inspiration, she took out her phone and snapped a picture of her whip-creamy drink. “For the mems, let me post it real quick.” #dessertinacup #starbucks #totesdelish #treatyourself #coffeeislife He chuckled going back to his book.

“You know, Andrew,” she said as she finished posting. His eyes popped open to hear her saying his first name. “You don’t post anything on insta, you never even like my fitness posts, what’s the deal?”

He shook his head, “Not sure I want to leave a digital footprint, you know?

“Well, have you tried Snap?”

“Snap?”

“Oh I forgot, you’re old. Snapchat. It’s an app. It’s not crap.”

“Is it all that?” He grinned.

“It’s where it’s at,” she smiled getting a chuckle out of him. “This is why you gotta try snapchat.

See look. See all of these snaps I have? Take a look, go ahead, read all my private messages.”

He looked at her hesitantly, but following her instructions he checked the texts from Alipants2000. It was totally empty. He tried to scroll up, but nothing was there.

“See, no digital footprint. Give me your phone,” she grabbed it up out of his hand and found the app.

He took it back just as quickly, “I know how to download an app.”

“Alright Andrew, don’t go manic,” she watched bemused as he set about not only downloading it but also setting up an account.

“Okay, so how do I get you on this?”

She spun her phone around showing him a little yellow logo, “Scan my snapcode.”

“Okay. Interesting.” He did, and popped up on her account as ‘Andrightnow’ and he’d only put his initials in for first and last name.

“Welcome to the age of social media.”

“Wasn’t that facebook?”

“Yeah, for what I want my parents to see.”

“Well this was very enlightening, and now my coffee is the perfect temperature. You’re not half bad company.”

She smiled, “You’re not so bad yourself ... for an old man.” She winked at him.

“Hey now, not so old.”

“Oh, really? Hum...”

He took a sip and sat back, “So it seems like you’ve got absolutely nothing to do, since you’re still sitting here.”

She shrugged, “Nothing in particular.” It wouldn’t matter if she was a little late to the hangout.

“I’m planning to go for a trail run after this. With the sun high in the sky there’s nothing like running through the shaded woods up and down the foothills. It is a great way to get away from people and just zen. Plus the view from this one point in the run is unbeatable. You should try it sometime.”

“Bet,” she smiled at him. “Where?”

He showed her and she dropped a pin in the location on her phone.

“Well, it was really good seeing you, but I have got to get going. Have a great summer Trish,” he smiled and got up to go abruptly.

She waved with naught but a smile. She was suddenly feeling double excitement. As soon as he was in his van, and she held her phone up for a little selfie. For lols she gave him a cutesy little duckface pick. She added some sparkles for effect, gave it an 8 second timeout, and captioned it:

“Welcome to Snapchat”

“Perf,” she sent it. He probably would look at it now, since he was driving. She waited, but there was no response. She sipped her sweet drink a bit but decided it still tasted like coffee. Sighing, she got up and gave up on getting a reaction. She’d meandered back to the car when her phone buzzed and she grabbed it out. It was Ali A- ‘where r u’ ‘Crap,’ she thought having completely forgotten about the get together. She typed out her reply.

P- ‘coming!!! fash late <smiley with shades> A- ‘ugh help’ A- ‘need my bff’ P- ‘just got come coffee nbd’ A- ‘boys r literally the WORST’ P- ‘lol omw’ She smiled bemused. There must be some boy that had finally caught Ali’s eye. She was always the one getting under people’s skin for the lulz, not the other way around. It’d be interesting to see who finally figured her out.

She pulled up in the gated community and was let in by a security guard who gave her printed directions to the house. She’d never been in a place that posh. Everything was new and the houses were spaces quite a ways apart. Not only that but most of the houses were of different designs, yet the aesthetics played well together. She stopped at the house with 2 Beamers and a Tesla.