Look out for the <>!
I walked into the stadium with my head held low Monday morning, hoping that no one would remember my tears shed on Friday night. The events from that night still swam around my mind like a fish in a glass jar, not allowed to leave.
The actions of Everett were unforgettable. Why Everett was so mean to me? He was the one that convinced me to come. I thought he wanted me to be there, but I came to the realization that it was because he just wanted to show the team he was better than even the coach's daughter. Everett was like a mountain, standing taller than everyone else and no one would be as tall as him, ever. He probably enjoyed seeing me cry and told everyone I cried like a child.
"You're as quiet as a sinner in church Nojo, what's up?" dad asked as he unlocked his office, breaking me from my thoughts.
I shook my head as I forced a smile his way. He would not know about what happened on Friday. I would never tell him. This was just another thing that dad would stress about and he had enough on his plate. Everett needed to be delt with, but carefully. He was the best person on the team, everyone knew that if they wanted to make it to the rose bowl, they needed Everett. Telling dad about Everett wouldn't solve anything, it would just make everything more complicated. "Nothing."
"Ok, fine then, don't tell your old man. What do I know about the world, anyhow?"
I frowned at him. "It's not like that, it's just, I'm not feeling great. Period stuff."
His eyebrows rose. "Oh, say no more. I can have you file my paperwork today. You can stay here in the office all day long if you want."
I smiled. I always knew period conversations would get him to be quiet, but I never thought it would get me off the field too. "That would be great," I said as I walked into the office behind him.
Dad went behind his desk and pulled out a stack of papers that looked to be over a foot thick. He laid them out, causing them to fall on the desk with a soft thump. "Can you look through this and circle all the dates and toss any duplicates?"
I nodded as I took a seat in a chair. "I can do that."
He smiled. "Great. Well, I'll see you later or come to me if you finish this."
"Will do," I stated, although I hoped he would come to be before I had to find him.
He nodded then gave one last look around the room, then left without another word.
In the silence of the nearly empty office, I worked on the stack of papers that were old and faded. They were practices and game plans from passing coaches, and I wondered where he got them from.
Sorting through files made my eyes heavy and what felt like forever later, I finally finished. Feeling accomplished, I looked at the time on my phone and saw it only took me two hours complete. But dad would not be back for another hour or so. I sighed in frustration, knowing I would have to find him and brave showing my face.
Quietly, I slipped out of dad's office and walked down the hall, listening to every sound, hoping I would hear the team before they appeared. The halls were quiet, which allowed me to push forward deeper into the building, to where dad most likely was. Before long, I found myself looking through a crack in the doors, watching dad talk to the team about drills as they stood on the field.
No one noticed as I stared at them. Instead, they all looked intently at dad as he moved his feet around in a ballet like manner. It made me remember a time when I did ballet and dad took lessons with me. He said he enjoyed it, but I think he was just trying to do something together to connect. I hadn't done ballet in years, but the way he moved his feet made me wonder if he still kept up on what he learned.
The team dispersed from dad and ran to the other side of the field. I had to get closer to him and I couldn't stay here. Dad just needed to get closer, to I had to get closer to him. With a deep breath, I walked onto the stadium just as dad ran further from me as he followed some players.
Panic hit me like a bucket of ice water. My breath caught in my throat as I stared at him run farther from me. Out in the open, the players would see me, they would whisper.
My eyes darted around for a place of refuge from prying eyes. Quickly, I made contact with the plastic, foldable drink table. Without wasting a moment, I crawled underneath it, hoping I could stay here until dad came closer.
Minutes passed as I tapped my fingers on my thigh as I waited for dad to come. The longer I waited, the more anxiety consumed me, like a burning bonfire on a summer night. I just hoped I wouldn't say here much longer.
I saw Tad's shoes approach the drink table. He stood there for a moment, then got on his hands and knees to grin at me. "Hey. Like the view down there?" Tad asked.
"SSSSHhhh," I hushed him as I looked around, making sure no one saw my hiding spot.
Without saying anything, Tad crawled under the table beside me. He looked out through the gaps in tablecloth silence for a moment before turning to me and saying, "You know, you're great at hiding, but you can't hide forever."
A pit formed in my stomach instantly, knowing this was true. I just didn't want to admit it. Instead, I wanted to hide until everyone forgot about it.
Just as I was starting to feel like I was part of a team, this happened. No player would view me as the same anymore. How could I build a relationship with them if they saw me as the crying coach's daughter? Going to that party screwed everything up. "Do you think the whole team knows what happened on Friday?"
He shrugged. "Probably not."
"But there is a chance."
"Of course, there is always a chance. But listen, that's not the point. I heard someone was drugging the girls drinks that night. So, I don't think they want to talk about how coach's daughter was there. I think most people want to move on from that night."
My mouth fell open as the hair on my arms stood up straight. I couldn't believe my ears. "What?" I heard of stories like this on the news, but never did I think it would happen in a place I went to.
He nodded. "Keely, my friend on the cheer team, confirmed it this morning. Not many people are going to want to talk about Friday and if they did, I think you would be the last thing they discuss."
I frowned as I felt sick to my stomach. "Do they know who did it?"
Tad shook his head. "Have no clue and honestly, they won't find out. This happened last year, too."
"By the teammate that got kicked off the team?"
Tad nodded. "Yeah. Anyhow, I get it, parties aren't for you. I just thought it would be fun, and I was wrong. Look, I'm sorry I dragged you to it. I should have dropped it when you said no the first time."
His apology was kind, but my mind already shifted to different topics. "Who was the team member that got kicked off the team last year?"
Tad frowned as he looked around, as if he wasn't even allowed to speak his name.
"What is he? Voldemort?" I chuckled, but I had a feeling like this was no laughing matter.
"No, Voldemort is better than he is. Charles was seriously the worse person I had ever met for so many reasons."
Charles. That was the kid that kicked off. With that information, I could look into him more. "Charles doesn't go to school here anymore, does he?"
Tad shook his head. "No, but he's still around since he's from Columbus. And the fact is, people still love him despite what he's done. He was the best player OSU had seen in years and people only care about that."
I frowned, knowing how people around here thought about football. They didn't care about anything except the game. As long as the team won, the players and the coaches could get away with anything. It was sickening.
"Nojo, what are you doing down here? I thought I saw your feet," dad said as he crouched down underneath the table with a smile as he looked at Tad and I.
Was my hiding spot really that poor? "I lost my whistle and Tad was helping me look for it," I lied as I showed dad my whistle.
"Aw man, Tad, you are such a team player. I really don't know what I would do without you. Thank you," dad said with a smile.
"Sure thing," Tad said as he got out from under the table. "I'll talk to you later, Nora."
I nodded as I got out from under the table as well. "I organized all the papers, is there anything else you need me to do?"
He thought about it for a moment as a few players passed me, not even making eye contact with me. It made me believe that maybe Tad was right about the drama. Maybe I was old news.
"Nah, can't think of anything right now. I'm just going to have the team work on a few more moves before I release them for the day."
"Is it cool if I just hang out in the office, then?"
Dad nodded as his attention turned to another player. "Now, Steve, what was that? Your footwork was as slow as a turtle. Please try that again."
In the distraction, I slipped away, off the field and walked back into the office to pass the time. With no idea what to do, I decided to tidy and dust off his things, hoping it would kill time.
Afterwards, I sat in dad's office for what felt like eons until he came in with a smile on his face as he normally did. "Ready to get out of here?"
I nodded as I stood up from the chair I spun on. "Please."
"Ok, I have to lock things up, why don't you meet me in the hall. I'll only be a minute."
"See you out there," I said, hoping it was empty out there and safe to show my face. With a smile on my face, I walked out of the office and down the hall. Now I just needed to avoid the stragglers.
<>
"Listen, I want to apologize for how things played out on Friday," Everett said, as he rounded a conner to face me.
I froze in mid-step to glare up at him. A pit formed in my stomach as my hands got clammy. He was the last person I wanted to see in this empty hallway.
He leaned against the wall, causally which made my blood boil. He made me look like a child at the party. His apology wasn't good enough to make up for the damage caused. "
You made me look like an idiot. Do you like to belittle everyone around you? Because you are going to end up alone."
He frowned as he pushed off the wall, walking closer to me. "That's not what I meant to happen."
"Then tell me what it was," I said as I looked up at him, expecting an answer.
"That drink Rick gave you, it was drugged. I saw him add stuff to it like he did with other drinks he gave to girls at the party. I couldn't let that happen to you."
That statement made me feel uneasy as my stomach turned into knots. I had more of a relationship with Rick than many other players. I didn't think Rick would do such a thing. Everett had to be wrong. I trusted Rick but Everett, I didn't trust him. I probably never would. "So, you let him get away with drugging other drinks?"
He shook his head. "There's a reason he isn't here today."
I shut my mouth.
"Nora, Rick isn't a good guy. You should stay away."
"Because you're any better?" I retorted.
He nodded. "I am."
I rolled my eyes as I threw my hands in the air in frustration. I had enough of his high horse personality. He was a bully to all the other players. He was not a good guy and he wouldn't convince me otherwise.
"Listen, you might think those men are your friends, but they are not. They are sharks and they will swarm if they taste blood."
"I have a hard time believing you when you look like the bully in the team. I've noticed they're afraid of you. They stay away."
"They are afraid of me because I have the power to kick them off the team, just like I did with Charles."
And there it was. More information about this player. Everett looked like more of a problem than anyone else. How did Everett kick Charles off the team? But it would make sense why others were afraid of him. Everett really was the tallest player on the team.
Taking a deep breath and finding bravery deep inside, I took a step closer to him. "You think you can scare me. You think you can boss me around. But you are wrong. You have no idea what I can do."
His face remained unchanging as he stared back at me.
"Oh, there you are Nora! Let's get out of here for the evening?" dad's voice rang out, breaking me from our moment.
I stared at Everett for a second longer, trying to get my point across that I was not afraid of him before turning to dad. "Sure thing. Let's get out of here."
"Have a good evening, Everett," dad said with a wave. "Good job out there in practice."
Everett nodded. "Thanks. Have a good one too, coach."
As we walked away from him, dad smiled at me. "Looks like you're getting close to the team. That's exciting."
I nodded. Although I didn't feel any closer. This team was riddled with secrets that maybe I would never understand. Maybe I wouldn't be able to help rebuild the team. I was starting to believe that this internship wasn't for me. There were more lies and deception than a spy game. Maybe this was why dad didn't want me to date any of them, because he knew their secrets. "Yeah, they are one of a kind."
"I know they are."