She was nervous sending that Outlook email meeting invite, she didn't know why but her heart hammered in her chest in an explosive staccato rhythm, that almost made her feel light-headed. She was definitely blowing this way out of proportion.
It was just a meeting. She reminded herself and then promptly forgot her own advice when she saw a tall figure out in the field, training with his football players.
Why hadn't she noticed that she had a perfect view of the football field from the science office before?
She watched him wind his arm and throw the football effortlessly, long and far into the air. It sailed in a perfect arch but the young boy he had been throwing it to came up short and it bounced off his head and onto the grass. That was a serious bit of skill and Natalia pressed her nose to the glass in an effort to get a closer look.
He gave a few instructions to the kid beside him, recalled the one that had been running to catch the ball further upfield, and made them repeat the action. Both failed miserably. One couldn't throw as far and the other still couldn't catch it.
Natalia could see the Arsenal comparison, and she could see now why he'd get grouchy over her delaying practice for him and his team. God help them, they needed all the help they could get.
"Impressive, right?" A voice said sauntering into the science office. Ella's familiar smile was plastered on her face.
"Yeah," Natalia agreed uneasily, embarrassed to have been caught effectively ogling out of the window. She hoped Ella would be polite enough not to mention it.
"He was a Heisman finalist in his senior year of college," Ella added, "And then he enlisted in the Marines."
Natalia had no idea what a Heisman was but it sounded impressive. Americans were very serious about football so she assumed it was like a Nobel Prize of some sort.
She wondered why Ella was offering up Gabe's personal history as if she was his personal Wikipedia page. They had some sort of relationship that Natalia couldn't figure out. Familiar yet at arm's length. Protective yet aloof. Also, it was none of her business she reminded herself.
Natalia peered out of the window again, he had left the throw and catch pair to their own devices and was now instructing some other team members on what looked like grappling exercises. They were hanging to his every word and it was easy to see the camaraderie and bond he had with the young boys.
"Don't mind me, I just came by to see how your new project's going," Ella finally explained her presence. Natalia sheepishly looked away from the window.
"It's going well, we're going to meet on Monday and map out our approach."
"Good, good," Ella smiled. "I also wanted to ask has...Gabe apologised to you?"
Natalia was taken aback by the question. She was smart enough to know that it was the real reason Ella had stopped by. He hadn't, but in light of their recent truce, she felt bad ratting him out. Unlike him, she was no snitch.
Her silence spoke for her before she could articulate anything. A click of her tongue signalled Ella's displeasure.
Something pricked Natalia's conscience. The slow realisation that he had in fact apologised to her. In his own way of course. The boys apologising to her in class and radically changing their behaviour was his doing. She was sure of it.
"Actually, he did," Natalia confirmed and she couldn't help the coy grin that took over her face.
Ella wanted to pry, Natalia could tell. But professionalism made her return Natalia's smile with an inquisitive stare instead. "Great, I'm glad we got that squared. Have a great day now."
Natalia sent the email invite to the meeting for Monday morning. Giving them time to prepare their ideas and most importantly time prepare themselves.
The educator in her bristled at having classes cancelled for a pep rally. What the hell was a pep rally and why would the whole school get involved if it was just a few kids playing football? It really made no sense to her but Natalia went along with it. At least she got out of classes for part of the day. She really couldn't complain too much.
Her inner Brit, watched over the proceedings of the pep rally a little bit horrified at the outward display of excitement and enthusiasm. Being loud and a hooligan at games was practically a British institution but doing it outside of a game, to get ready for a game was honestly a bit mad and Natalia couldn't get her head around it.
She stood back and watched how others were reacting to it. Gabe was front and centre of the gym, the MC of the proceedings introducing his players one by one and telling a humorous tidbit about them as he went along. Eliciting raucous laughs from the whole crowd.
He was dressed more casually than she had seen him before, in a T-shirt, jeans and baseball cap. The rest of students were really getting into it and cheering for all of them loudly with hoots and chants.
Ella was somewhere yelling with equal exuberance, Porsha was calling out encouragement to the players, even Agnes was hollering and screaming. Was she bad vibes? Natalia wondered, why couldn't she let go and have fun like the rest of them?
The game was being played at a neighbouring school and Natalia caught a ride with a group of other teachers, leaving her car at work. She'd worry about the logistics of that later.
The atmosphere at the game was electric. More so than any school event Natalia had been to before. The whole neighbourhood had come out for the game, not just both schools. The football field was huge and there was everything from marching bands to fast food and face painting.
It was time for the national anthem, Jesus, why were they singing the national anthem at a high school football match? Natalia herself never sang the British national anthem a day in her life and she barely knew the words aside from the infamous chorus. She never usually sang along, the lyrics glorified an empire that was built on the forced labour and exploitation of Black and Brown people. She couldn't relate.
She wondered what she would do? She wasn't American and didn't feel obliged to stand for the anthem with a hand on her heart. It all felt a bit ridiculous. At the same time she didn't have time for drama, she knew how touchy Americans were about their anthem, one only had to look at the recent treatment of Colin Kaepernick and how everyone had conflated his peaceful protest with something else entirely.
The game kicked off, Natalia had a hard time following it. They took turns with the possession of the ball, and the aim was to drive it forward into the other team's territory for a touchdown and sometimes they kicked the ball, which made absolutely no sense, and a kick between the goalposts only got two points.
Their school team was not doing well. Every time their quarterback got the ball, this thing called a sack happened to him, where he was violently rushed and stripped off the ball. Natalia gasped everytime it happened.
The game was an hour, split into four quarters, with one half time break. At some point, and it was nothing short of a miracle, their team, the Manor Mustangs had a streak of ball possession. Their running back pulled off several touchdowns in an incredible feat of athleticism. The score was equalised.
It happened so quickly that the entire mood of the game changed. It was exhilarating. Natalia didn't know when it happened but she was suddenly cheering very loudly and ardently for their team.
Her voice was hoarse. She was getting buoyed every time their boys had the ball and her heart was in her mouth every time their equal score was threatened and then the final whistle rang. The game was a draw. It was incredible, the atmosphere of the travelling fans was as if they had actually won. Someone told her that their 10 game losing streak had ended.
Despite her reservations, Natalia did enjoy the game, and she managed to understand some of the rules but not all of them. Coming to a football game every now and then wasn't the worst thing she could spend her time doing.
As the crowd thinned, Natalia stretched her neck trying to find the colleagues she had come with to the match but she couldn't find them. It was getting late and she wanted to go home but her phone had died. She had stupidly left her charger in the car, which was parked at work. It was an interesting predicament considering she had no idea where she even was.
"Hey, you made it," came a voice behind her.
She didn't have to turn around to know who it was. She swivelled on the heel of her shoe to face him.
"I did, great result! You must be pleased."
A smile played on his lips. "Yeah, I'm happy with that," he paused, "For now."
"Pressure's on now though, right?" Natalia commented, and she then berated herself for it. Why was she in the habit of pointing out the obvious? She was so bad at small talk. All she knew was snark and sarcasm.
"It sure is. How did you find understanding the game?"
"I won't be able to explain the offside rule but I got the basics...I think."
"Alright. Still think it's a dumb sport?" Gabe asked pinning her with direct eye contact. His green eyes glowed in the autumn half light. Natalia could feel the heat rush to her cheeks. She must have looked like a lava lamp. Face just fluorescent for no reason.
She bit her lip, suddenly nervous and jittery. Like someone had hooked her up to a caffeine drip for hours. How could he have this effect on her with just one look?
She had only just recovered from compulsively thinking about that kiss and the feel of his lips on hers. Natalia had never kissed a white man before, she always thought the lip ratio would be off and awkward, but his lips were soft and had slanted over hers in a perfect fit. If she concentrated hard enough she could still recall the mix of beer and mint on his tongue and the potent smell of his cologne.
"I, ummm..." Natalia was speechless for once.
Gabe laughed and she could see he was actually getting a massive kick out of teasing her. "I'm just kidding, it's all water under the bridge."
"And thank you for speaking to the boys on your team for me. It really made a difference in my last lesson," Natalia admitted.
He was all smiles. Natalia wondered what the change in his demeanour was.
"Pleasure's all mine—" Gabe started but was cut off.
" —There you are," Porsha announced, catching sight of the two of them talking. "Hey, Gabe, good game."
"Thanks, Porsha. I gotta get going. Y'all have yourselves a nice evening." Gabe left, the trio became just two.
"So—that, was interesting," Porsha said stretching the words into an insinuation.
"Was it?" Natalia evaded. Answering a question with a question was always the best defence.
"Uh-hmm," was Porsha's response. "Shall we go grab some something to eat? Celebrate your first week?"
"God, yes," Natalia groaned. "I need a drink too. I can't believe it's been just one week. It felt like a year."
"Aight, let's go."