The Fumble Of A Quarterback

Chapter 2: You've Met All The People Here

Song for the start of the chapter!!!

Darla H

I took a deep breath and let it out slowly to calm my nerves as I looked around the empty locker room. Standing here really made it feel real. This was my internship. This is what I decided to do this summer. I could had done so many things, but yet I was here. In the silence and emptiness of this room, it felt like something holy.  Before this internship, I would have never been here, but things had changed.

"Nora, get on in here, I want to show you, my office really fast!" dad called out to me, breaking me from my thoughts.

I nodded as I walked out of the locker room and into his office. 

His office was lined with shelves full of small collectables he picked up from coaching over the years. I had never been in his office, even though he had invited me many times before. There was never really a point in coming in, but now I was here, I realized how official it was.

People always held my dad in such high regard, however I never thought much about it since he was my dad. His job meant nothing to me. As my dad, I saw him as this dorky, goofy guy that loved me unconditionally. But as he sat behind this massive oak desk, it was like he was someone else, someone that I didn't know, but I wanted to.

"Have you ever been in here? It's it massive? It's bigger than our first apartment, boy that was a teeny tiny space. Barely enough to move around."

I chuckled as I took as seat in a chair in front of his desk. "Now look at you. With a massive office and house to match."

He nodded. "None of that is really important to me though."

That much was clear since the room was massive, but sparsely furnished. My eyes caught hold of the photos of my sister, Vera and I hanging up behind him. They were the largest photos he had, and it made me smile. 

"I see you spotted the actual stars." He turned to face the photos of the family behind him. "You guys are the MVPs on my team."

My cheeks turned hot. I knew that, but I always enjoyed being reminded of it.

"Well, it's the truth. Honestly, I'm as truthful as a person in confession."

We all knew he did a poor job of telling lies. "I know."

"Speaking of honesty. I want to be up front with you on this internship. I'm sure you have questions. But honestly, I do need the help running errands, being a buffer if you see something off, so on so forth. I am sure this job will change the more you settle in. The reason I never asked your sister to do this was because she is too dang attracted to these football players. Seriously, it's like bees to honey. I couldn't have that. But you're different. You don't care about football player and your hatred for the sport makes you the perfect candidate."

I breathed a sigh of relief. For a bit, I was worried he just wanted to convert me to the sport. But this eased my fears since he wasn't expecting me to love the sport. "Got it."

He winked at me. "But please don't tell that to Vera. We all know how she gets with those puppy dog eyes. Tears me apart every time," he said as he shook his head.

I chuckled. "Sure. Your secret is safe with me."

Breaking us from our moment was a tap on the door frame. "Coach, are you ready?" a middle-aged man asked as he walked into the room. His long strides told me he had walked into this room far too many times.

Dad stood up with a smile as he stroked his mustache. No matter how hard I tried to convince him to shave that thing off, he kept it. I just hoped the team wouldn't judge him too badly. "I'm as ready as a sprinter at a race. Here's to the first day of the year!"