Quiet || hs

9

Game day. It was our next game and I was being benched for this one.

Right now, I'm in coach's math class. Since I sit in the back, he usually doesn't pay much attention to me. Today I was zoned out, drawing random doodles on the worksheet he gave the class. Suddenly, someone was tapping on my desk. I look up to see coach staring down at me.

"Do your work, Eversteen." he orders.

I just nod, sitting up straight and focusing on the worksheet. The work was actually easy and I got through it before class let out. Of course people tried prying my paper away to get answers. This repeats in the rest my classes that I attended. I leave my english class early to get ready to leave for our game.

I go to the locker room to leave my schoolbag there, but take my gym bag in case coach needs me. I sit in my usual seat on the bus next to Monique. She was happy to be playing because her grandparents were visiting this weekend and they wanted to see her play.

When we make it to the school, I follow the girls to the locker room. I don't change so I leave and search for coach. He was standing on the sideline of the court, watching the JV team finish up their game from other schools. Our JV team was playing tomorrow instead.

"Who's winning?" I ask, crossing my arms as I stand next to him.

"Our opponents." he frowns. "Damn, this is the JV team and they're destroying the court."

"We'll win." I promise. "You chose great starters." I assure him.

"Having you out there would make me feel better, but you had to be stubborn." he sucks in a sharp breath and looks down at me. "You know you really hurt me." he says with no expression.

"I-I said I was sorry." I shrug.

Coach chuckles, patting my back. "I love how nervous you get." he admits.

"Um okay, thanks." I frown.

He always seems to criticize me, but compliments me at the same time. I'm never sure if it's actually good or bad.

"Yeah, it's cute." he smirks, putting his attention back on the court.

He literally just called me cute again. Is this just a habit for him? It doesn't seem to affect him like it does to me. I was blushing and I could tell I was turning red.

The JV game finally finishes and Varsity starts warming up. Coach has me and Leslie warm up with them and I don't really know why. I was still dressed in my casual clothes from school which made the warm ups hard to do.

After warm ups, the both of us sit on the side with the few others who weren't starting. Leslie was just whining and complaining the whole time even though no one cared. Towards the middle of the game, our team was losing badly. Coach calls for a time out and we huddle around him.

"Okay, I know I said you were sitting out, but I need you out there Eversteen." he says looking at me. "She'll be taking your place Beth." he tells her and she doesn't fight it.

"Wait, that's not even fair." Leslie argues.

"Leslie, do you want to win or lose?" he snaps and she becomes quiet. "Go change, Eversteen."

I race to the locker room and quickly stripped down. I pull on my gear and run back to the gym. They had already started playing again.

"I'm ready coach." I breathe out, pulling up my knee pads.

When I stand up straight, he was standing close to me.

"Don't let me down, Rylee." he says, resting his arm on my shoulder.

He goes over the plan before pulling Beth off the court. I take her place and watched the ball be served over. Kourtney assists it to Monique, hitting it over the net. Suddenly, it comes flying back in a matter of seconds. Monique falls to her knees to catch it, but it bounces off her to the side which was out of bounds.

My eyes go to coach and he looks very upset. I comfort Monique before they served again. I got ready to work hard because these people were good.

The ball flies over and Kourtney sets it again. I jump and spike it down letting it hit the other side. The girls cheer for scoring. I immediately look at coach who seemed relieved. His green eyes flash as he nods at me with approval. That gave me more confidence for some reason.

The game was coming to an end and we were still losing. One more hit and we can either lose or end with a tie.

It was my turn to serve the ball and I'm not really that good at it. My heart races as I got ready to hit the ball. It flies over the net, but a girl in the front jumps making the ball fall onto our side again. It happened so fast that we had no time to get to the ball before it hit the floor.

The whistle was blown, indicating that we lost that point. The game was over and I watch the other side cheering for their win. I slowly walk over to huddle around coach.

"Hey, it's okay." he tries comforting us. "We have plenty other games to win. We just have to work harder than ever to make it to the finals."

Coach finishes his little speech and dismissed us. I pack my gym bag after showering and head for the bus. I was the first one to be done, so I sat silently on there. The bus gets filled up soon and we head back to our school.

"Coach, I left my schoolbag in my locker." I tell him as we exit the bus.

"Alright, did anyone else leave anything?" he asks and no one answers.

I follow him to the gym and wait for him to unlock it. I felt awkward from the silence between us. I didn't know what to say. I actually never know what to say. That's why I'm always so quiet.

"You did great tonight." he makes small talk as we walk across the court.

"But we lost." I say softly, disappointed.

"It would've been worse if you hadn't jumped in." he encourages me. "We almost made a tie and I strongly believe we wouldn't have been that close if it weren't for you."

"Yeah, I guess." I shrug.

Coach stops me, turning me to look at him. "What did I say? Don't put yourself down and be more confident and take pride in yourself."

I look down, nodding. "Yes, I know."

"Look at me." he orders. I look up at his green eyes piercing into mine. "You have so much potential in you, Rylee, and I want you to know that."

No one has ever acknowledged the potential in me. They're more focused on my persona. Coach just makes me feel so good about myself. It's been a while since I've felt this way. Next thing, I shift forward and press my lips against his. My heart stops when he backs away from me.

"Eversteen, w-what are you doing?"

"I'm sorry," I gasp. "I-I did— I wasn't thinking. I don't know." I stutter out, covering my reddened face.

I scatter off, hiding in the locker room. This is so embarrassing. Why did I do that? Why did I kiss him?

Ik this might seem so cliche which it is and I'm just not liking this so far ,,, wbu? Your thoughts?