Whatever emotion Brooklyn was lacking, Anna made up for it—evidenced in every line of her worried face. I couldn’t blame her. I knew Silas had worked with these two all summer, trying to get them ready for tryouts. I could imagine the heartbreak, after all that preparation, to think your team was now going to fall apart.
I gave them an easy smile so they’d know I wasn’t ruffled. Hopefully, they’d feed off of my energy. “Are you girls alone in the gym?”
Anna shook her head. “No. Coach Byrd is still there…for today. But the rest of the team is freaking out because we don’t have a permanent coach. And our first game is Monday.” Her eyes darted around my face, hoping for a miracle. Brooklyn still looked unfazed.
“Where’s Mr. Alvarez?” This was more of an athletic director situation. I handled the academic side of things. Sports weren’t part of my contract.
“Sksksk.” Brooklyn fake laughed and immediately went straight-faced again. “Out with the football team, as always. He doesn’t care about girls’ volleyball.”
We stood there for a moment—Anna watching me and Brooklyn staring off into space—and I had to wonder. If the varsity coach was there, why had Anna come to me?
As if she could read my mind, she glanced at her phone screen once more and said, “Silas said if anyone could fix this, it would be you. Because you’re really capable and stuff.”
I swallowed the lump in my throat and fought back the urge to wrap her in a hug. And Silas too if he’d been here and wasn’t newly married. The fact that Anna was willing to overlook, even momentarily, the beach incident, and give me a chance, was more than I could’ve hoped for. And the fact that,apparently, Silas, only hours after learning I was here and he’d be my right-hand man, had encouraged her to come to me, was boggling. Then again, Silas was a classy guy. Even if he had broken my heart, I could still admit that.
I bit back the grin that wanted to take over my face. “No worries, I got you. We’ll figure it out. We’ll make sure you ladies are ready for the game. I promise.” It was probably just a misunderstanding.
Anna slouched in relief and smiled.
“Let’s go see what’s going on.” I led them out of the front office. As we trudged down the hall, Anna and Brooklyn whispered to each other behind me. I wasn’t sure what they were saying, but the tone seemed hopeful. I’d take it.
I pushed open the door to the gym and the three of us stepped inside. Coach Byrd, one of the twelfth-grade history teachers who I’d met for the first time a week ago, was indeed trying to coach both teams. My high heels clacked against the glossy polyurethane floor and most of the girls turned. The bleachers to the left were pulled halfway out and it looked like the parents were beginning to trickle in for the meeting that I knew was scheduled to begin in a few minutes.
Coach Byrd peeked over his shoulder at me, then looked back at the girls and yelled, “Butterfly drills. JV this side.” He pointed across. “Varsity on the other. Jasmine and Ming, take charge.”
He stepped back to join me but continued watching the girls’ progress.
“Coach Whorley quit?” I asked.
“Yup.” The P popped. He shook his head. “And before you ask if I can coach both teams, I already tried last year and was told no by Alvarez.”
That had been my next question. “There were problems last season?”
His eyes were trained on the drill as he spoke to me. “Whorley coached JV last year, and it was a nightmare. Same thing as now. No coaching, just wasting time. She only cares about the paycheck. The girls and their parents”—he waved toward the adults on the bleachers—“were extremely frustrated. But Whorley is the only teacher in the county besides me who knows anything about volleyball and no one else applied.” He shrugged. “Halfway through the season, they hadn’t won a single set.” He cocked an eyebrow. “Do you know what a set is?”
I nodded. “They play three sets every match. Whoever gets to twenty-five first wins a set.” One of my best friends in high school had been the captain of our varsity team. I’d been to some games.
He nodded, pleased. “Yeah, for JV it’s something like that. Varsity plays best three out of five. Anyway, JV hadn’t won a single set, which is ridiculous. They have talent, just no direction. So I told Alvarez I’d coach both.” His jaw clenched. “He said cool, but I’d only get paid for coaching one team since we practice at the same time.” He snorted. “That’s not right. Varsity football alone has five paid coaches. There’s a lot that goes into coaching that doesn’t happen during practice. Games, for one. Besides, I went to college like everyone else here. I’m worth more than that. And I’m not talking just money.” He rubbed a hand over his jaw. “But as a matter of principle, I told him to forget it. I thought with all the parent complaints, he’d try harder to find a better coach.” His lips were pursed, disgusted. “Nope. Just kept Whorley.” He threw his hands up. “And now we have no JV coach at all.”
I scanned the moms and dads on the side. Some were wearing looks of concern and I wondered if they’d witnessed Whorley’s adult temper tantrum. “What about a parent? Could one of them do it?” These girls hadn’t made the team without their parents’ involvement and understanding of the sport. My guess was that most had at least been in rec volleyball,if not club or travel, in the past. There had to be at least a couple of adults here that knew the game.
He shook his head. “Has to be a teacher or staff of Seddledowne School District per Virginia State High School rules, according to Alvarez.” His hands moved to his hips. “But that’s not true. The next county over has a guy who’s coached for twenty years and he’s a logger. They just won state. Alvarez is just stubborn. Likes to throw his weight around. But he won’t listen to me. Trust me, I’ve tried.”
My lips twisted as I thought about what to do. Technically, this wasn’t my problem. But emotionally, as a principal who wanted to know these kids—to care about what they cared about—it completely was.
“I’ll try to talk to Alvarez.” Coach Byrd eyed me, and I could tell he was unconvinced that it would make a difference. They needed a solution. Now. So I lifted my hand like a schoolgirl ready to answer the question. “And I’ll help out for the time being.”
Byrd snapped around, facing me now. “You’ll coach JV?”
That’s not what I said. “I don’t know a ton about volleyball. I’m more of a soccer girl myself. But I could—” I was going to say fill in until we found someone.
A grin split his face. He slapped my back like I was one of the guys. “Great. Why don’t you stick around for the parent meeting? I’ll introduce you.” He glanced back at the players. “Good work, ladies. Shag ’em up!”
I grabbed his arm. “I willhelp. I do not have the time to coach this team by myself the entire season.” I widened my eyes. “I’m theprincipal.” In case he’d forgotten. It was probable since I was at least twenty years his junior.
He nodded, his excitement waning a bit. “Okay. Understood. We’ll take what we can get for now.”
As long as we were clear on that.
