Carol studied her for a second. “Look, I know we don’t know each other that well, but I’ve seen how he looks at you,” she said. “Whatever this problem is, tell him now, don’t wait. If he really cares about you, he’ll understand. No one is perfect, and I’m sure he’s done some things he’s not proud of, either.”
“It’s not exactly something I’m ashamed of, but well…” she trailed off, then the buzzer sounded for half-time and their conversation was cut off as they headed for the locker room with the team.
When they came back out of the locker room, Walker came back to sit with them, plopping down again, this time with a look of frustration on his face. “They’re going to lose this game, but the coach won’t listen to me,” he said. “I know this team better than anyone. I’m out there with those guys, I see their strengths and weaknesses, but he won’t listen to me.”
“I’m sure it’s frustrating to be up here when you’d rather be down there,” she said. “But it’s only for a few weeks, and then you’ll be back out there soon.”
“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have gone off like that, it’s just…this is senior year, I thought I’d be playing, not sitting around,” he said, then sighed. “Maybe I shouldn’t have even come to the game.”
“Like you’d be able to stay away,” Maddie said, shaking her head. “You live and breathe sports, Walker. You just have to learn to accept defeat gracefully.”
“Now you sound like my mom,” he said, grinning at her. “She was always telling me that, it didn’t work, I guess. I can’t stand losing, it makes me crazy.”
“Well, you’re not exactly the one out there losing,” she pointed out, but Walker wasn’t listening, he was on his feet, yelling at the players.
A second later, he leaned over. “I’m going to talk to the coach again,” he said. “I’ll be right back.”
She didn’t bother trying to stop him; it wouldn’t have helped, but she did wonder how long the coach would put up with Walker and his advice. The answer came only a few minutes later, when the coach jumped up out of his chair and started yelling at Walker and pointing to the other side of the gym. It was impossible to hear everything the coach was saying, but it was clear from his body language that Walker was no longer welcome to be any near him.
A few minutes later, Walker came stomping up the steps with a huge frown on his face. “I have to watch the game on the other side of the gym,” he said, sitting down next to her. “Coach says I’m distracting him from his game plan. I think he just doesn’t want to hear the truth.”
“You can be a little intense at times,” she said, keeping her tone gentle. “He’s probably doing the best he can; it’s not his fault you’re injured, Walker.”
He looked out at the court, then back at her, and let out a long sigh. “You’re right, I’m being a pain,” he said. “I think I’ll go over to the other side of the gym and try to behave myself.”
“I wish I could go with you, but they need me here,” she said, then leaned over and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. “Maybe we can meet up after the game.”
She was amazed at how quickly the frustration and annoyance faded away, replaced by a big smile. “Really, you mean it?” he asked, grinning at her. “I don’t suppose you’re thinking about a make-out session, that would really make me feel better.”
“Nice try, but I’m not rewarding your bad behavior,” she said, grinning back at him. “I was thinking we might go grab a quick dinner, and kissing isn’t on the menu.”
“Well, I guess I’ll have to take what I can get,” he said. “But next time I’m choosing the restaurant.”
CHAPTER 11
***WALKER***
Walker ignored the dirty look the coach gave him as he walked by. He’d only been trying to help; he couldn’t help it if the man didn’t want to take constructive criticism. It was driving him crazy watching the team lose when he knew he could be out there saving the day instead of limping around for no reason. When he got to the other side of the gym, he realized there was nowhere to sit, not with the big brace on his leg, and he thought he was going to have to go all the way back around.
Letting out a groan, he searched the bleachers again, then heard someone calling his name. “Walker, over here, there’s an open chair next to me,” Professor Jefferies called. “My assistant had to leave early, and you can take her place.”
Relieved, he sat down in the folding chair at the scorekeeper's table, making himself as comfortable as he could. “Thanks, I thought I was going to have to walk all the way around again,” he said. “This brace is a pain in the…well, you know…”
“Sorry to see that you’re hurt,” Professor Jefferies said, looking up at the clock. “Looks like the time out is almost over,so I’m back to work. Someday, I’m going to find someone else to do this job.”
He sat quietly next to the professor as he announced the play-by-play of the game for a few minutes, then noticed the little cards in front of him filled with statistics about both teams and their players. After the first few times that Professor Jefferies reached for one and used it, he caught on to what he was doing and started handing them over before the professor could reach for them. Thoroughly enjoying himself even though the team was still losing, he was surprised when the buzzer rang ending the third quarter, then a little disappointed.
“Well, that’s the third quarter,” Professor Jefferies said, shaking his head. “It doesn’t look good for our boys.”
“Now that Coach finally listened to me and pulled Thomas out, they’ve closed the gap,” he said, getting to his feet and stretching. “They could still pull it off, there’s still time. This is fun, I never thought about what goes into announcing the game. I’m usually out there.”
“Thanks for your help,” Professor Jefferies said, standing and stretching himself. “My assistant Tiffany usually does it, but her mom has been sick, so she had to leave early.”
“Glad I could help, I gave Coach a little too much advice,” he said, then shrugged his shoulders. “He suggested I find a place as far away from him as possible to watch the rest of the game.”
Professor Jefferies laughed. “I see, that’s a creative way of saying he was going to kick you out if you didn’t leave him alone,” he said. “But his loss is my gain. Do you want to hang around and finish out the game?”
“You bet,” he said. “I’m having a blast, this is almost as good as being out there myself.”
