“Was there really a need to say ‘fucking’?” Jordan scolds me as the kids are busy with their warm-up exercises.
“I was riled up.”
“I could tell.”
“Thanks to you and your little speech.”
“Sorry, I thought it would help.”
“You said you weren’t coming.”
“I never said that. I’m the one who set up this whole arrangement – I need to check it’s all going well.”
“Does that mean you’ll be at every training session?”
“I don’t know. Maybe.”
“And what happened to ‘we can’t see each other outside school’?”
“This is still within the terms of the agreement.”
“You’re checking up on me, aren’t you? You don’t trust me.”
“If that were the case, I wouldn’t let you coach my kids.”
“You really care about this tournament, don’t you?”
“I care about everything that happens in this school. It isn’t just a job for me,” she says quietly.
“It’s your life.”
“A huge part of it, yes. And I’ve decided that’s how it’s supposed to be,” she says, partly to herself.
“I didn’t mean to imply otherwise.”
Tyler tells the kids to take a two-minute break as he tries to yank the coloured vests out of a bag.
“Do you intend on making him doallthe work?”
“Nah. Only the boring stuff.”
She shakes her head, but there’s a smile on her lips. “You’re impossible, Kerry.”
“You knew that when you hired me – but you also knew that I know exactly how to win this thing.”
“I really hope so, for your sake.”
“So, tell me. If we win this tournament, what’smyprize?”
“The school will pay you for your trouble.”
“I’m not talking about money.”
She glances at me questioningly.
“If we win this tournament, will you agree to give me a chance?”
“A…what?”
