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“Sadly, Diane has been struggling with her health this year,” she says in a soft and sympathetic tone, “and she will frequently be taking time off for the remainder of the year. So, there will be a fair bit of availability to sub here for Phys. Ed. Would you be interested in going on the priority list for subs for us?”
My face breaks out in a huge smile and relief washes over me. “That would be amazing. Yes, please.”
She smiles warmly at me. “Of course. You fit right in here. It’s almost like you’ve been here for years.” She laughs lightly. “I’ll put you on the list, and we look forward to having you here again.”
“Thank you,” I say, feeling fan-fucking-tastic right now. A new friend and a potentially steady subbing job? Fuck yeah.
But on my walk back to the gym, I have a nagging feeling that I can’t quite place. Until it hits me. It’s guilt.
“Why is this so fucking easy for you?”
Ty’s words rattle around in my brain as I make my way to the office in the gym. He thinks I waltz without caring, that everyone immediately loves me, and I barely even try. But he’s wrong. Sure, I just made a new awesome friend and snagged a sweet gig, but I tried. I didn’t just sit there and let it come to me. I put myself out there, I made an effort and I spoke to people. And it paid off.
And, again, things seem pretty fucking easy for him too. He has a full-time job to start with right away, everyone in the gym likes him, and he’s a good fighter. So, what’s the fucking problem?
And why do I even care about this?
I throw my phone on the desk and stare down at it for a moment. An idea comes to me, and before I can talk myself out of it, my phone is in my hands again. I find Ty’s name and tap on it, opening a private message to him.
Hey. So, we don’t like each other. And that’s fine. But we both want to be here, so we need to figure out a way to make this work.
And because I can’t help it, I send another.
Admit it. I have something you need. *winky face emoji*
Ok, no. Reel it in.
I sigh, tapping out another text. I don’t know why I’m doing this, but this nagging guilt is driving me to prove something to him. He thinks it’s easy for me? Well, I’ll show him just how much I actually work at this, and earn everything that comes my way.
And you have something I need too.
So, let’s meet tomorrow morning and roll again. We have our own training tonight, and since tomorrow is Saturday no one will be in until later. We can let it all out in blows if we need to.
There. I’m being the bigger person. Even though it’s a bit selfish on my part, so I can show him how hard I can work. What am I, five?
Anyway, whatever. I toss my phone back onto the desk as I hear the excited chatter from the kids entering the gym for my next class.
But my eyes stay glued to my phone screen.
Am I feeling… nervous?
No. Nope. That’s not it.
But why isn’t he texting back?
Ok, what the fuck? Apparently now I’m a fourteen-year-old girl.
I sigh and head into the gym to greet the kids and get floor hockey started. He’s probably ignoring me, which is fair. If he sent me that I would ignore him too.
So, I lose myself in floor hockey with the fourth graders for the next forty minutes, and purple team wins. Which is my favorite color. So, win-win.
But as soon as the period ends, I find myself in the office again, immediately reaching for my phone. And as I unlock it, I smile. Win-win-win.
Ty
Fine.
TEN
