The Coach

Coach Bradford

Sebastian

    "Are you ready for your first day at school?" Martha asked, with the most adorable smile she could ever have.

    "I am. I have to admit, just a little nervous," I replied, serving her some eggs and bacon, "now eat these, we can't be late or your precious teacher won't let me live it up"

    "She is precious, isn't she?" I could hear her teasing voice. My phone rang, and I went to pick it up. Laura was on the other side asking me some questions about the construction.

    "You can ask Hunter, he is the one in charge for today. I will be unavailable for the rest of the morning, but I will be there later today," I said, hanging the phone and going back to eat.

    We finished breakfast and got in the car, Martha not wasting time. I guess she really wanted to see her teacher. What does she do to make her students love her? I needed to find out.

    As soon as we arrived to school, she went straight to her classroom, while I walked to the principal's office.

    "Good morning, Sebastian" Gibson greeted me with a big smile on his face.

    "Good morning, Alex. I am looking forward to start" I replied to his greeting. He walked out of his office and walked down the hallway with me.

    "I know you already know where the lockers are, but I wanted to properly introduce you to the kids" he said as we were getting closer to the locker rooms. We walked in and they were getting ready for practice. I looked around, and my eyes stopped at the office, where Zoey was. She is an eye catcher, even in a coach's outfit.

    "Zoey will spend the day with you. I already found a replacement for her class, so she can show you how to manage the team," Gibson said, patting me on my back and walking out.

    The boys looked at me and laughed. "Hey mister, are you the new coach? If you are, those are the wrong clothes for it" one of them said, looking at my suit. I was aware it was, but I wanted to make a good impression on them.

    "If you wanted to impress them, you should have come with regular clothes" Zoey said, walking out of the office with a teasing smile on her face. I chuckled and walked towards her.

    "Any spare clothes you might have lying around?" I asked. She led me to a changing room, where she picked some clothes for me to wear. She handed them to me, and our fingers brushed, making her gasp in suprise, before she walked out.

    I changed, and I was ready to start. They were already heading out, but she was kind enough to wait for me. We walked out together while she kept explaining the way the kids played and the patience we needed to have.

    "They can be cooperative, but as teenage boys, sometimes they can get rowdy and they won't listen to anything you say. I am pretty confident you will be able to handle them, if not then you might want to stay in that pretty office"

    "Yeah, my pretty office with a great view to the city" I realized it came out as bragging, by the way she looked at me, "what?"

    "Yeah, the office at so many feet off the ground," she shuddered, and I laughed.

    "You are scared of heights, aren't you?" she wouldn't even dare look at me. It was funny to see her shuffle uncomfortably. She led me to the field where the kids were already running laps to warm up.

    "This is your team, Coach Bradford. Welcome to Woodland High" she mentioned, handing me a little white box. I opened it, and there was a silver whistle with a red lanyard. It was brand new and shiny.

    "Thank you," I said as I put it on my neck and blew it to gather the team around, "please stay by my side all the time. At least until I get used to them"

    "Of course, I was not going to leave them alone with you. You might traumatize them," she joked. I laughed at her comment and faced the team.

    "Good morning, kids. As you all know, I am the new coach, my name is Sebastian Bradford and I am looking forward to working with you," I said. They all looked at each other with what looked like surprise.

    "Are you The Sebastian Bradford? The famous architect?" one of them asked. I nodded.

    "Yes, the same" they all gasped. Were they.. Starstruck?

    Zoey approached me. "It looks like you will have fans. These kids look up to inspiring people, and they all have read your magazine, by the looks of it. It will be an honor working with you, Coach"

    I blew the whistle, and they all got into formation, "I thought you said they were rowdy"

    "Wait until they get to know you. Don't show them you are scared, or they will eat you alive," she replied, "now go, they're waiting for you"

    I was a little nervous, I must admit. It has been years since I stepped on a field. Memories came to me and a sense of peace hit me. I was going to love working here, and I hoped the kids liked me enough to make me stay.

    "Hey, coach! I want to be an architect, what is the trick to it?" another student asked. I need to take some time and learn their names.

    "Well, stay in school and work hard. It won't come to you easily. But we are not here to talk about my career. The reason I decided to work here is to escape my office. It is a good career, but exhausting. So now, let's finish the warm-up with some jumping jacks"

    They started their exercise and I was pretty happy with their cooperation. I needed to get back on my feet with football. But I had a feeling this would be one of the best decision I have ever made.