Helpless (Book 1)

Chapter Seven

"ALRIGHT, CUPCAKES!" THE coach bellows as he paces back and forth in front of us. He's a rather...large man in his mid-forties with dark brunette brown hair swept to the side and piercing emerald eyes and who has a rather...large protruding stomach eyes us wearily. We're all lined up on the benches in the gymnasium. I'm squished between Laurens and Eliza. I'm hunched over a little as I rest my forearms on my thighs, interlacing my fingers together.

 "There's a new kid on the field today!" the coach booms. I swallow as he mentions me, keeping my eyes trained on him. "I want you to treat him with respect just like the rest of you treat each other with respect. We're all humans, we don't need to be treated like animals just because someone's not up your ally. Got it?" 

 "Yes, sir!" the students, except me, responds. I'm surprised by the fact that they actually salute him. 

 "Hamilton!" the coach chirps, holding out a clipboard and yanking a pen from the top of the clipboard and click it open as he jots something down on the paper. "Come on up, kid!" 

 I freeze when I hear my last name, my eyes widening as I bite my lip. I clench the edges of the benches tightly, so tight my knuckles turn white. I glance over at Laurens, who smiles softly as he nods encouragingly. I turn back to the coach just in time for his eyes to lock on mine when he looks up from the clipboard. Digging my teeth into my bottom lip, I swallow the lump down my throat and exhale a shaky breath before finally gathering the courage and push myself up off the bench. I can feel all the student's eyes trained on me with curiosity as I keep my head down, my back facing them, and made my way toward the coach. I stand side-by-side next to the coach, my head still down and I try not to grimace as he claps a hand on my shoulder, nearly causing me to tumble over slightly. 

 "Kids? This is your new classmate, Alexander," the coach says. I still don't look up. "I want you to treat him with the same respect you treat each other, got it? So, Hamilton." I can feel his eyes burn into me as he turns to face me. "We go by last name basis here. So, I'll just call you Hamilton is that alright?" 

 I nod, my teeth digging into my lower lip harder. "Mhm. Yes, sir." 

 I can feel him smirking as he pats my shoulder. 

"Good. My name is Coach Adams. I will be your coach for the rest of the semester. Why don't you introduce yourself to the rest, hm?" 

 I clear my throat, finally looking up at the students before me who are all gawking at me with wide-eyes. I find Laurens's piercing sky-blue ones among the crowd. He smiles a little, his arms folded over his chest as he nods his head. 

 "Um...okay," I say, not taking my eyes off of Laurens's. It almost feels like we're having a staring contest. I swallow again before clearing my throat, licking my dry, chapped lips. "Um...as Coach said, my name is Alexander Hamilton. Um...but you all can call me Alex if you wish. Uh...I come from Nevis and St. Croix in the British West Indies in the Caribbean, which by the way, isn't as pretty as you think it is. Um...I can speak two languages fluently: English, of course, and French. Um...I don't like to talk about my past that much but I can tell you that I didn't have a pretty childhood growing up. Um...let's see...I love to write and well...that's er...pretty much it." 

 "Alright," Coach says, turning to face the students. Laurens's nods proudly at me. I feel myself smiling softly up at him. "Any questions for Mr. Hamilton?" 

 A student raises her hand. 

 "Yes," Coach says, arching an eyebrow. 

 "Did you have any siblings?" the girl who had her hand up wonders. I freeze, my shoulders tense up to my ears, and for a moment all I see is James underneath the tree. I blink my eyes, letting out a quavering breath before clearing my throat again. I nod.