She's So Gone

~ Chapter 12 ~

Past

Coach Langdons car is kind of messy. Not in the, fast food wrappers everywhere, messy, but in the, "extra storage space" kind of way. She has files spread across the backseat, a gym bag, a box labed "fox trout" for some reason that I can't imagine, and cds littered in the floorboard and passenger seat.  "Sorry, I keep meaning to find time to clean it, I just get so busy at the beginning of the school year, you know?"

She quickly gather's the CDs and moves them to the back. I give her a small smile as I slide in, "thanks," she then shuts my door and walks around to the driver's side.

"Seatbelt," she instructions as she starts the car. She waits for me to buckle before pulling out. I was well prepared to ride in silence, but I guess she had other plans. "You know, when I was a kid, I'd always wait till last minute to tell my parents about things too. I was always so nervous that they'd get mad at me because they now had to adjust things. It made no sense, it wasn't my fault things had changed, so I shouldn't have been worried. Yet, I would still get really anxious every time I had to tell my parents something that I thought might stress them out or inconvenience them."

I watch her as she continues the story, knowing that the reason she's telling me this, is her way of saying that she understands. It makes me feel better, knowing that I'm not the only one. "I know I made things worse by waiting so long." I admit, talking about it no longer seems scary. She's not gonna get mad, or think anything different of me, because she understands.

She nods, "yeah, it wasn't the smartest plan, and it definitely could have ended badly."

My face scrunches up in confusion, "what do you mean?"  I mean the worst that could have happened was I have to take the bus home.

"There's less buses running at this time of night, and I know that the one that picks up down the street from the school, stops running at 7, and the next bus that picks up, is three miles from the school. Meaning if I hadn't seen you waiting outside, you would have ended up walking three miles, and it's dangerous for someone your age to go out by themselves this time of night." She explains.

"I didn't know about the bus thing," I say quietly, thinking about how I would have just been waiting at the bus stop for a bus that would not be coming until six in the morning.

"So next time that you need a ride home from a game, or practice maybe, feel free to ask me. I'll feel much better knowing that you made it home safely, rather then wondering if you made it home at all." She tells me and I think about how she's a really good coach and teacher.

I nod, not sure if I actually intend on asking her for a ride again. It would be nice, but I don't want to become something she feels obligated to take care of. I like talking to her, and she makes me feel safe, but if I annoy her too much, that might change.

Present

Rylinn and I spent another hour outside before we got cold and decided to go back into the school. I didn't want to leave her, but we had separate classes for the rest of the day, and she said she would be fine, that she'd see me at lunch. However when lunch came along, she wasn't there, and instead I got a text from her saying she went home sick.  I sit down at our table and sigh, I should have just Suggested we leave school grounds, I shouldn't have left her.

"Can I sit with you?" I look over to see Bronwyn holding her trey. Giving her a small smile I nod, and her smile brightens. "Thanks, since Ivy's a grade below us, we have Separate lunches and she's pretty much my only friend now, so…. Anyways how's your day been?"

I could tell her about how I may fail the eleventh grade, or that my best friend has been Falling apart and I was too caught up in myself to see it. But instead, I just smile and say, "it's been okay."