Frenemies

11

I have been trying to rack my brain around the fact that Grayson treated me so horrible last weekend. I spent the majority of the weekend trying to think of anything but him.

But my thoughts always come back to him. Why was he so dismissive and so hostile with me?

"Do I have to go on the field trip?", a voice says from coach's office, the room I am headed to. With Volleyball season in full sprint, coach had asked me to visit her for a meeting. I'm not sure what though but I had still came down here, a hallway pass in my hand. The voice becomes closer as I near the door.

"Four days?", the voice I now recognize as Grayson's asks, loud and unbelievable. I knock on the door to announce my presence and coach turns to me, her attention shifting away from an annoyed Grayson.

"Jules, hi", she greets me and I walk into the room further. I stand beside Grayson and ask,"What's going on?"

My coach stands up, moving her hair out of her eye and says,"Next week we have Volleyball camp."

Right, the camp that we had signed up for when the season started. It was where both of our teams went to a place where we would both train and compete with the other schools in the district. This wasn't a thing for our school until this year though; it's fairly new.

I nod and am about to say something when Grayson speaks up,"Is this mandatory?"

Coach gives him a look of annoyance of her own,"It is optional." Grayson nods solemnly and turns around on his heels and starts walking toward the exit of the room. Mrs. Kelly, my coach, stops him though and he turns back to her, his arms crossed over his chest. "But Grayson, you are the captain. You cannot abandon your team for four full days and one extra night."

"Coach", he says and then glances at me for a split second. I'm sure that he can't read anything on my face as it's been nuetral the whole time. He steps closer to her and says,"I can't abandon my siblings for that many days."

Mrs. Kelly looks at Grayson, who is trying to plead his case his eyes soft. She glances at me and then turns back at the guy beside me,"You made a commitment to your team. We have known about this trip since the beginning of school. I'm sorry, but I can't do anything about that."

"I can't miss this one trip?", he asks his voice desperate. Mrs. Kelly shakes her head and then says,"Not unless you want to get your spot revoked."

I feel Grayson stiffen beside me,"As captain?"

"As a member of the team", she says. The room is silent for a long moment. I stay rooted in my spot, afraid to move. The clock overhead the table ticks, second by second. And then there is a long intake of breath and when I turn to Grayson, I find that his hands are fisted at his sides. Despite his angry demeanor when he speaks, he is eerily calm.

"Where is my coach?", the emphacism of the word my doesn't go unnoticed, by me or by Mrs. Kelly. She takes a deep breath in and draws it out before looking at Grayson. "Your coach is out for the remaining of this week as well as next week, which is why I need for you to be here. It is crucial that you are here."

Grayson's fists undo but I can feel the intensity his body carries as he bites out,"I'll be there."

"Good, great", Mrs. Kelly says way too enthusiastic for someone who just gave an ultimatum. I try not to narrow my eyes at her. Grayson leaves the room and I say,"That was harsh."

"Jules, if you don't have anything nice to say, you can leave", she sits back down on her chair,"I have enough on my plate with Mr. Baler gone anyway."

I don't leave though, I make a point to defend a guy who had treated me horrible just the weekend before. "I'm not sure what problems Grayson has at home, but it seems you do."