A Couple Of Strangers

The Rules

"Alright, time to talk business now.” Glenn said once we finally made it to the living room couch and took a seat. 

“We don’t expect you to do anything other than what is especially asked of you. You’ll get whatever you want if you do as you’re told and obey the rules. If you do everything 100% and are respectful, everything will go smoothly for you.” Mark said sternly. I smiled at what Mark said, he would make a good parent, he did remind me of a strict but caring father. Unfortunately, I had only ever gotten the strict side of mine. Sometimes I wondered if he cared about anything other than forcing me to have a soccer career. 

“I’m serious Taylor.” He spoke again. I guess he thought I was smiling at what he said. 

“Yes Sir, sorry my brain wandered. You kind of reminded me of my dad.” I spoke. A better version at least. Mark didn’t seem like the type of person to stop someone’s dreams though.

“Speaking of that… Where are your parents?” Glenn asked.

“Glenn!” Mark warned seriously. 

“No, it’s okay. They live far away; I got here on my own.” I said keeping it short. Glenn seemed somewhat satisfied with that answer. I guess he expected me to say more than what I had or give a long backstory. It’s not that I didn’t trust them, I just didn’t want them to have pity on me. It was quiet for a moment until Glenn spoke again.

“We need to buy you a uniform for school, and we must update your wardrobe. Fitting in will be easier for you that way, and you won’t get called out or stared at.”

“Do I get to choose what clothes I want to wear?” I asked softly. 

“Of course you can. However, we ultimately know what’s best and at the end of it, what we say counts the most. Which means we’ll get the final say on a lot of things. Although, if you feel uncomfortable in certain things, we’ll see about making a compromise.” Mark said with gentle eyes. I nodded and thanked him for allowing me to at least have some sort of choice. 

“Alright, on to what you’ll be doing around here. I expect you to help me grade papers as well as help Mark grade his. You’re a smart kid, I looked at the papers you graded. I didn’t see a single mistake in them to correct, I was impressed when I saw it, well done. We’ll never ask you to do housework, that’s what we have our maids for. Mark and I will do the cooking; you won’t ever have to worry about that unless we stay over at work, and Mark or myself will likely send you money for food if that ever ends up being the case. If so, ask the driver to take you, I don’t want you venturing off for yourself. The only place we ask you to keep clean is your bedroom. We don’t allow the maids in the bedrooms unless their cleaning the bathroom. If I ever ask you to do something I do expect it to be done immediately and, like Mark said, at 100%. You can venture anywhere you’d like in the house except for Mark and I’s bedrooms. We have important things in there that need not be touched. I think that’s it, anything else Mark?” Glenn asked Mark who seemed to be in thought. 

“You won’t ever pay for anything either, we’ll buy you everything you need. I teach psychology so that’s what I’ll need help grading papers for. I also coach women’s university basketball; I’ll need your opinion on some drills here and there. We’ll go shopping for clothes tomorrow. Understand?” Mark said adding to the list. My jaw dropped hearing that he taught women’s basketball. 

“What?” Mark asked, confused as he looked at my bewildered face. 

“Nothing.” I quickly said turning neutral. I didn’t want him to think that I was using him if I told him about me always wanting to have a career in basketball. I’d do what I needed to on my own. 

“Taylor.” he said in a stern warning voice.

“I love basketball, it’s the whole reason I came here. I had plans on starting my career here in Dallas. I hoped I would get spotted somewhere and be part of a team.” I quickly said and looked down shyly. The only thing I got in response was a laugh from them. I knew it… I knew they would probably make fun of me. My dad was right, no one would ever pay to see me play ball. 

“Kid, why would you be afraid to tell me that? I saw your build and thought you played a sport. I thought it was something like soccer or softball though. I was just thinking that if you did play a sport, you’d be a beast of an athlete. We got a couple of hours before bed. You want to one v one and show me what you’ve got?” he asked with a knowing smile. I nodded excitedly and jumped up off the couch running to where I knew the basketball court was. We played for a bit, and I showed him everything I knew. He of course, being a coach, taught me a few new things on how to get a better shot and get around people easier. 

“Next point wins.” He said coming up to block me. I juked him and got a perfect 3 before running all around the court and bragging about how easy it was. He only smiled at me with his hands on his hips while shaking his head in the middle of the court. 

“Its honestly odd to see someone so in tune with basketball. You remind me of when I was a kid and I played. I was always excited to be on the court and show off. Everything felt smooth and flowed easily from me, the same goes for you. It’s kind of like being a sailor in tune with the sea.” He said once I had finally calmed down from my bragging. I nodded in understanding, taking in the analogy that made perfect sense.

“Come on let’s get you inside. We have to get up early tomorrow to go shopping.” I nodded and we headed inside to see Glenn grading some papers.

“Do you need help?” I asked.

“Nah, get some sleep, we have a busy day ahead of us tomorrow.” Glenn said. I nodded and said goodnight to both men before heading upstairs to my bedroom. I smiled thinking about today, boy had I gotten lucky running into them. I hopped into bed and plugged my phone up before looking through my notifications. I had gotten 87 missed calls from my dad. I almost panicked but realized he had no clue where I was. I got a few worried texts from my friends wondering why I wasn’t in class, but I ignored it. I was unsure how to explain the situation I was in.  I swiped the notifications and texted my mom saying, “I’m Safe” before turning my phone off and placing it on the bedside table. I snuggled under the covers and quickly fell asleep. 
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