Those Eyes

Annual exchange tournament

KAT

I throw my weekend bag into the jeep and check one last time whether I have closed everything properly. Today we leave with the Football team and the cheerleading squad for the annual exchange tournament. Every year there is an exchange between 5 different high schools, and it is hosted by one of the schools. The Cheerleaders squads compete with each other and so do the Football teams. During these week-long competitions, several scouts from nearby universities come to watch the games. This year the school in Tampa Florida is the host, so both teams are going to a hotel in Tampa for a week. Because we also need transport to and from the events, we go by bus. It is a journey of almost 10 hours to Tampa, so we leave by bus at 5 am. We leave a day earlier so that we can travel at ease and install ourselves in our temporary accommodation. The school has rented a local hotel for us, so luckily, we don't have to camp in a tent this year.

When I drive into the school parking lot, they are already busy loading all the luggage into the two coaches that are already waiting. We have made clear agreements about the distribution of the rooms in the hotels, boys and girls sleep in separate rooms. During the journey there and back, couples can sit together on the bus if they wish. Once everyone has found a spot on the bus, we leave. Because the drivers must adhere to the driving times and are allowed to drive for a maximum of 4.5 hours, we will have to make at least two stops along the way. 4.5 hours on a bus with an overdose of testosterone and highly flammable oestrogen can be a very long time...

Luckily, most of them went to a birthday party last night for one of the cheerleaders and are trying to sleep off their hangover. The rest are listening to music on their headphones or on their phones. It is wonderfully quiet. Jason and I sit as chaperones in one coach and Leah and the school doctor accompany the other.

We make the first stop around 9 am, half of the students don't even get out of the coach and continue to sleep. The second stop is around lunchtime, and we make the stop at a food court. By now they are all awake and hungry, so like a tornado the group heads towards the fast-food restaurants.

"What are you hungry for Jason?"

"I'm craving a burger and fries, should we go to Wendy's?"

"Seems like an excellent plan, let's ask if John and Leah would like to join us."

John and Leah are already walking towards us.

"We wanted to go to Wendy's for something to eat, would you like to join us?"

"As far as I'm concerned, is that okay with you too Leah?"

"Yes, I would like a burger too."

During lunch we review the rules regarding the distribution of rooms in the hotel. Last year, a couple had secretly managed to share a room together and one of the players was even joined by one of the cheerleaders from another school. It is our responsibility that we return with the same number as we left so we must ensure that no new life is created during our watch.

The hotel consists of two buildings and to try to make things a little easier for us, we will house the boys in one building and the girls in the other building. Leah and I will supervise the girls and John and Jason will supervise the boys. That does mean that Leah and I will share a room, I'm curious to see how that goes.

While we are eating, one of the female students comes up to us with her eyes clearly red from crying. She looks at Leah and then at me and then asks me if I might have some time for her. I get up and follow her to a quieter part of the restaurant. She tells me that she is overdue on her period and that when she told her boyfriend he said it was her problem not his. Tears well up in her eyes again as she tells it. I decide to take her to the toilets so she can freshen up a bit, I see that Leah is watching us as we walk to the toilets. In the toilets she lets her tears flow again and I let her for a moment.