Not the Golden Girl

Chapter Two: Coach

Hearing the warning bell ring, our group made its way inside, excited chattering filling the halls. As much as I loved the summer, I enjoyed learning and didn't mind school too much as long as I was interested in the classes. This year, my schedule was almost completely left to me, and I couldn't be more pleased. I started my day off in Work Shop, a newer class where the students worked with woods, metals, and other materials. I'd always loved building, and I was in the class with Dean and Mac. Waving our goodbyes to the rest of the group, the three of us made our way to class. We picked a work table with four stations. I figured we'd have the fourth spot as extra space, but was shocked when the boy from earlier came up to Dean and Mac, giving them bro hugs, and settling across from me. He reached out a hand, "Hi, I'm Reed Edwards, nice to meet you...?"
I reached my hand out to his and smiled at him, "Jameson McKiney, but please, call me James."
He shook his head with a smile, "You don't really look like a James."
I shrugged, "My mom really thought I was going to be a boy. Spoiler alert: she was wrong."
He chuckled. I could already see him fitting in with our group, his attitude easy going.
"So, how do you three know each other?"
Dean answered, "We met during preseason, Reed's our new wide receiver, and his brother's the new assistant football coach."
"Gym teacher too, right Reed?" asked Mac.
"Yup, it's always interesting having my brother as a teacher, hopefully he's an easy grader this time around."
The boys laughed, but I was too lost in thought. The man I swooned over must be his older brother and the new teacher. Typical me to like an unavailable guy, I thought with a small smile to myself.
Mac looked at me with a sneaky smirk, "I'm pretty sure our girl James here was hoping your brother was a fellow student."
Reed looked at me questioningly as I rolled my eyes, "You and your brother are both good looking, I'm sure that comes as no surprise."
He chuckled, "Yeah, we've moved around a bit and every school I go to there are girls who would more than happy to be the teachers pet."
I smirked, "I'd bet. How about you? Leave a long line of sad teenage girls behind you?"
He shook his head with a shy smile, "Not quite, I didn't really grow out of being a lanky string bean until recently."
I could already tell he and Char would hit it off. He's not cocky or arrogant, but was funny and full of smiles.
Dean leaned down to whisper in my ear, "I can already see those wheels of your turning. You thinking what I'm thinking?"
I gave him a mischievous grin before whispering back, "That him and Charlotte would be perfect for each other?"
He nodded with a rueful smile. I was glad he agreed. Though I had a weirdly strong feeling that Reed was a good guy, and exactly the kind of person that Char deserved, Dean had known him for a bit longer.
I turned my attention back to Reed, "Well, if you're looking for some new friends, please come sit with us at lunch. I'm sure you'll love my friend Charlotte."
Before he could respond, Mac cut in, "She'd invite anyone new to school to sit with us, because well," he cupped his hand over his mouth like he was telling a secret, "she's secretly really nice. But I think she actually likes you."
I sent him a playful glare while the boys laughed, just as Mr. Reece, our teacher, walked in and called for attention. The class went over the syllabus, what was expected of the students, then safety guidelines. We didn't get to do any work with materials today which was a bummer, but I could already tell I would love the class for both the work and the people.
As the bell rang, we compared schedules with Reed and found we each had a couple classes with him, to his clear relief. He and I had AP European History next together, we all had lunch and gym together, and Reed had Sports Medicine with me last. We separated from the boys and as we made our way to class, Charlotte bounded over to us. Immediately, I could tell Reed liked what he saw, and it was clearly mutual.
I turned to Reed, "Allow me to introduce you to my best friend, Charlotte. Char, this is Reed, he and his brother are new here."
"Hi!! I'm Charlotte, it's nice to meet you!" Charlotte practically vibrated as she reached out a hand to shake.
Reed took her hand in his, a red tint highlighting his sharp cheekbones.
"Nice to meet you too. Want to compare schedules?"
Charlotte lit up like a Christmas tree, and while one part of me thought it was cute, another part couldn't believe this was an interaction between two near adults, not middle schoolers. As they compared, they both progressively became more happy as they realized they had two classes and lunch together. Already, I could tell that they clicked in a way I hadn't seen Char click with anyone. She got along with the boys, and obviously she and I had an incredible dynamic, but these two seemed like they were cut from the same cloth, and what difference they did have filled in the blanks for each other. Of course, they had only just met, so maybe I was getting ahead of myself. But between a decade of knowing Char, an hour of knowing Reed, and a life time of reading the people around me, it felt special. I smiled secretly to myself as I walked ahead of them to the classroom, sitting at the end of a row of desks so they had to sit next to each other. They hardly seemed to notice as Char sat next to me with Reed next to her, talking about her dance and his football. Man, I hope this class has group projects instead of partner activities.