The Protection

Fifteen

During practice I tried to focus and "leave it all on the court" like Coach Lawless had taught us, but I couldn't stop replaying that conversation. "I'm a Protector," Brown Eyes kept repeating, his gorgeous, flawless face taking over my vision. It wasn't until I had hit the eighth ball out of bounds that coach ripped her underwear out of her sweatpants and screamed for a water break. I tried to hide my smirk at her annoyance, and instead focused on Beth who was sauntering over to me.

"What's up with you today?" she asked after taking a long pull from her water bottle. I drank from my own bottle, buying some time. I had never been anything but honest with Beth, but for some reason I felt like I couldn't tell her the truth. It was like I was tattling on Brown Eyes, and I knew there would be major repercussions for telling a secret like that - if it did turn out he was telling me the truth.

The words from the CNN article rang in my head: Protectors don't exist outside of the organization. We may never even come into contact with any of those who keep us safe...I shivered at the thought of what the top secret government organization, whose privacy meant everything, would do to plain 'ole me if I exposed one of their own. I was sure it wouldn't be pretty.

"Nothing is up. Professor Slagle just got onto me after class, and I feel weird about it," I said, shrugging. It was also true.

"That old pervy bag of dicks?" Beth said. She clapped me on the back, and I sprayed water all over the court, barely missing Kelly's pristine white tennis shoes. She glared at me and I glared back. Snitch. "You'll be fine," Beth said as she grabbed my hand, drawing my attention back to her and her constantly mischievous sapphire eyes. "I will always have your back." She promised rubbing the inside of my arm up and down like I was her favorite prized possession. I smiled but shoved her sideways playfully, trying to block out the flash of black on the second level, by the coaches' offices. The "Protector".