Page 105 of Every Beat of My Heart

“Me too.”

One by one all the kids agreed to talk to the administration about their experiences.

“I can sit with you during the meeting. But you’ll need your parents’ permission.” I handed out the permission slip.

Then I stood in front of them again. “We can’t always control what’s going on in the world around us. But we can control our actions and reactions.”

Martin approached. “Thanks for coming to talk to us today. I have a feeling we aren’t going to get a lot accomplished this practice.”

“Thanks for letting me speak with them.” Not everyone would have. Most people tried to stay as far away from a scandal as they could get.

“Kids, why don’t you put the permission slip in your backpacks, take a lap, and stretch. We’ll play a pickup game today.”

The kids cheered half-heartedly as they got up to take a lap. Bryce hung back.

“Is everything okay, Bryce?” Martin asked.

His face scrunched. “I feel bad about what happened with Coach.”

“It’s not your fault,” I said, quick to alleviate his guilt. He was a child after all.

His forehead wrinkled. “I complained to my dad that Coach took me out.”

“There’s nothing wrong with being upset when something like that happens.”

“But I knew my dad would do something. I just thought he’d talk to him. I didn’t think he’d go to the athletic director or the principal. I didn’t want Coach to lose his job.”

“This isn’t your fault,” I said firmly. The blame rested firmly in his father’s hands if he was the one who set everything into motion.

“I was with Dad when he followed Coach to your house.”

I sucked in a breath. We assumed it was him, but we hadn’t had any confirmation until now.

“This isn’t your fault. I’m sorry you were involved in it.”

“Join your team,” Martin said.

When Bryce jogged away, I said, “I can’t believe his dad took him with him to film us. It was wrong, and he brought his kid along for the ride.”

“It’s fucked up,” Martin said softly. “But we suspected him all along.”

“It’s still shocking to hear he did it with his kid in the car. It already felt like an invasion of privacy, but—”

“Knowing his kid was there is worse.”

“It sure is. Thanks for letting me talk to them. I’m not sure all the parents will allow them to do it, but hopefully we get a few. I just couldn’t stand by and do nothing.”

Martin went to his bag on the sidelines and pulled out a piece of paper with signatures. “I talked to the other teachers. We started a petition to reinstate Jameson as a sub. He’s the best one we had. Everyone loves him.”

“I can’t believe you did that. It’s so incredibly thoughtful.”

“You know how short we are on subs. If we don’t have one, we all pitch in to help, and I can’t do one more cooking class.” Martin shuddered. “Those kids think eggshells go in the pancakes.”

I laughed, feeling a little lighter than before. “It’s your job to teach them to remove the shell.”

Martin shook his head. “I just don’t have it in me. We need more subs like Jameson, not fewer. The decision to ban him was shortsighted and just plain wrong.”

I touched his arm. “Thank you for going to bat for Jameson. I’m sure he’ll appreciate it.”

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