Page 11 of Teaching the Kot'oll Coach

He gives a nervous chuckle. He takes a cup and takes a sip. “It’s okay if you don’t want it.”

I wonder. There has to be someone else in the staff room. If he is here, he will set out to look for me and give me the coffee. Maybe I’m acting a bit too cautious, but... I’m really not sure whether...

Telke is a male, but it doesn’t mean he is going to be like...

I shake my head, trying to clear my mind. “Are you sure you want to give it to me?”

He nods at once with a wide grin. “I do. It has to be tough to start working here. It took me a while to get used to the schedule too.”

“Thank you.” I take the other cup and sniff at it. It smells amazing. I take a sip, enjoying the thick coffee. “This is great.”

“Have you been to this cafe before?”

I shake my head. I’m a bit too new to the city and haven’t been wanting to go places outside of my place.

He says, “You really should go there. It is a great cafe that’s also run by a human female.”

I smile. “No wonder the coffee is great. It feels like humans are the only ones who are crazy for it, not to say other species won’t enjoy a nice cup of coffee.”

He chuckles and takes another sip of his coffee. “I know, right? I like coffee too. It is special.”

I let out a soft breath. “Talking to kids all day is tiring.” I glance at the door, no one’s there. It is still lesson time, so no kid should be here. “It feels like I’ve talked a whole month’s quota already even though the month has just started.”

He muses, “It’s never easy, but at least it is enjoyable most of the time.”

I nod. I’ve never been a teacher or done something similar, but I have to make this work. I’m never going back, not to mention I can’t even go back. “I’ll get better at it.”

“Just like floatball.” He winks and he makes my heartbeat race.

I don’t know a thing about floatball other than glancing at it from time to time on television when it shows up. “Maybe.” I guess all sports training is pretty similar.

He lifts his hand and moves toward my shoulder, but right when he touches me, he halts. “Oh, right. I mean... I’m sure you’re going to manage it perfectly fine.” He gives a thumbs-up instead.

Maybe he wanted to pat my shoulder, but figured maybe I wouldn’t want it.

I glance at his big hand. As long as he remembers that he is a strong male, I’d probably be fine. But it is good regardless.

“Thank you. I think the kids are liking the sessions.”

“I’m sure they do.” He grins and... He seems to be a ball of energy the whole time. And... I wonder how someone can be this energetic this deep into the day.

I peek at the cup. Is it the coffee?

I take another sip. “Hopefully, this coffee will work. I still have lessons to go.”

“I hope so. Maybe you should take a rest before your lesson starts.”

He isn’t wrong.

I sit back and take a rest. It has been a great day, a bit too eventful to my liking, but days like this are going to be my life now, at least for the foreseeable future, unless I get myself fired for some reason. I need the money to live in the city.

Fuck... My heartbeat is racing again, and it isn’t for good reason.

Clenching and releasing my fists, I fight to calm myself. If anything, talking in front of kids is already nerve-wracking for me, I don’t need extra stress.

I chant to myself that I’m going to be fine.

Maybe I have to believe in that before everything’s really going to be fine.

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