Page 23 of Teaching the Kot'oll Coach

The nurse connects the cables and the machine beeps. Slowly, the two blocks of metal grow hotter and hotter. The heat seeps through my body, going through my bloodstream until I’m on fire, probably.

I gasp when it hurts. I’m not sure whether it is healing me or hurting me.

I shiver when my limbs tense up. I hate this thing... Getting injured sucks.

If only Winnie stayed and I could hold her hand. But I can’t hold her when the machine is going...

And there are still days to go before I’ll be out of this jail...

Chapter 13

Winnie

I check my watch again before I go into the staff room. Today should be the day Telke can get out of the hospital and be back at school, but is he feeling well enough?

I’ve been visiting him after work every day since he ended up there. He kept saying he is fine.

Maybe he is fine, but it feels like he is trying to look strong in front of me.

I want to hug him and tell him everything’s fine, but who am I to do that?

Are we that close to each other?

I go to my seat, finding his seat empty. His backpack isn’t there yet. Maybe he isn’t here. Or...

Is he in the sports field with the kids?

He doesn’t like to work that much, right?

I put both cups of coffee on the table, letting out a breath.

Maybe he...

“Good morning, Winnie.”

I jump when he scares me.

He chuckles. “Do you miss me?”

“Geez... do you want to murder me with a heart attack?” I roll my eyes, but I...

If there was no one around, I’d hug him and tell him how much I miss him, but I probably shouldn’t.

He looks in the direction of the door before he wraps an arm around me and pulls me to his side. “A small side hug?”

I roll my eyes, but I hug him back on the side. “Yeah, sure. Are you really fine?”

He nods. “I’ve been fine after the first round of healing ray, the doctors are just a bit too cautious.”

“Are you sure about that? How many rounds have you gone through as a whole?”

“Um... Almost daily. I think they are secretly trying to roast me from the inside.”

I laugh at that. “So... Do kot’olls taste good?”

“I’ve never eaten myself before, so...” He leans close and winks. “I suppose you can have a dose of kot’oll if you want.”

A surge of heat spikes in me. What did I say...? And... What’s in his mind?

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