Page 55 of Teaching the Kot'oll Coach

As soon as Mother takes her seat, I grab my plate and take the thigh.

The skin of the amoda is crispy and salty from the sauce, but it is the perfect kind of saltiness. The flesh almost explodes in my mouth with how good it is. I try to take my time and enjoy it, but it is tempting to munch down harder.

Food is the best in my parent’s place.

Everyone’s busy with the first round of food. There is still almost half of the amoda left on the tray for a second round. Usually, whoever finishes their plate first will get more. I want more, but I want to take my time to enjoy this too.

Father swallows his food and says, “Telke, are you still teaching silly little—“ He winces. “Kids?”

My heart skips a beat when everyone’s eyes are on me. I know this is going to happen... which is why... I’m never big on being here if I could choose.

I put up a smile. “Yeah, those kids are pretty crazy at times.”

Maybe Mother stepped on Father’s foot. Who knows?

Father has never liked floatball.

Well... To be accurate, he has never liked that I like floatball.

Mother said Father is just being practical and wants to make sure I’d be able to support myself. I’m not sure whether that’s what’s in Father’s mind, or that’s just what Mother thinks.

Anyway... I don’t dream of being a master floatball player anymore. Even though it hurts to admit it. I don’t have what it takes to represent the planet.

Neither Father nor Mother are good at sports, so I guess I can blame it on them. But... It’s what it is. Most beings practicing floatball can’t represent the planet anyway. I’m not alone.

If I can, I don’t talk about my work. Somehow, it always feels like everyone’s doing better than me, even Kazin.

Kazin stretches his arms. “Kids are kids anyway. At least you can make them perform kind of well.”

I sneer at him. “We won the floatball tournament for four years in a row up till now.”

Father muses, seemingly finally finding something he doesn’t completely despise.

Mother says, “It’s amazing. I bet the students can use their skills and hard work on other aspects too.”

There’s a twitch in my stomach. Practically, I know it is almost impossible to be training someone who can represent the planet in my team, but... I don’t like how Mother doesn’t seem to think one of the students can do well in floatball and at least do better than me.

But Mother isn’t wrong, working hard and grinding it out can be used in studies and a lot of other things too, which... will be what most of the players end up with.

Just like me... Grinding through some of the day-to-day I don’t like.

I take another bite at the flesh. Maybe I should focus on what’s good right in front of me. Nice food will make the trip worthwhile.

Father moves on to talk to Efaze about the grocery store, which I’m not interested in at all. But I sure am happy that I don’t have to say anything and can focus on food.

I pour the perfect spicy cheese on the vegetables and munch them down. The thick cheese fills my mouth, reminding me of all the good times with Mother.

I wish I could achieve more to make her proud. She said she is happy that I can still work with beings who love floatball, but somehow... I doubt that’s what she thinks deep down.

But there’s nothing I can do about that. For now, being a coach is the best thing I’ve done for myself.

I take a big forkful of spaghetti to my plate. I munch on the food, filling my stomach with the thick meat sauce. Mother added beans too, making the spaghetti even juicier.

Sometimes, it is good to just focus on food and pretend nothing else matters.

When I was a kid, we didn’t even use utensils. It would be a match of how quickly we could eat with all four hands.

At least it would be fair when all of us have four hands.

---