Page 32 of Coach Me
My head tilts back with a laugh when he starts to fake victory cheers from a crowd, but it’s all quickly dashed when the office door swings open.
“What’s going on out here?” Shannon snaps, but when she sees Miles, she opts for a softer, still annoyed tone. “Oh, hi, Miles.”
“Hi, Shann-onnn.” Miles’s odd emphasis paired with his mocking tone has me fighting a laugh.
I’ve heard enough about Shannon to know that Beck’s choice of word is probably accurate but since I’ve never been one to cuss, Miles’s grump comment works. The bright side is I don’t think my job will involve her too much. Turning a day at the field where we avoid Shannon entirely might even be a game we start playing.
Stepping behind Miles, I place my hands on his shoulders to remind him I’m here with him now. “Hi, I’m Lucie. We’re here to get some paperwork Dex said you would have.”
Shannon nods with a tight smirk. “Yes, Dex said he hired someone. You’re one of Will’s sisters, right?”
“Yep, the youngest.”
“That part is obvious, dear.”
Oof, okay.Callie said her strategy with Shannon was just to smile through it. Seeing the sour look on Shannon’s face now, I get it. I can see genuine happy smiles being the most annoying thing to this grumpy woman.
“If we could get the papers, we’ll be out of your hair.”
Shannon hums. “Right, let me go get them. Olsson’s on an important phone call, and I don’t want any unprofessional noises interrupting him.”
My only response is to make my smile bigger. When herheels click and she disappears around the wall of her office, Miles turns his head back to me.
“What’d I tell ya, Lucie? She’s grumpy.”
I nearly choke on my laugh as I bring my finger up to tell Miles to be quiet. “That was a good one, but what did I tell you? It doesn’t change our happiness unless we allow it.”
Miles shrugs his shoulders, and after a moment Shannon comes back into the hall with a manilla envelope in hand. “Here you go.”
“Thank you.” Taking the envelope, I have a strange feeling as if one of my students had just handed me their homework, but they know something’s wrong and they want to see if they can get away with it.
Pulling up the tab, I pull out the papers as Shannon huffs, “It’s all in there.”
Having a grumpy attitude isn’t my style usually, even if that’s sometimes the only way to combat it, but I’ll be working a lot with Shannon. So, like Callie, I’ll smile through it.
“Oh, I’m sure it is. I’m quite the planner, though. Blame it on the teacher's heart, but I just want to make sure the papers Dex mentioned are all in here. I’d hate to have to come bother you again.”
Shannon lets out another sigh as she taps her heel.
Okay, what all did Dex say? Game schedule? Check. Plane itinerary? Check. Emergency contacts? Check. There are a few extras: a map with red marks I can only assume mean “don’t go there,” a roster of the guys, and, for some reason, a copy of Callie’s schedule. I guess, just in case, since she’s the other person here that Miles is the most comfortable with, but I’m missing Dex’s schedule.
“Um, it looks like I need a copy of Dex’s schedule, and we’re good to go.”
“What do you need his schedule for?”
Happy thoughts, Luce, happy smiles.
“Oh, Dex mentioned I would have it. Also, he mentioned Miles could go pretty much anywhere in the stadium, but I noticed a bunch of red marks on this map, so I was curious?—”
“Not everywhere. Some areas need to remain kid free, and as far as Dex’s schedule goes, it wasn’t on the list of things he requested. If you need anything, I’m sure Callie can handle it.”
Miles tilts his head back to me.
“Callie does know a lot. Probably even more than some other people.” Miles’s eyes look up to the sky as if to really set in his sarcasm. Yep, the kid definitely has been spending a lot of time with Callie, that’s for sure.
I force down my laugh, because I know this is one of the prime examples of not needing to encourage the snarky attitude… even if he does have a point.
Shannon scoffs. “If that’s all, I think we’re set here.”
