Page 62 of Rock Bottom Girl
“Tell me what?”
I could hear the dread in her voice.
“Their old head coach died of a heart attack halfway through the season last year.”
She was quiet for a moment. “Eesh. I had no idea.”
“He died during a game,” I added.
“That’s horrible!”
“An away game. They watched him turn blue and quit breathing on the sidelines and then had to ride home with just the bus driver because their assistant coach went to the hospital with the head coach.”
“Are you fucking kidding me?”
“And if that wasn’t traumatizing enough, one of the team moms took over coaching for the rest of the season, and she went all Hitler on the team. Dividing them right down the middle into favorites and undesirables.”
“That’s beyond horrible,” she said. “But it’s also making me feel a little better. I thought I was the problem.”
“Mars, believe me, you ain’t even half that team’s problem.”
She blew out a breath.
“So how do I undo an entire season of disaster that happened before I got here?”
“One practice, one game at a time,” I suggested.
Marley sighed. “Thanks for getting me up to speed. I can’t believe no one mentioned this before. This is Culpepper. There are no secrets.”
“Well, now you know. Besides, that was last school year. We have the attention span of mosquitos.”
“Everyone still remembers our Homecoming,” she pointed out.
“Well, that was worth remembering.”
She groaned. I found it oddly endearing that the event that she felt some level of guilt over was the event that made her a town hero.
She yawned into the phone. “Look, the Airbnb guy just got out of the bathroom. I’m going to take a shower.”
“Airbnb guy?” I asked, intrigued.
“It’s a long story. Goodnight, Jake.”
“Night, Mars. Sweet dreams.”
27
Marley
Iwas standing there in front of my entire senior class wondering how in the hell I’d left home without pants while trying to cover my nether regions with my biology binder when I was rescued by a distant ringing.
“’Lo?” I breathed into my phone.
“Up and at ’em, girlfriend.”
“Jake?” I sat up in bed feeling a combination of relief at knowing I had not just been naked in front of half of Culpepper and annoyance at his chipper tone.
“That’s me, baby. Come on. Your life lessons start right now. Get dressed. Running clothes. Meet me outside.”
