Page 81 of It’s All in How You Fall
“That serve!” He greets me with a hand up for a high five. “So awesome!”
“Good thing we worked on it all week, huh?” I have to jump to slap his hand. God, I want to kiss him right now, but I don’t, because without context that would lead to a lot of sudden questions and not, you know, ones about me surviving my first-ever match.
Alex grins. “It’s rule number one or you’re never going to win a point.”
“Well, she could break for a point, right?” Nat asks, always the devil’s advocate.
“Yes. But no matter how many games you break, you can’t win without holding serve at least once,” Mr. Zavala answers, trying to be diplomatic. Nat’s clearly doing the math when Alex’s dad turns to me. “Great job, Caro.”
“Seriously fabulous, Caro.” Olga envelops me in a hug, strong and solid as Dad joins in with a pat on my head.
“See, I told you another sport would be good for you. Look at you! What gymnast? I see a tennis player.”
Oh, Dad. My eyes prickle, hot. I can’t cry. Not here. Not now.
“Really, you were great, Caroline.” Alex lands one big paw on my arm. “And I’m not the only one who thinks so.” Alex uses that wingspan of his and plops his other hand on the semi-familiar man I noticed. “Caro, you know Coach Brandt, right?”
Coach Brandt. I blink at him. “I’ll be your fourth-hour chemistry teacher this year,” he says. “And if you want, tennis coach. Camp starts Monday. I hope you’ll come.”
Oh my God. My first-ever tennis match was watched by not only my new boyfriend/coach, judgmental older brother, well-meaning dad, former coach/surrogate mother, and boyfriend’s dad, but also the coach I wasn’t planning on meeting until next week if I got up enough courage to attempt tryouts/training camp.
Cool. Cool. Cool.
I bobble my racket to get a hand out. “Hi, nice to meet you.”
“Hey, I have to go get ready,” Alex says. “You two talk, though. See you on court one?”
“I’ll be there with bells.”
“And lunch,” Dad adds, going in for a hug before angling away with Nat, Olga, and Mr. Zavala. “We’ll grab you something Caroline-approved from the crepe tent. Okay?”
They leave and I feel like I’ve been set up, though Coach Brandt smiles in that genuine way only teachers seem to be able to muster at awkward moments. “So, Alex tells me you were a really good gymnast? And need a change?”
I nod and force down a huge gulp of water, thinking about how best to talk about the past without spewing it out all over this man. “I got hurt and had to quit. Alex spent the past month helping me try to find something new—gymnastics was my life.”
“Impossible to replace?” I nod as he sort of turns and we start walking toward the exit together. “I know that feeling. I was a football player. One too many concussions and it was over for me and contact sports. My older sister put a tennis racket in my hand, and that was that.”
Huh. “How old were you?”
“Sixteen and stupid. Well, stupider than a kid like Alex.”
“So like Nat, then?” I joke.
“Eh, a foot taller, but the same sort of package.” He shrugs. “Oh, and because I know you might be thinking of this—Alex didn’t tell me to come scout you. Nat either, though he was also in fourth-hour chem last year. I hit up this event every year—Oscar, uh, Mr. Zavala, spots me his entry. I play in the geezer’s bracket. My match is no earlier than four.”
“Oh. Good luck.”
He pauses at another court, where two girls are warming up. “One of my varsity girls is over here. Want to watch for a few minutes before Alex starts?”
I can only see the top of the girl’s head—dyed a turquoise Peregrine would appreciate. And I do want to watch. But. “I should probably clean myself up,” I say. I’m pretty rough and would prefer not to look like a drowned rat for the length of Alex’s match… but really I just want to hang with my family and come down from this high. “Thanks for the invite, though.”
“Not a problem. Maybe tomorrow?”
“You bet.” Definitely.
I take another sip of water and Coach Brandt makes his pitch. “Anyway, please consider coming to the school on Monday. Camp starts promptly at seven. Break at ten thirty with another session going from two to five. I have a good group of girls, but we can always use more.”
I nod. “Cool.”
