Inevitably Yours

QUINN

“Welcome to our new faces, and welcome back all our veteran faces,” Mr. Ganbar smiled. It was the first meeting of the year for the stat girls. There were five new girls along with Tay, Becca, and me; no one else returned this year. The three of us sat behind all the new girls, already knowing what was coming in the next couple of weeks.

“Before we start, any advice for our newbies?” Mr. Ganbar asked.

“Watch the board,” Tay smiled.

“Don’t lose your clipboard,” Becca said.

“And don’t date the wrestlers,” I finished. Mr. Ganbar laughed.

“All sage words of advice, so let’s begin.”

–

“Quinn, a word?” Mr. Ganbar asked as we all packed up after our fourth training meeting.

“Sure,” I said. I stayed at my desk as the room emptied. We were closing in on our first tournament of the year, and Tay’s advice of ‘watch the board’ kept bouncing in my head as I remembered last year. When everyone was gone, I asked, “So what’s up?”

“I think it’s time I start letting the students run this group on their own,” he smiled, strolling over to his desk. He pulled out his lunch bag and started emptying the contents.

“How?” I questioned.

“I want you to be in charge of the girls. I can see it in your eyes as we go through training. There are things you are noting to tell the new girls at their first real match. Plus, you are the best at this out of the group,” he reasoned.

“And what does being in charge entail?” I asked.

“You’ll be responsible for the stat girls. You tell the coach who is going, you make sure they have score sheets and books, you make sure they know how to do their jobs,” he listed.

“And I get?” I pressed.

“A glowing letter of recommendation when it comes time to apply for college, from the head coach and me,” he smiled. “And, of course, the satisfaction of operating a well-oiled machine.”

I eyed him carefully. “Why not Tay or Becca?”

“Neither of them can score four matches simultaneously. That’s a lot of pressure for someone your age.”

“I didn’t exactly handle it well,” I pointed out.

“Given the circumstances, I disagree.” He unwrapped his sandwich and took a big bite. “So?” he asked through his mouthful of food.

“I’ll let you know by next week. But I have another question.”

“Ask away,” he said.

“Who is running the youth program this year?”

–

“What better way to make them practice their fundamentals and really understand them than to teach them to the pups?” I reasoned with Coach Browne.

“Miss Samuels, it is admirable what you want to do for the youth program, but my boys… I just don’t know if I can spare them like that,” he shook his head.

“One night a week for the six weeks of the youth clinics. We can divide the team up. They’ll be more invested and helpful at the tournament, too,” I supplied. Coach Browne looked at me thoughtfully.

“You really care about this,” he observed. I nodded eagerly. “Aright, I’ll tell you what. You get the team captains to agree, and I’ll enforce it.”

“Who are the team captains?”

“Nick, Matt, and Drew,” he answered. I smiled, knowing I had already won.

–

“Which one is Riley?” I asked Matt as everyone mingled in the bleachers before the tournament began. We divided the wrestlers up, but I had a name I didn’t recognize. I had already shown the girls the second mat room and the boards where they would find the matches. Matt pointed to a small kid near the top of our group.

I headed up the bleachers to where he sat, taking the seat next to him. He looked at me with a raised eyebrow. “Yea?” he said.

I held out my hand. “My name is Quinn, and I’m your stat girl this weekend. We’ll be seeing a lot of each other over the next couple of months.”

“Riley,” he said, shaking my hand back. “So, you’ve done all this before?”

“Yep,” I smiled. “I am sort of in charge of the stat girls.”

Riley scanned the room and then looked back at me. “Can I ask you something?”

“Sure,” I said.

“Am I going to get my a*s kicked this weekend?” he asked in a whisper.

“That’s up to you, isn’t it?” I countered. He smiled a little.

“Fair enough. Can you do something for me?” he asked.

“I can try,” I told him.

“Make sure I don’t miss my matches? I’ve never been in a tournament this big,” he said.

“Stick with me, and it’ll be all good,” I assured him.

–

“You aren’t our boss!” Becca yelled at me from across the room.

“Becca, you can’t date the team! I didn’t make the rules, but it damn sure makes sense!” I yelled back at her. Becca and her boyfriend had snuck out during the overnight trip and gotten all the girls in trouble for it. Coach Browne wouldn’t let us ride home on the bus, sending us home with his wife instead.

“Girls, girls, what is going on?” Mr. Ganbar said, finally coming into the room.

“She’s a dictator that none of us put in place!” Becca said, pointing at me.

“That’s sort of the point of a dictator,” Tay added. Becca grumbled.

“Miss Samuels, care to explain what is going on with your team?” Mr. Ganbar said calmly.

“Coach Browne didn’t call you?” I asked. He shook his head. I connected gazes with Tay before letting out a deep breath. “We had an issue at the last tournament.”

“What kind of issue?” he asked, looking between the three of us. We all looked at each other; they were waiting to see if I actually told Mr. Ganbar what had happened. It felt like a test and one I wouldn’t pass no matter what I did. “Miss Samuels?”

“Do it. It’s the right thing,” Sapphire said.

“We weren’t allowed to take the bus home. There was a minor controversy surrounding curfew,” I said in a level voice. Tay shook her head.

“Don’t throw her under the bus,” Tay linked.

“Controversy? I will need more explanation on how that turns into a screaming match in my classroom,” he insisted.

“Becca snuck out with one of the wrestlers. They are dating. I asked her to wait until after season, but she told me she didn’t care. He also missed a match that weekend and got eliminated because it was considered a loss,” I explained.

“Well, that certainly can cause heightened feelings,” he whistled. “Miss McDaniel, do you have any rebuttal to what Miss Samuels shared?”

“We were just sitting in the exercise room. We didn’t do anything,” she insisted.

“And where were you when he missed the match?” Mr. Ganbar asked. She looked down at the floor, not admitting it.

“Alright. Ladies, if you could let me speak with Coach Browne. Let’s meet tomorrow at lunch to discuss how things will be moving forward,” Mr. Ganbar said. Becca stormed from the room. Tay gave me a sad look and followed her.

“I don’t think I’m the right person to be in charge,” I said before grabbing my bag and leaving.

–

“I have literally no idea what I am supposed to do now,” I whined to Michael.

“The downfalls of being a good girl,” he teased.

“You aren’t helping,” I pointed out. I laid in my bed on my side, the phone resting on my face. “Becca will not speak to me, and Matt is mad that she got kicked.”

“Matt will live. He is either there to wrestle or there for p***y, but he’s gotta pick,” Michael said.

“That’s crude,” I frowned.

“But true. You do realize that rule has only been loosely enforced until now?” he said.

“What?”

“In all fairness, no one has ever missed a match, to my knowledge. Matt’s pretty dumb,” he laughed.

“Well, he was going to lose anyway, but I think that’s beyond the point. I asked her not to. I asked him not to!”

“You can’t control them. Just manage it. You’re good under pressure.”

“M, two of the new girls walked out with her. We barely have enough now, and the youth tournament is right around the corner.”

“Are you still in charge of that?”

“Yea,” I smiled, thinking about all the pups. “Goddess, you should see all of them at practice. It’s so cute. They are having an absolute blast with the high school guys. We even got some alumni stopping in, now.”

“Eh, I could think of cuter things,” he remarked.

“I’m not sure how much cuter it can get. I mean, have you seen the tiny singlets? And they all growl at each other, but it’s all high pitched and not scary at all!”

“I bet you’re cute when you growl,” he said. My heart skipped a beat, and my brain came to a crashing halt. My face got hot instantly. Michael cleared his throat. “I’m sure you’re doing an amazing job. Getting everyone involved was a great idea.”

“Did he just say that? Why did he say that?” I internally panicked.

“Y-yea,” I said, finding my voice. “Um, I, uh, should probably go. I still have some homework to finish up before bed, and it’s already late.”

“That’s probably a good idea,” he agreed quietly.

“Thanks for being my sounding board,” I said, wanting him to know I appreciated him.

“Anytime, Blue. Sweet dreams.” He hung up, and I exhaled sharply. Sapphire started to whine.

“What now?”

“Now I can’t decide what team I’m on!”

–

“Well, Miss Samuels, I have to admit. This is the best this program has ever run. You definitely had the right idea,” Coach Browne complimented me. All around us, the team was packing up from the youth tournament. “Stary Wrestling sure owes you a big thank you.”

“I am happy to do it,” I told him.

“You go ahead and get home. The boys can finish all this,” Coach Browne smiled.

“Thanks,” I told him. I went over to the head table where my bag was waiting for me. I pulled my phone out. I had texts from Jaxx, but I hadn’t had a moment to get back to him all day. I dialed him quickly.

“Hey, babe,” he answered.

“Hey. I’m finished!” I said excitedly.

“Well, are we celebrating or commiserating?” he asked.

“Celebrating. It was awesome. It ran so smoothly!” I told him happily.

“That’s great. I guess I should get my keys and come get my girl,” he said. “I’ll be there in like twenty.”

“Perfect,” I smiled.

I finished putting my stuff in my bag and headed out of the gym, saying goodbye to the team as I went. I went out to the front to wait for Jaxx; the cold air wiped my hair around. I had another missed message, this one from Michael.

MICHAEL