Page 1 of Dirty Coach To Go

1

Tessa

The aroma of freshly baked bagels swirls in the air. I inhale the delicious scent and can’t help but smile. Sure, working in a shop called the Bagel Bunch isn’t my ideal summer job, but hey, at least I get all the free bagels I want. Plus, I get to work beside my best friend Nicole the entire summer, so it’s pretty much a win.

Right now, the wave of customers who usually rush in at the crack of dawn to purchase their first meal of the day has subsided, leaving Nicole and I alone in the empty breakfast eatery. Her crystal blue eyes are as bright as a sunny sky as she probes me for answers about the year I just spent away at college.

“So, how was it living on campus? Tell me all about it! I need to knoweverything,” she gushes as she awaits my answer like a child waiting to hear a bedtime story. She acts like my experience at Trinity University was some sort of fairytale, but I get it. While I was away from home, my best friend was stuck here. Nicole’s still in Sunnyside taking classes at Evergreen Community College, and wondering about the big world out there. I don’t have the heart to tell her that I didn’t enjoy my freshman year away nearly as much as she thinks. I would hate to crush her fantasy about what it’s like to be a co-ed at a four-year university, so I lie a little so as not to pop her bubble.

“It was pretty cool. The food there was my favorite part. Freshmen get unlimited meals in the cafeteria, so I’m pretty sure I gained the freshman fifteen,” I laugh. It’s true – I did put on some weight, but I don’t mind. I’ve always been kind of curvy, so a couple of extra pounds won’t hurt me.

“I think you look great!” my friend says as she admires my curves. “I’m still a stick. I wish I had your shape. Maybe I need to go away for a year too so that I can gain a few pounds.”

“You look beautiful the way you are,” I reassure her. I’m surprised Nicole’s considering gaining weight. Most girls our age are joining gimmick gyms and going on silly crash diets, but then again, the grass is always greener.

Besides, it’s true that Nicole is gorgeous the way she is. She’s never had trouble getting guys. In fact, boys used to drool over the long-legged blonde in high school, and her model-thin figure can’t weigh more than one hundred and twenty pounds. She’s always been skinny, which is why I’m shocked to hear her admit she’s a bit envious of my recent weight gain.

“Everything you wear hugs your body just right,” she gushes. “Look at how different we look in the same exact uniform.” She tugs at the brown polo shirt that readsBagel Bunchon the back with a tiny bagel on the front breast pocket. “Your curves look awesome, while I look like a streetlight in this gross brown shirt.” I giggle and shake my head at my slightly over dramatic bestie.

“We’re shaped different, but we’re both total babes, and don’t you forget it,” I say with a wink.

“Speaking of total babes,” she says. The sparkle in her eyes returns. “I bet there were lots of hotties at Trinity, weren’t there?”

I honestly don’t know how to answer that question. I mean, I’m sure there were a lot of attractive guys on campus, but none of them caught my eye. I went to a few frat parties, met the usual beer-chugging Greeks, and even stumbled across a couple of jocks who evinced interest in me, but my relationships with them are strictly on a friend basis.

I didn’t date anyone all year long. I just couldn’t see myself with any of the young college boys my age. They’rewaytoo immature for me because someone else has been on my mind. Someone who makes me feel special, like I’m a real princess. I couldn’t get him out of my head if I tried, but then again, I don’t want to. And now that I’m back in town for the summer, I’m secretly hoping I get a chance to see him again.

“Well?” Nicole asks, interrupting my train of thought.

“Yeah, there were some hotties,” I respond halfheartedly.

She squeals like an excited pig.

“You’re so lucky, Tessa! It must have been amazing having a dorm room you could bring boys back to. I’m still sneaking guys in and out of my house through my basement window,” she says ruefully. I roll my eyes. Nicole spent our entire senior year secretly letting Tommy Rogers slip in through the tiny opening, and it’s a little sad that she’s still up to the same shenanigans. Even more incredible is that her parents never found out, and apparently arestillunaware of Nicole’s basement sexcapades.

“Well, to be honest,” I say. “I didn’t do much hooking up.” The truth was, I didn’t doany. Boys in their late teens with faces covered in acne kind of gross me out. And don’t get me started on how promiscuous male adolescents can be. My school was like a cesspool of horny young men trying to hump anything that walked. To me, that was even more disgusting than their acne prone skin. I want a one-woman kind ofman, not an underage clown striving to be the next Casanova.

“Why not?” Nic whines. Luckily, her question can go unanswered because a hungry patron’s just entered the store.

“Good morning,” I chirp like a bird singing early in the wee hours. Perfect timing. I can’t let my best friend know therealreason I’ve avoided the guys on campus.

“Good morning,” our customer replies, her face stressed and her voice a bit monotone. “Can I have a bagel with light cream cheese?”

“Would you like that toasted, ma’am?” I ask.

“Yes,” she says in a clipped tone.

“Coming right up,” I say as I make my way over to the scrumptious bagels encased in a large storage container. I can see from the corner of my eye that Nicole is waiting for the order to be completed so that we can continue our conversation. She’s eager to learn everything there is to know about living on campus. But I hate to let her down because honestly, I didn’t enjoy my freshman year that much and quite often found myself homesick. Nicole would have thrived in my place. The social butterfly would have joined every club on campus, pledged a sorority, and dated every Tom, Dick, and Harry that came her way.

Clearly, not only are our bodies shaped different, but our personalities are different as well. She’s far more outgoing than I am. In high school, she was the captain of the cheerleading team and the president of our class. She was the pretty, popular girl everyone wanted to be friends with. By contrast, my high school experience was much different. I wasn’t popular; in fact, I was a bit of an outcast. I was the klutz who was always picked last in gym class. Although I don’t have an athletic bone in my body, I worked up the courage to try out for the softball team. Everyone who goes to Sunnyside High has to play at least one sport, so I couldn’t sit out.

So yes, I only played a sport in order to graduate, but it’s okay because softball brought me closer to the one person who has always believed in me. The man who makes my knees go weak and my insides turn moist. I’ll never forget him:Coach.

I spread a thin layer of cream cheese onto the flavorful, crispy bagel. I take my time, hoping Nicole will forget to ask about the unappealing boys who paraded around campus as if they were God’s gift to women. I smear the soft white cheese more quickly once I realize the once expressionless customer is now tapping her foot with a slightly annoyed look on her face. I want to avoid Nicole’s inquiries, but I’d hate to upset a customer. I package the toasted bagel into a brown paper bag and hand it to the anxious woman. In return, she tosses five dollars onto the counter.

“Keep the change,” she says curtly before dashing out of the door. It slams behind her, leaving Nicole and I alone again.

“Sheesh, she was in a hurry,” I joke, avoiding eye contact with my friend, but Nic knows me far too well. She can see right through my ploy.