Chapter 24 #2
Barry started to speak but they were engulfed with well-wishers and the carrying on lasted for what felt like hours.
Then there was press for him to talk to.
Sandy led him into the newly reroofed athletic center where there were about twenty reporters waiting for a word from the famous Leslie Payton.
But he was distracted by the sounds of the cheerleaders.
Leslie walked to the doorway of the gym and caught the team doing the last phase of their massive pyramid that ended their routine.
Joe stood in front of them with one hip cocked out, his arms crossed in front of him, chewing on his fingernail. When the team hit their final pose, he pumped a fist.
“Excellent. Now, go home, rest, ice, and make sure you’re packed. I ordered breakfast sandwiches from the Buzz for you all. You’ll be great tomorrow.”
Leslie’s chest swelled with pride hearing Joe address his team. Such a good leader, a great coach. He entered the conference room and faced the press with a confident smile.
Sandy dropped Leslie off at 4:45 a.m. in the darkness outside the athletic center with strict instructions to meet them at the convention center by eight. He wanted Joe to have all the support he needed, and Sandy was thrilled to be needed.
Joe was waiting with a thermos.
“Morning.” Leslie smiled broadly, over the moon excited to be Joe’s plus-one even if it was for a cheer competition.
“Hmm, morning, yes. I wouldn’t say a good one.”
“Why not?”
Joe’s dark eyebrows nearly met in the middle with the depth of his scowl. “I forgot how much I loathe these crack-of-dawn bus rides. I made coffee, that’s how much I despise being up this early.”
Leslie laughed, wishing he could pull Joe against him and hold him close, warm the chill he could tell Joe was feeling…but then the kids started trickling in, yawning and dragging their bags.
Joe greeted each one and asked about their sleep, whether they had everything they needed, how they were feeling.
He was so thoughtful and engaged with each kid.
Once they left him, they had a little more pep in their step and Leslie could tell they wanted to do their best for Joe Judd the coach, not so much Joe Judd the dancer.
Joe had told him he worried that some of the kids might only try out for the cheer squad to get in front of him hoping he could help their career or so they could say they danced with Joe Judd.
That was absolutely not the case anymore.
The bus arrived and Leslie stood back while Joe made sure all of the kids got on the bus with all of their things and then he turned to Leslie.
“You ready for this?” Joe asked from the door of the bus.
Yeah, he was asking whether Leslie was ready to get on the bus and drive two-plus hours in the frigid fall morning, but Leslie wanted to believe Joe was asking him if he was ready to take his hand, take the leap, and ride off into the sunset together, spending their happily ever after as one.
“I’m so ready.”
Leslie climbed onto the bus behind Joe and waited for Joe to get settled before taking the aisle seat across from him, to give him some space. The driver asked him if they were ready and Joe told him they were clear for takeoff. Joe had his phone out and was furiously typing before he exhaled.
“What’s up?”
Joe sighed again and then he stood up to address the kids.
“Friends, Terrell is okay. I heard from Marti. He has a fracture in his thumb at the base and he sprained his right wrist. The doctors said it’s not terrible and he should be okay in four to six weeks.”
“Does that give him enough time if we make it to Nationals?”
Joe nodded. “It does. And I want to thank William for stepping up to take his place today. William, we are grateful, and Genesis, both of you, thank you for your flexibility. Let’s also thank Coach Payton for coming with us to be my assistant since Marti needs to be with Terrell today.”
“Thank you, Coach Payton,” the kids all said together, with Joe leading them like a conductor, and they all laughed.
“Now, get some rest, we’ll be there in two hours.”
He turned around and sat back down, then frowned at Leslie. “Why are you so far away?” he whispered. None of the kids had sat anywhere near them; they’d all headed to the back of the bus, leaving the front three to four rows empty.
“I don’t want to crowd you,” Leslie said.
Joe pouted, then his phone started buzzing again. He pulled it out, read the text with a frown again, then his eyebrows went way up. He tapped out a response and then turned off his phone and put it away.
“You’d never crowd me.” He scooted over to the aisle seat and leaned toward Leslie. “I’m happy you’re here.”
Leslie leaned in. “Me too.”
“That way if anything happens, we have an actual grown-up with us.”
Leslie rolled his eyes, wishing he could reach over and take Joe’s hand. Joe was fidgety and had been frowning all morning, which even at this early hour was unusual for him. Maybe it was Terrell he was worried about?
They chatted about the game and the other teams that would be at the competition. Some of the kids moved forward and asked Joe questions, then they turned their curiosity on him.
“Coach Payton? Were you nervous before football games?”
“Of course I was,” Leslie answered, turning around in his seat. “I would often have…intestinal distress, if you get what I mean.”
The girl who had asked, her eyes went huge. “You mean—”
“Yep,” Leslie said, choosing not to use more descriptive language. “I’d start feeling the rumbly tumblies, then I’d hear the telltale gurgling sounds, and if I didn’t get out of that headspace, I’d be running for the nearest facilities.”
She covered her face and squealed. “But was it ever too late?”
Leslie barked out a laugh and gestured for her to lean close. “Only once, and after that I always kept extra pairs of pants with me. Just in case.”
Joe tried to hold in his laugh and he ended up snorting.
“For real, I pooped in my dance trunks once,” one of the senior girls said. “It’s true. I had to go out in my underwear. Which were pink and green polka-dotted, and you can bet that wasn’t our school colors. After that, I only wore school colors on my drawers.”
The kids had a fit of the giggles and Leslie saw them loosening up, maybe getting a little pumped up for their competition.
“How about you, Coach Judd?”
He stopped laughing. “I’ve never shit myself. Ever.” His serious face had Leslie gawking.
“You lie,” he said.
“It’s true,” Joe said. Then he smacked his lips together. “I did vomit onstage before my first Dance Machine performance, but never did I shit myself.” He smoothed a piece of hair back. “They were able to edit it out before the TV audience knew what happened.”
The group of kids at the front had grown to most of the team and they all howled at the stories Leslie and Joe told about nerves getting the best of them before performances.
“The whole picturing them in their underwear thing did not work for me,” Joe said. “I once pictured the host of Dance Machine , Robin Flanders, in a leather harness and G-string getup and I couldn’t look him in the eye after that. Still can’t.”
Leslie had a stitch in his side from laughing when the bus finally turned into the convention center parking lot and soon the team was swallowed up in a cloud of hairspray and pom-poms. The only way he could even keep track of anyone was their bright green and gold hair bows and the guys’ gold sparkly shorts.
Leslie had asked whose idea they were and he’d shrugged.
“They wanted to stand out.”
The team would be competing last in their division and so Joe made sure the kids stayed loose but not too much. He talked them down when their nerves were getting the best of them, and they walked through the routine a gazillion times so William the stand-in could be sure he was comfortable.
Leslie was in awe of how much work went into their two-minute routine, how intricate each movement was, how much each of the members had to rely on each other to be in the right place at the right time to make all of their stunts go off without a hitch.
And the tumblers had to know their exact path so they wouldn’t run into each other.
It was exhilarating and terrifying to watch all at the same time.
When it was finally time for the team to perform, Joe told Leslie to go stand in the coaches’ area and wait for him while he gave them one last pep talk. When he finally emerged from backstage, Joe’s dark eyes were so serious. And he was chewing on his thumb.
“You’re going to bleed if you keep that up,” Leslie said, gently moving Joe’s hand from his mouth.
Joe turned on him and snapped his teeth together. “I’ll bite you .”
Leslie put his arm around him and squeezed, then he pulled away quickly. “I’m sorry.”
Joe hip-bumped him and remained close. “Don’t be. I’m so glad you’re here.” He looked up at Leslie and smiled.
The Jackets cheer team was announced and Leslie held his breath.
Joe leaned against him and Leslie felt the tension running through his body.
Joe, on a good day, was wound tight, but today?
Leslie knew Joe felt this was a test of his mettle, a way for Joe to show the college community that they’d made the right decision in recruiting him, and to show himself that he was where he was needed.
They’d spent hours talking about this over the past couple of weeks and Leslie had done all he could to reassure Joe.