9. Lucas #2
“How’s Cecilia?” she asked. I followed her voice into the living area, shocked that she even knew her name. I stared at her. “What?”
“Just surprised you know her name.”
“Really?” She turned away from the TV. “Orion’s the only person you spend time with besides me. It shouldn’t be a shock that I know his family.”
I guess that made sense. “What’s the plan for tomorrow?”
“Besides the team meeting? After that, I’ll be with the other coaches for the first two divisions and then I’ll be back here to get you to the arena for seven.”
“What should I do the rest of the day?”
“Stay loose. Distract yourself. Do normal things.”
“Alright. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Good night, Lucas.”
I refilled my water bottle from the kitchen and headed to my bedroom, tuning the TV to the Olympic channel.
My plan was to shower, slip my naked body under the covers, and watch the opening ceremony while catching up on social media stuff.
I’m sure my absence would do nothing but fuel the rumors of our rivalry, but Cassandra didn’t want me going. And I was out of energy.
That’s what I told myself, anyway.
I ended up falling asleep before it was over, but I did see the team. They were with the women, just like Brisbane. I knew the returning athletes, Hannah, Emily and Alexis. Sierra and Mei were the two newest and youngest, but I recognized them from all the promos.
I regretted not being there, but seeing as how I fell asleep before midnight and slept in until my alarm, I figured I needed the rest. I slipped on some sweats and a hoodie and went to look for Cassandra.
It didn’t seem like she was there and I confirmed that observation when I found a note saying she’d already left and she’d see me at the meeting.
I grabbed a banana and headed to the village.
It was only about a thirty-minute walk for me, so I just enjoyed the crisp morning.
The village was built in a previously run-down part of London, but since its construction, there seemed to be a lot of new buildings, including our hotel.
It didn’t seem run-down at all, but that was probably the point.
The Olympics brought a lot of people to the host city, and by default, a lot of money.
The street felt pretty similar to parts of New York City, but the cars were on the other side of the road and the architecture was just slightly different.
I knew I was pretty recognizable, so I had the hood up. I had heard that most Londoners were heading for the country because of the games, anyway. They didn’t want to deal with the traffic and the crowds. They even encouraged those that stayed to work from their homes.
There weren’t many people around, so I ended up having nothing to worry about. I was approaching the village from the south. All the venues near the village that held events were at the north end of the complex. Most of the crowds would be up there.
Security scanned my ID, and I walked through the metal detector. I asked the last guard for directions to Olympic Hall. They said I couldn’t miss it. It was the building with the Olympic ring sculpture in front of it.
If they hadn’t told me that, I’m not sure I would’ve found it.
Luckily, there was a building map inside the lobby and Conference Room A was close-by and on this floor.
The door was open when I approached. Coach was already seated at the front, flanked by Bret and Ford on one side and Ty on the other.
Cassandra was next to Ford, and opposite her sat Noah, Cam, and Colton.
I slid into the empty seat next to her. The room was quiet.
Coach sat with his hands folded in front of his face, waiting.
I heard Alex and O talking from the hallway before they entered.
Their banter stopped when they read the room and took the two seats closest to the door next to me.
“Ford, can you get the door, please?” Coach asked. He cleared his throat and leaned back, running his fingers across his forehead. It was crinkled in thought.
“Well, we all know why we’re here. I’m sure you’ve seen the video by no-”
“Why didn’t USA Gymnastics get to see it first?” Cam interrupted.
“It appears that Mr. Stevens took it upon himself to release it without their knowledge. Team USA along with USA Gymnastics are pressuring NBC to deal with him punitively and release a public statement negating the piece.”
I spoke up. “The damage is kind of already done, though. People have made up their minds.”
“Some people,” Coach corrected me. “The coaching staff and I believe that the only way this will truly blow over is if we win big this week. And...” he continued, glancing at me and Cam, “if the two of you act as if you are best friends.”
Both Noah and Cassandra started speaking at the same time. It was unintelligible, but boiled down to the expected. They weren’t happy.
“Settle down. Settle down,” Coach raised his voice, motioning with his arms for them to calm down.
“We all know this is the best way to counteract the video. We’ll have a press conference after the qualifications today, and everyone is going to push that this is one big happy family, and Cam and Luke are friends.
Everyone knows this is a competition and our athletes do in fact compete against each other, but we are Team USA.
While Cam and Luke are veterans with a history - whatever that history may be - everyone is going to put it aside for the time being and focus on winning, smiling, and showing the world that the video was bullshit. Any questions?”
Well, Coach swore, so if everyone was smart, they’d keep their mouths shut.
No one said anything.
Cam took off with Colton before I could say anything to him. So much for besties.
I asked O what he was up to and he shrugged. “Probably having lunch with my mom and Nia.”
I turned to Alex. “What about you?”
“My family’s here too, so probably the same.”
Ouch.
“Aren’t your parents here yet?” O asked.
I shook my head. “They’re not coming for at least a week.”
“Shit. I didn’t realize, Luke.”
Yay for awkward silences.
“You can come to lunch with us,” O offered. “I mean, I’m sure my mom wouldn’t mind.”
“I’d like that.”