Chapter 35
Landon
“Ospreys on three!”
My team piles their hands in the center of our huddle, but their energy is lacking and I’m the only one who shouts Ospreys.
“Come on, guys. I know you’re upset about Jayden not being part of our team anymore, but we only have a couple of tournament games left this year to get through.
” The tournaments are similar to the playoffs for varsity, but there’s no state title for JV.
“These final games are supposed to be fun, and to show all you have learned this season.”
Still, I’d love to win.
No one responds as the girls drag their feet onto the field and take their positions. But as soon as the whistle blows, they all drop their sticks onto the grass and cross their arms over their chests.
Oh, no.
The opposing team continues running for a few seconds until they realize no one’s chasing them.
The ref’s whistle blows again. “Ospreys, what are we doing?”
My stomach ties itself into a knot as I glance at Quinn. She jerks her head. “Get out there.”
I jog onto the field and head for Shreeya. “What’s wrong?”
Her eyes dart to her teammates as she chews on her bottom lip. “We’re, uh, refusing to play.”
My eyebrows hit my hairline. “Why?”
Hannah jogs over from the goalie box. “Jayden should be here, and we don’t want to play if Ainsley isn’t allowed back at school.”
“Ah.” I nod, glancing at the bleachers as the parents make their way down to the field. “I get it, I really do. And I love that you’re doing this together. But we only have two more games and then—”
“We’re not playing, Coach.” Hannah crosses her arms. “We’re taking a stand.”
The referee looks at me. “If they don’t play, it’s a forfeit.”
“Understood.” I heave a sigh, and turn to face the parents. “Ospreys forfeit the game.”
I can’t force them to play, and even if I could, they wouldn’t play to their best abilities.
Confusion ripples through the crowd.
Hannah’s mother steps forward. “Why are they doing this?”
“We stand with Jayden,” Hannah shouts. “And we want justice for Coach Ainsley.”
The team echoes her, and they start chanting. “We stand with Jayden! Justice for Coach Ainsley!”
I chew the inside of my cheek to stop myself from smiling. I don’t condone forfeiting a game, but this is for a pretty good cause. And it’s important for them to know the power they possess when they work together.
Mrs. Brennan scoffs. “Ainsley isn’t even our coach. Why are we forfeiting a game because of her?”
“Because it’s not fair, Mom,” Hannah snaps. “We all work together out here, and if Jayden doesn’t get to play then neither do we.”
Parents oppose each other, arguing their points, until Shreeya’s mother steps forward. “We don’t agree with what’s happening to Jayden or Coach Ainsley. Is there anything we can do to help?”
Several other parents nod in agreement, glancing around the group.
Relief floods my senses. “I think we should start a petition. If the school board sees the majority of us standing together on this, that might expedite their decision.”
“One bad apple shouldn’t ruin the bunch for the rest of us,” Shreeya’s mom says. “Let’s do this and show the school what we stand for.”
Pride swells in my chest. This is what school spirit is all about. This is how it should be, parents and students and teachers working together for the same cause. The school has to follow protocol, but that doesn’t mean the rest of us have to sit idly by.
And all it took was the courage of a bunch of teenage girls to spark this movement.
Quinn jogs over with a clipboard and a pencil. “Let’s pass this around and start collecting signatures.”
Excitement courses through me as I scribble my name onto the top of the list.
As the JV teams clear off the field, they slap hands with the varsity girls.
The varsity playoff game is next, and after this show of solidarity, I’m curious what Ainsley’s team is thinking.
They haven’t been happy without their leader, but it’s the seniors’ last shot at making state.
It’d be a bittersweet ending for their high school lacrosse careers if they forfeited.
And Ainsley would have an aneurism.
I slide my phone out of my pocket and click on her name to FaceTime her like I promised. This is the closest thing to being here since she can’t physically be on school grounds.
Ainsley’s eyebrows pull down as her face fills my phone screen. “What’s wrong? You’re not supposed to call me for another hour.”
“My team forfeited and refused to play without you and Jayden here.”
“What?” Her eyes bulge. “That’s...that’s...”
“Fucking awesome?” I chuckle. “The parents aren’t happy with Mrs. Morales, either. We started a petition to get you back in school where you belong.”
She shakes her head, but the smile tugs at the corners of her mouth. “Rebels. I love them.”
“Reminds me of another rebel I know.” I shoot her a wink. “Listen, I don’t know what Natalie and your team plan on doing, but I can’t imagine they’ll want to play after the JV team walked off.”
“They have to play. This is their last chance. Put Nat on the phone.”
I walk over to Natalie and outstretch my arm. “The boss wants to talk to you.”
She rolls her eyes and takes the phone from me. “Coach, we’ve already discussed it and you can’t change our minds. We’re not playing.”
Ainsley’s voice rises. “This is your last chance at playing in high school. Think about your stats. Think about the juniors.”
Natalie covers her mouth with her palm, feigning a yawn. “Are you done yelling?”
“No!” she screeches.
Raymond pinches the bridge of his nose, and I roll my lips between my teeth trying not to laugh.
“You told me you wanted me to be a leader, and that’s what I’m doing. We’re taking a stand, and that is that.” Natalie shoves the phone into my chest. “You deal with her.”
Then she darts onto the field and exchanges a few words with the referee.
“She’s impossible,” Ainsley says.
I arch a brow. “Wonder who that sounds like.”
She lets out a frustrated sound from the back of her throat. “Keep me on the phone. I want to know what happens.”
I flip the camera around and point it at Raymond as he walks over to talk with Natalie and the referee.
After another moment, the ref makes the announcement. “Ospreys forfeit.”
The opposing team cheers, happy with a free win, and Breakwater’s parents walk down from the bleachers.
Ainsley sighs, her shoulders slumped forward. “I can’t believe this.”
“I can.” I smile at my beautiful girlfriend. “You have made an impact on these kids, and they want justice. I don’t blame them.”
She offers me a sly smile. “Come over after you clean up there?”
“See you soon.”
There’s no point in a post-game huddle, so the kids leave with their parents.
Quinn hands me the clipboard, filled with two pages of signatures. “Wanna bring this to Harrison before you head out?”
I nod. “Thanks for thinking of this. It was a great idea.”
“I hope it helps.” She glances across the field to the boys’ lacrosse game about to begin on the turf. “It sucks to say this, but I don’t think this would be happening on the boys’ team.”
Something flickers in my mind, and I tilt my head. “You don’t think so?”
Quinn lets out a humorless laugh. “Parents wouldn’t dare to speak up against Coach Cole.”
Evan is one of Ainsley’s best friends...
“Thanks, Quinn.”
Then I take off running toward the turf.
By the time I reach Evan on the next field, I’m gasping for air.
Evan does a double-take when he spots me, his eyebrows collapsing in the center. “Landon, what’s wrong?”
“Forfeit the game.” I hunch over, bracing my hands on my knees. “For Ainsley.”
“What?” His head jerks back. “Slow down, take a second.”
I shake my head. “Don’t have a second. The game’s about to start.
” I gesture to the kids on the field, about to take the draw.
“Both JV and varsity girls just refused to play. They’re taking a stand for Ainsley, and won’t play until she’s reinstated.
I don’t know if it’ll work, but I think it’ll make a bigger statement if the boys’ team does the same. ”
Evan lifts his hands and signals for a timeout before the ref blows his whistle. “You’re asking these boys to throw a playoff game.”
“No, I’m asking you to stand with your friend.
” I gesture to the turf below our sneakers.
“You know there have been inequities since we were kids. Those girls are still playing on shitty grass after all this time. Ainsley’s been fighting for recognition for years, and this is how they repay her. She could lose her job, Evan.”
Evan’s eyes drift to the field, and I can see the wheels turning in his head.
He cups his hands over his mouth and shouts, “Bring it in, boys.”
His team jogs over, pulling off their helmets as they huddle around us and take a knee.
“What’s going on, Coach?” one of them asks.
“I need to ask you all something, and I want you to think before you answer.” He plants his hands on his hips.
“I know you’ve all been hearing about what happened with the girls’ lacrosse team these past couple of weeks.
Coach Ainsley has taught some of you for the last four years.
She’s been asked to step down from her job for an unfair reason, and her team just refused to play in their playoff game without her. ”
Shock ripples through the group as their mouths drop open.
“Well, good for them,” says a boy with a C embroidered onto his jersey. “I wouldn’t want to play without my coach.”
The other boys nod in unison.
“This is the kind of moment that sets the tone for the rest of your life.” Evan gives his team a hard stare.
“You need to look within your hearts, and ask yourselves what kind of man you want to be. Are you someone who will sit by when injustice occurs, or will you stand up for what’s right, even when it inconveniences you?
Are you able to look past your own wants and needs, and do something kind for another?
” Evan pauses. “You must make this decision today.”
Nostalgia slams into me. Coach Cole has a reputation in this town since he was my team captain in high school, and I’ve missed his inspirational speeches.
“You boys have had a lot handed to you because you’re males in sports,” he continues.
“The girls don’t have that advantage. They play on shitty, uneven grass, and they don’t get as much money as our teams do.
So, I’m asking you now: Are you willing to forfeit today’s game in order to stand with the girls?
Are you willing to show support for your teacher who has supported you all this time? ”
The group is quiet as they look to one another for the right answer. I hold my breath as I wait, giving them the space they need.
“What’s going on, Coach?” The referee jogs over as the team’s parents rise from the stands.
Evan gestures to the boys. “What do you want to do?”
The captain is the first to stand. “I’ll forfeit. Ms. Morgan helped me get my calculus grade up to an A-minus.”
Another student stands with him. “Ms. Morgan told my parents I was doing good in class, but I wasn’t. I was actually a dick to her.”
Evan nudges him with his elbow. “Don’t be a dick to your teacher.”
Several more boys stand, agreeing to forfeit with their own anecdote about Ainsley’s effect on them as a teacher.
The referee shakes his head. “You sure about this, Coach? You’re really going to forfeit this game?”
Evan nods once. “We forfeit.”
He convinces the crowd to add their signatures to my list, and we have to squeeze them in to fit on the remaining paper.
Evan claps my shoulder. “Thanks for doing this, man. I didn’t know how to help Ainsley, but this is one hell of a way to try.”
“This will mean the world to her,” I say. “You know she’d never ask you to do anything for her.”
“Which is why it’s good she has you.” He grins. “Glad you guys got your shit together after all this time.”
I laugh. “Yeah, so am I.”
“You people are all crazy.”
I brush Ainsley’s hair from her face and press a kiss to her cheek. “We care about you.”
“I just hope it’s enough to shut down Morales.”
“It will be. She has no proof, and no leg to stand on.”
Ainsley rolls over in bed to face me, propping her head up with her hand. “Thank you for doing all of this. I really appreciate the effort.”
“Anything for you. Which reminds me...” I roll out of bed and dig into my duffle. “I brought you something.”
Ainsley pops up to a sitting position, clutching the sheet against her bare breasts. “A present?”
I slide back into bed and set the teal gift bag on the comforter between us. “Open it.”
She peeks into the bag, and pulls out the tissue paper first. Her eyebrows pinch together when she spots the picture frame inside, and her eyes go wide as she pulls it out of the bag.
I grin. “I found it when I was going through old pictures with my mom last weekend.”
Ainsley and I don’t have too many pictures together, other than the ones taken by the team’s photographer. But this one in particular was taken with an old disposable camera.
We’re in our letterman jackets, and Ainsley’s sitting on my shoulders with her arms raised overhead. Each of us wears a wide smile on our faces. My hair looks damp with sweat, hers in a messy ponytail.
“This was after I won state sophomore year.” She traces my face with her index finger. “We look so happy.”
“We were.” I drop a kiss to her shoulder. “This was before the fighting, before shit got heavy with our parents and the team. This is who we were when it was just the two of us.”
“We were so young.” She grins so wide her eyes narrow to slits. “Look at your baby face.”
“I still have a baby face.” I scrub my palms along my jaw. “I’m just sexier now.”
“You are definitely sexier.” She laughs, and sets the picture frame on the nightstand. “Thank you, Landon. For this, for everything with the house. For forcing me to forgive you, and helping me grow.”
I cup her face, and pull her lips against mine. “Thank you for forgiving me, and letting me into your heart.”
Her eyes bounce between mine, sincerity shining from her gaze. She doesn’t say it, but she doesn’t have to.
I know it’s true.
I know I’m in her heart, whether or not she’s ready to admit it.
“What’s that?” Ainsley asks, staring down at the envelope still in my hand.
“I want you to read this.” I open the flap and tug the folded letter out of the envelope.
And then I hand it to her.