If I Could - B. Celeste Page 0,1
do when I told her I accepted the job offer at the local high school. I’m not about to lug all my shit up to my room with me, so it’ll have to stay in the car. All I can hope is that it’s there in the morning.
I’m not in the mood to flirt with the busty blonde manning the front desk as she checks me in, accepts my credit card, and tells me all about her shift being done at eight. I’m sweaty, tired, and want nothing more than to gorge on the cheeseburger and fries I bought from McDonalds, take a shower, and crash. Shooting her a wink after subtly letting her down, I grab my bag and head toward the elevator.
It takes two hours of phone calls before I’m cleaned, changed into my typical bedtime attire, aka nothing, and dropping onto the queen mattress. Based on what Larry Kravitz, the homeowner of my would-be house, told me after he profusely apologized about the fire, I shouldn’t have a problem finding another place. He agreed to a refund, gave me a couple names for some realtors in the area, and wished me luck.
Mom and I didn’t talk for too long because she and Dad were going out to some dinner event. A charity gala, or some shit I don’t follow along with. Not my thing. But I know how much she loves donning expensive dresses, heels, and makeup, so I tell her I’m here, exclude the fire so she won’t worry, and tell her to have fun. According to Dad in the background, they were already late as is, so why drag out a conversation that’s forced to begin with?
Della, on the other hand, was happy to hear from me. She wanted to hear every detail, telling me she missed me and couldn’t wait to see me since the distance between us is now shortened, after she ran from the big city to be with her father’s best friend. We only live a little over an hour away from each other, and she’s already planning a celebratory dinner at her house for whenever I’m free.
It isn’t until almost ten o’clock when realization hits me that I’m supposed to be at my new job, the whole reason I moved, first thing tomorrow morning to fill out some paperwork and meet a few of the faculty. The new school year starts in less than a month, meaning in three and a half weeks, I’ll be Mr. McKinley, history teacher, and Coach McKinley, coaching the football team this fall and baseball in the spring. Though, end of summer conditioning for the football team starts next week, which mean Coach McKinley will finally get to see what I have to work with for the season.
Really, the employment opportunity was sheer luck. I applied to quite a few places around the city, but competition is heavy. Even someone with stats like mine while I played on Bentley University’s Division 1 baseball team didn’t catch the interest of any potential employers. If anything, they spent more time offering me pitied responses over my inability to play, before patting my head and sending me away.
Fuckers.
Exeter is further upstate than I originally planned to move, but when I was offered the coaching gig, it’d caught my interest. My major in Secondary Education with a focus in history wouldn’t go to waste, even though Dad told me countless times I was wasting my time on having a backup plan when I could have focused solely on the game. Thankfully for both of us, I didn’t listen to him.
The contract with Exeter High is only for a year, a trial, according to my new boss. Since I’ve already enrolled in grad school to finish my education, they offered to help pay the tuition if I’m kept on. Do I need the financial help? No. I come from a stupid-rich family, so money has never been an issue. But the offer was enough to make me agree to the terms over the phone and break the news to my family and friends. I’m still not sure my father likes the choice I made, but he didn’t tell me not to go either. In my mind, he’s proud of me. Like Mom, he just sucks at showing it.
Thankfully, sleep doesn’t take long to find me, and I drift off hoping tomorrow will be a better day.
Chapter Two
Reece
Exeter’s hallways smell musty from the lack of use they’ve seen over the past