squeezes her eyes shut. Is that all Coach thinks she’s done? She knows now is not the time to sulk. If he leaves without giving her the varsity jerseys, the cupcakes will be the only thing she can offer her team tonight.
“The night isn’t over. In fact, you could even say it’s just getting started.” Coach acts like he doesn’t hear her. He opens his car door and climbs inside. Mel has to reach out to stop him from closing the door. “I just … before you go, I need the varsity jerseys. For tonight’s, um, thing.”
He gives her a sidelong glance but then it clicks. Or slightly clicks. “Oh. Yeah, okay.”
It’s Mel’s understanding that the Wildcats’ midnight tradition is a secret among the girls. Obviously Coach knows something about the jerseys, since he gives them to the captain to dole out. But she assumes he doesn’t know about the breaking of curfew, the ceremony under the stars, the bonding games, the late-night food. Despite all her conversations with Coach over the years, he’s never once asked her about it. Nor did Mel offer up any details of her own accord. She’s never even dropped a single hint as to what goes on.
He picks something invisible off his polo and flicks it away. “You girls do a little thing with them, right?”
“It’s more than just a little thing.” She wants her voice to convey how meaningful this night is, but it has the inverse effect: it makes her sound like a little kid.
“Wait. Was it the jerseys you came running outside for? Or to check on me?”
Mel smiles. “Both.”
It takes a second for Coach to smile back.
He reaches for a button somewhere Mel can’t see, and the back hatch pops open. Leaving the engine running, Coach climbs back out.
Mel eagerly follows him around to the trunk, barely a step behind. It’s full of gear used at tryouts this week. Cones, balls, sticks. Coach reaches in and lifts a Wildcats duffel bag with one arm. He’s about to pass it to her, but then pulls it back at the last second. A tease like an older brother. It’s enough to get Mel’s heart racing.
“I’ve never asked questions about what you girls do with these jerseys. I’ve let it be your thing. But you know what, Mel? This season, I need a little more to go on. Because if we don’t fix these cracks, and fix them fast, then you girls can say goodbye to any hope of scholarships, say goodbye to scouts making special visits to West Essex. Unless the Wildcats deliver, it’s all gonna dry up.”
Maybe she should tell him everything? Because maybe if he knew how important tonight is to the girls, he’d understand. Maybe even respect it. Maybe even believe that, come tomorrow’s scrimmage, he’d see his Wildcats again.
“I might even have an idea or two for you. My Truman teammates and I used to do the craziest shit.”
“I remember. I love those stories.”
He wets his lips. “You don’t even have to give me credit. Tell the girls it was your idea. I don’t care. I just want to help.”
Mel fiddles with her necklace. Though it is a seriously tempting offer, she can’t betray the secret. Of all her duties as team captain, that is one she absolutely must fulfill.
“Please. Please just trust me. I promise you, I’ve got this.”
When Coach has asked her to trust him in the past, Mel’s answer has always been yes. It still is yes. She’s also given him every reason to trust her. She’s already earned what she’s asking for.
“You really think you can do what I need you to do to get this team back on track?”
“I know I can.”
He shrugs. “Then I guess we’ll see how this plays out tomorrow.”
At last he passes her the duffel, which Mel eagerly accepts in her outstretched arms. She pulls it close, gives it a squeeze. Coach pulls down the back hatch then pats down his pockets.
“Hey, I left my phone inside.”
“Do you want me to go grab it for you?”
“Nah. I got it. But do me a favor and stay out here, okay? Since I have the car running.”
“Sure. No problem.”
Coach jogs off toward her house.
Mel takes out her phone and opens up her previous texts from Coach. She does this sometimes, flicks her finger, spins through three years of their conversations. But she is looking for a particular one. Before tonight, the last text she sent to him was a month ago.