Chapter 166 - Ocean – The Coach's Talk

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Ocean

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I was sitting there on a bench, shivering just a little bit, as I waited in the locker room. Makai had been leaning against the wall behind me, and Ben and Ryan were sitting on another bench that was across from me.

"Here." Makai leaned over me and draped his jacket over me. It wasn't like it had the same effect as if he had draped it over a girl's shoulders or anything like that, but it was the thought that counted. I mean, he and I were basically the same size, so I needed to put my arms into the sleeves for the warmth. It did smell like him though, so that was good.

"Thanks." I smiled at him as I slid my arms into the jacket. "But it doesn't help my feet feel less cold." I joked with him as I looked at the frozen little appendages.

"I can rub your feet for you, that will warm them up." He grinned at me, and I knew that he meant what he said.

"Nah, I don't want the principal to see you rubbing my feet. That would just stir up problems."

"Whatever you say." He shrugged and sat down next to me, giving me some of his warmth.

We didn't have to wait much longer for everyone to show up. The coach walked into the locker room just a few minutes after everyone else left. He was followed by Mike, the janitor, and Mr. Daniels, the principal.

"I want to know what happened here, right now." Mr. Daniels spoke first before anyone could do anything.

"Justin tried to get into my locker. He smashed it with that stool." I pointed at the object in question and spoke in a calm voice as soon as he had asked for an explanation. Well, actually, he had demanded it.

"And why did he do that?" He wanted a reason, but I didn't actually have one for him.

"I don't know, Sir. Justin and I don't really get along, but there is nothing in my locker except for my clothes and backpack."

"I will be checking your locker as well as Mr. Jeffries." The principal didn't sound all that happy at the moment.

"Joe, I think I know why this happened." Coach spoke up, hopefully to help me out a little bit.

"Yeah? And why is that?"

Coach Dickson then started to tell Mr. Daniels all about the issues and tension that have been plaguing me and Justin. He didn't hold anything back at all as he explained, well maybe he did hold back a detail or two. He told the principal all about the fight on Friday, but he did not tell him that I punched Justin when he slammed me against the locker, even though I knew that Coach knew about it. Coach didn't just tell him about recent events either. He told him how Justin has been antagonistic since the day that we met on the team. I honestly didn't know that he had been paying that much attention. How did he know that we had never been friends? The coach obviously noticed more than I gave him credit for.

"So, you're telling me that this other student has been harassing these four?" Mr. Daniels looked even angrier now than he had been a few moments ago.

"Yes Sir, I was planning to bring it to your attention today, however, the situation escalated before I got the chance."

"And what have you done about Mr. Jeffries so far?"

"I have removed him from the team, which is just a start. I don't think that needs to be it, though. He needs to face the consequences for his actions."

"Agreed. I will see Mr. Jeffries later today. Until then, Mike, please open the lockers in question so that I can make sure that there is no contraband in them. After that, you're all free to go."

"I would like to talk to them when we're done here." Coach added, making sure that we knew that we were not free to go.

"Alright, I can understand the need to talk to them, Richard. I will step in for your class until you get back."

There seemed to be some sort of unspoken agreement between the two men as they came to an agreement. That was fine with me. The sooner that they could finish this all and get me my shoes the better. I just needed to sit here and wait while the janitor opened my locker for me.

Once it was opened the principal motioned me forward.

"Anything I should know about?" He asked me but I shook my head in response.

"Nope. It's just my usual school stuff."

The bag passed inspection and I was given the chance to finally put on my socks and shoes. I was already wearing clothes so I just decided to stay in them for the time being. I could change later. And I have worn a speedo all day before, so this wasn't anything new to me.

There was nothing of importance in Justin's locker either, except for the marker that he had apparently used to write the words onto my locker. Now that all of this was over, the janitor and Mr. Daniels left the four of us alone with Coach Dickson.

The moment the door to the locker room swung shut, Coach sighed and sank down onto a bench. He was clearly exhausted already. We never really saw him like this. His dark hair was slightly disheveled, and with the way that he was running his hand through it, it was easy to tell why it was like that. When he raised his head to look at us I could see the strain and stress that was filling his eyes and drawing out the lines in his aging face.

"You boys are going to be the death of me." He said the dire words but he was laughing slightly so I was a little confused.

"Sir?" I tilted my head and looked at him.

"I am sorry that I didn't step in sooner than I did, Ocean. I should have put a stop to this, but I didn't and that is unforgivable. However, I think I was hoping that you would stand up to him on your own. I didn't want to hinder your personal growth and development."

"I don't really understand." I was still so confused by his words.

"I'm saying that I knew that Justin and you didn't get along very well, and when I saw things getting worse, I should have been there to stop it." The coach was acting like he was guilty of something. 

"But this was my problem, not yours."

"You're on my team and you're my student. That makes you doubly my responsibility. As an educator, I failed you. I hope you can forgive me."

"Yeah, no problem. I don't think you did anything wrong, though." For some reason he just laughed at me and shook his head.

"Is he always this oblivious?" He asked Makai with a grin.

"Pretty much, but I love that about him." Makai, my supposed loving boyfriend, just made fun of me with my coach. That was mean, and so weird.

"Look, Ocean, when I noticed that you and Makai were together, I had a feeling that this was going to happen. Justin is an asshole, and I knew he was going to flip out. I didn't step in sooner though, because I wanted you to learn how to take care of these things on your own. I had to step in from time to time though, because I didn't want things to get too bad for you. However, when I saw that he had caused you to hit your head, I should have put an end to it right then and there, instead of pushing it off until today."

OK, I understood everything that he was saying. That wasn't even an issue. However, I wanted to know how he knew that Makai and I were together. What did he mean that he noticed it?

"Uhm, Coach, how did you know about me and Makai?" That was the only thing that I was capable of asking him at the moment.

"Let's just say that I knew some people very much like you when I was in high school. They got their fair share of bullying over it, and I was right there with them. I'm not gay, but with my last name and me being friends with the gay kids it made me a target as well. I recognized some of the same things in you that I saw in my friend growing up. The way your eyes were always on Makai during practice and class was just step one of it. I want you to know that I am OK with it all, and you still have your place on my team. I'm happy for you guys, having someone you care about is a good thing. Don't squander it."

"O..OK." I was stunned. Beyond stunned actually. I didn't know what to do or say.

"I know that you guys aren't going to cause problems. And neither are you, right." He turned to look at Ryan as he sat with Ben. "You know that boy has liked you forever, right? Don't you mess with him. If you're serious that's good, if you're not, then tell him now." I guess Coach really did pay attention to us all.

"I'm serious, Coach. There is nothing to worry about." Ryan smiled at him and squeezed Ben's shoulders. I watched as Ben blushed and looked really happy. That's good, I was happy for him too.

"Good. I better not see you hurting him." With that, Coach stood up and started to leave the room. "If any of you need to talk to me, you know where to find me. I'm going to lock up my office, I will see most of you in class soon. And don't worry I will write you a note Ben." With that, the coach left us in the locker room.

"Well, that was interesting." Makai looked as exhausted as I felt. This day was already way too long. I was ready to just go home and call it a day. I needed to sleep, or eat, or something to make me feel better.

That wasn't going to happen, though. I still had to go to class. I needed to do my homework. I still needed to be a responsible person and follow the rules. If I didn't, I might as well have been on Justin's level, and I refused to sink that low. I was going to show that I was a good person, a good boyfriend, and a good friend.. I wasn't going to become the problem kid now.