When the bell rings, Milo is up in a flash. He carries his books over to my desk.
“Yeah?” I ask, looking up at him.
“I want to walk with you to see Coach Anders,” Milo says. “I’m not walking into his office alone.”
I shrug and stand up. I gather my books and reply, “Okay, fine with me.”
When we get into the hall, we pass a few classrooms in silence. He hasn’t told me how the class went, so it can’t be good news.
“So.” I bite my lip. “How was your phys-ed class?”
Milo scuffs his shoes along the tiled floor. “If you thought I was a hopeless case in front of Coach Anders, you don’t want to know.”
“Why were you so nervous in front of Coach?” I ask Milo. “All he wants to do is help.”
Milo huffs. “I don’t know. It was just easy when it was only you and me.”
“I don’t see why.”
Milo digs his hands into the pockets of his trousers. “Thanks for sticking up for me, anyway.”
“It’s fine. I didn’t want Coach to think I was using you as an excuse to get in some soccer practice.” I roll my eyes. “Not that he saw anything that proved I was teaching you.”
“We don’t know how long he was watching us before he called out.”
“After catching me training with Kai, I doubt it took him much time to pull the plug.”
“Why did you do that? We could’ve kicked the ball around at my place if you wanted.”
“It’s not the same. I was angry that I’d missed practice, and then some of my teammates laid into me about jeopardizing the team. I just wanted to get back out there. With a team.”
We get our backpacks from our lockers and make our way to Coach Anders's office. He shares it with two other coaches, one being Milo’s phys-ed teacher, which accounts for him still acting nervous.
I knock on the door and push it open as Coach Anders says, “Come in.”
When we see he’s the only person inside, Milo exhales, and his body language loosens.
“Good, you’re both here,” Coach says with a happy grin. There’s a distinct glint in his eyes. It’s the same spark he has right before he tells us to run super hard drills.
Oh gosh, just what does he have in store for us now?
Coach reaches behind his desk and lifts something up. “Meet your new assignment.”
A baby carrier lands on his desk.
“Huh?” Milo and I respond at once.
“Say hello to your infant simulator,” Coach says, turning the carrier so we can see a freakishly realistic baby sitting inside.
“I don’t get it,” I mutter.
“You two will care for this baby for the next forty-eight hours. I’ll pick him up on Sunday during your shift at the cafe,” Coach explains.
Milo gives me a dumbfounded look, and then says to Coach, “You want us to carry a doll around for two days? That’ll make up for our grades?”
Coach slides two wrist bands across his desk. “You’ll each wear one of these. They monitor your interaction with the baby. The good and the bad. This isn’t just a doll, it’s a real-life robotic simulator. It will cry, need feeding and changing, and also comfort.”
“How the heck am I supposed to look after a baby while juggling all my classes and working at the cafe?” I ask, feeling a monster headache setting in.
