“That’s …” Christenson paused to clear his throat. “That’s great. I’m glad the team’s supporting each other off the field. That’s nice.”
“It is. I hadn’t really … thought of everyone as friends until now. Though I guess that’s kinda a dick thing for me to say after getting all this help.”
“Heh, I’m sure Brooker was all too happy to help you with ‘woman’ problems.”
“Yeah, he was. But … I need your advice for … something a little more serious.”
Christenson’s head snapped up and he stared at me, just blinking dumbfounded for a few seconds before asking, “Is she pregnant?”
“What? No. Why was that the first thing you jumped to?”
He sighed and shook his head. “God, I don’t know. I just feel so out of touch with everyone and that’s the most serious thing I can think of.”
I grunted, not sure what advice to give the man who was single-handedly holding the team together while the coach and owners created unease.
“Well, if that’s not it, what is?”
“Her job. She originally applied to be the social media manager but Hansen hired her as my PA as a … sort of trial run.And she’s worried if our relationship gets out, especially with the sale, she might lose that chance.”
“Oh, okay.” Christenson straightened up and rubbed his chin. “That’s a valid concern. A new owner won’t want to cause any scandal or risk rumors of favoritism. It might be worth moving her to PA for somebody else and then have her reapply for the position she wants once the sale goes through. Maybe Brooker? He gets a lot of interview requests, given his … personality.”
“That’s what he said, too,” I grumbled and Christenson moved on like he didn’t hear my gripe.
“And while I trust you not to be coercive, I’ll meet with Kodi too to check in on her. I assume you came to me because you wanna keep things quiet until she has the other job, right?”
“Yeah. I … she’s really good at the socials shit. She should’ve gotten that job in the first place.”
“Uh-huh,” Christenson said with a small smile. “You sure that’s not your bias talking?”
“No.” It struck me in that moment that before Kodi reappeared, I would’ve kept my answer at that. Between her and the others' friendships, my views on communication had grown a lot though. “You should see her resume, she’s got years of experience and she took my page from nonexistent to ten thousand followers. She deserves that job.”
“Okay.” He said the word with a surety that made me feel heard. “I’ll talk with her about that too and put in a good word for her if that’s amenable. Not sure how much that’ll be worth with everything else going on, but I’ll do my best to get this to work for you two.”
“Thanks.” I let out a long breath, though the relief only lasted a second before another thing occurred to me. “It’s going to be a long while before this all works out, isn’t it?”
Christenson made a high-pitched mumble and I sighed. I thought liking her and not knowing if she’d ever return thosefeelings was hell. But being together as a secret was so much worse.
An Unflattering Article
An excerpt from a Stadium Statements article by Ava Clowes
In a stunning turn of events, Destin Dastards coach, Leonard Boyd, subbed their first-string keeper, Olli Kean, within the first twenty minutes of their home game against the Memphis No-goodniks. While not a particularly popular player in terms of jersey sales or frequent interview requests, Kean has impressive stats and the move to pull him out of the game is one of many odd moves from Coach Boyd.
The second-string keeper, Carlos Lunez, is a young,but popular player. He received substantial applause when he stepped onto the field and has become a quick fan favorite, especially after a hashtag (#Sub4Lunez) trended during their game with the Nashville Nasties, where Lunez was subbed inafter halftime. While Lunez sports a big personality, he still has room for growth. During the Nasties game, he was scored on four times. The team’s strong offense, particularly from the striker, Derek Brooker, was the only thing keeping them in the lead.
This odd substitution comes alongside widespread rumors that the Dastards owners are considering selling the team mid-season. There have not been any official announcements, though many prominent Panhandle investors were seen at the annual charity gala the Dastards hosted last weekend.
A New Jersey
Olli
Idon’t know how long I sat in the locker room for. Maybe thirty minutes after everyone left, maybe longer.
It’s not like I needed the time to shower or anything. I barely broke a sweat for the whopping twenty minutes I was on the field.
But I was glued to this bench, frustration and anger weighing me down.
There’d been no injury, no high lead, or failed save. Coach just subbed me for no fucking reason. I clocked Christenson arguing with him, but Boyd gave him a stern look and dismissed him. To his credit, Lunez looked apologetic. And I could see the frustration on his face fester as he let ball after ball in.
