Ryan hasn't come back.
We haven't seen him at any practices or games for a few weeks since we fought. The kids are fine with it, they're all still mad at him, but Endia and I are a tad more worried.
As much of an asshole as he may be, we sort of need him. He is head coach, after all. We've been managing just fine, sure, but we don't have access to any of the tournament info for our upcoming games.
Although he hasn't returned, however, we have to continue practicing.
The drills get harder, the sets longer, and the swimming faster. If we're going to make it to JO's, we have to start working for it now. We have less than a year until qualifiers, and our chances for getting past that tournament are slim. The boys are competing for one of three available spots against 7 teams, and the girls have the same number of spaces, just with 9 teams to compete against. Our odds aren't great, but we have to try.
The boys aren't too happy about the increasingly difficult sets. Endia says that the girls are fine with it. I often wish I could coach them instead, but the guys are fun, however stubborn they may be.
I'm explaining a drill when Endia comes over. She stands behind me as I talk, waiting for me to finish. I start the kids on the drill and then turn to her.
"What's up?" I say. She just got out of the pool, as proven by her dripping hair and wet skin. She's been getting in the pool with the girls recently, saying she needs to get back in shape. I think she looks great, but I don't say anything.
"Not much. How're they doing?" She asks, gesturing toward the boys in the water.
"Okay. They're still not happy about the harder sets, but they're doing them nonetheless. Not like they have a choice."
Endia laughs. "Well, that's one way to look at it," she says, then pauses. "Hey, An?"
"Yeah?"
"I was wondering, um, would you like to grab dinner with me sometime? I mean, only if you want to, and we could just- um, it doesn't-"
I cut her off. "Of course. I would love to." I can't believe she asked me. I mean, I would've asked her eventually, but I had no idea that she'd ask first. Woah.
"Ok. Great. Great! That's, um, that's great. How about tomorrow night?"
"Sounds good. Say, 7?"
"Absolutely. I'll, um, pick you up?"
"Ok. I'll text you my address."
"Ok. Yeah. Yes. Ok."
As she was walking to her stuff, I called her name. "Endia!"
She turned around.
"I didn't know you swing that way." I said.
Endia grinned. She shook her head without saying anything and turned back to her bag.
