My name is Cameron Black. This story takes place about a year after I finished college, while I was volunteering to help coach the track team at the high school where I'd graduated. It wasn't a big deal, just a few kids going running with me every morning and after school. Since my job involved a split shift - four hours in the mid-morning and four hours in the evening - I had plenty of time to run with the younger folks.
There were two other coaches. The head coach was Mr. Garibaldi, my old coach, a guy who was more comfortable with the sprints and throwing events than any sort of distance. The other coach was Miss White. Miss White had been a runner at one point and was trying to get back into shape to run one of those 5Ks that are so popular. She ran middle and short distance with the team. Mr. Garibaldi still seemed to inspire the fear that had been there when I was on the team a few years prior. Miss White? The girls seemed to think that she was past her prime which might have been jealousy since some of the guys looked at her like she might be a cougar. I had only met her at the beginning of the season, so I was withholding judgment.
It was the middle of the season when Coach - Mr. Garibaldi - called me to ask if I could handle practice for him. He was home sick for a few days and didn't want to team getting out of condition. Since I was going to run whether the team came with me or not, I agreed. He had me swing by his house to pick up the keys and I ran practice for a few days while he recovered.
The team must have enjoyed the runs, because he called me up a month later to ask if I would cover for him during Spring Break. His wife wanted to go out of town and he couldn't think of a reason to say no to her when the team seemed to like working with me just fine. Again, I agreed, and picked up the keys.
The first day of practice was awesome. The distance runners showed up bright and early and we got in a good ten mile run before the sun had finished rising. Miss White ran with us and was out of breath when we finished. She kept tabs on the girls while they got showered and head home while I kept track of the guys. We met again that evening and repeated the routine.
Things went fine for three days. Then the numbers started getting out of hand. Kids who weren't even a part of the track team were coming out to run with us. I didn't mind, but it meant that I was close to being late for my morning shift that Thursday. The evening shift was no big deal, but one of the guys asked me if I'd gotten to work okay and a long conversation followed about what we could do about it on Friday. The guys suggested showing up earlier so the kids who weren't on the track team wouldn't show up and get in the way. Our problem was that there were kids who hadn't shown up for the Thursday evening practice who would miss out on Friday morning if we did that. Miss White and I went back and forth about it until it was decided that we would leave the morning run, but move the evening run forward a bit.
Friday moring went as smoothly as could be expected. The team showed up and we got in a good run before sunrise. The guys made a ruckus about getting the non-runners out on time and it was the girls who ended up running late. Since I was in danger of being late, I asked Miss White to lock up and bring the keys with her that evening.
My work day on Friday was terrible. The GM called me into his office and chewed me out for being late two days running. I tried explaining the reasons why, but he wasn't hearing it. That was just the beginning of a work day that could do nothing right. By the time I clocked out and pulled up at the school with my bag slung over my shoulder, I was ready for a long run.
Miss White had already opened the guys' locker room and the team was inside, changing. The girls were trickling out of their locker room and beginning to stretch. I ducked into the guys' side, got dressed, and was ready to run in what felt like record time. I got everyone ready with some warm ups and stretching and we ran. My frustration got the better of me and I set a gruelling pace. The kids called me on it after a couple miles and I slowed down to something more manageable, but the damage was done. Our pacing had been ruined and none of us had the stamina left to make the last quarter of the distance. We turned back and the team shuffled wearily into the locker rooms after I had apologized for letting things get the best of me.
The kids were gracious and thanked me for taking the time to run with them.
I joined the guys in their locker room and kept tabs on everyone. I figured I'd wait until the team was cleaned up and on their way home before I got a shower of my own. When the last guy left, I wandered over to the girls' locker room door and called in. Tina, the girls' captain, came bubbling out.
"Hey, Cam." She said. "Only one left inside is Miss White. All the others are gone home."
"Thanks. She decent, or should I come back in a bit?"