The Boy Next Door

ｆｉｆｔｅｅｎ

Rachel

"Rachel, please eat something." Colton asked me.

"Colton, I already told you that I'm not hungry." I replied.

"You need some energy for the big game tonight. At least eat this sandwich." He said, trying to give me a sandwich.

"Colton, I said I wasn't hungry!" I shouted. I was getting frustrated with him continuously telling me to eat something.

"Jeez, calm down. I was only suggesting." he said.

I let out a sigh. I felt bad for snapping at him. All week my coach had been making expectations for my performance in cheer that I didn't feel like I would be able to meet. She wanted me to do this really difficult tumbling routine that I am not comfortable doing during our half time routine. I haven't mastered it on the mat yet, so the field wouldn't be any better. When I am under a lot of stress and pressure, I lose my appetite. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have flipped out on you." I said. He tried to say something but had food in his mouth. "Don't talk with your mouth full." I pointed out.

"Sorry." He said.

If I were to tell him what I was going through in cheer he would have told me to just do what I was comfortable with, but he didn't understand what a risk that was at this time. So, the rest of lunch we talked about how the football team was going to crush who they were playing against in tonight's game with the people sitting around us.

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"Rachel! Can you grab my shoulders pads out of the garage, please?" Colton yelled from the kitchen.

I ran to his garage; given that we were already running late leaving for the game. The garage was neatly organized. A tall shelf held his equipment. The shoulder pads were on the top shelf, which I couldn't reach. Being short doesn't have many advantages, this being one of them. I tried jumping up to grab it, but I had no luck. I couldn't reach. I looked around, but couldn't find a step stool.

A pair of arms wrapped around me, lifting me up. "Hey!" I shouted. I grabbed the shoulder pads off of the shelf. The mystery person set me down on the cold concrete floor. I turned around. Colton was standing behind me.

"I forgot you wouldn't be able to reach them since you are so short." he said winking.

I gave him a punch in the arm. "Stop calling me short."

"I was kidding, Rachel. Let's get going." he said. "My poor time management has gotten us in trouble."

We walked back into the house. He grabbed the rest of his equipment and walked out to his car. I wasn't sure why he brought it home and didn't just leave it in his football locker.

We arrived at the school and parted ways. I had finally decided that I was going to have a talk with my coach about the tumbling routine that she wanted me to perform tonight.

"Coach, can I talk to you for a second?" I asked when she didn't seem to have her hands full. We walked out into the hallway.

"What's up?" She asked.

"I really don't feel comfortable with the tumbling routine you want me to perform tonight. Not having it perfected yet and trying to do it on the field just doesn't seem like the best option for me. I am wondering if we can slightly modify it so I don't risk injury, especially before competition season."

"I know that I have been very hard on you lately, Rachel. Just know that I am trying to push you to do your best. I am very glad that you decided to reach out to me about this. We can make some modifications to the tumbling pass. If you have something else in mind that might be better for you, I trust your judgement to make it flow with the rest of the routine. You are a smart girl and know your cheer very well. Just let me know your plan before we go on. I want what is best for you and I am sorry if I made you feel like I was out to get you or something crazy like that."