Wednesday

Jake had slept well and was in a good mood. He missed his work and was anxious to get started, so his feet led him to the school three hours before school started.

In an hour, Jake had corrected some of his physical education plans for the school year and decided to look out the window, which overlooked the porch and the green space, to stretch his eyes, and suddenly he saw a familiar back with blond hair below his shoulders. The guy had his arm around a small-sized girl, leaning his head toward her, and they were walking into the park.

"Hmm. Interesting. Classes are about to start. Is he decided to skip it?" - Jake thought, frowning, but he tried not to jump to any deeper conclusions, since he didn't know the guy too well yet.

Jake's classes started at 11:00. It was going well, according to his new scheme, and he could see that the students, who had looked at him suspiciously at first, were still asking him questions by the end of the class. Seeing the kids give back and love him was the highest good for a teacher, so Jake was in a good mood.

It was time for basketball practice. The man was looking forward to it, because it meant a meeting with Hope. Jake glanced eagerly at the incoming boys-his little boy was at the back of the line, and he looked depressed.

After blowing his whistle and gathering everyone, Jake gave a loud and confident opening speech, and then asked the captain to lead the initial warm-up for the team. For twenty-five minutes, the man kept his eyes on the boy: he was light in his movements, strong, and with considerable leadership ability, and everyone obeyed him without question.

"Hm. Good captain of our national team, but his cheeks are red, although he hasn't done anything special yet... I need to see him in the game... And how can I look into his eyes and smell him?".

After practicing ball possession techniques and counter-actions on defense, the second hour began with the game. 

"He's so good!" - exclaimed the coach to himself, looking at Hope's easy, smooth and sometimes sharp, depending on the situation. And in ball handling, and in the accuracy of shots, and in the vision of the situation on the court - everything was at the highest level. But, the guy hadn't looked at Jake once in two hours, unlike his teammates, which bothered him a lot:

"This isn't going to work, we've got to do something about this! Are you going to pretend you didn't recognize me?"

*Whistle*

A long whistle sounded, signifying the end of the game and all the athletes gathered around the coach:

"You will learn about the results of my observations and the main lineup for the game at the next practice. Thank you for the good work! Everyone is dismissed!... Except for the captain..."

After saying those words, Hope went numb with the ball in his hands, and then quickly asked:

"P'Jake, did you want to discuss tactics for the upcoming game?"

"No," Jake couldn't help himself and started to approach him, but stopped at arm's length. His breath caught and his cheeks, already pink from the game, flushed even more, and Jake's mind raced:

"Yes, that's him, that hair, that mouth, those eyes... Familiar, a little darker, but no less beautiful... I thought I'd never meet you again, but fate helped me to find you very quickly. Oh! Jake, say something!"

Eventually, along with a smile, this came out: "How about a little fun?"

"W-what...?" - The kid staggered and looked like he was afraid of something, so Jake grabbed the ball out of his hands and said cheerfully: "I haven't played in a long time! Keep me company!" and started pounding on the parquet.

"I can't...I'm in a big hurry," the boy was surprised and apparently wanted to run away, but Jake couldn't let him go:

"No refusal accepted! It's only for fifteen minutes!"

The man sped up, drove the ball to the basket and, flying more than half a meter, hit the target accurately, and then picked up the ball and threw it into the guy's hands, "Let's get started! You're in a hurry!"

Hope's eyes lit up and he confidently drove the ball toward the basket, but stopped abruptly at the three-point line... Jake didn't have time to react... the shot... the exact hit.

"Whoa! I'm going to have to sweat! He wants to beat me this time!" - thought Jake, but said out loud:

"3:0! That's a good start! The ball is mine!"

The game was evenly matched, both players were on top of their game, not losing to their opponent, much to Jake's delight, but eventually Hope successfully made a shot block, took the ball out and scored again from the far line. Jake smiled broadly and applauded, "Didn't give in this time! Nice kid. I'd play all kinds of games with you every day! Oh, Jake, you're a perv!"

For a few seconds they looked at each other, the distance was quite long, but Jake discerned something akin to admiration in the kid's eyes, maybe even more!

The kid reported loudly: "Good game, P'Jake! If you'll excuse me! I gotta go now!" - and took off running, and the man, not thinking long, headed off in his wake.

Opening the door without knocking he saw the kid on the bench without his shirt on, looking down at the floor and holding his head, after a split second he looked up and immediately stood up, "P'Jake..."

"Ran away so fast. You're the captain and you know for a fact that opponents usually shake hands after the game!" - the man really wanted to smell the minty scent and be two hundred percent sure.

Smiling, Jake walked over to him and then stopped half a meter away and held out his palm. Not immediately, but the small hand laid into his warm and large one, and the man felt like he'd been electrocuted:

"I want to be closer, but... I'm a coach and he's a student... At least a sniff..."

The man shook his hand confidently, and without letting go, moved closer to the boy's naked, sweaty body. Jake could feel the warmth coming from Hope's chest, his breathing becoming ragged and ragged. As he pulled his hand upward, his nose was already smelling the soft, fresh scent of peppermint.

Everything inside was screaming, "It's him! It's definitely him!" but outwardly the man was calm, taking one of the towels that were stacked on the locker above Hope's head, he pulled away, "Gonna take a shower. Aren't you coming?"

"W-what? N-no...I'll...I'll go home and..." - The boy said uncertainly.

"At home you mean! That's good. I'll see you around, Captain!" - Jake smiled softly, raised his free hand in farewell, and walked out of the locker room. Walking into the coach's room, he slumped against the wall and grinned like a fool at all 32, thinking about something else entirely:

"Well, well, at home, yeah 'sure'! I'll meet you there today at your 'home', kitten. Ha, I'm gonna bring you out, we need to have a serious talk!"

Jake showered and, after changing into dark jeans, a blue shirt and throwing on a black jacket, he raced at full speed to the Red Dragon.

When he got there, he immediately asked one of the employees to take him to Manager Norman. Everything inside was boiling, "I'll see you very soon, and we'll be alone for two whole hours! You won't escape me now!"

"Follow me!" - The guy said and led Jake into the grounds of the nightclub. The massive doors opened and the music rumbled. The short guy deftly maneuvered between the customers, the man trying to keep up. "Here!" - he read his lips what his guide had said and looked in the direction indicated. Norman, in a blue suit and red tie, with a working smile on his lips, was standing at one of the tables, apparently urging the customer to leave the establishment, for he was swaying in a drunken frenzy, shouting something unintelligible, and trying to break a glass.

"Khun Norman! I have something to talk to you about!" - Jake almost shouted, as they were almost at the very edge of the stage.

"It's good to see you! I'm a little busy right now, please wait!" - replied the manager as he continued to calm the frantic man.

"I'm here! I'll get him!" - A short guy of about twenty-five with a scar on his cheek appeared out of nowhere.

"Aran, finally! Take him, I've got enough to do," Jake saw Norman's serious expression for a moment, which sent a chill down his spine, and then the manager smiled again and turned to him: "Follow me, please!"

Norman led the customer into a private room that was unusually quiet after the deafening music.

"What can I do for you?" - The manager began.

"I'd like to pay for two hours with Red and meet with him today."

"Oh, unfortunately I can't help you with anything until next Wednesday. Red is booked to the brim, regular customers book him in advance and we can't move them, and his guardian has requested strongly that the boy not stay at work any longer," Norman explained in a soft tone.

"Until Wednesday? What's so special about him!" - Jack's mind didn't hold such a picture of the world, he wanted to meet the guy right now, so the refusal provoked anger.

"You want to get to him too, Khun...so answer your own question! We'll get back to you on Line if Red has time. Dictate your details," the manager smiled sweetly at the guest.

"No need! Thank you," Jake cut in and wanted to leave.

"Then take my business card. Call me if you think of it!" - Placing the dark card in the man's hand, Norman gave him a look and, smirking, immediately booked him a time for next Wednesday for two hours.

Jake's mind raged a storm as he ran to his car, images of the guy in red moaning in the clutches of sweaty, smelly men flashing in his mind's eye:

"Fuck! How disgusting this world is! And this boy who lets his body be used by anyone who can lay out a large sum of money! "Fucking fate! Why the fuck did I even come to this disgusting Club and meet this guy?!"

Cranking up the music in the car to full blast, he tried to drown out his thoughts, which hurt his already tortured heart every time.

Running home, the first thing he did was undress and get into the shower. Under the almost icy jets of water, he slowly calmed down and began to slowly organize his thoughts:

"What made me so angry? That this guy is an innocent sheep at school, but in the evenings he sells himself for money, stacking himself up to fat fat men? No, don't lie to yourself, Jake! You were angry that you couldn't meet him, that you couldn't talk to him properly. He must have recognized me. How many clients does he take on a night? Does he think about me?"

Jake hardly slept that night, and no matter how hard he tried to dam that river of thoughts, it burst forth again with a wild roar.

Thursday

At 6:00 the alarm clock started ringing. Jake, once again awake at about four in the morning, tossed and turned in an attempt to fall asleep, but sleep never came. He lay on the bed with his arms stretched out, his mind finally empty of thoughts, only the nasty ringing of the alarm clock in his ears and the sound of the rain outside the window.

Jake wanted to get to school as soon as possible so he could get his mind right into work - he had to plan for the match with XY, which was only a week away. So the training camp was fairly quick, despite the slightly lost condition due to lack of sleep.

Entering the coaching room at around 7:20, he sat down at his desk and collapsed his face into a folder of progress reports.

"I took a step towards a new life, and here I am depressed again... Should I try letting those birds go, like Hope advised, and live for today? Does it really work for him?!" - With these thoughts the man stood up and walked to the window.

On a bench, beneath a wide-spreading albizia, a girl was sitting hunched over with a folded wet pink umbrella in her hands.

"What's that babe doing out here this early? Maybe she needs help?" - Jake was about to take a step toward the exit when suddenly a guy, whom the man immediately recognized, approached her.

They talked for a while, and Hope sat down next to him and put his arm around the girl's shoulders, whispering something in her ear. They sat in each other's arms for an hour, while Jake measured the coach room with his steps and looked out the window every two or three minutes: "How long can we sit here and hug in public? Who the hell is she? Isn't he gay? No way! My radar doesn't usually let me down."

Once again going to the window Jake growled out loud when he saw the same picture and said to himself, "You're a grown man and you're acting like a fifteen year old!" - He closed the curtains, sat down at his desk, and focused on the game plan.

Before fifth class, Jake was anxious to see the kid, but on the other hand he was still mad at him. And when he saw Hope smiling at his classmate, the anger took over and he decided to just ignore him. As much as he didn't want to look at him, his body's actions were under the tight control of his brain.

In the middle of the second PE class, during the shuttle run, the same girl from the bench tripped and scraped her knees on the wooden floor. Hope and another boy immediately jumped up to help her, but the headman was quicker. He lifted the diminutive girl into his arms with a light movement. At that moment Jake couldn't see the abrasions and blood on the girl's knees; he could only watch as Hope's hand gripped her bare thighs tightly at the buttocks as the short shorts were pulled up almost to her panties.

Her eyes were bloodshot, and Jake spoke sternly: "I'll escort her to the infirmary myself! Captain, keep the class going!" Then he grabbed the girl out of the captain's arms and carried her toward the exit. The little lady resisted, saying she could walk herself.

Jake carried the girl to the nurse's station, placed her in the nurse's caring hands and went to the coach room to breathe and calm down. It took a while. He looked out the window and saw Hope with her arm around the girl's waist, leading her to the parking lot, which the review missed:

"Taking her home? Fuck! What a caring prince."

After work, Jake rushed back to his apartment and spent the evening just watching whatever the TV channels had to offer, without even eating. He passed out before eight o'clock because of the fatigue and emotional strain.

Friday

At 7.50 Jake was already in the school parking lot, a few minutes later a white old Mercedes pulled up and the man decided not to postpone the conversation for later, but to clear things up with the guy right now. He got out of the car a few seconds after Hope and immediately called out to him:

"Captain!"

Turning around at the sound, the guy froze.

As Jake approached, a gray-haired man emerged from a retro car still in the parking lot with the words, "Son, you forgot your umbrella!"

He walked over to Hope, placed the umbrella in his palm and turned to Jake, who stood silently nearby, "Good morning, I'm Troy, this boy's guardian, and you're his gym teacher, as I understand it. Good to see you!"

"The voice is pleasant, but that doesn't tell me anything," the man thought as he appraised the young old man, and said aloud: "Khun Troy, nice to meet you! I'm Jake, Hope's teacher and coach."

There was silence next. Jake waited for the guardian to leave so he could talk to Kitten alone, but Troy wasn't about to leave, standing there smiling sweetly. There was a moment's silence. Out of respect for the older man, Jake, after politely informing him that he wanted to discuss the game against School XY with the captain after practice, took a quick step toward the school building:

"What the hell? This was such a wonderful opportunity to talk."

Jake entered the coach's office and immediately went to the window, while Hope sat down with his classmate Jean, who was reading a book, the coach had already memorized her name after yesterday's incident.

And suddenly...

"What? Fucking hell! They're hugging again? Is that asshole stroking her hair?!" - Jake couldn't take it anymore and began to retrace his steps around the perimeter of his small office, then went to the bathroom to wash up and calm down.

When he came back and looked out the window again, his heart was relieved as he saw Hope on the bench alone. He had his head resting on the back of the bench, his wheat-colored hair hanging loosely, the wind flirting with it, his eyes closed and his body relaxed. Jake didn't notice as he started to smile thinking about this handsome little man:

"So cute. I wonder what he's thinking right now? If I went outside and kissed him, how would he react? What does it taste like, this mouth? Huh, I never noticed such fantasies before"

Jake's thoughts and fantasies were interrupted by a little girl of about ten, who approached Hope and, after a little talking, they headed toward the school building.

After the fourth class, Jake went to the teacher's lounge to get one of the class logs that had been taken for the records.

As he walked down the hallway, he saw his Kitten, who, apparently thinking about something, was walking straight toward him, looking down at his feet. The man purposely did not dodge.

*Bam*

The boy started to lose his balance when he bumped into him, and Jake grabbed him by the shoulders. Both couldn't take their eyes off each other, only the guy's eyes kept looking at the coach's lips, who understood where and why these two oceans were looking. A second...two...three...four.....

"Make the whole world disappear! I want to talk to you so badly here and now! I can see that you want it too, baby!"

But suddenly, small dainty fingers grabbed Kitten's elbow and pulled him to the side:

"Honey, don't you look ahead at all when you walk? I'm sorry, P'Jake! Captain's a little out of sorts today."

"Her again! Who is she to you? Are you two dating?" - The sticky, nasty feeling inside Jake was spilling over again.

The boy whispered something that sounded like "excuse me" and walked away from the girl hugging him.

Jake stood there, unable to take his eyes off the couple, jealousy once again casting a nasty pall over his mind. Hope turned around and looked at the coach with guilty eyes, but that made the man even angrier:

"You're with her! Then go with her! There's nothing to be guilty about!"

Jake forgot about the class logs and took a quick step to the opposite staircase, went down and entered the coach's room.

*BAM!*

Everything on the table bounced.

Jake blew off steam, wagering on the furniture as his head pounded:

"I was never like this with Chon! Maybe because he never gave me a reason to be jealous! And with this minty boy, it's like I've lost my mind! His eyes say one thing, but his actions say the opposite. I'm an adult! Why am I being provoked? He's probably just playing with me! Yes!"

The man was in a bad mood and didn't want to see Hope like this, but practice couldn't be canceled.

The captain was the first of the team to enter the gym as Jake sat on the bench rubbing his temples with his fingers:

"P'Jake, hello again! I apologize for being inattentive and bumping into you. When do we discuss the game with XY?"

Jake looked up at the guy standing there smiling sweetly:

"And now you're smiling like nothing happened? That's it, I'm done. You're going to get a complete ignore from my side and that's it! Period!"

He said emotionlessly, "I've already thought out our tactics, I'll announce them to the whole team," and then he stood up and walked briskly to the coach's room.

This time Jake hounded the boys hard, and at the end of the second hour he went out to play with them on the court, against the opposing team of the main five, whose leader was the captain. He wanted to relieve the stress in the game; it often saved him.

At one point in the game, Hope approached the opponent's area with the ball and the man began to attack him, trying to take the ball away. The guy was spinning on one leg, looking for partners, but all were closed, and suddenly Hope turned sharply to the ring with his elbows up and... with one of them hard into the jaw of Jake, who was slightly distracted.

It was a very hard blow, and the man fell to the floor, seeing stars.

"P'Jake! I'm sorry!" - Hope's eyes read guilt and worry, but Jake didn't let himself be spent by them once again:

"It's all right! Carry on! C, take over for me!"

He stood up and walked out of the hall, rubbing his aching jaw. As he walked out into the hallway, he leaned against the wall and only wanted to think a little about what had happened and the anger that was once again simmering inside when he heard:

"Can I see it? You need to put some cold on it. I can get some."

Hope reached his hand toward the coach's face, but Jake wasn't ready for that right now, everything inside was screaming, "Stay away from me!" so he forcefully pushed the guy away with the words, "Don't touch me! I can handle myself!"

With that, Jake turned around and walked off to the coach's room to calm down, ignoring the shocked kid.

There were still fifteen minutes of class left, but Jake couldn't show his face to the team like this. His hands were shaking as he remembered how hard he'd pushed Hope away, even though he wanted more than anything to pull him into a hug and ask him all the questions he wanted honest answers to.

He heard the boys make their way to the locker room. C, knocking, entered and asked how he was feeling, to which Jake replied that he would live and thanked him for his concern.

Left alone, he fell face down into the desk and tried to just breathe. A couple minutes after C had left, Hope's guardian burst in on him unannounced, with eyes throwing lightning bolts:

"Where's Hope? He's nowhere to be found! I thought I'd stop by and see my son play for once. The guys handed over his stuff, he didn't even take his cell phone and disappeared!"

"Khun Troy, good evening, I don't know where he is, I stepped away before practice was over," Jake tried to justify himself.

"What, and you call yourself a coach after that! You're responsible for your students! My boy has never let me down and has always kept me in the loop! Something's definitely wrong! If he's in trouble, I will knock the living daylights out of you!" - Troy was furious, fists clenched, face like a beast ready to gnaw on anyone who infringed on his cub.

"Khun! Maybe he's at school somewhere?" - Jake frantically tried to think.

"Shove your assumptions up your wife's ass!" - With those words, the gray-haired man stepped out and slammed the door shut with such force that a couple of metal cups collapsed from the shelf to the floor with a loud clang.

"Screw this!" - Jake gathered his things, checked the gym, showers and locker rooms, turned off the lights everywhere and went to his car.

It was raining heavily, but Jake didn't open his umbrella, getting into the car already soaking wet:

"Fuck! You ran away to mess with me? How could I even think he looked like Chom? Jake, you idiot! He's a whore and a player! You've tarnished the bright image of your beloved with that scum!"

Coming home, Jake collapsed on the couch, but his whole body was shaking with anger, his face and eyes burning, needing to release the demon that was now tearing his soul apart. Jumping up, he grabbed with his hands the heavy wooden table they had so carefully chosen with Chom once upon a time and flipped it over with a loud growl: "Aaaarrrgh", he didn't stop there and continued to smash everything he could get his hands on, his frustration with himself, the boy and this unfair world coming out with every broken thing he broke

After a while, he sat down on the carpet, out of breath, and looked down at his face with a devastated look, when suddenly a small red box tied with a white ribbon that he had never seen before caught his eye. He took it in his hands and opened it. Inside was a folded sheet of paper and a metal heart-shaped keychain. Jake unfolded the sheet, it was a note from Chom:

"Honey, I've been thinking for a long time about what to get you for our fifteenth anniversary, so I thought I'd share with you some of my treasures that I've been collecting our whole life together. This flash drive has videos of memorable moments, photos, and a word file where I wrote down all your promises to me. Jake, my beloved, you have fulfilled everything, right down to the socks with bears that I once wanted so badly. And most importantly, you've given me a happy life full of love! I love you to the sun and back, and a hundred thousand times over!"

Jake read and reread it over and over again. Stinging tears streamed down his cheeks, "You're not with me anymore, baby. You're gone" He collapsed to the floor and continued to cry silently until he soon fell asleep.

All weekend he drank himself black, pouring cognac over his feelings and thoughts, and occasionally topping it off with a beer. Cigarettes melted one after another, his thoughts were chaotic and unformed into something worthwhile. He never opened the flash drive.

Sunday night, Jake fell asleep in a drunken stupor on the living room floor thinking:

"Oh, to hell with it! I don't want to see and hear that two-faced guy, inhale that sweet smell of peppermint, and gaze into an ocean that will not bring me the peace I desire, but only devastation and misery!"

Monday

Jake arrived at work by eight, and his gaze was immediately drawn to the bench. On it sat Jean and her classmate, whose name the coach did not yet remember. They were arguing vigorously about something, gesturing with their hands. From what Jake could see, the boy was insisting on something, and the girl was in a defensive position, shaking her head at his every word. Eventually they stopped talking, she said a few words, got up and ran to the school, and when she got to the coach, she didn't even say hello, and Jake saw her eyes full of tears.

Walking slowly up the stairs, the man stopped when he was called out:

"P, Jake! Good morning."

It was Hope's classmate, sitting just then on the bench with Jean.

"Morning!" - The man nodded.

"Hope told me to tell you he won't be at practice today," Jake mentally exhaled, those words meant the kid was fine, no matter how much he cursed him, in his heart, he was worried about him.

"And why is that?"

"He got really sick, even spent twenty-four hours in the hospital. But he's feeling pretty good now, on the mend. He hopes to be in shape for Friday's game. Sorry, I gotta go!" - The boy said the words very quickly and disappeared through the school doors, and Jake tried to absorb what he had just heard.

"Sick? When? On friday? Got caught in the rain? Didn't work? Been in the hospital? That doesn't sound like a game, unless the guys just decided to make fun of me," by the time Jake entered the coaches' room, he had made the decision to check in with the front office.

The vice-principal for academic affairs confirmed that Hope was sick and the hospital had called her. After that, Jake couldn't understand how it had happened, because on Friday at practice the boy had been smiling and physically healthy.

The day flew by in worry. At practice, Jake often found himself trying to find the blond boy with the ocean-colored eyes.

As he left the school building, the man shook his head in agreement with his thoughts:

"What am I doing? I'm losing control because of some boy!"

Stopping at the nearest bar to the school, Jake ordered a bottle of vodka and drank until he fell face first into the bar.

The man woke up to someone's hands shaking him.

"Khun Somchai! Can you hear me? What's wrong with you?" - Jake opened his eyes and saw the stern gaze of the school principal.

"Khun Pat...pong, I...ahem...I'm fine," the drunken man replied in a husky voice, his attempts to bring his body to an upright position failed and he leaned his elbow on the counter and propped his head up with his hand.

"I advise you, young man, to go home! And, tomorrow before school, I ask you to be sure to stop by my office!" - Not only was the principal's gaze stern, but his voice did not bode well. In response, the coach only muttered something unintelligible and shook his head in agreement.

"Home...home...I'm going home," Jake tried not to stagger as he walked, but his body described circles as he left the bar.

When he saw a cab, he waved and as the car pulled up, he slid his cell phone through the window and squeezed out: "Here! Take me home...to his house!"

Jake had a photo of Hope's personnel file on his phone and now, in his nearly unconscious state, he wanted to see him.

In the car, Jake fell asleep and was awakened again by hands, this time by the cab driver. He got out and looked around, it was dark, there was a dim light on outside the house, and Jake braced himself against the fence as he was still pretty woozy.

He didn't see Hope, and he didn't dare go in like that. After a few minutes, the boy's guardian came out into the yard and started letting out rings of smoke. Jake wanted to smoke, too, and tried to get cigarettes out of his pocket, but he missed his hand and almost fell, but his sleeve caught on the fence.

And then in his ears, accustomed to silence, it was heard: "Why are you hanging around here in the middle of the night? Who are you? Come out into the light!"

"P...*eeeek*...sorry. I'll just stand her for a while... and then I'll leave," Jake tried to say something intelligible.

"Familiar voice... Stay where you are!" - with those words, the man started shining a flashlight in his face, causing Jake to squint his eyes.

"Khun Jake! What are you doing here? Come to apologize for your shoddy behavior?" - he noticed the already very different tone in Troy's voice, and something was coming up in his throat, but he answered:

"I don't know why I came here. I...stand for a while and then I'll leave. I'm sorry... *Baaaah*."

"Gods, this is embarrassing... Puking in front of a student's house is the lowest I can go," Jake mentally berated himself.

"Oh, why are you so drunk, Coach?! Wait, I'll get some water and tissues," the landlord said and left.

Feeling that his legs could no longer support his heavy, drunken body, Jake collapsed on the concrete pad and leaned against the fence. 

In this state, he was caught by the gray-haired man who had returned and crouched down beside him, speaking:

"Here you go. Oh, young people. Instead of solving your problems, you do idiotic things, one walks in the rain, the other gets drunk..."

As the man spoke, Jake wiped his napkins and mouth and thought of only one thing: "I need to clean up after myself."

"Excuse me. I'll clean it all up in a minute. Do you have a hose?" - Coach tried to stand up, but he failed and landed painfully with his heel on the sidewalk, evidenced by his anguished groan.

"Sit down already! I'll clean it up myself," Troy waved his hand and Jake began to analyze what he had said earlier:

"Who? Who was out in the rain?"

"Wouldn't you know it, Mr. 'stern look'? My son ran away from practice and got sick. Barely pumped him up," Troy replied.

"Ran away? In the rain. Right, that's why he got sick. What's with the stern look? Mine? When?" - His thoughts wouldn't come together, no matter how hard the man tried, shaking his head from side to side didn't help.

While he silently tried to realize what his interlocutor had said, he continued:

"So why are you here, walking around in the dark?"

"I-I wanted to know how he was, and what happened..." - Jake wheezed, his throat drier than the desert, and he opened the bottle of water Troy had handed him along with the tissues.

"He's all right now. The hypothermia and overexertion. His fever's gone down, but he won't be coming to school for a couple more days for sure. Why the sudden concern for a student?" - Troy glared at Jake, and he decided to come up with a quick and easy excuse:

"Well... we have a game coming up, and he's the captain..."

"Ha, don't be ridiculous! That's the only reason you're showing up at our house fucked up! The reason is clearly something else... Did you see him before you became a coach at their school? Answer me honestly!"

"Could this man be a cop? He should be an interrogator."

"Uh-huh. I've seen him."

"Where?"

"Shall I tell him? I'm sure he knows everything. Or does he?"

"..."

"Come on, I'll help you. In the Red Dragon?" - Troy didn't beat around the bush.

"Oh, come on! Could it really be his guardian dragging him there, making him work and making money for him?" - Being unsure of his guesses, he decided to take a different tack:

"You know where he works and you still haven't helped him?"

"Blaming me even though you're not at all aware of what's going on with the guy right now. Um, I'm doing my best, buddy. You can't just cross the owner of this place, there's a lot to lose in this war and not accomplish the goal. I'd need some hard dirt on her to make the trade, but she's a very smart woman. I'm working on it for now," Troy's words seemed sincere to Jake.

"And I...can I help?"

"Why would you want to? Who is he to you?"

"And really, who is?" - Jake thought, there was no answer to that question, so he simply remained silent.

"Well, here, once you decide, come talk to me," Troy patted the coach on the shoulder and added: "Should I call you a cab? Or do you want to do it yourself?"

"I'll... do it myself. Ahem. Thanks, Khun Troy," Jake stood up, leaning against the fence and started calling a cab through his cell phone, often grumbling every time he didn't get his finger on the target.

The car pulled up a few minutes later, and Jake tried to walk steady, but he felt dizzy, and a firm hand held his body a couple of times, and then the gray-haired man spoke as he came closer, "Go easy on him. He's had a difficult fate, but he's managed to keep his soul pure. He doesn't have nerves of steel, you know! Please keep his secret. And now you have to go. When you get here, go straight to bed. Tomorrow you have classes. Don't oversleep."

"Thanks," Jake mumbled, swaying in the backseat.

The car touched down immediately, and his head pounded:

"Uneasy fate...kept your soul pure...keep the secret...be gentle."

Jake reached into his pocket, pulling out his cell phone and a business card, he dialed Norman:

"Good evening, I'd like to book two hours with Red. On any available day."

"Khun, and I've already booked your time for Wednesday, that's tomorrow. If Red comes off sick, that time is yours from 7pm"

"Thank you. I'll hang up," Jake tossed the phone on the seat, leaned back his head and closed his eyes:

"Tomorrow. It might be tomorrow. I need to clear things up for myself."

Wednesday

Jake woke up to bright sunlight, his mouth was bitter, as if a herd of elephants had been resting there all night, his head was buzzing, but it was already sending signals:

"Wednesday... Shower. Aspirin. Clothes. School. Principal. Lessons. Practice. Club."

Jake's parents had told his son from childhood that the main ingredient for success was a well-organized plan. The man nodded, as if in approval, dragged his feet off the bed, and then cracked his finger on the electric guitar that was lying on the floor.

He got up and wandered to the shower, which made him feel much better.

Everything went on according to a clear plan. Aspirin shivered in a glass of water and was swallowed in a few gulps, jeans and a black polo shirt were put on. Next step "school." - Jake decided to take a cab since he wasn't feeling well anyway:

"No more drinking at the bar. I've never felt so bad after drinking."

At 9:30, the coach walked into the principal's office after knocking beforehand:

"Khun Pattanapong, hello! You wanted to see me?"

"Jake! It's good to see you in good health. Have a seat," the entrant was discouraged by such an informal address from the school principal.

Pattanapong took a seat in the chair opposite and looked at him with a fatherly appraising gaze:

"I want to talk to you today, not like with a teacher and coach, but like with a son or a friend. I've heard rumors of your personal tragedy, and I'd like to know if your condition yesterday is related to that"

"Principal, I'll be honest with you, I'm not quite over the loss of my partner yet, but I'm trying to start a new life."

"That's very good, Jake. I really hope this doesn't affect your professional life. Perhaps you need some help? We have an in-house counselor."

"Thank you, Khun Pattanapong. I'll try to handle it myself. But if I can't, I promise I'll see a specialist."

"Good! That's the answer I was expecting from you. I have a meeting soon, so we don't have much time. I'll give you a little advice that I've learned from experience - look around and take a closer look, maybe the fog of bitterness will clear, and you'll see a person who here and now sees only you alone."

"Thank you, Principal, for your kindness toward me. I understand what you are saying, I will try my best."

Pattanapong patted Jake on the shoulder and they said their goodbyes.

Next on the agenda were lessons. Jake tried not to think about anything and concentrate on the lesson plan and the students, and he was doing a good job. He'd found out in the teachers' lounge that the president of the school board was out sick, so he hoped to see the boy at practice.

By the time basketball practice started, all the stability Jake had been trying to maintain all day had shattered like a porcelain statue sculpted by a skilled craftsman and accidentally caught on a child's elbow.

After C had run up to him and informed him that Hope had some important business to attend to and was likely to be late, it was as if a cup of gasoline had been poured into the little flame of anger lurking inside, and a flame burst forth:

"How dare he? Coming to school and not showing up for practice? What kind of hide-and-seek game is this? Why didn't he come up and talk to me himself? There's an important game with XY coming up and he's the captain, for fuck sake! Fuck! Who is he? Angel or demon? I haven't been this annoyed in a long time! Maybe he's avoiding me on purpose. It's okay, silly, we'll meet tonight, and I'll make sure I get my money's worth. It'll be a surprise! Get ready!"