Kiss of A Titan
Chapter 38

Coach took his time to watch us differently and exhaled thrice to get the feeling of hot air out of his lungs. Then he looked sideways at no one in particular and shook his head to ensure that he was thinking straight. The pressure mounted on him, which he had to deal with, had been overwhelming and at that moment of seeing Coach Robbins trying hard to suppress his emotions, I felt sorry for him and horribly guilty at myself for putting him in a very difficult situation that he

knew would only end in the principal's office.

His face was completely reddish with vigorous sweat on his forehead.

"Be honest with me, Richard, and explain to me what the hell happened out here?!", Coach Robbins yelled on the top of his voice. We could all see the huge veins that appeared on the side of his nape after his first utterance to us in the gym which was definitely unfriendly though expected The rippling effects of his vibrant voice. His hoarse voice thundered heavily in the gym and like a whiplash.

"Nothing, Coach, nothing happened... I only did what I thought was right", Richard mumbled despite knowing the consequences of his denial.

"Are you kidding me, Jefferson? You kissed someone, not just anyone but a contestant and your very own teammate right when the game was almost over", Coach Robbins explained and twirled around in frustration. We all flinched at what he said and for a brief moment, Richard's eye shot across towards mine hoping to see my reaction to what Coach Robbins reminded the team of. What he saw was a blunt face without any positive expression staring into his eyes that were showing tearful signs of agonizing pain. He had done pretty well in putting up a brave boldness in front of the other teammates when he was caught on camera as well as after the games ended and not until Coach Robbins began his interrogation that his eyes exhibited signs of regret mixed with that of pain. The way he looked at me tore my heart to shreds and right there, I wanted to share his burden that was too heavy for him to bear but Coach Robbins' sarcastic statement weaken my resolve to say something in Richard's defense.

"And you god-damned want me to shake your hands for a job well done after embarrassing the entire team in front of the whole world", "If I hadn't stepped in, she won't have been able to swim", "That's a bloody lie and you know that!", "I...", "It's wasn't your place to help her out and you made a total mess of things by putting up a freaking show!", Coach Robbins shrieked, raising his forefinger at Richard.

"Coach, don't take this the wrong way but it could be Richard was kinda right about her",

It was Katherine who spoke and the air seemed to have gotten less tense for both the Coach and the culprit as the discussion suddenly took another turn. Thanks to Katherine's remark, Linder and the other boys became resolute to lift up their devastated faces to

"I'm with Katherine on this", "Paige, this isn't the time on choosing which sides you are on", "I ain't taking sides, coach", "Sounds like you guys really want to get kicked out of the team", "Hear them out, Coach...", "You too, Linder?", Coach Robbins asked, perplexed by the team's noble support behind Richard, "Maybe they got a better explanation for voicing out their opinions", Linder retorted and Coach Robbins Eyes fell on the next athlete standing beside Linder. "Don't look at me, Coach. I still think Richard's guilty. Whatever the case, He shouldn't have done what he did", "Crazy as it sounds; Paige and Katherine have a point which shouldn't be ignored", "They do?", "Seems like it", The tallest boy beside Richard, rejoined but Coach Robbins didn't yield to his athletes nor was he ready to give anyone else a chance to intervene. He remained adamantly headstrong regardless of the circumstances of listening to Katherine's logical explanation which might explain the real reason for Richard to have acted that way to save me from myself.

I never expected Katherine would risk her disposition to ease the tension the rest of us was battling to deal with and I too, became curious of what Katherine had in mind about Richard's incredible display at the gymnasium and wanted to know if there was something else that had prompted underlying motives for the culprit to have committed such atrocious act in a game of athleticism officially officiated by referees and judges from the national association of athleticism in the region.

Coach Robbins stole one last look at Richard and then, at me hoping to see if we had something to say in our defense before responding back to the speculations from the boys particular the likes of Linder and Clyde.

"I don't care what games the rest of you are pulling to get Richard out of trouble and I won't fall for it", Coach Robbins replied, adamant and unwilling to concede to the two gymnasts' claims. Richard had surprisingly fallen silent ever since the others started talking and his focus was on me rather than Coach Robbins. Part of me knew that he was waiting to hear my opinion about the incident but to his disappointment, I couldn't cultivate the same amount of resolve Katherine had to voice her opinion

"We aren't making this up just to ease his punishment",

"I still think you all are",

"Listen, Coach. Richard could be right that Rosalie might have been too traumatized to jump into the water when it was time for her to start the race", "But that doesn't explain why he did have to go up there and make a huge mess", "You saw it too, Coach. She was reluctant and could possibly have put you in the same tight spot instead Richard taking the blame alone", Wendy commented "It was her first time. It's okay to be scared in a preseason game when it's your first time and It might be she was frightened because she knew she was inexperienced, that's all", Coach Robbins retorted in my defense but Wendy and the other gymnasts were done yet with the argument. "We get what you mean, Coach but with all due respect, we have seen it happen to her before and Richard can attest to this", Paige remarked brazenly.

"Is that true? Well.., let's very much hear it from the girl herself. Rosalie, please tell me if Paige's telling the truth?", Coach Robbins asked politely. His politeness struck a deep sensation to my senses to the point that I couldn't find any suitable means to hide truth from him but his openness in his humble request, left a lasting impression on me that he had never been angry with me except Richard whom he deemed to have committed the atrocity right beside him when the incident occurred.

Like every other coach would have thought, Coach Robbins knew I was a rookie who barely got enough experience to make a perfect swim for gold. It wasn't as a surprise to me anymore that he might had foreseen that I had the room and the tendency of making a mistake when he chose me which marked my first time appearance in a game where each names of the contestants from each of the teams, were called in the commentary though it was a pre-season game between the host and the visitors.

"I...", I stuttered, looking nervous. The incident was still fresh in my memory and it was affecting a whole part of my thoughts no matter how hard I fought to deal with it. With all eyes looking in my direction, it became harder for me to communicate something relevant enough to convince everyone of my innocence using speech language.

"Rosalie, don't be afraid and tell me if you really do have a phobia when it comes to water?", "I...guess I still do even though I thought it was gone when I started swimming a couple weeks ago", "No wonder you mentioned something like that to me when you first wanted to join the team and I guess I didn't quite take you seriously", Coach Robbins said to himself fondling his hairy chin. He started pondering on what to do and for a brief moment, Richard felt utterly relieved that his teammates had come through for him and shifted his eyes away from mine to Coach Robbins.

"Then it means Richard was aware of it all along but failed to let you know about it", Clyde said out of the blue and his prejudiced opinion was welcomed with angry stares. He was taken aback and felt confused at the outcome of his comment which had ironically received with contempt rather than being graciously welcomed by his listeners.

"What?", he asked looking confused at everyone, "Why's everyone looking at me like that?", He questioned but he was ignored. He felt abandoned but Tyler came to his rescue just as he was about to dash out of the gym.

"Clyde has a point there, Coach. His words may have sound punishing but I believe it's the bitter truth which explains why he acted out of ignorance", "Ignorance, Tyler? I believe it's better if you keep your mouth shut and take it back", Linder said sharply.

"I was merely stating the facts", "Maybe it's best if you do what Linder says and Shut the fuck up", another boy commented in Linder's stead.

"Now, guys, no fighting amongst yourself until this issue is resolved",

"Yes, Coach", "As far as I am concerned, I can understand the fear she's been fighting to overcome on her own but she didn't say a thing about it neither did she come to me nonetheless, it wasn't Richard's place to make things right..., It's mine! But he went ahead anyway and did more harm than good", Coach Robbins explained his careful thoughts and everybody else went silent after that.

"Listen carefully, as it stands, Not only the two culprit are in the position of being expelled from school but I am in danger of losing my job as your coach.....", "Expulsion?!"

"Yes, most likely but it's only my intuition so get the facts straight..." Coach Robbins said and continued. "And I sincerely hope that the principal won't hold you responsible for this mess you both caused." Coach Robbins beckoned the two of us to step out.

Richard and I obeyed as though we were puppets and he moved aside to join Linder and the rest of the boys. The others became curious as to what Coach Robbins had in mind planned for the two of us but they remained where they stood as spectators. Like a couple, we both walked to the center of the room but stopped a few meters away from everyone.

"Turn around and face us", Coach ordered and we did as he told us without any fuss. Not only did our movements seem to match each others' but our eyes met at a junction before facing the team and I suddenly recalled how soft his lips were when he kissed me.

Traces of the incident kept flashing in my mind reflecting the amazing feeling of how he locked lips with even though it was for a brief moment and I'm sure he must have felt the same way judging by the way he now looked at me with the same very eyes that had lingered in my thoughts since we knew. Now it was difficult to get him off my mind and thought it was a short kiss, it felt like an eternity to both which I really wanted to last as long as I breathe. His kiss had stolen my breath away and that was left for me to linger on was the lasting remembrance of his show of love towards me.

We faced the entire team not too sure if their gaze fixed on us had a friendlier or hateful look particularly all the female gymnasts but we had no choice than to stand in front of everyone in compliance with Coach Robbins demands for an apology for what he deemed as an erroneous mistake. Although we were both embarrassed to face the others, we bravely stared at everyone in the eyes without flinching.

"For what's worth, both of you need to apologize to the entire team and I for what both of you did actually", I wanted to speak but Richard was quite in a hurry to speak as well. We both became confused as to who was to go first. "You go, first", "No, you should apologize first", I retorted, unwilling to concede. Coach Robbins suddenly became frustrated with our hesitation and soon spoke out to clear off the confusion.

"This is no joke, Jefferson!", "Sorry, Coach but...", "Settle it between you two and say the god-damned apology", Coach Robbins barked with his hand folded across his chest.

"I guess I'll be saying it first", "Be done with it, boy. We don't have all day to stick around in the gym", "Fine. To the entire team, I'm really sorry for what I did and uh...it was clear to everyone that I really let you guys down.....and....For what's... really worth my time in the...team, I'm sorry I didn't handle the situation better and things got complicated", "Save the next speech for the principal. That'll be enough for us. Thomason, your turn" he said and they all looked at me. At once, my feet went cold and the nervousness returned to me as I stood beside Richard too embarrassed to speak.

"I... just wanna...say", I took a slight pause and exhaled twice to relax my breath, "I wanna say... I'm sorry for being the cause of the incident. If only I... didn't hesitate to jump into the pool... Then Richard wouldn't have kissed me in front of everyone and we wouldn't be here apologizing",

I finally let out what had been bothering me and I felt partly relieved inside but with a bit of more tears in my eyes. I sniffed twice expecting criticizing stares and being reprimanded harshly by Coach Robbins but none came.