21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21

Telke

I pace around in the staff room. My heart hammers in my chest a bit too strong for me to stay in my seat.

There are tapping noises on keyboards in the office, and I bet some of the staff are rolling their eyes at me. I don't want to be pacing either, but at least pacing here will be better than pacing in the corridors and causing issues with students that are in classrooms.

I take a breath, slowly letting it out.

Maybe Winnie wasn't expecting to have sex with me and therefore needed the time to think about it and process what happened. For me, it is simple. I think I like her, and I want to get to know her more. I didn't get to know her just so I can fuck her either.

She hasn't given me a chance to tell her about that. Not to mention... If I say that, would I look worse? Feels like it would be too obvious? And... there's no chance someone will tell a female that everything he did is to fuck her either, so...

I hate this... Why can't everything be as simple as floatball? Just smack the ball hard enough in the right direction and score, that's all. There's no guess whether you get a point or not.

I check the time again. It is almost time for my next lesson. I'm teaching the class floatball. There are a few twitches in my arms. I'm ready. I'm always ready for floatball.

"Telke..." It's Jackel again. Somehow, both of us have plenty of time in the staff room together this term, which is interesting. Usually, we don't meet outside of early morning, lunchtime, and after school.

"Yes?"

"It looks like you've recovered completely."

"Yes. What's about that?"

"Nothing. I just think it is fascinating that you're fine already. Don't get me wrong. I don't wish for you to suffer, but you did heal up well from the disaster. The doctors and technology are getting better."

I feel my chest. "Those sure are. I know you mean to tell me to stop pacing."

He shrugs with a smile. "Maybe."

"I tried. If I don't walk, I'd be fidgeting around, and that still won't be good for anyone."

He lets out a soft sigh. "It's all good for me. Next time, you need a few lessons early in the day to help with that."

Maybe he is right. I've never mentioned that to the principal and the group that's in charge of making the schedule. I don't have a preference about when my lessons will be, and I know it is hard enough to coordinate everyone that I don't want to make it harder for them.

But maybe it will help everyone if I can calm myself with some activities early in the day.

Or... Maybe I'm extra fidgety today because of what happened between Winnie and me, or the lack thereof.

Anyway, it is almost time to get ready for the lesson. I pick up my water bottle and the clipboard as I put on my cap and turn off the computer.

At least it will be something else to focus on and to get my mind off Winnie for a bit.

At the sports ground, no one is there. There's still time before the ongoing lesson will be over anyway.

I open the door into the storage room, picking out the bin with floatball bats.

Where there's floatball, everything will work out well.

I pick up the bag of floatballs as I head out of the storage room, resting most of it over my shoulder. I imagine most other beings will need a few more trips to gather everything, but I can do it quicker, just like I can refill the shelves in the library quicker than Winnie, even when she cheated.

Winnie...

I glance in the direction of the library as I set up the field for the lesson. She is probably having lessons inside and telling stories to kids. Meanwhile, I just wish she would talk to me.

I let out a breath after I set up the net for the goals. I press on the remote, lifting the net until it is at the right height on the field.

The flying ships used for the game are still inside the parking slots in the storage room, but the students can move those when the class starts. I wish there could be more floatball lessons, but I have to teach them different sports in the city, which are a lot.

The bell rings. The students will show up in no time.

It isn't lesson time yet, but my blood is already rushing through my bloodstream.

Slowly, students get ready, and I get a few of them to drive the flying ships out. The complete version of floatball is only taught to the older ones in the school after they learn the basics of driving a spaceship. The younger ones will get practice on the ground. It won't be as exciting without strategies enabled by the extra room to move and driving skills.

When I first started learning floatball, it was quite an experience. The coach teaching me had two arms, so he couldn't teach me how to coordinate my hands. I don't have a problem with them for normal activities, but how to use them to make sure I'm the most efficient took time. The more arms there are, the more decisions to be made.

The flying ships are all lined up at the starting position now and the class has gathered.

I blow the whistle for everyone to gather at the center of the field. "Hello, class. Nice to meet all of you today. Is everyone ready for FLOATBALL?"

Well... I think I'm the only one that's this excited about floatball and my two upper arms aren't hiding that. "First, let's get started with some warm-ups."

They jog around the field, leaving me some extra time to stare at the flying ships. I want to be driving them myself. I get to demonstrate, but that's different.

After the students come back, we stretch and move the arms to get ready. "Everyone, we'll divide into teams of two and each group will get a floatball to practice passing it to each other. Then we'll get started with the match."

Different from basketball, which I also enjoy, especially when I have four arms; floatball makes it a bit more fair to beings. Everyone gets one bat regardless of how many arms they have.

The design of the flying ship is simple too. There's the controller stick, pedals for gas, and that's pretty much all there is. I think even younger kids can control it, but maybe the risk is a bit too high for most parents.

Technically, floatball isn't a contact sport, but competition can be wild with crashes and bumps. Therefore, everyone still has to put on a helmet, which is convenient, with the earbuds for communication between team members. Except sometimes we skip the helmet for regular training, not when they are kids, though.

Every student gets into their ship. I go around and make sure their helmets are set and they put on their seat belts.

"Class, don't forget the strap for the bat, too."

A few hurry to put that on. I know some are going to forget.

It isn't against the rules if someone doesn't use the strap. Some beings like to swap hands when they want to, but for the students, it is better to make sure they put on the straps so none of them will end up dropping the bat when they fly around.

After checking the last seatbelt, I take a step back, behind the rows of ships so none will hit me. "After the whistle, slowly step on the pedal. Take your time. If you go too fast, I'll stop you and you will have to stand to the side and watch the others play."

I blow the whistle, and the students get going. I put on the earbud so I can talk to every ship when needed. When everyone's up there on the field, I pick up my bat and head to the bin of floatballs.

"Here, everyone, we'll start with the group that's far from me. Catch and pass to your teammate."

I toss a floatball and send it flying to that team. This is one of the basics for coaches. One will have to be able to reliably put the floatball at the right spot for the players to practice.

"Use the net to slow it, then strike to the right place."

I toss another floatball into the air. "Team two, get ready." I smack the ball right to where one of them can catch easily. The ball slows as it loses momentum at just the right time.

The student catches it and manages to slingshot it to her teammate at the other end of the field.

"If you can't reach the ball, move the ship."

I start with the next floatball and the next until every team is practicing with one. These may be the only times I get to smack floatballs. I used to train for floatball and practice all the time, but... not everyone gets to become the top players that can represent the region. I managed to the city level, but then... Maybe I'd need a few more hands to make it further, if that.

But teaching kids sports isn't that bad after all. I love sharing floatball with them and I hope some of them will achieve even more than me.

The students move the ships from side to side as they practice with the ball. Even though I've taught them floatball before, it looks like they need more practice before they can play against each other in a team sport environment and for the match to be meaningful.

Maybe next week. I want to make sure everyone can hit and catch most of the time before they play a match, otherwise, retrieving the ball from the edges all the time is going to be boring.

Or maybe they should practice hitting the ball into the goal first, that's always interesting. Even though it's not a competition, everyone likes to score points.

I wipe the sweat from my forehead. Even though I'm not playing with them, it is hot to be outside. There are times when I envy teachers whose classes are indoors.

I blow the whistle. "Class, it's water break. Park the ships back to the grid and take a break."

Floatball is good that it can stay in the air until something pokes it. The wind isn't strong, so I guess we can just leave those in the air. "Don't worry about picking up the balls. We'll be practicing something else soon."

The floatballs remain in the air above me as the students take a sip of their water.

It's like watching balloons up there. Some competitions will turn on the light of the floatballs and make them shine. They said it makes the competitions more entertaining. I don't know about that, but if that means we can keep having big tournaments, it is what it is as long as I can see the ball clearly.

The good old days...

I blow the whistle again after all of them have drunk. "Class, back to the ships and let's practice scoring points!"

That's my favorite topic, maybe they'll like that too.

Meanwhile... I can only hope things between Winnie and I can get better.