I saw the post on Indeed

And thought at last, I found the thing I need

A coaching job at my alma mater

I asked my old friend, a former employee, to be a reference

She said she’d rather not if I was coaching those Christian school adolescents

But I carried on and found some others

Eventually clicked submit

So the email about an interview I was excited to get

But before I went my husband said, “let me warn you”

Just because it says ‘Christian’

Doesn’t mean you and them have the same mission”

My other friend who went to the same school

Told me not to be a fool

“They say one thing but do the other”

But I envisioned training up and coming track stars

Sisters and brothers

Reliving my glory days

I went to the interview

With the head coach, some guy I never knew

In the athletic wing were all the trophies and state championship banners, pictures of student athletes were new things

My basketball team’s trophy from 20 years ago had been crammed to the back of the case

I hoped the coach didn’t see the dismay on my face

There were no students around, it was summer

This coach, Stacy, looked perhaps a few years older than me

I could tell by his handshake he lifted weights

He led me to his office, left the door slightly ajar

He pointed to a chair on the other side of a desk

I didn’t want to sit that far

“May I sit here instead,” I asked, pointing to the chair across from his, close to the door

He agreed, said “whatever you please”

I wore a pencil skirt and flats, a pink blouse

He, athletic wear

He was a coach, so that was fair

We sat and he asked about my experience

He said, “Your resume was impressive at a glimpse”

He asked what church I attended

I felt like I pretended

Said the one just outside my neighborhood

He said, “You look good’

It was getting strangely hot

Had I’d seen anyone in the hallway? I forgot

I inched to the edge of my seat

He asked if I liked to compete

There was a strange twinkle in his eye

He said, “Here we want our student-athletes to give morality a try

Are our standards something you can live by?”

I looked down at my portfolio

Next thing I knew, he’d grabbed my wrist bone

His grip was ironclad

I thought to myself, this is bad

I rose quickly

Didn’t scream

But answered the phone – looped my left arm under his, connected it with my right wrist

It was a jiu jitsu move

Could it actually set me loose?
He tried to grab my hair but ha ha ha – it was too short

My arms were free

He was in front of the door, lunged at me

But I ducked and double-legged him first

Rammed my small shoulder into his gut as hard as I could

It worked

He was taken down

I thought about striking him but stood

Some people rushed through the door then

My old friend!

And my husband and my other friend!

I asked how they got in

The one had kept a key from when she was an employee

I was safe

My other friend said, “This time we got his face!”

He pulled out a camera that he’d hidden

By his success he was smitten

He’d turned out to be a private investigator

This wasn’t the coach’s first offense

Or his second

The four of us left together, the coach with the cops

Indeed, the place beckoned