Changing the Rules (Richter Book 1)(16)

“Any idea where those quizzes might be?”

Kyle nodded and pointed to one of the locked filing cabinets. “I make copies for him all the time. Especially after a sub has come in.”

Armed with that, Cooper fiddled with the shop keys until he found the one needed for the cabinet. With Kyle’s help, he found appropriate quizzes for the classes that challenged him, and gave Kyle the task of making copies.

With the promise of coming early the next day, Cooper left Kyle to the office printer and made his way to the track field.



Coach Bennett, or simply Coach, as everyone called him, stood in front of the team with Cooper at his side. As he addressed the students, they sat in various stages of stretches on the field.

“This is Coach Mitchel. He’s going to be helping with sprints and hurdles starting on Monday. Today I’m having him circulate so he can get to know you and the team as a whole.”

Unlike the classroom, the field was filled with kids that truly wanted to be there.

“You have two new teammates. Claire?”

Cooper tried not to smile when Claire raised her hand and the other kids turned to look at her.

“And Terrance.”

The younger student raised his hand.

“I’ll have Coach Mitchel circulate with the both of you through sprints and field events to see where you land. We have our invitational in less than a month. Any of you who haven’t hit your parents up for donations, get on it unless you want to be schlepping candy bars for a buck a piece for the rest of the season.”

There were lots of moans from the team.

“Okay, that’s it. Seniors, get some stretching in and two laps before you split up.”

With their dismissal, the students started talking while the seniors took over.

“Do they really have to sell candy bars?” Cooper asked.

“Haven’t had to for years. Between the parent donations and the invitational, we get what we need. But you need to cattle-prod these kids and remind them of the alternative.”

Coach Bennett walked him over to the sand pits and introduced him to the long-and triple-jump coach. As they stood there in small talk, the students started to run the track.

Cooper’s eyes found the only student he knew as she kept pace with the high school kids in the pack.

She stayed right in the middle. Not overachieving, not lagging behind.

Yet she stuck out.

Maybe it was because Cooper knew Claire wasn’t a high school senior.

Maybe it was because they worked together.

Or maybe it was because they were a pair of magnets that kept slipping by each other until the right parts could connect.

He tore his gaze away and stopped torturing himself.

“. . . did you run, Cooper?”

Cooper found himself blinking, digging hard to find the question the jump coach had just asked.

He ended up shaking his head. “Sorry . . .”

Coach Bennett patted him on his back. “Yeah, they didn’t look like that when we were in high school,” the older man told him.

When they laughed, Cooper reminded himself that he was looking at Claire, who wasn’t only age appropriate, she was equal in many other ways. What the coaches were looking at were several underage girls. That, somehow, put a thickness in his throat he didn’t like.

“You were asking?” Cooper redirected the conversation.

“I wanted to know what your event was in track?”

“I didn’t run track.”

Coach Bennett narrowed his eyes. “Really? Most if not all of our coaches were runners at some point.”

Cooper shrugged. “I was too busy running into trouble. Ever since I started subbing at the high school level, I realized I like this age group. Thinking about starting night classes to get my permanent teaching credentials and not just the emergency one.”

Coach Bennett shook his head. “I don’t know if I’d do it again. I’ve taught math for twenty years. Each year classes get bigger, regulations get thicker, and it feels like I’m not making a damn difference in most of these kids’ lives. If it wasn’t for track, I probably would have changed professions five years in.”

“Good thing I volunteered out here, then,” Cooper said.

Thankfully, any other personal questions were diverted when Claire and Terrance jogged over.

Cooper purposely avoided Claire’s eyes.

Coach Bennett turned to the students. “Okay, you two . . . today you’re concentrating on jumps. Tomorrow sprints. I don’t care about form, I just want to see where you land. Unless you have a preference.”

Terrance shrugged, and Claire blew out a breath.

“I’ll take that as a no.”

Again, neither of them spoke.

Coach Bennett looked at the jumps coach. “You got ’em, Mark?”

Mark offered a wave, and Bennett turned his attention to another spot on the field.

“Okay, kids. There are two key rules in long jump.” He pointed to a white line. “Never start your jump after this line. Even a toe disqualifies it.”

Cooper watched Claire as she nodded.

“Second, when you land, fall forward. Landing on your ass or falling back on a hand takes away inches if not feet from your jump.” Mark pointed to the white line again. “On or behind the white line.” He pointed at the sand. “Fall forward.”