Page 70 of Tutoring Mr. Hotshot

“Not this time. I’d already warned you. But then again, we’d warned them too. If he tries to press charges or anything, I’ll speak up for you. Harassment and discrimination go against the code of conduct as much as your punch does. He’ll be digging his own grave.”

“That’s true, I guess. Was there anything else you needed to tell me?”

He shook his head. “Not really. Just wanted to remind you I have your back, and that this isn’t a solo fight.”

I wait for whatever he has to say next. What comes out of his mouth is nothing I would have predicted?

“My niece is trans. I didn’t say anything last time we spoke because she’s not out to everyone yet, and I refuse to betray her trust. She’s trying to plan for what comes next as far as her transition goes, but it’s hard when everyone refuses to acknowledge her preferred gender and pronouns. So yeah, I’m in support of all things LGBTQIA+. You’ve got an ally in me.”

“Thanks, Coach. And tell your niece I’m excited for her. How old is she?”

He pulls out his phone. “She’s almost sixteen, which makes it hard. My brother is progressive enough to understand. His wife is not. They’re having issues because of it.”

“I’m sorry to hear that. If she’s up for it, I could ask Bellamy or Jake if their sibling Royce would be up to chatting with her. They’re non-binary and from what I hear, they’re cool. It might help her to be around others living trans or androgynous lifestyles, right?”

Coach’s smile grew. “That’s a great idea. I’d love if you’d find out for me. I could reach out to Luke Swift to get connected to Jake Bellport myself; however, it might help to have someone on the inside with this.”

“I agree,” I tell him right as noise behind the door picks up. We both turn to it in confusion.

It opens before either of us can vocalize anything. When I realize I know the person standing there, I relax a bit. No wonder there was an uproar.

Bishop waves to Coach. “Sorry to interrupt. I was looking for Andry.”

“You’re good,” Coach replies in a quiet voice. “You’re… Brutal Bishop.”

The large man in the door nods as he steps forward. He reaches across the desk to shake Coach’s hand. “I am. I hear you’re this team’s coach. Andry had lots of good things to say.”

He’s not wrong. I did say a lot of good stuff about Coach’s efforts at teaching us to be good players on the ice. Most of it was to hint that I’ve got hockey experience under my belt, though some of it was just to let them know I had an ally on the team.

“Oh… wow. That’s good. Thanks, Andry.”

I wave a hand. “No thanks for me. It’s true.”

Bishop pats my shoulder, grabbing my attention. “How does lunch sound? We can grab Rodney too if he’s not in a class or anything.”

“He’s not,” I reply. I don’t have to check since I’ve memorized his schedule.

“Would you like to join us, Coach?”

The man can’t agree fast enough. I wind up at lunch with Bishop, Coach, and Rodney. It’s a strange mix, yet it seems to work.

CHAPTER25

Rodney

“Are you sure he’s ok with us being here without them?” I ask for the millionth time.

Andry nods, patient as ever. “He told me it was fine. You’re his brother. I’m his friend. He’d like us to have some peace to study.”

Ever since this social media revenge thing started, we’ve struggled to get a time alone. If either of us are on campus, it’s chaos. People approach us like we’re frigging celebrities or something.

I have a strange life these days.

All I want to do is to sit with my boyfriend in the library as we work on his class assignments. Instead, we get interrupted every two minutes by someone else who loves hockey or who saw our pictures. It’s more than just the fans who walk up to us.

“Just because he’s both of those things doesn’t mean it’s fine.”

He shrugs. “Little genius, you’re worrying for no reason. Text your brother if you’re unsure.”

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