Malcolm
I grip Mandy's hand tighter as she leads me through the park. As we pass other people, I find myself looking for students from my school or players and parents from the team. The ballfields in the distance are still full of players and spectators, but the open area and playgrounds are beginning to clear out as nighttime settles, the sky steadily growing a richer shade of red as darkness slowly overtakes the blue.
The middle-school soccer team that I'm coaching is actually doing very well. When I'm not preparing for my classroom or talking to—or daydreaming about—Mandy, I've been spending my time learning everything I never knew about soccer. Thankfully, I have great help. Rita Sanchez and her husband are very nice and more than willing to help me learn the finer differences betw
