Push the beds together, making room for all

"Neither of those beds is big enough for two people," frowned John. "I guess the best way is to push them together so that each of us at least gets two-thirds of a bed."

Kate and Ilyana looked at each other a little uncomfortably. "Uh, do you think that's really necessary? I think Ilyana and I can fit together on one," said Kate.

"Yeah, we can squeeze in," agreed Ilyana, sounding somewhat unconvinced as she eyed the small bed.

"Nonsense," he asserted, "You can't get a good night's sleep like that. If I push them together you'll sleep much more comfortably."

He gripped the side of the nearer bed and started slowly edging it into position, but Kate stopped him.

"Um... I'm not ready for this. I thought I was, but I'm not. Maybe you could room with one of the other pairs of girls tonight instead. Is that okay?"

"Oh, uh, sure I understand," he backpedalled, mollified. "Sorry, I didn't mean to be too forward."

"Yeah, I know," said Kate.

Gathering his bags, he opened the door to leave and froze mid-step. There was Coach Vanessa standing right there in the hall, poised to knock on the door, and now blinking surprisedly at the appearance of John in the girls' room with all his luggage in tow.

"John? What are you doing in here with all your stuff? Don't you have your own room?" she asked suspiciously.

The three of them stumbled and stammered for an answer but with Kate already flustered the truth came out quickly. True to Kate's prediction, Vanessa "freaked". She declared in no uncertain terms that the board of education would have her throat if they knew anything remotely like this was taking place under her watchful supervision, and that the only responsible solution was to shuttle John directly back to the airport and onto the next flight home, which is exactly what she did.

Later in life, John often looked back on that night wondering what might have been. Maybe you should rewind the story and find out!

The End