IR Day 18 - Part 3

You find Michelle at the restaurant that she chose in the city, a trendy, upscale place with some hipster vibes. She’s already got a fancy coffee beside her and a Macbook open in front of her. She smiles and beckons to you, and this is one more change that you have to get used to. The reality of having someone like Ingrid in your life is one thing, but adulthood is something else. So is celebrity.

You come from a small town in central Florida that’s known for a well-regarded but small state campus, a swamp full of gators, a controversial sorority, and an all-women biker gang. You thought that one day you might play professionally and fantasized about playing for the U.S. team. Fantasizing is not the same as expecting.

FUTA is just getting started, but everything you hear makes it sound as though it’s a hit. Men like to watch for the fan service and women like to watch because it’s different and aggressively feminine in a way that other women’s sports are not.

You’ve made it at least modestly big by being involved with FUTA this way. Especially as a team captain. The fact that you spend all your time thinking about Ingrid instead of FUTA can’t make that go away.

Michelle is glad to see you. And she’s the only coach you’ve ever had who has never yelled at you. Still… from the serious tone in her voicemail and the face she’s wearing right now… you aren’t going to be able to weasel out of anything today. You have to face the music. The life of a celebrity is complicated. The life of a professional athlete? Arguably even more so. You are both. Not famous enough to act like a god, but just famous enough that acting like a normal person won’t cut it.

You sit down and smile hesitantly.

“Hi,” you say. “You look good.”

She does. You’ve never seen Michelle dressed nicely before. It’s not like she’s a slob or anything, but she was literally an assistant coach for the university covering for like three different programs because the athletics department was so small. You remember how she had to convince her program director to let her go with you to Soccer Camp by saying it would be good publicity for the school.

That feels like a long time ago. No one had any idea what was really going on with the camp. What Annette really had in mind.

Now that you think about that, it seems kind of strange. Almost a little creepy.

You shake your head.

“You good?” Michelle asks.

“Yup,” you reply, hoping that it is true.

“OK, let’s get to work.”