persnicketiest | what's all that racket

I only regret not seeing it.

( it dawns on him that he could have been there, would have been there probably. to witness it, to better speak out against some abusive shithead coach with the weight of his own worth despite his already turbulent reputation. now all he has is impotent shit-stirring online. )

Ah shit, hey I forgot I have a meeting. ( no he didn't, and no he doesn't. but he does have an idea. ) I gotta let you go, but congrats on cutting the dead weight and getting free.

Uh, yeah, thanks.

[ it's so abrupt she is off-footed for a handful of seconds, shaking her head like a confused dog. ]

Don't make me text you in all caps again.

No promises.

( this was the first time he's surfaced from the haze of anger and depression since the accident, and he tries to make it sound like a joke a little bit. but she can't get used to it. he's going to try to capitalize on it, but he can't let her expect this again.

she's the only one who bothered to reach out, and she doesn't deserve his bullshit. )

You should go sleep for a week, probably. It was good talking to you.

You too.

[ the smile is in her voice again, a soft hum. she doesn't say she misses him because he might die but she thinks it really, really hard. ]

Hej då, G.

Bye, Lind.

( he hangs up but doesn't get off the phone for another couple of hours. the calls he makes are awkward and uncomfortable but he's a twat and everyone knows he's a twat so really that just makes it easier for him to cut through bullshit, even if he doesn't get a ton of leads. it's enough for now.

and he may not have his family's money or resources anymore, but the network he built on his reputation was his own. maybe lind won't thank him, it's not like she needs his help lining up new coaches—but the ones he urges to approach her are at least the stand up kind.

he thinks about turning down an impromptu on skype for an online hot take for some nobody working at an espn subsidiary, but what's he got to lose at this point?

and so a week later he's peppered online saying things like "al couldn't coach himself out of his own asshole" and "lind barely needs coaching anyway, i could do it with my good hand tied behind my back and that's saying something considering only two of my fingers on my right even work" and "just watch, now that she's cut the dead weight she's gonna dominate, and if she doesn't i'll break the two working fingers i have left."

which okay it's a little much even for him. why he's so pressed, he doesn't know. lind always got under his skin, and he couldn't figure out to get under hers. and here he is, acting like they're opposite each other with a net between them again, letting her live in his head. )

[ its about another week before she reaches out again but she has had a lot going on. al can't revoke her visa but she moves home before it expires anyway, settling back in to the lind homestead with her brother's help. she eats a lot of tiny fishes on brown bread and starts getting her energy back slowly, hits the ball around on the court at her primary school.

alex continues sending her screenshots of gabriel's antics, even though she doesn't ask. (he sends her screenshots of her "netflix boyfriend" liking and retweeting gabriel as well, really adding fuel to the fire.) she gets a few offers from a few fairly well-known coaches and she knows it is his doing but she demurs on answering. she's been sick, you see, she is still recovering from the hell flu, yeah she played sick, yeah that's insane, right?

eventually her parents sit her down and tell her that she can retire if she wants and she realizes she doesn't want to. she loves tennis. ]

you could coach me, huh? easy peasy?

you basically coach yourself, perfectionist.

( has he ever been a bigger hypocrite? )

okay

do it

coach me

lol very funny

i'm not kidding

i'll even come to you

i'll bring alex if that sweetens the pot

i was just chapping his ass, i didn't mean to fuck with you. for once, really.

( he thought maybe he went too far yeah but it was obviously just to mess with the guy. gabriel's got nothing to lose anymore, he can trot out on limbs like that. )

[ well, okay. that... doesn't feel great but no, fuck him. ]

tough shit, you said it and i'm cashing in

( fuck. why is this spinning out on him? )

there's nothing to cash, lind. it was a dumb hyperbolic turn of phrase. a joke on me and him, not you.

cool cool

you and your two fingers can stop now, i think he gets the picture

i bet you have actual coaches lining up anyway, right?

( he is too stupid to be trying to be this slick )

all of them sent by you

they'd be lucky to work with you.

which is not a conclusion they would have come to without your intervention

they all seem great

you hate them all huh

every single one of them is gonna fucking coddle me bc one cunt made me cry

like i give a shit if you shout at me across the court when i fuck up the 18th time in a row? i deserve that bc clearly i haven't been fucking listening

( ohh. well he really fucked it up huh. )

no c'mon
you're enough a pain in the ass they'll shout in no time

bullshit

g you have enough clout to have them all contact me and you think they're gonna shout at me after you eviscerated al in a very public and deserved shaming? federer liked all your tweets

i didn't even know he was ON twitter!

i'm not the reason they're not going to shout at me

( it takes a few for him to respond. he has to go splash water on his face and stare at himself in the mirror and try to not confront more baggage than he has the emotional capacity for. )

i'm sorry.

( all the times he ran his mouth and didn't have to face the consequences, knocking at his door. )

don't be

no kid like me is going to have to deal with his bullshit anymore, it's a net good

[ it is, she believes that. al will be fine, he'll keep coaching, but he won't be able to play his kids until they collapse because people will be watching now. all because her friend had her back. he shouldn't be sorry about that. ]

( it skates a little too close to home, but he's already pushed too far. )

yeah

(no subject)

cauda - 2024-06-16 03:58 (UTC) - Expand

i saw you made a post but it cracks me up to capstone this thread

persnicketiest - 2024-06-16 20:53 (UTC) - Expand