ATP Kindergarten (Chapter 32)
Title: ATP Kindergarten
Main pairings: Djokovic/A. Murray, Gasquet/Gulbis, Nadal/Del Potro, Federer/Roddick
Other characters: Ancic, Safin, Ferrero, Cilic, Monfils, J. Murray, Tursunov
Rating: G
Warning: Possible destruction of innocence
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters and this is a fiction.
Summary: Nurse Andy finds out that he might become a decent nurse while the students campaign for their favorite coaches and Marat gets an interesting message from Marin.
From the previous chapter:
Richard had had trouble falling asleep and had walked towards his dad’s bedroom, only to hear him punish Coach Andy. Terrified at the display of violence, he had spent a rough night and had dropped his fork at the breakfast table. Roger had been devastated at his son’s accusation while Andy had told Richard that it had been a huge misunderstanding.
Chapter 32: Here comes the winter break (I)
“Hi, Richie!!”
Ernests yelled his morning greetings as soon as he opened the door to class A. Everybody could feel the four year old’s presence in the room.
“Hi, Ernie.”
Richard smiled, wondering if his hair looked any different in his boyfriend’s eyes. As far as he knew, Ernests had a lot of interest in hair just like his dad who had bought him a new bottle of shampoo.
Chu.
Ernests had now become very comfortable at giving his boyfriend a peck on the cheek and Richard found it totally adorable.
“How do I look today?” The six year old asked, dying to hear what the baby boy thought about his hair.
Ernests put his face right in front of Richard’s, trying to notice if there was anything different from yesterday. “Um… your eyes look bigger?”
“What?”
Richard was disappointed but he knew that everybody deserved a second chance. “Look higher.”
So Ernests moved his gaze above the Swiss boy’s eyes and let out a small gasp.
“So?” Richard’s stomach tingled with anticipation.
“You changed your shampoo!”
“Yes, I did!”
“Your hair looks prettier!”
“I know!”
The two boys hugged in delight while Jamie shook his head from his seat. Having been Ernests’ partner in the mini-market exercise, he had assumed that the boy had excellent taste in hair. Sorry to Richard, but he thought that the Swiss boy’s hair wasn’t as energetic and cheerful as his own and he was quiet disappointed at the four year old’s enthusiasm.
“I think my hair looks better, but don’t tell him that.” Gael whispered to Jamie as they both looked on the boys who were now talking about shampoo.
“Eh, I wish we had a poll like ‘Who has the best hair in school this year?’ It’s not fair only to vote for coaches, you know.”
The Scottish boy hadn’t forgotten that it was the last day in school before winter break started and that he was supposed to choose the coach of the year today.
“So who are you voting for? I’m going for Coach Marat.” Gael beamed.
“I don’t know yet. But I think Coach Andy will win like last year.” Jamie answered.
“You think?” The French boy was alarmed. “But he won that exho! Coach Andy was the loser!”
Gael had yelled so loudly that he now had to face Richard and Ernests narrowing their eyes at him.
“Ahaha, just saying.” Gael scratched the back of his neck and left the classroom. He suddenly felt the urge to go pee.
“Meh, we have to do something, Ernie. Gael is right. Coach Andy did lose that exho. He might not win today.” Richard rubbed his chin.
“Oh…”
Ernests was very worried. Jamie had received from his mother ‘the most loved cartoon characters’ stickers for winning the doubles titles and among those stickers, Ernests and Richard had concluded - after a very heated discussion which had involved five more boys and Teacher Tim - that the Snoopy ones were the best.
Ever since then, the couple had been following the new school manager around, telling him how handsome he was and how he was nothing like Coach Marat in so many ways. Eventually, Andy had realized that the boys were after the Snoopy stickers - which cost next to nothing, compared to the custom-made animal robots - and said that he would think about getting them for the two in the next few days.
“If he doesn’t win, we won’t get those pretty stickers?” The four year old asked.
“I don’t know. But in case he feels down and doesn’t care about stickers, we should help him win.”
“How?”
Richard rolled his brain and came up with a solution. “I think this new shampoo is really nice. My brain works better! Come see me again after your tennis video class, okay? We’re going to make something.”
“Okay!”
As the bell rang, Ernests gave his boyfriend another peck on the cheek and ran back to his classroom. He really wanted those Snoopy stickers and he was going to get them.
Meanwhile, Nurse Andy was helping Mario, grateful that he had got to keep his new job. Yesterday, he and Marat had behaved their own ages in front of a scary Tim and the headmaster had kindly given them a second chance. Even though he would be jobless during the winter break, Andy was relieved to know that he could get back to his second job when the new semester started.
“Aaah… Wider, please. Just like when you sing.”
Andy urged Novak to open his mouth wider like any good nurse would do. It was time for the boy to take the first spoon of his medicine.
“Aah…”
The Serbian boy did as he was told while the nurse fed him two spoonfuls of syrup. The five year old had been coughing ever since he woke up this morning and his boyfriend had no other choice than to hold his hand and bring him to Mario.
“Yuk!!”
Novak frowned and the nurse quickly gave him a candy. Then, he took a minute to study the patient’s face. He had picked lemon and he felt that it was one of his most important tasks to get the right candy for each patient. Mario had told him that kids tend to get better faster because happiness had the power to cure and kids became happy even when they got something as small as a yummy candy.
“Ah, lemon’s always good. Thanks, Coach.” Novak smiled before coughing again.
“You’re welcome!” The nurse beamed, happy to have helped the patient. He wanted to be useful to Mario and judging by the way things were going, it seemed like he could become a decent nurse.
“So? Is he going to be okay? Will his heart come out if he coughs too much? Or was Jamie being stupid like always?” The Scottish boy couldn’t hide how worried he was. He felt like he was losing a piece of his heart every time Novak coughed.
“Ahaha, his heart will stay in its place. It’s just a light cold. He’ll be fine.”
Mario smiled as he noticed how the boys were still holding hands. There was something incredibly sweet about watching little boys link their small hands together. Unlike adults who might want something more after holding hands, kids seemed to be happy, just by sharing their warmth through their palms and fingers. Mario could see that the boys didn’t even caress or tickle each other’s fingers. The simple act of holding hands seemed to be enough for them; the bond between the boys looked that strong.
“Is there anything I can do to help him?” Andy asked again, hoping that Novak would be fit enough for a flight back home. Novak’s mother was supposed to pick them up from Serbia and Andy had waited so long to visit his boyfriend’s country.
“Well, you can help him drink water more often. And, make sure he doesn’t stay cold. No running outside or playing in the playground until he stops coughing.”
“Okay.”
Andy nodded hard, willing to do anything. He wished that he could cough in Novak’s place, but he didn’t know any witches in the neighborhood who could do such magic. He had once read in a book about such witches, but Jamie had told him that they weren’t real, or at least, they didn’t exist in their country.
“Andy, be careful not to catch a cold from him. You can still hug him and nap with him, but don’t share forks or spoons. Okay?”
Andy didn’t like Mario’s suggestion but he still nodded. He would have to hug his boyfriend more often to make it up for their less lovey-dovey lunch time.
“How many times a day does he have to take the syrup, doc?” Nurse Andy asked Mario who scribbled a note and handed it to Novak.
“Good question Andy.” The physiotherapist encouraged the nurse before looking at his patient.
“I heard you and Marin are staying in the dorm for the weekend before your parents pick you up, so give this piece of paper to Marin. He’ll make sure you take the meds at the right time.”
Both Andys were impressed at Mario’s decision. No kid was more reliable in the dormitory than the Croatian boy and Novak had had experience of skipping his medicine and drinking half the syrup in one shot.
“You’re awesome, Mario.”
The nurse was touched. He could easily picture himself loving the kids even more while helping out the Croatian. He expected to adore his second job as much as the first one and he hoped that all this experience would help him if he ever got to become a father one day. The image of a smiling Richard popped in his head but he knew that it wasn’t his call; it was the boy’s and his father’s. He could only hope that with enough karma points, he would reach his ultimate happiness someday.
“Ahahaha…”
Gael was enjoying a good laugh with Rafael after their second period until Jamie held up his left middle finger at him. If he hadn’t seen Charlie Brown holding up a sign that read ‘DANGER’ on his fingernail, he would have thought that the Scottish boy was giving him the finger.
“Jamie, that sticker is too big for a fingernail.” He kindly told his friend.
“I know. But I only have two palms. Not enough space for stickers.” Jamie admitted in a frustrated voice.
“Then, put some on your face, duh. You have a wide forehead.” Gael gave him an idea but Jamie shook his head. Snoopy stickers were classy; they weren’t made for foreheads.
“What’s the danger anyway?” Rafael asked, hoping that the boys would stay on point.
“Oh, right. I have news for you! Look out in the hallway!”
Gael, Rafael and some other boys who were alarmed at Jamie’s voice looked out the windows that led to the hallway. Richard was holding up a picket ‘Vote for Coach Andy!’ with a huge sun and a Lacoste cap drawing while Ernests’ one had the RF logo inside a big, red heart.
“Oh no! I need to make one for Coach Marat!” Gael yelped as he hurried to open his school bag. He was relieved that they had had art class first thing this morning. He had paper, scissors and even glue if he needed it.
“Hey, any nice stickers left?” He asked Jamie who grabbed his sticker box and took a few steps back.
“I’m not going to give you my stickers, Gael. Just draw something nice.”
“What if I give you three LEGO gold coins?” The French boy knew that it was an offer Jamie couldn’t resist.
“Make it five.”
“Four.”
“Deal.”
The boys shook hands as serious business partners before Gael went to the back of the classroom where his pirate ship was proudly sitting on the windowsill. He opened the secret hiding spot underneath the ship and pulled out the treasure box.
“Here you go.” Gael handed over four precious gold coins and took a good look at Jamie’s stickers.
“You can choose two.” The Scottish boy even recommended several stickers that would look good next to Coach Marat’s name.
“I’ll take these.” Gael chose one with a lazy smurf yawning and another one with Snoopy holding a tennis racquet, praying that his opponent would double fault.
Meanwhile, Rafael was out in the hallway, asking Richard if he could borrow some of his colored paper. He couldn’t just sit and watch while other boys campaigned for their favorite coaches; he wanted to do something for his dad too.
“But Juma took all the paper I had.” Richard explained how the usually sleepy boy had rubbed sleep out of his eyes and came to borrow paper.
“He did? Perhaps I should go help.”
Rafael was about to turn around and go down to the first floor when he saw a familiar face climb up the stairs.
“Juma!”
The four year old was holding two pickets ‘Coach Carlos is the best, no?’ and ‘Coach Carlos is really the best, no?’ that looked like they were written in a hurry. Just like the Spanish flag, he had chosen red and yellow paper.
“This one is for you, Rafa. I didn’t have time to draw. Time is flying, no?”
Juan Martin handed over the red picket to his boyfriend and stood next to Ernests who was a little irritated at the sudden competition.
“You’re copying Richie’s idea!” The Latvian boy frowned.
The Argentinean boy felt a little guilty but as far as he knew, Great Britain was a free country. “If he didn’t like me doing this, why did he let me borrow paper?”
“Because he’s nice!”
“If he’s okay with this, you should be too!”
“Why? Just because he’s my boyfriend?”
“You’re just pissed off because Coach Roger won’t win it.”
“What did you just say?” Ernests’ face was getting red.
“Stop it, boys.” Rafael traded places with Juan Martin so the little ones would stop arguing.
“Ernie, be nice to Juma. I thought you boys were doing better these days.” Richard put on a stern voice.
Ernests wanted to say something back but after seeing Gael run towards him with a picket for Coach Marat, he didn’t see the point of arguing with Richard. He could only hope that Coach Roger would win against all odds.
While the boys were fighting for their favorite coaches, two of those coaches were enjoying some unhealthy thoughts. In the tennis hall, Marat was picturing Juan Carlos pressed against a wall, looking wanton, while Andy was sweeping the floor, pondering about a nice revenge plan against the Russian. He had promised Tim and Roger that he wouldn’t get into another fight with Marat, but the latter had been sitting in the stands, grinning at him in the least friendly way possible which made Andy very nervous and unpleasant.
“Don’t you have anything better to do?” The American asked, sweeping dust towards Marat’s feet.
“Mind your own business.” Marat simply moved a meter to his right, refusing to sit in the dust.
“I would, if you stopped looking at me like that.” Andy accidentally poked one of Marat’s feet with his broom.
“In your dreams, Roddick. I didn’t look at you.”
“You didn’t? But I’m the only one in the hall!”
“I was just thinking. Leave me alone.”
Andy took a good look at the Russian, wondering what could possibly be on his mind.
“Is it about Juanqui? Since when do you care about him?”
“Why can’t you mind your own business? Are you interested in me or what?” Marat laughed at his own ridiculous question. He really hoped that Andy wasn’t interested in him.
“Eww. Seriously, eww.”
Andy shivered a little and decided to ignore his fellow coach. Nothing good could come out of the conversation, he felt.
‘Damn. Too bad I can’t hire someone to harass him instead of me. That would’ve been pretty efficient.’ Andy knew that he had to give up on the idea in order to save money and to stay out of trouble.
‘But perhaps I could get a tiny bit of revenge that would go unnoticed by others. No harm in there, right?’
And, just when he got back to sweeping, an idea came to his mind.
‘Sorry, Rog. I really have to do it. Or I’ll be upset for the whole winter break. Today’s my last chance!’
Hoping that he wouldn’t get caught later on, he rapidly finished sweeping.
“Coach Marat, Teacher Juanqui says he needs your help in the shower room.”
Marin informed the Russian with his roommate’s syrup in his hand. It was lunch time and he was on his way to the tennis hall with Ernests.
“Shower room?” Marat had been chatting enthusiastically with Dmitry about their possible lunch menu.
“But we don’t have tennis class today.” Dmitry said before realizing that it sounded very much like Juan Carlos to check every bit of the school before they went into a break. The Spaniard was known to be meticulous.
“Do you happen to know what’s wrong?” Marat asked, not sure what kind of tools he should bring.
“I don’t know. He didn’t say.” Marin shrugged and hurried for lunch since his hungry friend couldn’t stop tugging at his arm.
“Well, I hope you score some points for helping him out. Try not to make the situation worse.” Dmitry patted his compatriot on the shoulder as Marat left him to fetch tools from the supply closet.
“Hello? Juanqui?”
The shower room was awfully silent and Marat felt a sudden chill run down his spine. He didn’t believe in ghosts but he had a feeling that someone was watching him.
“Juanqui? I’m here.”
He checked his wristwatch and noticed that a good ten minutes had passed ever since Marin had delivered the message. Perhaps the Spaniard had already taken care of the problem himself and went for lunch.
‘Oh well, since I’m already here, let’s take a look around.’
He couldn’t spot anything out of the ordinary so he went on to grab one of the shower heads and turned on the water.
‘Aha! No water.’
He picked up another one just to be sure when a few droplets came out of the shower head.
‘How strange.’
Marat turned on the water a little bit more to see if it would work any better and before he could regret it, water came splashing out in full force.
“Aaack!!”
“Bwahaha!”
He was pretty sure that he heard the laughter of the devil as he rushed to turn off the water. He was even surer that the devil probably had blond hair, a Swiss boyfriend and liked to wear Lacoste caps.
“Andy Roddick!!” Marat yelled in fury as he proceeded to take off his soaked T-shirt. That was when Juan Carlos came in.
“Marat? What are you doing here?” The Spanish teacher looked puzzled to find his colleague doing something else instead of having lunch. That had never happened before.
“Wait. It’s not Roddick?” Marat was confused. Maybe the teacher really needed help.
“Huh? Have you gone blind? I’m Juanqui.” Juan Carlos chuckled.
“Eh, never mind.”
While Marat finished peeling off his shirt in sheer annoyance, Juan Carlos checked if everything was okay in the shower room. He wanted to make sure that there was no leakage or frozen pipes that would cost the school extra money.
“Do you have any fresh shirts?” Marat asked and didn’t miss Juan Carlos’ gaze trail a little longer than necessary on his bare chest.
“You wouldn’t have needed a new shirt in the first place if you hadn’t taken a shower with your clothes on. Even my four year olds don’t do that.” The teacher scolded the thirty-seven year old but gestured at the Russian to follow him.
“Meh, it’s freezing here.” Marat pouted as they walked down the hallway.
“It’s not freezing. We have a perfect heating system for the kids.” Juan Carlos hated to hear a negative comment about the school facilities.
“But I’m cold! It’s not going to kill you even if you lend me one of your warm arms, you know.”
Marat grinned and Juan Carlos held out his left arm just because he wanted to stop seeing that grin.
“Thanks!”
The Russian was back to his cheerful mood, even contemplating the possibility of thanking the American devil for his impeccable timing.
“Hmm, you should go out and see the sun more often.” Marat observed the pale arm and suspicions raised in his mind as to whether his colleague had really come from Spain.
“You think so?” Juan Carlos looked visibly worried.
“Yeah. Do you like fishing? You should come fishing with me in the Bahamas.”
“Bahamas?”
“You don’t need to worry about a thing. I got everything covered.”
Before Juan Carlos could object, Marat disappeared into the teachers’ office as quick as a flash.
TO BE CONTINUED.