Ryan walked through the hallway heading directly to Coach Damien’s office. Seeing that Ryan was so successful under his coaching, the school had decided to make an office just for coach Damien.

Reaching the coach’s office, Ryan started knocking on the door. “Come in,” the sound of coach Damien came from behind the door.

As Ryan entered, he saw coach Damien, a well-built, 6’5” man in his early thirties, sitting at his desk.

“Ryan, just in time, I was about to call for you, my boy,” coach Damien said, opening a drawer where he keeps Ryan’s favorite chocolate.

Coach Damien was someone who coached the best swimmers. Swimmers who had the potential to join the Olympic Team. When the school offered him a job, his first thought was to refuse their offer immediately. He, however, was interested. Why would a school offer him all this money to supervise and train a single student?

He was glad that he decided to take a look. When he first saw Ryan swimming, he told himself he would take that boy to the Olympics, no matter what.

“Your parents will be picking you up in two hours, so we will need to get started with today’s training immediately,” coach Damien said, tossing a chocolate bar to Ryan, who caught it.

Even though he’s Ryan’s private coach, Ryan still trains with the swimming team too. If it were up to Coach Damien, he would take Ryan to his sports complex instead. There Ryan can be taught better and join a better team. The kids on the school swimming team were not the problem. No, that was their coach.

Coach Vince was responsible for the school’s swimming team and always got on Coach Damien’s nerves. Seeing him wasting the kids’ potential, especially Ryan, he can’t hold it when he sees someone wasting Ryan’s gifts.

“Will there be team training today?” Ryan asked, not looking forward to any confrontation between coach Vince and Coach Damien. They don’t get along well at all.

“Fortunately, not today. That lazy ass of a coach didn’t come in today; besides, we need you more in the individual races. Now hurry up; your parents want you before your brother’s game,” coach Damien said, leading Ryan out of his office.

He led Ryan to the pool’s changing room. “Alright, quickly change so we can get started,” coach Damien said before walking to the pool.

It didn’t take Ryan a lot of time to start changing. At first, he took out his uniform, folding it neatly before putting it in his locker. He then pulled out his competition swim trunks, goggles, and swim cap; he took his underwear off before pulling his swim trunks on. Ryan then pulled his swim cap on and took the required shower before entering the pool with his goggles in his hand.

Walking out of the locker room, Ryan saw that the girls were still training. He could also see that coaches Damien and Monica, responsible for the girls’ team, were having a friendly conversation.

He wondered what they were talking about when he approached them.

“Why don’t you start warming up, then we will start the training for today?” coach Damien suggested as Ryan approached.

“Yes, sir,” Ryan replied before starting to warm up.

The moment Ryan walked away, coach Monica turned to coach Damien. “So, as I was saying, I will enjoy taking Ryan away from Vince. After the test results come out, I would love to see his face,” coach Monica said with a smirk. It was a known fact that she never liked Coach Vince. He doesn’t know his job, is always lazy, and he’s a womanizer as well, who tries to flirt with every woman he sees, even moms.

“You know the test results will not come out until after Christmas. The boy does look feminine, so let’s assume he tests positive. You’re not trying to fight me over Ryan, are you? You can’t win that, you know?” Coach Damien said teasingly.

While they hadn’t told anyone yet, they both had started dating and planned their marriage. Talking casually with Monica was now typical for Damian.

“Well, I stole your heart. I’m pretty sure I can steal your golden boy as well,” coach Monica said with a wink blowing a kiss towards coach Damien. Eventually, the girls finished training, and Ryan got into the water. His training was like it usually was, and he enjoyed every moment he spent in the water. He just shook his head and focused his gaze on Ryan, who was warming up.

Overall, Ryan had 90 minutes of training, leaving him around 30 minutes to shower and get dressed again. “Alright, my boy, that’s it for today. Go shower and get dressed,” Coach Damien instructed Ryan, who complied immediately.

Within a half hour, Ryan was done with the shower and put on his uniform in the locker room. As he finished dressing, someone entered the locker room. Ryan looked up to see who it was and saw Oliver, who then signaled Ms. Mackenzie to enter the room. “Ryan, your mom is waiting for you outside,” Ms. Mackenzie declared to which Ryan nodded.

Putting on his shirt and tie, Ryan slipped on his shoes before walking out of the room with Ms. Mackenzie and Oliver.

“Your hair is damp. You will catch a cold like this,” Ms. Mackenzie stated, looking at his wet hair.

“I didn’t have the time to dry it,” Ryan said, playing with the edge of his wet hair.

At home, he usually blow-dried his hair. He certainly couldn’t do that here, and he didn’t have the time to dry it. Ms. Mackenzie walked Ryan and Oliver to the front gate, where Ryan saw his mom’s car. After saying goodbye to their teacher, Ryan and Oliver walked to the car.

“Hi sweetie, how was your day?” Heather asked as Ryan and Oliver climbed into the back seat. Since Oliver’s mom couldn’t come because of her broken car, Heather took Oliver with them.

“It was good,” Ryan said, reaching over the front seat and kissing his mom before sitting back and fastening his seatbelt.

“Your hair is wet. Why didn’t you dry it?” Heather commented, feeling his wet hair as he kissed her. Heather didn’t mind him growing his hair, she liked it, but she had only one condition. If Ryan wanted longer hair, he should take care of it, which meant brushing his hair daily and washing it with shampoo and conditioner.

“Sorry, Mom, I didn’t have the time to dry it,” Ryan replied. He knew that Heather was always at him for not drying his hair properly after training or showering. He tried to do it, but using the hand dryers to dry his hair at school was difficult, especially when he didn’t have time for it.

Heather shook her head and let out a sigh. She’s glad that she came prepared. It wasn’t just about his hair being long; seeing how cold the weather is, Ryan might catch a cold. The last thing Heather planned was for one of her sons to get sick, so Heather always came prepared. Heather grabbed a clean towel from the glove compartment and handed it over to Ryan. “Dry your hair before you catch a cold,” Heather instructed before she started to drive. She turned up the fan on the vents and the temp to high heat to warm the car, so Ryan’s hair would dry quicker.

After a 20-minute drive, Heather pulled in front of New Heritage Academy. While the school education level was not as good as Talented Youth Academy, it was a good private school with a great environment. The school also served as an excellent tool for securing George’s future.

“Alright, boys, we’re here,” Heather enthusiastically said as she stopped the car. She always felt excited about watching her son playing football. She was always behind her boys and always supporting them. Opening the door, Heather exited the SUV, followed closely by Ryan and Oliver. Entering the school, the three of them headed directly to the football field.

“If it’s you or Dakota, who would run faster?” Oliver asked as they both headed to the football field. It was a question that kept playing on his mind for the past month. He had seen Dakota winning short-distance races many times, and he also had seen Ryan reaching almost the same distance in the pool in no time. It took Ryan a second to think about it before he answered Oliver.

“If it’s on the ground, I would say she would win, I am sure of it. But if it’s in the water, I would win,” Ryan replied. The funny thing was the way he and Dakota became friends. When they started school, Ryan and Dakota were the fastest kids in kindergarten. Whenever they were racing with other kids, Dakota would be the first, and Ryan would come in second, leaving the other kids in the dust. Since the races were just for fun, Ryan and Dakota quickly became friends. They have been friends ever since.

Heather did hear Oliver’s question as well as Ryan’s answer. She was happy that Ryan was not over-confident and thought about the facts first. Heather, however, had another explanation. “That’s a good answer, sweetie, but there are facts that you need to consider first,” Heather was about to explain when they entered the football field.

“Like what?” Ryan asked with curiosity. Heather took them to sit down on the benches before she started to explain.

“Dakota is indeed faster, that’s for sure. But swimmers have better endurance, and swimmers learn to control their breathing. In a long-distance race, Dakota will get tired while you as a swimmer can keep running faster for a longer time,” Heather explained carefully about the difference between Ryan and Dakota while Oliver and Ryan listened carefully.

While Ryan mainly relies on coach Damien, his mom’s advice always worked. Heather used to be a great swimmer and even made it to the Olympics once. In high school, she was both a swimmer and a cheerleader. She started dating Jeff in high school when he was playing football. They had known each other for a very long time though. While Heather was a law student, Jeff was a computer engineering major. Jeff’s major was one of the reasons Heather’s dad approved of Jeff. After all, her parents owned a computer software and hardware design company.

“Alright, you two stay here for a bit. George will come and get you. I will go check on the girls to see if everything is ok,” Heather said, walking away, leaving Ryan and Oliver. Since Heather doesn’t need to go to the law firm, she only handles complex cases, so she volunteered to be the Cheer Coach. The former Cheer Coach had to take time off due to health issues. That’s why Heather had stepped in.

Once Heather left, Ryan took out his tablet and started a quiz game to spend time with Oliver. A couple of minutes passed when two boys approached them. Both of them looked to be the same age as George. “Hi, Luke check this out, two fags sitting together,” one of the boys said. He had green eyes and brown hair. The other boy had dark brown hair and brown eyes.

With a sigh, Ryan handed the tablet to Oliver and stood up to face the boy. “What do you want, Oscar?” Ryan asked, annoyed. He understood clearly why Shelby and Connor hated Oscar so much.

“Dude, we shouldn’t do this. If George sees us, he’ll beat the crap out of us.” the other boy whispered to Oscar. They knew George wouldn’t allow anyone to mess with his little brother. Especially Oscar. George had warned him many times to stay away from Ryan.

“Well, I don’t see George here,” Oscar said with a smirk. He always felt jealous of George. He wanted to take this chance to satisfy his ego. Unlike his dad, George’s dad was never ashamed of him, it also didn’t help that he was kicked out of the team for bad behavior.

While George wouldn’t allow anyone to mess with him, Ryan was by no means an easy target himself. He was in no way scared of Oscar. He wanted to teach him a lesson for being mean to his friends. “Leave us alone, or you will wish George was here,” Ryan threatened Oscar.

Ryan was not scared, and that made Oscar mad. He reached and grabbed Ryan’s collar while Ryan still showed no sign of fear at all. Before Oscar could even say another word, Ryan kicked him right between his legs, making Oscar groan, fall over, and hold his crotch in pain.

George came out of the locker room to get Ryan and Oliver. Ryan always helped the team before every game. He would analyze every team they played against by watching their games repeatedly. Standing beside George was one of his best friends and teammate, Jacob. He had dark skin and strikingly bright green eyes.

George played both as an Offensive Guard and as a Defensive End. He’s one of the best utility players in high school. He plays wherever he’s needed. Jacob is mainly a Defensive Tackle and likes to focus on one position. They saw an unpleasant sight as they walked to the benches where Ryan and Oliver were sitting. It looked like Oscar was trying to bully them.

Jacob’s first reaction was to run and stop Oscar, but George stopped him. “Wait, Ryan can handle him. Let’s walk slowly in case Oscar tries anything,” George stated confidently. He knew Ryan well enough that he would not back down in front of Oscar.

“Dude, that’s Oscar, he’s 15, and your brother is 10,” Jacob said worriedly. He knows that Oscar would do anything to get attention, even if that means bullying 10-year-old kids.

“Relax, my little bro can handle himself,” George said, making Jacob sigh and give up. It seems George was very confident in Ryan. Knowing that George would never put his little brother in danger, he decided to trust him.

It became clear that it was the right decision since, a second later, Ryan kicked Oscar in the balls, making him groan, fall over, and hold his crotch in pain. George turned to Jacob with a smirk. “See? I told you my little bro can handle himself just fine.” George smirked as Jacob only nodded, his mind blown.

At that moment, the other boy with Oscar turned around to see George and Jacob approaching. “Dude, George is coming. Let’s get out of here,” the other boy said, helping Oscar stand up. Clearly, Ryan’s kick was still painful, seeing that Oscar couldn’t walk properly.

“You better get out of here before I catch you,” George yelled as Oscar, and his friend walked away. George walked to Ryan, giving him a side hug and ruffling his hair. “That was a nice kick, back there, bro,” George said, ruffling Ryan’s hair again.

“Thanks,” Ryan said, smiling. He had wanted to do this so badly that he was delighted in kicking Oscar.

“The coach told us to come and get you. We need a plan for today’s game,” George said, and Ryan nodded. He had already watched more than ten games from the football team that his brother would be playing. Ryan wasn’t a typical 10-year-old kid, and the team used it to their advantage. Seeing that they had already listened to Ryan’s advice and he wasn’t wrong once, in his analysis of the other teams, the coach decided to take his opinion before every game.