After thinking about it, Vincent heaves another sigh. “I guess I am.”
“Perfect,” Carter said. He looked pleased. “Come with me.”
The two made their way over to the fitness center, which Vincent avoided with all his life. Much to the latter's surprise, there really was an expansion, and it seems Vincent's ignorance led him to not see the construction.
They proceeded into the building. The tall man directed Vincent's eyes to the left as they walked. “That area is all of the old building,” he said. The sign in that direction said aerobic room, indoor track, and locker rooms A. The coach then directed Vincent's eyes forward as they turned right. “This is where the expansion is. Most of it is done as you can see. I got admin to go to this together because this place didn't even have a weight room — a fucking weight room! What kind of fitness center doesn't have weights?”
Brushing off Carter's apparent enthusiasm for fitness, Vincent looked at the sign beside the new area: it said weight room, basketball court, wrestling room, athletics office, and locker rooms B. “Wow, you made quite a lot of changes,” Vincent said in a dry voice. “But is there even a wrestling team put together?”
“Youre talking about the room, aren't ya?” Carter looked at Vincent's lack of enthusiasm. “Don't worry, when I'm done, there'll be whole teams for wrestling, baseball, volleyball, and even football by the end of the year. Especially football and baseball.”
“Really?” Vincent didn't believe him.
“Yeah bro.”
The use of the word 'bro’ irked Vincent, but he reminded himself of the scholarship.
The two walked through the boys locker room, which oddly already had a subtle odor of sweat to it, to get to Phelp's office.
This room had even more paraphernalia than his classroom, really showing his love for sports. Vincent grimaced at the sight, fortunately while Carter wasn't looking. On the side, green and white uniforms for different sports we're lined up on mannequins: soccer, baseball, wrestling, and, most noticeably, football.
“Don't mind those,” Carter said after he turned around to see Vincent's gaze. “I'm just designing the attire so that they're ready for the teams. Please take a seat.”
They two sat; Carter sat behind the director's desk and Vincent sat across from him. “So,” Vincent started “What is this project called again?”
“Ah, that's important, isnt it? As of now, I call it the J.O.C.K. Project,” Carter answered, spelling out the letters.
“Jock? What does it stand for?”
“That's confidential. I'll tell you after we're done.” Carter winked. “Now uh, Vincent, what's your name? Full name, I mean.”
“Vincent Delisimo.” The freshman watched Carter scribble things down on a piece of paper.
“Describe yourself.” Carter looked up and stared at the student.
“Um…” Vincent looked down at the paper. “I guess I'm just a smart kid. I'm into computers, which is why I'm a comp sci major. Im hardworking and really care about my grade I'm more of a book guy than a TV guy. I'm good with either though. I like classical music and…”
He saw Carter write “nerd” on the paper, but it was hard to read anything else. Oh god, he thought, he's definitely judging me.
“And what?” The coach finished writing and looked up once again.
“I, uh. I consider myself involved with politics. Like activism and things like that.”
“Politically active,” The athletic director said to himself before asking Vincent a question. “If you're politically active then surely you fall on the political spectrum. Which side are you on?
Vincent was caught off guard but didn't question it. “I'm a liberal,” he stated very plainly. “I think of myself as pretty liberal. I don't really buy into the whole traditional stuff you see from a lot of conservatives. Plus, I'm bisexual, so that influences my decisions.”
“Bisexual? You like guys?” Carter looked at him.
Vincent looked embarrassed at the admission since he felt like he was definitely being judged.
“Don't look like that,” Phelps said. “It's cool, I'm just wondering.”
“Oh um… Yeah. I do.” Vincent quickly added another statement on top of that. “I have a preference to girls though. It's just that I'm attracted to guys too.”
“Interesting.” Vincent couldn't really tell, but it almost looked like the coach had a slightly mischievous look on his face that quickly faded. The man moved on. “Now, describe your body type. How do you feel about it?”
“My body? I'm fairly thin but not bony at all,” he said. The odd question didn't phase Vincent at that point. “I run a bit so I think I'm pretty fit, but I'm nowhere close to the build you have. And it's not exactly the most athletic look.”
“And you're comfortable with your body?”
“Yeah. I'm fine with it. Really.”
Before he finished writing, the coach asked yet another question. “Look at the uniforms beside us. There is a wide selection of sports. If you could play any of those sport, which would it be?”
“None of them. I… don't really like sports. I was never really a fan of any of them, especially the ones over there.”
“I've noticed,” Carter said, putting down his pen. “And that's alright if you don't. But tell me, if you had to play one of them — absolutely had to — which one would you choose?”
Vincent didn't say anything, nervous as he didn't really know anything about any of them. The only thing was that he knew he needed the money.
“Don't worry, there's no wrong answer here,” Carter assured. “Just answer this and you can go back to your dorm or whatever. Grab a water bottle by the door when you do.”
Understanding the last instruction, Carter reluctantly looked at the uniforms. His eyes glossed over all of them. With a sigh, he brought himself to decide. He chose…