My Alpha Mate's Christmas Gift novel Chapter 16

　　“Does she just wait in a corner to watch when I get to my locker?” Roxanne asked herself.

　　“Nice headwear, you look… Different, but like, in a good way, not in a weird way… Of course… You know what I mean” Betty said, laughing sheepishly.

　　Of course, she knew she looked weird so she didn’t need that to be pointed out. Besides, it was better for her that she looked slightly different this way, than for her to bring her full on blue hair to school. At least some of the damage had been mitigated.

　　“Let's just get to class,” Roxanne sighed.

　　After taking her stuff, she went straight for class.

　　School ended uneventfully, just the way Roxanne liked it. Fortunately, other than Betty’s earlier comment, no one else seemed to mind or pay much attention to her head. Sure, there were the usual stares but she was used to that already.

　　She went to practice after school, as usual, with Betty waiting behind for her extra lessons and club activities. If anyone was more active than Roxanne, it was Betty. From charity work, to music lessons, to book club membership… She seemed to be everywhere. Well, except sports since she sucked at it. Ironic, since Roxanne’s main strength was in that department.

　　When she got to the gym, she hurriedly climbed to the first floor and found a way to tie up her hair, so her wig remained in a position. Plus, with her headgear, she was safe from it falling off. As long as she was able to win, she had nothing to worry about.

　　“You seem to be guarding your head especially well today,” Donald said with a sly smile.

　　“Yeah… Well, I don’t want that bruise you gave me yesterday, so I have to be careful now, ``she replied.

　　Training also went normally, though this made Roxanne a bit curious since she thought her coach would be taking more… Rigorous exercise with her since ‘that’ was in less than three weeks.

　　“He must have his reasons” She thought within herself and shook away those thoughts.

　　Donald won the match again, this time capitalising on her high guard for her face, slightly neglecting other parts of her body. A stance full of openings, of course he would exploit it… And he did!

　　After she finished her training, and as soon as she got home, she went to the shower to begin dyeing her hair with no hesitation. Afterwards, she did her daily routine in the house before finally getting to bed late again, staring at the moon and then falling asleep.

　　This continued for the rest of the week… Until Friday.

　　“Alright, that’s the last of it. You’ve concluded your tests for the year, and as we enter the winter break, I just want you all to remember to take care of yourselves. Have fun, but not too much. Also, remember the Winter Dance happening tomorrow. It’s the last day of school for the year, so you should go all out”” Mr. Landon, their history teacher said to them in his usual cool and groovy tone.

　　“It’s a Saturday, so technically it’s not a ‘day of school’ Mr. Landon” Lisa, the queen bee of the class pointed out.

　　“Ah, my bad then. Too bad you’ll be having it within school grounds. If that isn’t school, I don’t know what is” Mr. Landon responded, garnering the laughter of everyone in class, making Lisa flush in slight embarrassment.

　　“Of course, I’ll be chaperoning, as well as a few volunteer parents. But don’t worry. It should be fun for everyone, ``he smiled.

　　“Sure… I’m pretty sure having ‘parents’ around wouldn’t count as fun to us” Lisa said, making her comeback.

　　This time everyone cheered and laughed due to her comment.

　　“Yeah, teachers too. Pretty sure Mr Harry will be in charge of the punch again, teachers are such killjoys” Nathan added.

　　Roars of laughter filled the classroom again.

　　Mr. Landon didn’t know how to react to this statement as his mouth opened slightly.

　　“Oh, you're an exception, Teacher. We would love to have you.” Nathan quickly added.

　　His statement was followed by murmurs of agreement and nods of approval. Mr. Landon was, after all, a cool teacher.

　　“Uh… Thanks, I guess?” He said with an awkward smile.

　　The bell rang, saving both the students and the teacher from the atmosphere which occupied the entire class.

　　“What do you mean you don’t want to come?” Betty asked the stoic-looking Roxanne.

　　“Don’t know, it’s just not my scene. Besides, I’ll be too busy doing other stuff.” Roxanne said with a slight smile.

　　“The ‘stuff’ you still won’t tell me about? I see” Betty said in a sarcastic tone.

　　Roxanne only smiled at her as she continued to walk without saying much more.

　　Definitely, today would be the day. Since it was the weekend, she was sure her coach would put her through a lot to prepare her. He probably held off on it until Monday since it was a weekday and she needed to go to school the next day. However, with the weekend it was different.

　　“Well then, see ya!” Roxanne said with a wave, before hurrying away to her gym.

　　“Bye…” Betty said hesitantly, waving back.

　　“So, Coach… When are we gonna get started? The finals are in less than three weeks, aren’t they?” She said with an excited twinkle on her eyes.

　　Donald smiled softly as he shrugged, carrying two chairs from a corner. He placed one close to Roxanne, who sat on it comfortably and one behind himself, having his seat as he spoke...

　　“Oh? I thought you didn’t like talking about stuff like this during the day.” Her coach said to her,

　　“Also, you should call me by my real name already. Donald is an easy name to pronounce, isn’t it?” He said with a chuckle, though it was clear that the laugh seemed a bit forced, like he was trying to smoothen over the conversation.

　　“Well… I guess I just got a little excited about it. It’s what I’ve been preparing for for over three month ago since we started this season” She gleamed.

　　“Also, you’re always going to be my coach to me. The sooner you deal with it, the easier this will be for you… COACH'' She said with a teasing tone as she smiled, emphasising the ‘Coach’ part especially.

　　“Sigh, this kid. Anyway, yeah. Finals are in three weeks just as you’ve said. But, Roxanne… There’s something we should talk about before we continue with our routine.” Coach Donald said, his face suddenly darkened.

　　He faced Roxanne head on and from his eyes, he displayed looks of concern. Roxanne had a premonition of what he was going to say, but she didn’t want to think that way. She didn’t want to believe that was what he would say.

　　“*Please don’t say it*” She pleaded Internally.

　　“Roxanne… I think you should stop the nights…”

　　She knew it, she knew that was what he would say.

　　“They… They aren’t good for you…” He continued.