Game, Set And Match

 His ears perked up when she suggested a match, if he won she would leave him alone and he could do whatever he wanted during their coaching sessions. If she won he would begin his training session immediately and without complaint. Lorraine didn’t play nice, she quickened her pace and started playing hard. Patrick could barely keep up with her, she was well schooled in strokes, agile and deft.

He was actually pretty good a bit rusty in movements but with exercise and proper training he had what it takes to go very far in the sport. When she kept nailing those shots that he couldn’t counter he looked at her in awe, she had him by the balls and he knew it. Despite his initial animosity, he began to listen when he realized she knew what she was about and meant serious business. When she showed him how to correctly make that move he always had trouble with. He fell in love with his coach and started to think the world of her and looked forward to their lessons.

Lo loved spending time with him and if she ever had a son she wanted him to be a sweetheart like Rosie’s child. Lorraine took him to the local mall and got him a trim and a haircut, he loved it. They shopped together, taking into account his personal taste as they had him decked out in the latest fashion for teens.  Lorraine hated that he walked around looking like a morose old man when he had so much youth and personality in him. She felt it was time for the world to get to know the real Patrick he kept hidden. They even played games in the local arcade and hung out with the other kids, the girls his age were fascinated with him, they found him to be cute and he exchanged a few numbers with them.

 By time she took him back home to Rosie he was in heaven sitting on cloud 9. That evening when his mother asked how his day was he actually answered her civil. He didn’t ignore her or flounce off and slam the door like he would normally do. Just wearing the new clothes boosted his confidence.

He went from unnoticed to popular in a matter of days especially with the girls. He was no longer a recluse and began to hang out with kids his own age, it was definitely a change for the better. He became undefeated at tennis championships, and had scouts looking over his potential for their universities. The school marveled at how his academics also improved as well and attributed it to Lorraine. They hired her to coach tennis at the school to see if the success could be repeated and it worked without a doubt. She was like the pied piper with a tennis racket the kids loved Lorraine and gravitated towards her. Lorraine’s famous rule was that to be on the team you had to do well in academics as well. Her motto was each one, reach one, if someone was weak in an academic area that you are strong in, then help them. All her students did well and by the end of the year a few of them were on the honor list.