Ten.One Thousand, Five Hundred & Seventy-Two

1. They’re right. This should have been a day off.

2. I realize that I am more nervous about today than the past days. Who will show up? Will there be new faces? Can I really do this?

3. Honestly, I could use a day of solitude.

4. I catch myself before I get in too deep.

5. We decide who’s bringing what and I’m genuinely glad that it’s not over yet.

6. I tell him that I’m not surprised, that while I was cleaning the tanks and had all that time to think that I thought exactly this. And so, in a way, I am not surprised. It is very on brand.

7. Two new faces. I really didn’t think she would come back.

8. They just can’t know that I’m nervous, too.

9. The best grades he’s had in years.

10. I think of how she told the girls that basketball will prepare you for life. That sometimes basketball is hard and life is sometimes hard. She is not wrong.