The dean dismissed me and I exited her office. Jessica was sitting outside.
“Well?” she asked. “What did she say?”
“She said no,” I replied. “She wants me to try it first.”
“Hm…” Jessica tapped her chin as we headed toward the cafeteria for lunch. “I know it’s not exactly what you wanted, but look at it this way: at least you get to deal with all of the handsome athletes, so you’ll never be bored!”
“Yay.” My voice sounded anything but excited.
“Aw, c’mon!” Jessica said, nudging me with her elbow. “How could you not be excited about getting to touch hot athletes all day?”
“I just don’t want to be around Justin,” I replied. I wanted to tell her that I didn’t want to be near Enzo either, but kept it to myself.
Justin, aside, whatever was happening between Enzo and I was getting weird. I wondered if he had something to do with my assignment, considering his influence in the school.
After classes that day, Jessica and I went home. Lori was sitting on the floor of the living room with a stained white sheet around her and a canvas that she was painting on.
“Ugh!” Jessica said, covering her nose and mouth with her shirt and running over to open the window. “The fumes!”
Lori chuckled. “I didn’t notice anything.”
“Yeah, that’s because you’re high all the time anyway,” Jessica replied snarkily.
I couldn’t help but laugh at my friends’ interaction.
Later, it was time for me to go and meet my internship mentor for the first time. She sent me an email with her office information; it was located in between the soccer field and the hockey arena. It was chilly out and getting dark, so I threw my jacket on and headed over.
“Come in!” a chipper voice called when I knocked on the door. I opened it and poked my head in to see a pretty woman with wavy brown hair sitting at a desk. She looked up and flashed me a toothy grin as she waved for me to come in.
“You must be Nina!” she said, standing up from her desk and coming around to greet me. Much to my surprise, she hugged me. I was a bit taken aback by my mentor’s vitality and warmth; it was not at all what I expected from a person who would deal with sweaty, whiny athletes all day. In fact, even though she was middle-aged, her bubbly personality made her appear ten years younger.
“I’m Tiffany,” she said when she finally pulled away from hugging me. “I’m so happy to see another young woman working in sports medicine! We don’t usually get female students in here, so it’s always nice to know that there are other women who are passionate about it.”
I looked down at my feet, unsure of whether I should tell Tiffany that I actually didn’t want this internship or if I should just let her be happy for the time being.
She must have noticed my sad expression, though, because she looked at me with concern on her face. “Are you alright? You seem depressed. You know, I’m not just your mentor with this internship; I’m your mentor with everything!”
I bit my lip as I tried to come up with my response. For some reason, I felt comfortable being candid with Tiffany even though I was usually not the type of person to spill my feelings so easily.
“I hate to say this, but… I was actually hoping for a different internship.”
Tiffany’s face fell. She looked disappointed and a bit hurt, but nodded in an understanding manner.
“That’s okay,” she said. “What were you hoping to do? Did you talk to the dean?”
“I talked to her this afternoon,” I replied. “She told me to give it a try for a few sessions before I made my decision. But…”
I bit my lip again. Tiffany was incredibly kind and I hated to be so rude to her since she seemed so excited to have me as a student, but now I felt like it was better to just be open about it instead of suddenly withdrawing from the internship in a couple of weeks.
“Is there something else?” Tiffany said. “You can be honest with me. Was it the hug? I always forget that not everyone is a hugger.”
“No,” I replied, shaking my head vehemently. “It’s not you. It’s just that, well, one of the members of the hockey team is my ex boyfriend. And there’s another team member who I had a one night stand with, so it’s just a really awkward situation and I feel uncomfortable.”
Tiffany flashed me a sweet smile. “Sit down,” she said, gesturing to a chair across from her desk while she walked over to a small kitchenette. I sat down and watched as she filled an electric kettle with tea.
“I had drama like that when I was your age,” Tiffany said over her shoulder. “I could tell countless stories from my college years about love gone wrong, week-long flings, unrequited feelings…”
The water started to boil. Tiffany dropped two teabags into mugs and then poured the hot water over them. She walked over and handed one to me, then sat down at her desk. I gratefully took the tea and let the hot steam waft into my face.
“I won’t be offended if you decide you want to leave after all,” she said. “But I think you should give it a shot. If I had let boys dictate my actions in college, I wouldn’t be working in a field that I absolutely love today, would I?”
Tiffany’s words hit me hard. She was right. Who were these boys to get in the way of my education? Maybe sports medicine wasn’t what I thought I would do, but maybe it could also turn into something that I really enjoyed.
Still, I wished that I didn’t have to be tangled up in this mess between Enzo and Justin. I just wanted to escape from them!
Nina
The next morning was my first day at my new internship. I woke up feeling both nervous and excited for what was to come. Hopefully I wouldn’t have to interact with the hockey team too much.
It was raining and chilly, so I wore something warm. I put on my usual skinny jeans, a knit sweater that I thought would be appropriate for work, comfortable boots to keep my feet and ankles dry and my leather jacket. I pulled my hair into my two long braids and was ready to go.
I was supposed to meet Tiffany in her office, but when I arrived, she wasn’t there. There was a note on the desk.
“Sorry to say this, but there was indeed an injury on the hockey team already. Meet me at the arena. -Tiffany”
I groaned and made my way to the hockey arena. Why did it feel like the universe just wanted me to be miserable lately? Why couldn’t I have just stayed in Tiffany’s office today and dealt with paperwork?
When I entered the arena, the whole team was already there in their full gear. They were circled around someone on the floor — two people, actually. Tiffany and one of the team members.
The team member was on the floor, groaning and holding his ankle while Tiffany prodded at it.
“Yep, looks like you rolled your ankle nice and good,” I could hear her say as I approached.
Several heads jerked up when they heard me coming. Enzo and Justin both looked at me; Justin seemed confused, while Enzo seemed somewhat pleased.
Tiffany looked up and smiled. “Oh, Nina!” she said, pointing to her medical bag on the bench. “Can you grab the ace bandages?”
I nervously walked over to her bag and rifled through it until I found the ace bandages, trying my best to ignore Justin and Enzo’s eyes on me, then handed the roll to Tiffany.
“Everyone, if you don’t know already, this is Nina,” she said as she wrapped the hockey player’s ankle. “She’s my intern this semester.”
When Tiffany was finished, she stood and helped the hockey player stand. He couldn’t put weight on his ankle and had to stand on one foot.
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