The Virgin’s Bucket List – Episode 19
Mike’s office felt too small for the truth Mr. Russell had placed inside it. Lindsay remained in the doorway while her father struggled to answer. Admitting that Wayne had been suspended over their relationship would look unprofessional; denying it would require lying in front of the daughter who knew him best.
Mike said the decision concerned team focus. Mr. Russell asked whether Wayne had missed practice, broken curfew, failed a class, or disobeyed a play. Each answer was no. The only misconduct was speaking publicly in Lindsay’s defense after Alyssa targeted her online.
Lindsay stepped forward and accepted responsibility for the attention surrounding the team. She explained the dare, the videos, and Alyssa’s attempts to control the story. She did not minimize her own mistakes, but she refused to let Wayne’s integrity be presented as indiscipline.
Mr. Russell listened without interruption. When she finished, he told Mike that leadership was not demonstrated only by obedience. A player willing to confront cruelty at personal cost might possess exactly the character a university wanted.
Mike bristled at the implied criticism. He argued that Wayne needed boundaries, especially with scouts watching. Mr. Russell replied that boundaries should protect students rather than a coach’s fear of losing control.
The words landed where Lindsay’s accusations never had. Mike looked at the framed photographs of past teams covering his wall. Football had given him rules when illness and grief offered none, and he had spent years applying those rules to every part of his family.
Lindsay told him she did not blame football for her mother’s death. She blamed him for disappearing into it afterward and leaving his daughters to grieve alone. Every restriction he placed on her now felt like proof that the game would always come first.
Mike’s anger faltered. He admitted that he had missed the final conscious hours of his wife’s life because he believed there would be more time after an away game. He had carried the shame ever since, but instead of facing it, he had worked harder and controlled everything he thought he could still save.
“You can’t save me by refusing to see me,” Lindsay said. Her voice shook, but she did not look away. She needed a father who trusted her choices, not a coach who managed them.
Silence stretched through the office. At last, Mike lifted the suspension. Wayne would play Friday, provided he attended every remaining practice and allowed his performance to answer the gossip.
Mr. Russell approved but added that he would evaluate Mike’s leadership as closely as Wayne’s conduct. The reminder humbled the coach more effectively than any argument. Lindsay thanked the scout and left before relief could turn into tears.
Wayne waited outside. When she told him he was playing, he pulled her into an embrace without caring who saw. Lindsay held him just as tightly, feeling the old promise between them take on a new life.
Mike emerged and found them together. For one tense second, Lindsay expected another order. Instead, he told Wayne not to make him regret the decision and asked them to keep personal conversations out of practice hours.
It was not an apology, but it was movement. Wayne promised to respect the team without pretending Lindsay meant nothing to him. Mike accepted the answer with visible difficulty.
Friday arrived beneath stadium lights and crowded bleachers. Maple Hill needed the win to qualify for the regional championship, and Mr. Russell sat near the fifty-yard line with a notebook in hand. Alyssa led the cheer squad, smiling as though the week’s defeat had not touched her.
Before kickoff, she approached Lindsay with one final warning. The original wager required a boyfriend with an eight-pack and a public kiss before the semester ended. A party trick did not count, Alyssa claimed, especially if Wayne refused to call Lindsay his girlfriend.
Lindsay said she no longer accepted Alyssa’s authority over her body or choices. Alyssa responded by displaying a scheduled post on her phone—an edited clip implying Wayne had cheated academically to remain eligible. If released during the game, it could end both his season and the scout’s interest.
Alyssa demanded that Lindsay publicly declare the kiss meaningless and stay away from Wayne. The opening whistle sounded as Lindsay stared at the countdown on the scheduled post. She had minutes to choose between protecting Wayne’s future with a lie and trusting the truth to survive another attack.