Away From Home (for ChrisWk)

[bdaniel]

Alexandra "Alex" Harris was nervous as she got on the plane to head to her first year of college. She was dressed comfortably for the flight, with a tight pair of black leggings and a t-shirt from her new university which she had cut into a crop top, and with her long blonde hair pulled up in a messy bun. The 19 year old would certainly not admit her nervousness, even to herself, and instead hid it with an outspoken, self confident exterior. She made small talk with her seat mate on the plane, bragging about going to be on the volleyball team of one of the most highly ranked schools in the sport, and how much she was looking forward to being a part of the school's notorious party scene.

Alex had always been good at volleyball, the best among her peers throughout her whole life, and not just because she was typically one of the oldest in her class, with a summer birthday just before the start of the school year. Her tall frame was perfect for the sport, and the skills had always come naturally to her. By the end of her high school career, that natural talent had led her to take things a little easier, occasionally missing practice or cutting back on conditioning, figuring that the until she stopped being the star on the court she could grant herself the luxury.

Unfortunately, that perspective had made it into her coach's notes about her, even as he recommended her heartily to the school's scout. She had been granted a generous scholarship, but not the full scholarship players of her level usually received. That hurt her pride, and reminded her that at this new school she might no longer be the best player. But more than that, it made her tight budget even tighter.

So, when she got a call one day from the school with a strange offer, she jumped at the opportunity. Her coach was offering to take her into her home, offering nearly free room and board along with "mentorship". Alex had met coaches before whose "thing" was to try to be more than just a coach. She had never been very interested, but figured she could put up with a few pieces of advice for cheap rent. She was a little concerned that living off campus might limit her social opportunities, but also figured a house to bring people over too would be an advantage.

She had only communicated briefly over email with Katherine Dawson, her new host, but knocked confidently on the front door once she had arrived by taxi. She set down her two large pieces of luggage and her backpack and waited for the door to open.

[ChrisWk]

Katherine Dawson was a former professional volleyball player. She had played against the most elite teams and collaborated with the best players and coaches in the entire world. To say that Alexandra was lucky to receive her as a coach would most certainly be an understatement. The fact that Katherine was a coach for a university team was a mystery in itself. With her competence and experience, she could easily become a coach for one of the best proper volleyball teams in the entire world. Though she was a talented top notch coach and player, she knew why she had become that. It was of course partially because she was naturally talented, but it was also because she had strict parents. She wasn't ever allowed to skip practice, be lazy and so on. She was always forced and encouraged to do her chores and practice, which made her willing to do all that. Being willing to do that little extra during university was exactly what gave her the opportunity to become a professional player.

Now on the other hand, she was far too old to compete in the professional volleyball league. Not matter how much experience she had, the sheer speed of these 20 year olds was more than enough to beat her. That's why she wanted to pass her knowledge onto another prodigy, and with whatever means necessary. If it meant exercising two hours a day, so be it. If it meant scolding everyday, so be it. If it meant giving thorough and old fashioned spankings like she received, so be it. She was determined to help whoever arrived at her house however she could, and that lucky / unlucky someone was Alexandra.

Katherine opened the door, and immediately smiled as she saw who it was. She had been expecting Alex for the entire day, but was still excited to finally meet her in person.
"Alexandra! Welcome! Come on inside, I've made cookies and some tea, if you'd like." Katherine said with a bright smile spanning across her face. She wanted to make a good impression on the young woman, after all. She even helped her with her luggage, though, only one of them.

"Come on, I'll show you to your room first." the 33 year old said with a smile as she lead her Alex up to her new room, and home for the next few years.
"Welcome to your new home! I hope you like it. I was so happy when I saw that you wanted to live with me, rather than all the other requests I got. You're the only one who made it out of over a hundred people, you know?" Katherine grinned, bragging a little, but also putting a little bit of pressure on Alexandra, expecting her to be better than hundreds of other students.

Katherine opened the door and entered, placing one of her luggage bags to the side, nearby one of the closets she had.
"I've wanted student to guide for quite a while now, and you're one of the few that met my criteria and was well enough qualified!" Katherine said with a cheerful grin, before turning a little bit more firm.
"Though don't get the wrong idea, I'll be treating you like one of my own and making sure you behave well and do your schoolwork, volleyball practices and so on." Katherine explained, all whilst smiling.

[bdaniel]

Alex gave a big smile when the door opened, also doing her best to give a good impression. It was always important to make sure a coach liked you, let alone when you were staying with them.

"Call me Alex," she said, as she walked in, hefting her other bag up the stairs, "Tea and cookies sounds great!"

As Katherine continued on, Alex continued to feel a bit nervous. She hated having pressure put on her by others, and the prospect of all of the responsibilities of school and high level athletics was weighing on her enough as it was. She hadn't realized this was such a big deal to live with Katherine, and figured it was more of a kind gesture from someone who knew college was expensive and stressful. She had in fact filled out an application, but not knowing it was so competitive. She figured it must have come down to her volleyball skills, allowing the thought to fill her with self confidence that washed out some of the anxiety she was feeling. She looked around the room, mostly filled with old fashioned furniture and decor. It would need a bit of updating.

Alex raised her eyebrow slightly at the words "guide" and "behave," thinking that they were strange turns of phrase, as was any mention of schoolwork. All she had to do was maintain a C average to stay on the team.

Still, she was eager to give a good impression, and chuckled while saying, "Oh, I promise I'll be no trouble at all!" She changed the conversation to questions about Katherine's volleyball history as the two headed downstairs for the promised tea.

[ChrisWk]

Katherine lead the young lady down into the kitchen, where she had prepared some freshly baked cookies and had two mugs on either side of the table. With the kettle boiling, she poured water into both mugs, which also had a teabag in them. The 33 year old took a seat on one end as she talked about her history as a professional volleyball player and how she was now a coach for one of the best university teams in the world, but then went on to her story of how she made it into the professional league.

"You see.. Just being naturally talented isn't going to be enough, I'm afraid. I found that out the hard way, but I was also lucky enough to have quite strict parents. I was never allowed to be lazy, skip practice or use volleyball as an excuse to not get top grades in school. It may have seemed strict and even unfair at times, but I'm actually quite glad they did what they did. I would've never turned out the way I did if it wasn't for them. I got top grades in school, went to every volleyball practice, practiced in my free time and really worked hard. I wasn't allowed to do anything else, or I had a serious 'talk' awaiting me." Katherine explained, though, she didn't mention how her parents made sure she did as they said.

"I'm going to make sure you succeed, by whatever means necessary. If that means I have to be as strict or stricter than my parents were, so be it." she said with a bright smile on her face as she took a sip of her tea. She had a feeling this would all come as a bit of a shock for Alex. She'd be expected to attend every single practice and do her very best, as well as get good grades. Not only that, but also live under the roof and care of her own coach, who was seemingly quite strict.

Katherine's idea was that she'd almost treat Alex as her own daughter and really get to know her. And that meant she'd expect good behavior, that she'd listen, no cursing, partying and so on. It also meant she wouldn't hesitate to give the 19 year old a good and thorough old fashioned spanking.

[bdaniel]

Alex nodded as Katherine spoke, impressed as she recounted her career. But when she steered the topic back to behavior, Alex tried to not let her emotions show on her face, but briefly furrowed her eyebrow in confusion and fought back a smirk. She just arrived in the house and this woman goes on and on about motivating her "by any means necessary"! Who did she think she was? At least she knew what to expect during practice, and she cringed at the thought of her coach being harder on her because she lived with her. She needed to keep her coach on her good side, but felt she needed to head off this idea that the woman could be "strict" with her outside of the context of the team. Alex was thrilled to be playing at such a prestigious level, but just as thrilled to be out on her own as an adult and to live the full college experience. She took a sip of tea as she carefully responded.

"That must have been a really tough way to grow up!" she said, before realizing that wasn't really how Katherine had characterized it, though she couldn't really imagine how.

"You sound just like my parents!" she continued, trying take on a joking tone. In fact, Katherine didn't sound at all like Alex's parents. They were quite lenient with her, figuring that if she was succeeding at something, passing school, and not ending up pregnant or arrested that they were doing their jobs. Alex tended to agree with their approach, and had lived up to their standards without much discipline around the house at all.

Alex went on, leaning into the self-confident manner she adopted when uncomfortable, "But don't you worry, I'll be a perfect little angel around here, so there's no need for you to think about any of that at all. I'm an independent woman, and I'll stay out of your hair. My grades will never be in danger of getting me kicked off the team, and you won't have to be sending me to do extra laps any time soon!" That was what her coaches had usually done to anyone they felt went too far over the line. They had tended to go easy on Alex as the star player, something she was grateful for. She didn't like the extra exercise, but really hated being seen to have to do it by all her teammates. She cringed at the thought of being in that position here, especially since she'd be having to work so hard to impress her new, older teammates. Not being easily the star was going to be adjustment enough! She took a bite of cookie, thinking how she could change the subject.

[ChrisWk]

Katherine wasn't entirely convinced by Alex's upmost confidence to 'be a perfect little angel'. She had spoken with Katherine's parents on the phone, and knew her grades to not have been the greatest. They weren't half bad, but she would be expecting A's and B's in everything. She had a feeling she'd end up giving Alex a fair amount of punishments over the next few years, and rather than sending Alex to do extra laps, she'd rather have her over her lap. Although confident and so on now, she would soon realize that she was playing with some of the best college students in the world, all years older than her. Back at her old team, she was perhaps the best and towered over everyone in terms of skills, but here.. She would probably be able to keep up with them, but she'd have a hard time standing out as the star player of the team. At least for the first year or two. Though she would be seen and taken note of, due to the skill for her age, as she'd be the only one on the team at 19 years old. Most were over 21.

"You're not staying here to be an independent woman, or to 'stay out of my hair'. I want to keep track of you, as well as keep you in line. That means I'll be making sure you do your studies, as well as exercise and practice. As you'll be living with me here, you'll also have some basic ground rules, chores and so on. That's only fair, seeing as you're living here for free." Katherine explained, before going on to explain what would happen if she didn't obey those rules, though, she kept it vague:
"If you don't behave, don't get good grades, don't follow the rules and do as you're told, then there will be consequences, and it won't be running extra laps." Katherine said, before taking another sip of her tea.

She would definitely be strict with her, as the notes from her old coach and the talk she had with her parents.. Well, let's just say they had something to work on. Katherine was a bit curious as to how she would react to hearing all this, though, seeing as she seemingly just expected to get a room and live life freely. That was certainly not the case, as Katherine had already made a list of rules and chores for the young lady, and alcohol, partying, drugs.. All of them were strictly forbidden. Not only because she wasn't 21 yet, but also because it would hurt her development and probably performance in school and practice.

[bdaniel]

Alex didn’t like this at all. It certainly wasn’t what she expected this living arrangement to be, and she felt constricted at the thought of this being her situation for the coming years. It also was just about the worst thing she could have imagined as the very start to her stepping into adulthood. It was all making her angry at the nerve of the woman in front of her. And it all kept getting worse. She hated the idea of laboring at chores in this big, old house, and in her current state of irritation she couldn’t perceive it as reasonable. She had no idea what “consequences” would mean, but she imagined she could put up with a few lectures. It certainly wasn’t as if this woman could ground her! And in her mind they could never afford to kick her off the team. She paused for a long moment, taking this all in and fighting back her emotions. She had enough sense to realize starting things off with a fight would do no one any good, but she had no desire to continue further with this conversation. She figured that as time passed without any issues, her host would drop all these ideas.

“Ok, I hear you loud and clear, Katherine,” Alex said, not realizing that she was rolling her eyes while doing so.

“Tell me, what do you like to do for fun around here?”

[ChrisWk]

Katherine did expect resistance, though, when the 19 year old dared to roll her eyes at her. Although she was somewhat used to the students on her team being sassy, but rolling her eyes at her during their first talk together... It would certainly seem as if Alex needed a firmer hand than what she had initially though. If Alex kept this kind of behaviour and attitude up, she would most definitely know what these 'consequences' meant.

"Hey, don't give me that kind of attitude. I only want the best for you, remember that. The reason I took you in was so I could mentor and help you to become the best volleyball player you can be, not to party, relax and do badly in school." Katherine warned, knowing that if she let it slide once, it would only continue.

"I know your parents have been quite easy on you all your life, but if you want to become a professional volleyball player, it certainly won't be easy. I'll teach you what you need to know, and more, by whatever means necessary." Katherine said with a somewhat firmer tone.

"For fun? Well, we play volleyball, of course. Well, there are restaurants in the area, cinemas, and so on. There's a ton of things to do here." Katherine explained. There were indeed a lot things to do around the area, seeing as it was near a college. An absolutely perfect place to set up a store or entertainment service. With so many students around wanting to have fun and make memories, there was no shortage of fun things to do.

[bdaniel]

Alex was feeling more constrained by the minute. It stung to be chided so directly, especially since she hadn’t fully realized how much of her true feelings her expression had given away. And she resented the implication that she wouldn’t naturally give her best. It seemed like Katherine really was intent on pushing Alex harder than she had really set as goals for herself, and without the authority to make that decision for her, at least as Alex saw it. She also seemed to be trying to scare her with her implications, but Alex was sure she could come out ahead if it ever came to conflict. But, she decided to move ahead with her plan of trying to let all this blow over, and didn’t respond to her comment.

“That’s great! I’m definitely looking forward to living in a real college town! I appreciate you giving me the lay of the land!” she gave a big smile.

“I’ll have to see how much of all of that I can fit in the next few days, before school starts!”

She stood up, setting her mug down next to the empty plate.

“Well, thanks for all this! There is a new student mixer tonight I’m going to go to, so I want to rest up from the flight!

[ChrisWk]

Although Alex did a fairly good job hiding her true emotions and thoughts, Katherine wasn't born yesterday. It wasn't uncommon for teenagers to lie to her, seeing as she had been a normal teacher for many years, and only recently became a coach for a college team. Not just any college team, one of the best college teams in the entire world.
Katherine could already tell that Alex would need a stern hand to keep her in line and do all of her practices, schoolwork and so on.

One of her brows raised as Alex said she was about to head to to bed, only to rest for a so called 'student mixer'. Katherine didn't know what that was, so she naturally had no other option but to ask;
"Student mixer? Mind telling me what that is before you head up to your room?" Katherine asked. She was a fairly new coach/teacher after all, and couldn't be expected to know what everything was that included typical college culture.