Free Apache Heart by Amy J Miller

t-shirt and some track pants, then wandered down to Elan’s office. 
                  “Hey, I’m ready.”  Randi smiled.  “I just want to photocopy some stuff to hand out.”
                  Elan looked at his watch, “Oh my god, Randi, I totally forgot.  I’ve been immersed in that genetic case all day.  We’re trying to get the family ready to bring the baby home from Albuquerque.  I don’t think I can make it.”
                  “So what, you’re going to cancel?”
                  “You could still go.”
                  “You’re going to throw me to a bunch of teenagers I’ve never met before…really?”  She raised an eyebrow.
                  Elan laughed.  “They’re good kids, take a bunch of handouts.  They’ll be impressed.  You can use my photocopier.”

              “You know the side of my truck is spray painted with “Dr. Bitch,” right now?
                  “What do you mean?”  Elan’s face sobered.
                  “I mean, somebody spray painted “Dr. Bitch” down the side of my truck this morning.  It was still wet when I came out to go to work.”
                  “Make your photocopies, go coach the kids, and then you’re coming to spend the night at my house.”  Elan stood up.  “No argument.”
                  Randi shook her head, “It’s spray paint, not blood.  You don’t need to over react.”
                  “I’ll sleep on the couch, or you can, but I don’t think you need to be up there by yourself until this Joe thing gets sorted out.”
                  “Apparently Maggie’s uncle forced her to go to her mother’s house last night.”
                  “That’s good.  They have neighbors—she’ll be safe there.  But you need to be safe too.  Come back here when you finish. Please.”
                  Randi sighed, “Okay, I’ll come back here, but then I’m going home.”
     
    ###
                  Randi met up with the runners at a field next to the school.  There were seven boys and five girls, ranging in age from thirteen to seventeen.  She saw them laughing and pointing at her truck as she pulled up.
                  “Hey,” she called, “Dr. Cody got tied up at work, but as you can see, I’m Dr. Bitch.”  The kids started snickering.  “Actually, I’m Randi Green, and I am the new doctor.  You guys can call me Randi…although after we do this work out, you might be calling me Dr. Bitch.”  The teens started laughing again, but they went around in a circle and introduced themselves as Randi passed around the handouts. “I brought you guys some stuff on stretching and weight training, so take this home and read it.  We’ll talk about it on Saturday.”
                  Randi could see that the students liked that she had brought them training material.  One look at their feet and Randi realized half of the group desperately needed new running shoes.  She thought maybe she could get them some team sponsors; there was nothing like good gear and matching tracksuits to make you feel good, make you feel like your effort was worth it, and maybe they could have a little lending library for workout books, and share resources.
                  Clapping her hands, Randi yelled, “Okay, I want to see some crunches!  Let’s go.”
                  The group fanned out into the grass, and obediently went to work.  Randi got down and crunched with them.  They did a strength-training workout, and then did some interval sprints.  She was glad when they finished that she wasn’t the only one who looked pooped. 
                  “So Saturday, we’ll do a good steady run, cross-country.  You guys feel up to a 10k?”  They looked at each other and nodded their heads