Prologue
A man in his early thirties stepped through the bright red doors of East High School. He hadn't been there in years and seeing that it hadn't changed brought tears to his eyes. So many of his memories had happened in the very hallways in which he stepped so many years ago. He paused momentarily in the lobby before noticing something on the wall that hadn't been there when he was a student.
A plaque.
He skimmed the words and wiped the tears that had fallen from his eyes off his cheeks. The hallways were empty because there was a basketball game going one, he knew that for sure. That was all the radio stations could talk about for miles around.
Legendary coach Jack Bolton had returned to East High for one final season before retiring. The man sighed, remembering how half way through his senior year no one had cared when he quit with half his season left.
Of course, no one had cared about anything during that awful month of December. Even though it wasn't cold, the man clung on to his jacket. He heard a loud yell from the gym and he walked toward it. The Wildcats were down by two with five minutes left. By the blue of their jerseys, he could tell that the opposing team was West High.
A boy with a red jersey on stole the ball and took it down the court, stopping to catch his breath before shooting a three point shot with no one around. The man's eyes filled with tears and he mentally cursed himself. This was a bad visit. With every passing seconds, his senior year was flooding his mind.
He felt a hand on his shoulder. A tall, dark skinned man was looking down on him, making the man fell extremely short. A small girl was hanging on his leg. The tall man looked out on the court. "He reminds me of Troy," he said, nodding toward the player who had shot the three pointer. "Either that, or a mix between him and Chad. Good to know East High will always have a good team."
"You guys had a good team."
The tall man laughed. "Yeah, how could you not with Troy and Chad. They expected a good season, even with so many underclassmen." He sighed and looked out at the court. "Have you seen Gabriella recently?"
The tearful man shook his head. The last time he'd seen any of them had been graduation, except Gabriella, and the dark skinned man knew. "No," he said finally. "Not in years."
"It's good to see you again," the man said, picking up the little girl and walking off toward the stands.
He was alone again. The buzzer rang and the Wildcats had come to victory. They were advancing to States. He looked to the bench and saw Coach Bolton with a little flicker of a smile on his face. This was the outcome that was supposed to have happened in his senior year. Instead there was chaos.
Thinking back, he didn't know when he had become friends with the lot of them. He had always been a shadow, but they made him seem like a person, especially after the summer they had all come off together.
Now, he was wondering how one group of friends could put each other through so much turmoil, so much pain. Maybe he would have been better off not getting involved at all. The Wildcats pranced off the court, jumping up and down with excitement, and he knew exactly why he'd become friends with them.
They accepted him.
So, tell me what you think. Review!!
Also, I have a to read a few books for my English class and I can only use the computer after I finish them. So, hopefully I'll have the next chapter up by the weekend...hopefully!!