Disclaimer: I do not own Friday Night Lights, or any of its characters or plots. I just own my storyline and my OCs.
María McGill was thrilled to be back in Dillon after spending her three previous high school years in Florida, on a golf scholarship. The only daughter of Mac McGill, the offensive coordinator for the Dillon Panthers, and his wife Sue, she had a promising future as a golf player ahead of her. At least that was what all her teachers and coaches said. She had started playing at an early age. Her grandfather, just retired from the Army then, used to take her to the driving range with him almost every afternoon after preschool. She was not the only kid around, just the only girl; most regulars and even the range employees´ brought their boys with them, and she really enjoyed her time there. She soon preferred golf clubs to dolls, resulting in becoming the best juvenile golf player in Carr County, much to the delight of her granddad.
She was a complete tomboy growing-up. Tall for her age, with long fair hair always tied up in a ponytail and green eyes, it was difficult to see her clad in a dress or skirt, no matter how hard her mother tried to convince her. Her closest friends were all boys that shared golf classes, tee hours and lazy summer days with her at the range or the course. They called themselves "The great five" and the five of them were as thick as thieves. She found it really hard to find any common ground with the girls that were in her class at school. She liked golf, football and cars, and most of her classmate´s conversations focused on anything but that. And this gap only grew wider over the years when suddenly boys became her girlfriends´ favorite topic.
And then a great opportunity had arisen when she was on her last year of middle school. A straight A student, she had been shortlisted for a golf scholarship at GMI Academy, a boarding school and sport training center in Florida that offered an integrated academic and athletic college preparatory experience across sports. She was over the moon. However, it also meant that she would be living 1.500 miles away from home, and she started having second thoughts about it with the final date for applying approaching. But her family encouraged her, telling her they would support her no matter what she decided, and her golf buddies did the same (they all wished they were in her shoes), and she finally left for Florida on a rainy day in August, with a proud Mac driving a packed car and waving good-bye to Sue until they turned into the main street on their way to I-20 E.
She had really enjoyed boarding school, it had been a great experience and she knew she was going to miss her friends, but at seventeen she longed for home life. Lately she was finding it hard to be so far away from home, coming over just on long school breaks and not being in her parents´ day to day life. And college was almost there, too. So when she arrived home for her senior year, again with Mac driving an even more packed car, she felt like if it was a turning point in her life and she was about to start a completely new page.
Her family was not the only thing that she was missing from Dillon while in Florida. Jack Byrne was one of her lifelong golf buddies and the current Westerby Mustangs QB1, and they had started dating the summer before. She had stayed in touch with most of her golf friends by mail, phone calls and occasional reunions on school breaks, but when they saw each other that summer it was like they were meeting for the first time. They spend a lot of time together at the range, the pool, the lake, both their homes (Mac and Sue knew him since he was a baby); time seemed to flying by and when it was time to go back to Florida, María suddenly realized she wanted to stay home, not only for her parents, but for Jack too. During the last year they had faced distance the best they could. It was hard to be in a relationship being so far away, especially when it was the first one for both of them and all these feelings were brand new, but they really liked each other and they had made it work though those long months.
"Mrs. Taylor, Tami, Eric´s wife, just called a few minutes ago asking if you were already home. She wants to see you before school starts. I think she wants to go over your file at GMI Academy with you and, well, you know, try to make things easier for you being new to Dillon High School on your senior year since most of your friends have already graduated and Jack attends Westerby High School…", her mother said while they were having dinner that evening.
"Thank you Mom, I will call her tomorrow. I am sure she will be a great help. But please don´t worry, I am going to be fine. I know that Jack is in Westerby, and Miles and Alan will be leaving for college soon, but I still have friends in Dillon High School", she quickly replied. She did not want to worry her parents.
"Who? Sam, who is now two grades behind you so you will hardly see him? Tim, who you haven´t seen or heard from for the last two years? Laura, Brittany and Sally, from middle school, who you wouldn´t consider your friends even back then?" both Mac and Sue thought. But they just smiled to their daughter and Mac said: "We are your parents, María, it is our job to worry. We know this is not your first rodeo. I bet you were homesick when you first arrived at GMI although you were telling us that you were fine. But please do call Mrs. Taylor. She is very good at her job and, well, she is married to my boss, you know…".
"Will do, Dad", she said. She had great expectations for her senior year. She was finally home, and she was going to enjoy it, with or without friends at school.