Treasured Donation
Lydia wasn't in Elwood City often, not since she joined a travelling basketball team. Today was a rare exception, a day to see the people she'd met once before who used basketball to save the school library. She had a lot of respect for those people, and after considerable thinking, she decided to pay them back for their hard work.
As she entered the cafeteria, Mr. Ratburn's class was chattering excitedly. Who in the world was visiting them mid-morning, and why did they have to be in the cafeteria? No one had any idea except the smiling Mr. Ratburn, who waved as Lydia Fox rolled into the cafeteria, her mother not far behind her with a few bags.
"Lydia!" Brain exclaimed. "How have you been?"
"Lovely as always," she replied. "I see you recovered nicely. Don't forget what I taught you though," she winked. He nodded; he never would.
"Class, in case you have forgotten, this is Lydia Fox. She helped train Alan for his basketball shootout that helped fund our school's library. She was so impressed with your initiative that she's decided to bring in a special surprise for all of you. Lydia," Mr. Ratburn said, sitting down as Lydia rolled up to the table.
"I have more hidden talents than some will note," she said, gesturing for her mother to approach the table. Her mother obeyed, and Mr. Ratburn's students watched in awe as a beautiful scultpture was put onto the table.
"Whoa! How did you do that?!" Buster exclaimed. Lydia let the others ooh and ahh for a moment before explaining the process to the class.
"After certain tournaments, different basketballs are deemed trash because they are no longer regulation. This one here is missing most of the leather on one side because it got caught under another player's chair. So, I take them home, cut them in half, and make collages using different treasures I've found in my travels. This one is called Elwood City Bliss. This is a ball I found in the storage room while I was here, and the trinkets inside are things I found in the gym after the competition was over."
"Hey, that's that Might Mountain kid's lucky trinket!" Francine gasped before bursting into laughter.
"He actually gave that to me," Lydia smiled. "I also have things like that in my different collections," she said as her mother placed more along the center of the table so everyone could look up close at a particular collage.
"Why are you showing us there?" Arthur asked kindly.
"I'm donating them to your school library as art pieces. There's one for every study table. I always find that it's nice to take a little break while you're studying to rest your brain but also to challenge it. I've printed these cards with things to find in each collage. The librarian has agreed to include them," Lydia smiled.
The class cheered again, looking over the items with delight as Mrs. MacGrady entered the room with a tray of cookies. After enjoying them together, Mr. Ratburn's class filed back to class, their smiles wider than ever before.
Lydia and her mother took the collages to the library and organized them with the librarian, who taped down the "Find It!" cards to the table. They were numbered just like the balls so there would never be a mix up, and Lydia left Elwood City feeling very accomplished.
~End
Theme 004: Hidden Treasures
A/N: I completed this one-shot in response to a theme challenge with TheUltimateCombo. To see the full list of themes and challenges see my profile.
Dedicated to: My Whole Life Is Thunder
It was nice to include Lydia in a piece. I really enjoyed the one episode I've seen her in (the one with the tournament mentioned in this piece), and when My Whole Life Is Thunder suggested I use her for Sophomore Sorrows/Missing In Action, I realized I had nowhere to put her in the plot. But, I decided to do a one-shot or two instead. Maybe I'll do more with Lydia in the future. Keep an eye out for them:)