Halfway into the interview, Ellie knew that Jimmy was right: Dave was a good kid. As the echoes of their laughter filled the empty gym, she knew she would have more than enough to work with.
"Okay, okay," she said, laughter subsiding. "Last question: Do any of your peers or family treat you differently now that you've become a bit of a basketball phenom?"
Dave shrugged. "Not really. I still have to cook dinner every Wednesday and my girlfriend still thinks I'm a huge dork. I'm thankful for that though - they keep me grounded. It's important to be realistic." He took a swig out of his water bottle. "You know, when I first started school here, I wanted nothing more than to be popular. In Grade 10 I stopped trying… there was no use in forcing it and trying to be like the kids in the in-crowd. Which is funny, because I shifted focus to my game, scored some points, and ended up being 'popular' anyway."
"Why the air quotes?"
"The only difference is more people say 'Hi' to me. I've also got a fan page on Facebook now."
Ellie smiled and clicked the recorder off. "That was great. I'm positive you'll go far in the states." She extended her hand. "It was a pleasure meeting you, Dave."
"Thank you so much," he said as he shook her hand. "It was nice meeting you, too."
Ellie lingered for a moment, debating whether or not to take Jimmy up on his offer. They hadn't spoken in a long time, but there were reasons behind that. She supposed those reasons have had enough time to fade out by now.
"So are you waiting for someone, or…?"
"Oh! Sorry, Dave." Ellie placed her tape recorder inside her purse. Maybe it would be better if she left any future interaction with Jimmy Brooks up to chance. "You probably need to get going, huh?"
"No actually," he said as his phone buzzed. He checked the screen. "My girlfriend won't be here for another ten minutes. She's my ride."
Ellie raised an eyebrow.
"So I let her borrow my car every once in a while… " he explained.
"That's sweet. Do you want me to keep you company while you wait?"
She figured she might as well ease into it instead of forcing it.
"As long as I'm not keeping you from being somewhere."
"Nope."
"Alright. Beats staring at a screen," he said, putting his phone in his pocket.
They were silent for a moment.
"You know, I used to go to Degrassi."
His face lit up. "Really? Nice. Did you know our Assistant Coach? His name is-"
"Jimmy Brooks. Yeah, sorta," she said. "I ran into him in the hallway. He told me he was going to pick up his daughter."
"Natasha. She's really cute. Coach brings her to the games sometimes." Dave's phone rang. "Excuse me."
Dave stood up to answer the call and began walking across the half-court line as if it was a tightrope. "Hey Alli."
Ellie pulled out her own phone in an attempt to keep herself from listening to his half of the conversation. She rested one end on her lip and thought about what Jimmy had said.
"You what? Tell me you're joking." The tightrope turned back into a painted line. "Please. "
He remained silent while the voice on the other line began talking faster and faster.
"Okay, calm down. It's fine, babe. Shh. Calm down." Dave scratched the back of his neck. "I'm not mad, I'm just surprised. Yes, that's my surprised voice. How bad is it?"
Dave frowned. Ellie tapped her phone against her chin.
"We'll get it fixed," he said. "No, just come straight here. Yes. Bye."
Dave exhaled slowly as he reclaimed his seat on the bleachers. Ellie continued to toy with the phone in her hands and looked back at Dave, who seemed to be searching for an answer in the opposite wall.
"I say you just call in a favor from someone in shop class," she offered. He met her eyes with surprise. "Couldn't help but eavesdrop. Maybe you could put that 'popularity' to good use."
Dave's face perked up. "Oh. Yeah, that could work. It'd probably be cheaper, too!" His tone grew more confident as he went on and he relaxed in his seat. "Yeah. Thanks for that."
Ellie smiled. "I had a boyfriend who was pretty good with cars. It had its perks."
"Sounds like it would," he replied, trying to hold back a smirk. Ellie pretended not to notice and turned her attention back to her phone. She stared at her faint reflection in the screen.
"So…" She placed the phone down on the bench. "How is Coach Brooks doing, anyway?"
Ellie hoped she didn't sound too interested. Dave looked at her with diluted amusement.
"Uh, I guess he's doing pretty good. Being a single dad must be tough, though."
She wasn't sure what to say to that. Her mouth parted slightly and she took a sharp breath. Her reaction was barely noticeable, but Dave picked up on it. He tried his best to understand.
"You and Coach…"
"-were friends," Ellie responded firmly. "Friends. Really good friends until some stuff happened. Then we just drifted apart."
Dave nodded and eyed her solemnly. She didn't want to put him through all of the details of her adolescent life, things she hadn't thought about unless something brought her back and reignited how she felt when she was still in high school. Sometimes she would be brought back with a photograph or an old story Marco mentioned in passing, but it was nothing like seeing an old friend again. Someone who didn't break her heart.
She felt vulnerable under the high schooler's gaze. "He uh, he told me we should catch up sometime and that you had his number," she said, attempting to thin the air between them.
Dave seemed to be searching her with his eyes, asking questions without putting them into words. A ghost of a smile made its way onto his face as he decided he knew enough. "Yeah, I have it," he responded as he nonchalantly pulled out his phone. Dave tapped on the screen a few times before handing it over to her. "I hope you put that number to good use."
This time he smiled warmly and she couldn't help but do the same, glancing at him while she copied the number into her phone. "Thanks, Dave."
"Not a problem at all," he said as he put the phone back in his pocket.
Ellie returned to playing with her phone in her hands, content with being able to reach Jimmy later.
"So, moving away from my days in high school…" she began as he seemed to catch onto her light mood, "tell me how high school has been treating you." Ellie set her phone down. "I'm assuming a dented car isn't the worst thing you've done."
He grinned. "This is all off the record, right?"
"Of course."
They swapped stories until his girlfriend arrived, Tim Hortons in tow. Ellie waved goodbye to Dave and Alli and watched the dented bumper disappear as it turned a corner.
She dialed the number as she began walking to her car. He answered on the third ring.
"Hey Jimmy, it's Ellie. No, I'm just getting ready to leave Degrassi. Home. Yeah, I was hoping we could, maybe, if you're free…"
