-1In the gym, all the cheerleaders and basketball players were getting ready for the pep rally. Members of the band were assembling on the rafters and tuning their instruments. The whole thing seemed so silly. The rally seemed so insignificant with the world going on around them.
Jack stood in the entrance to the basketball court watching all the kids hug each other and joke around. Coach Locke walked in and Boone ran to greet him. He just wanted to get the whole thing over with. It seemed silly anyways. There was no way they could win against Ajira High anyways. The boys were instructed to change into their Oceanic shirts and Jack made his way back to the gym to change.
Eventually, classes began to filter in and the boys were waiting in the hall doing their group pep talk. As the captain of the team, Jack started.
"Okay, guys, we know that tomorrow we go against Ajira, and we know they are stronger and bigger, but we can win. That game is ours to take. If we all work together we can win. If we don't stay as one, we will lose," he stopped.
Locke gave him a stern look before butting in, "Boys, it doesn't matter if they are bigger or stronger. We are faster and better. There is no question that we will win that game tomorrow. Let's go out and have some fun for everyone okay? One, two, three Oceanic!"
The boys all raised their hands before walking towards the back door. They would be introduced one by one. As the captain, Jack would be first.
"Jack," Locke said, guiding him by the shoulder.
"What?"
"What was that?" Locke asked. "You've got to encourage them. Give them hope. If they expect defeat, that's what they'll get."
"Coach, I'm not going to tell them we're going to win because it is likely we won't win. That's not right to build them up just to be crushed."
"You're building them up so they will win. You've got to have faith that they'll succeed."
Jack laughed, "It's not faith, Locke, it's skill. Our guys don't have the skill that Ajira has. They beat us every year."
"All the more reason to give them hope," he said quietly.
Jack stopped talking and nodded, knowing he wasn't getting anywhere.
"Get ready, you're first." Locke said with a slap on the back.
"Good luck, Jack," one of his teammates said.
"Thanks, Marshall," he said with a smile before heading onto the court.
"Jack Shephard!"
He ran onto the court and waved before standing off to the side. He scanned the crowd when the second name was called and knew most of the people there. It was a small school and most of them had grown up together. As the last game of the season, Jack knew this would be the last time he stood on the court for a pep rally. While it made him nervous to think about leaving home and starting life in the real world, he was also excited. He was dreading the senior salute part where they would show pictures of his grade school years.
Once the team was on the floor, the cheerleaders pulled members of the crowd to do a game. The mascot went first. Jack didn't know who was inside the massive polar bear costume, but they ended up falling on their face causing the crowd to roar with laughter.
When the senior salute section came, Jack and three other team members walked up to the front while pictures of past games and school events showed above them. He had always wondered what the phrase "flash before your eyes" meant but he wondered now if he knew. As the crowd clapped for him, he saw the faces of Juliet, Charlie, Sawyer, Hurley, Boone and other friends he didn't know that well. It was time for the band to play so the guys moved to the side. A lump grew in the back of Jack's throat and he made his way out of the gym to get some air.
As he walked out, he saw Claire leaning with one hand propping her against the cinderblock wall.
"Claire?" he asked walking towards her, "Are you alright?"
She began to fall down the wall and wobbled to the ground. Jack broke into a run.
"Claire," he cried, "Claire, can you hear me?"
He pulled her up into a sitting position and leaned down to hear if she was breathing. Her eyes fluttered open.
"Come on, you need to get to the nurse."
"No, I'm fine." she insisted.
"Claire you just passed out. Come on, you need to go to the nurse."
"It's nothing," she tried to pull herself away from him.
"But just in case it is," he said firmly, "I really think you should go see the nurse."
"I can't," she whispered, shaking her head.
"What? What's wrong?"
Her blue eyes looked up into Jack's, "I'm pregnant," she said finally.
"What?" he said, concerned, "Come on, I really think you should go see the nurse now."
"No," she demanded as Jack pulled her to her feet. "He can't know. No one can know."
"What's going on here?" Mr. Alpert's voice came from down the hall.
"Everything's fine, Mr. Alpert, Claire was feeling pretty nauseous and I was going to help her to the nurse."
"Okay," he said with his hands on his hips, "Okay. Yeah."
As Jack practically pulled Claire down the hallway, he looked back to see Mr. Alpert standing there watching them and Kate's face peeking around the door to the gym.
"Jack, please, you can just let me walk from here."
"Are you sure you can walk?"
"Yes," she said defiantly, "I just got dizzy, that's all."
They walked down the hall, his hand still holding her wrist.
"They're going to know eventually," he said quietly.
"I know," she said, her voice filling with tears.
Jack stopped walking, "What are you going to do?"
"I don't know."
He nodded and guided her along by the wrist. He had always felt a little protective of Claire because she was an outsider and so little. Her arm felt so fragile in his hands.
"Can you make it up the stairs?" he asked.
She laughed, "I'm not going into labor here."
"I know," he chuckled, "I just don't want you to faint or anything."
They made their way to the nurses office and he lead her inside.
"Mr. Rom," he said, "Claire is feeling really faint, so I wanted to make sure she was safe."
"Well, aren't you a nice guy," Ethan said with a smile, "I'm sure she'll be just fine. Claire why don't you sit up here and tell me what's been happening lately. Was it something you ate?"
Claire moved up to sit on the little papered bench as Ethan turned to Jack.
"You can go back to the pep rally Mr. Shephard."
"Right," Jack said as he looked to Claire.
She gave him an assuring smile and nod. Turning to go back to the gym, he felt a sting of guilt. Maybe he should wait there with her. If something were to happen, he could be there to help. But he knew nothing would happen with Mr. Rom right there watching her. As he walked back to the stairs he saw the principal standing in the door of his office.
By the time Jack got back to the gym, most of the enthusiasm was gone and the kids were waiting for the bell to ring. As it did, they began rushing out to start their weekend. A few of the teachers were trying to manage crowd control, but it was practically impossible. Mr. Alpert leaned against the wall and let the kids leave as they wanted to.
"Alright boys," Locke called out, "You've got ten minutes before practice starts. You better be ready."
Jack nodded and started down the hall. He was going to grab a snack from the vending machine. On the way, he saw Jin trying to explain something to Michael, but it was obvious they were lost in translation. He remembered his promise to Sun and walked over.
"I don't know what you're saying, man."
Jin tried again and pointed to his watch.
"What time is it?"
"He likes your watch," Jack said plainly.
Jin nodded and pointed to Jack.
"Oh, thanks. It was given to me. Gift," he said loudly.
As Jin nodded, Michael called out to a friend passing by but the friend didn't hear him.
"Hey," he shouted, "Walt!"
He hurried after him and Jack turned to Jin, "I have a question."
"Ok," he nodded.
"Are you taking anyone to prom?" he asked flat out, knowing there was no easy way to skirt around the subject.
Jin drew back as though wondering if Jack was asking.
"Not me," Jack said, raising his hands to his chest, "Are you taking a girl to prom?"
Jin shook his head, "No."
"You should ask Sun," he said with a smile as he patted him on the back.
Before he could say anything in return he continued his walk. As he reached the vending machine he noticed Kate hurrying for the entrance. He almost called out to her to see how her day went, but she was moving too fast.
Pulling out his wallet, he unfolded a dollar and shoved it in. The Apollo bar made it half way before stopping.
"Dammit," he whispered.
He pushed against it slightly, hoping not to draw any attention to himself.
"I think you should reconsider." a voice said behind him.
Jack turned around to face the principal.
"I'm sorry," he said with a shake of his head, "it took my dollar and I just wanted the candy bar."
Jacob smiled, "And you thought damaging school property would be a good idea?"
Jack looked at him and didn't say anything.
"I know your intentions were pure, Jack. Things don't always work out though, no matter how hard you try."
"Thank you. It won't happen again."
Jack started to walk away, but Jacob interrupted him, "Where do you think you're going?"
"It's just a candy bar," he said sheepishly.
Jacob bent over and lifted the plastic flap. He pulled out an Apollo bar. Smiling, he moved over to Jack, clasping his hand on his shoulder.
"Sometimes, though, things are worth fighting for. Life has a funny way of doing that."
Puzzled, Jack gave him a funny look before taking the candy.
"Thank you," he said with a nod.
"Good luck Jack."
He walked away from the machine, confused about what just happened. He heard someone call his name and turned to see Claire walking towards him.
"Jack!" Claire called as she walked over to him.
"Are you alright?" he said quietly.
"I'm fine," she insisted. "Please, please, don't say anything to anyone."
Jack shook his head, "I won't. I promise."
She looked as though she was going to cry.
"Hey," he touched her arm, "everything's going to be okay."
"You think so?" she asked softly.
"Yes. I do."
She smiled at him as though she believed him. He thought about what Locke said. While this seemed like false hope to him, Claire seemed to want to hear it anyways.
"If you ever want to talk,"
"I know. Thanks."
Moving towards the door, she left the school with the blinding sun streaming through. When Jack turned back around, Charlie was watching him.
"Hi Charlie," Jack said as he started walking towards the gym.
"What was that?" Charlie asked, angry.
"What was what?"
"That," Charlie demanded. "The dreamy eyed stare. I know it when I see it."
Jack laughed, "Charlie, I think you've got the wrong idea here."
"Don't laugh at me. You're always blowing everyone else off because we aren't as smart or as popular as you are."
Jack rubbed his hand against his eye and looked down at Charlie.
"Listen, Charlie, I'm not interested in Claire. Okay?"
He started to walk away again. Charlie began following him.
"Look, here you go again, just walking away. I'm not worth sitting and talking to?"
Jack stopped, "That's not true. You are upset, I get that. I just don't think you should be."
Charlie looked at him closely as though trying to understand if he was telling the truth.
Jack put his hands on his hips, leaning his head down to look Charlie in the eye.
"I'm not going after Claire," he shook his head, "Why don't you tell Claire you care about her? Maybe she could use a friend right now."
"I've got to go," Charlie said angrily as he walked away.
Jack turned back towards the gym. When he got inside, the guys had already begun running. Locke turned to see him come in.
"Nice of you to join us Jack."
"I'm sorry," he said walking towards him, "I got caught up."
Locke looked at him and nodded his head towards the other guys. Jack turned and ran to the pack. Locke wondered what made him think he could do what he wanted just because he wanted to. After the pep talk to the team, Locke was beginning to question his choice of team captain. He wasn't sure Jack had what it took.
The thing that made him chose him in the first place was his tenacity. A challenge only made Jack fight that much harder. His lack of faith, in himself and in others is what made Locke think it would take something like this to see how much he needed everyone else.