Nathan sat at the head of the table, with Haley on his right and Jamie on his left. Peyton sat next to Haley and Layton was next to her mom. On Jamie's other side was his sister and then his brother. Kyle used to sit next to Jamie, until Beth started whining about wanting to sit next to both of her brothers. Brooke was on the other side of Layton, with Katie's high chair sitting between her and Ethan, who was at the other end of the table. Across from Brooke and in between her father and Kyle, Lissa sat.
After saying Grace they began to pass the dishes of food around the table. Haley and Peyton had made spaghetti and meatballs for dinner. For side dishes they had made garlic bread and a green salad.
After everyone had gotten food Peyton turned to her daughter. "So, Angel, how was your first day at Tree Hill High?" Peyton asked, using her nick name for Layton. She truly thought of Layton as her guardian angel, the only thing that had kept her going. Sometimes it was a good thing and sometimes it was a bad thing that she reminded Peyton of her father so much.
Layton was chewing a bite of salad, but when she swallowed she smiled at her mom. "It was different. Kind of good, kind of bad, I have so many classes with this one," she turned and gestured toward Kyle. They were both taking College Prep classes.
Kyle scoffed. "What good do you see in it?" he teased Layton. She stuck her tongue out at him.
"Not at the table," Nathan scolded his son. Peyton sent a warning look at her daughter. Kyle's and Layton's didn't fight with any seriousness, though. They teased each other often, but were really quite close.
Kyle smirked the famous Scott smirk across the table at Layton, but Layton tossed her own female version right back at him. It was funny seeing that smirk on the face of a female. Since Lucas had left Karen and Andy had only come back once, and that three years after Lucas had left so they could rent out Karen's old house. Ever since then they had been living mainly on the sea with Lily, whom they home-schooled.
"So, do you guys like your teachers?" Peyton asked the three teenagers.
Layton and Kyle shrugged and Jamie kind of nodded, but it was Beth and Lissa who both spoke up with a very enthusiastic affirmative. Everyone laughed, but the younger ones didn't really get what was funny.
Lissa began talking animatedly with her parents, while Beth took Kyle's attention as she told him about her day. Jamie talked basketball with his father while Haley tried to keep up with the conversation of all three of her children.
Layton was looking down at her food, pushing it around, but not really eating. Peyton gently elbowed her daughter. "What's going on?" she asked when she had Layton's attention.
Layton shrugged and looked down again. She definitely had the whole Scott brooding thing down pat. Peyton sighed and leaned over to give her daughter a hug. "We'll talk when we get home, okay?" she whispered into her daughter's ear.
Layton looked up at her mom and tried to be cheerful. She nodded, already knowing what she really wanted to talk about. "Oh, yeah, Mom, I think I'm going to try out for the girls' basketball team," she informed her mother, trying to take her mind off of other things.
Peyton was surprised. She had expected her daughter to try to be a cheerleader. "Basketball? Are you sure you want to play basketball?" she asked.
Layton nodded, suddenly in a much better mood. "I've played with Kyle and Jamie a few times and I think I want to try it out," she said. Layton saw her mom's hesitancy. "I know you wanted me to be a cheerleader mom, but you know cheerleaders have to wear those short skirts," she said with a grimace.
Kyle heard Layton's last comment. "Yeah, to be a cheerleader you actually have to be a girl," he said.
Layton kicked him under the table and rolled her eyes, but otherwise ignored the comment. She turned her expectant eyes back on her mother.
Peyton realized that her daughter was waiting for her reaction. "Aw, Layton, you know I'll support you in whatever you do, whether it's basketball or cheerleading. As long as you're doing what makes you happy, I'm happy," she said with a smile.
Layton was glad she had her mother's support. She turned back to her food and began to eat again. Peyton, on the other hand, became lost in her own thoughts.
Though she was honest when she had said she would support her daughter's basketball career, she wasn't sure how she felt about her daughter being so much like her father. This was just another thing that would remind her of Lucas. She loved her daughter greatly; it just hurt Peyton sometimes how much like Lucas she was and the fact that she wouldn't know her father.
Peyton remembered how much it hurt going through high school without a really good parent figure around. She didn't want Layton to go through the same thing. She tried her best, but she knew that while Layton didn't ask about her father, she had to wonder about him, at least.
Layton looked at her mom. She could tell that her mom still missed her father, whoever she was. Layton could read the pain on Peyton's face every time she was reminded of him. There were just times when Peyton would get lost in her thoughts, a look of pain on her face, and Layton knew she was thinking about her father.
Layton did wonder about him, though. As a teenager she was getting curious and wanted to know more about her father, who he was and what he was like. She knew it would be painful for her mother to talk about, but Layton needed to know, so she was going to ask about it when she got her mother at home, alone.