Author's Note: Hey guys! I was having trouble writing a new chapter for ITPOAA so I decided to take a break and update this story. It's really short and not much goes on and it's kind of crappy, but oh well. Not much else to say… I hope you like it! As always, please read and review!
Disclaimer: I own nothing. One Tree Hill and its characters are property of the WB.
Rating: K+ to T
Finding Our Way Back
Chapter 3 – An Old Haunt and A Familiar Face
A few days later, Haley was settled in enough and she decided that it was time to revisit her old high school and get things squared away for when she started teaching there in two weeks. She left the kids with Karen then drove to Tree Hill High. She parked her car and just sat there for several minutes, staring at the old building and its surroundings. Slowly, she stepped out of her car and began to walk towards the doors, pulling on the handle and entering the cool building. The high school hadn't changed much either in the last five years since she'd left this place, Haley thought to herself as she looked around. She walked down the hallway towards the front office and she was bombarded with a sense of nostalgia as she passed the tutoring center. It was a good thing hardly anybody was around because tears were welling behind her eyes; it was an early release day and the kids had already been dismissed from school for the day.
"Miss James," someone called out cautiously from behind her. Haley turned and saw an older woman around her mid-forties with blonde hair perched on her head in a loose bun. Haley nodded and she approached the woman, who stuck out her hand in greeting. "Hi, I'm Mrs. Townsend. We spoke on the phone." "Hello Mrs. Townsend," Haley shook the principal's hand and smiled. "Oh please call me Becky," the woman waved her hand in dismissal of the formality. "You can call me Haley," she responded. "Okay, let's get you started. The front office is here, the lounge is just down the hall to your left, and…" Becky stopped when she saw Haley chuckling and trying to cover it up by putting a hand to her mouth. Her brows crinkled in confusion, "What's so funny?" "Unless things have changed, I pretty much know where everything is. I went to high school here," Haley responded. Becky's cheeks tinted slightly pink, "Oh I'm so sorry. My new assistant didn't tell me you'd gone here! Well then, let me show you to your classroom and we'll get everything else all finished for next Monday." Haley nodded then followed her down the halls.
They reached a door and Becky went to unlock it. "Mrs. Benson's room? Did the old woman finally keel over? I swear, she was over a hundred years old even when I had her!" Becky laughed, "No, she's retiring. There comes a point in time when a teacher loses her credibility." "Oh, so she went crazy? That isn't so weird, a lot of people always thought she was a little looney." The woman chuckled again, "You're a funny one. The kids will love you." "I hope so," Haley replied. "I know seniors can be kind of intimidating but don't let them get to you. You'll do just fine, I know it," Becky responded with a confident smile. "Thanks," Haley answered as she walked around the classroom. "Well, here are your set of keys and you can get your school id on your way out. Feel free to come see me if you have any questions." "School id? God I hated those! I always had the worst pictures! Is there any way I can get an id without a picture," Haley joked. Becky laughed again as she walked out of the classroom, waving to her, "See you next Monday Haley."
Haley stayed in the classroom a while longer then began to wander about the halls. Twenty minutes later, she found herself standing outside the double doors of the gym. She hesitated a few minutes before slowly pulling open one of the doors and entering. It still smelled the same way it always had: sweat, rubber and dirty gym socks. She stared up at one of the basketball hoops from center court and remembered all the times she had watched Lucas make basket after basket in his games. In a far corner, she spotted a rack of basketballs and jogged over to get one. She returned to her spot and bounced it a few times before positioning the ball in her hands and launching it from her hands into the basket. Haley smiled; Lucas had taught her that.
"Nice shot. Who are you," a gruff voice sounded from behind her. Startled, Haley spun around, a hand to her chest. She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw who it was. "Haley James is that you?" "Coach Durham," Haley nodded. "Nobody still calls me that. It's always been Whitey; I've told you countless times. You were the only one who always called me that, no matter what I told you. You were stubborn as hell," Whitey chuckled as he remembered her when she was younger. "Yep, and still am," she smiled, "I see you're still here, you still coaching after all these years?" "Yeah. I'm retiring in a couple months though. Finally decided it was time to turn over my hat and whistle to someone else." "Good for you. You deserve it after so many years of coaching." "Thank you. So, what brings you back to Tree Hill High," he asked. "Opportunity and a paycheck," she smirked. "Still got that sense of humor, I see. You're the new English and History teacher?" "Yep, I start in two weeks," Haley replied. "Good for you. You were always a great student. Now you can put those tutoring skills to good use," he winked at her. She laughed in response. "Well, I've gotta get home. It was nice seeing you again Haley," he said as he hugged her. Haley patted his back, "You too. I'll see you around school Coach Durham." "It's Whitey," he replied gruffly. Haley chuckled, "Whitey."
After Whitey left, Haley wandered around some more and she stopped when she saw the trophy case. She slowly walked over and stared at all the basketball memorabilia. Then she saw him. It was a picture of him with his arm around her and a trophy in his hand, both smiling widely. The picture was situated next to his old Ravens jersey with the number three on it. She traced the lines of his face in the picture and ran her thumb over his lips before pulling away and quickly moving down the hallway, tears falling down her face. She wouldn't think about him; it just hurt too much.