Tracy's POV
It's Saturday so I head to the cyber cafe to chill. I walk inside and see Mike has ordered me a smoothie. I walk over to him. After I thank him, we walk over to the couch under the window and sit down. The gang is there too. Kira is rocking out on stage with her band. Halfway through the song I feel my pocket vibrate. I reach into my pocket to look at my phone. I see my mom's picture on the screen. I knew she only calls me if it's really important.
"Sorry Mike, I got to take this," I say.
"Okay, darling, hurry back." He says.
He kisses me on the cheek. I smile and kiss him back. Then I get up and walk out of the room.
"Hey, mom, what's up?" I ask.
"Tracy, I have some bad news. Uncle Sergio just called. He told me that Aunt Elizabeth lost her battle with breast cancer." Mom says, sounding all choked up.
After I hear those words the phone falls out of my hand but I catch it before it hits the ground.
"Tracy, are you still there?" Mom asks.
"Yes, mom but the doctors said she was cancer free after the last round of chemotherapy," I say.
"They did say that, but the last treatment took too much out of her." mom says.
"Did the doctors know this would happen?" I ask.
"Yes, sweetheart." Mom replies.
"If they knew this would happen. Why did they go through with it? It doesn't make any sense." I say.
"Sweetheart, I'll explain everything later. I have to call the rest of the family to tell them the news." Mom says.
"Okay, mom, see you later," I say.
I hang up. I put my phone back in my pocket, wipe the tears from my eyes and walk back into the cafe.
Mike's POV
Tracy walks back over to me and I can tell that she is upset.
"Hey angel, what's wrong?" I ask.
"My mom called to tell me about my aunt Elizabeth. She lost her battle with breast cancer." She says.
"Tracy, I'm so sorry," I say.
I get up from the couch. I walk over to her and give her a hug. Tracy sets her head in my chest and starts to cry.
Normal POV
A few seconds later Tracy's communicator goes off. Tracy takes her head off of Mike's chest and dries the tears from her eyes.
"Are you okay," Mike asks.
"Yes," She says.
Tracy kisses him on the cheek. Then she leaves the cafe and heads to the lab. As Tracy walks into the lab, Dr. Oliver turns around in his chair, he sees Tracy's red eyes and concludes that she's been crying.
"Tracy, is everything okay?" Dr. Oliver asks.
"Yes, Dr. O everything is fine. Why do you ask?" Tracy replies.
"You look heartbroken, that's all." He says.
"I just got some sad news about my family, that's all, but I don't want to talk about it." She says.
"Good we don't want to hear about it." Conner jokes.
"Conner, this isn't the best time to make jokes, can't you see that she is upset," Kira says.
"Kira, I appreciate what you are doing. Can we just get to the reason why we're here, please?" Tracy says politely.
Kira nods and Tracy walks over to her chair. She sits down and listens as Dr. Oliver fills the team in on the current situation with Mesogog. Tracy tries to stay focused on what Dr. Oliver is saying. The only thing on her mind is memories of her Aunt Elizabeth.
Dr. Oliver's POV
I look over at Tracy and I can tell that she isn't listening to a word I'm saying. Tracy looks like she trying her best not to cry. I finish my speech and tell the team to stay on their toes. They leave the room. Tracy exits the room and starts to walk back up the stairs. She makes it up the first few steps and misses the next step. She lands face down on the first landing.
"Tracy, are you okay?" I ask.
"Yeah, I'm fine," Tracy answers.
She gets back on her feet and continues up the stairs. Hayley asks me if I have any idea why Tracy is acting like this. I say yes. Hayley turns off the computer. We head upstairs and walk outside. I notice that Tracy's car is still parked in the driveway.
"Where could she be hiding?" Hayley asks.
"I have a pretty good idea," I answer.
I walk Hayley to her car. I tell her that I will go find Tracy.
Tracy's POV
I'm at the lake at the edge of the woods skipping rocks and thinking about the fact the Aunt Elizabeth is gone. She was such an amazing person. She was so brave, courageous, strong and had a great sense of humor. She also had a way of lighting up a room and always had a smile on her face. I set the rocks back on the ground, walk over to some dead trees and start to karate chop off a few branches.
Dr. Oliver's POV
I hear the sound of a loud kiai coming from deep in the woods. I run in the direction of the sound. I see Tracy doing a few Mawashi Geri kicks on a dead tree. Then she changes to a Fumikomi Geri kick and the tree falls to the forest floor. She does a few more of those kicks to the branches. She picks them up and tosses them into the air. She jumps into the air and karate chops them in half. She lands on the ground, drops to her knees and starts to cry, I watch a puddle start to form as the tears splash onto the ground in front of her.
"Why did you have to leave Aunt Elizabeth? Why?" Tracy says through the tears.
I walk up slowly and bend down beside her. I place my hand on her shoulder. Tracy looks up at me.
"Hey Dr. O., I'm sorry I didn't mean to kick down that tree," Tracy says.
"It's okay; I know you did it because you're hurting," I tell her.
I ask her why she didn't say anything earlier. She says she didn't want the others to know. I look at her left hand and see a big splinter in it. I suggest that we head back to the house so I can take it out. Tracy nods and gets back to her feet. She dries the tears from her eyes and we walk back to the house.
Normal POV
Tracy and Dr. Oliver enter the kitchen. Tracy sits down at the table and notices that Dr. Oliver hadn't got around to buying a new one. The table is held together by wood glue and clamps. Dr. Oliver goes to the cabinet above the sink, takes out the first aid kit and walks over to Tracy. She lets him remove the splinter from her hand. He puts some medicine on the injured area and a dressing on it. She thanks him and heads home.
Wednesday morning in class Dr. Oliver can tell that Tracy is still hurting over the loss of her aunt. Tracy's mom emailed all her teachers to tell them about the death in the family. Tracy walks up and hands in her mid-term. Tracy turns around and heads back to her seat. She gathers her things and leaves the room. The midterms for English and Pre-Calculus went the same as Science. She gets through the first ten questions and starts to think about her aunt again, and she would draw a memory of her aunt on the test. She finishes the drawing then answers the next few questions. Later that day in the teacher's lounge, Mr. Johnson is grading her test. He notices the questions that she answered. Tracy did have the correct answer.
"Hello Mr. Johnson, how are your students doing?" Dr. Oliver asks.
"They are doing well. Dr. Oliver, you have Tracy in your class, don't you?" He responds.
"Yes, let me guess - you have a drawing of Tracy's aunt on her midterm."Dr. Oliver says.
"Actually it looks more like a memory." He says.
"What do you mean?" Dr. Oliver asks.
"I can't really describe it. You should look at it yourself." Mr. Johnson answers.
Dr. Oliver walks over and looks at the test. He sees a picture of Tracy and her aunt Elizabeth at her 6th birthday. Miss Drew walks in with Tracy's test in her hand.
"Let me guess Tracy drew some pictures on her mid-term as well?" Mr. Johnson asks.
Miss Drew nods. The three teachers know how some students dealt with the loss of a family member. They figure that Tracy was very close to her aunt if she can draw such an accurate picture from memory. They also know Tracy won't be able to play in the game on Friday if they submit the grade she earned on the exam to the main office. They all agree that they'll let her retake the test.
At the ball diamond behind the school, Coach Burns notices that Tracy's game is off. She is making too many throwing errors when she is playing defense. When she is at bat she can't make contact when the pitcher threw a bad pitch, or just strike out. After practice he pulls her aside to talk to her.
"Tracy, is everything ok? Your game was a little off today." Coach Burns says.
"Yes, sir everything is fine. I'm just having a bad day." Tracy says.
"Okay, remember that we have our first game on Friday." Coach Burns says.
Tracy tells the couch that she'll be ready for the game on Friday. He smiles at her response and tells her to head home to get some rest. She nods, gathers her gear, and heads to her car.
AN: Will Tracy play in the game on Friday? Keep reading to find out. Remember reviews are appreciated.