Chapter 203: Sixteen

Thursday, January 19th, Late Morning

(Song lyrics in italics)

Ashlyn walked through her office door, closing it behind her. Opening up her laptop, she looked over the browser and clicked the bookmark on the ribbon menu; this opened up the Tree Hill High School's athletics page; with a new video posted. With a smile, she clicked it and waited for the media player to open. Once the player was ready, Ashlyn clicked the play button.

As the music started, Ashlyn smiled. It brought back some memories of when she first heard the song in Angela's small bedroom, in that little house. Ashlyn watched the opening montage of girls playing basketball; she noted a few shots included her. The lyrics came to her ears, again, deepening her smile.

I

Will

Be

I will be heard.

The logo showed up with the many scenes of Ashlyn's past. She nodded; they had very talented kids working on this project. Today's logo has the subtitle sixteen. The logo faded to the Tree Hill High School Studio and Trey, as always, sitting behind the studio's desk.

"Hello, I'm Trey Terthero, and this is Be Heard: A Championship Defined. Today we're covering the second of the four Wonder Freshmen. As a small forward, she never broke beyond third string this season, eventually becoming the forgotten member of the group. The truth now is to be told; she has some of the deepest connections with her fellow teammates. So, here we go with this episode, Sixteen," he said.

The Doctor looked at the camera, "Talent, pose, and she knew her role," she said.

Anna, on the field house bleachers, looked at the camera, "One hell of a shot," she said.

Kay, in her living room, nodded, "A great small forward," she said.

The black-haired woman at the River Court looked at the camera, "A great teammate," she said.

Ashlyn was now looking in a mirror. "She was a pleasure to play with," the on-screen version of her said.

The screen dissolved to a tall, solidly built black woman standing in the center of the River Court. She smiled and nodded.

The scene changed to Coach Sinclair in the team office. "She was a great player to have on the team," she said.

It returned to the black woman at the River Court. "Like many kids in Tree Hill, my basketball journey started on this blacktop," she said and nodded, "My parents never married, and when my mom worked, my dad would watch me. We would come down here; I think because he didn't know what else to do with me. One day I picked up a random basketball and started to try making shots. Eventually, he started to teach me how to shoot. Unfortunately, that didn't last long," she said, nodded and looked off to the river. After a moment, she looked down at some faded paint and turned to face the camera. "I'm Monica Hightower, sometimes known as Monica Burton, and I was a small forward and number sixteen."

The scene went to Coach Scott sitting in the field house bleachers. "Like most of the choices we made in assembling this team, we chose Monica because we needed depth," Coach Scott said.

Next, it was Coach Sinclair. "I've noticed Monica in a gym class at the middle school I teach gym at," she said, "I did some digging and found she also played AAU Basketball. So, I scouted her, and knew I needed her on the team when she came to high school."

Coach Scott was on the screen. "Monica was all Kiera's choice. I trust Kiera's instincts, and she knows what type of player I want. Monica fit the bill to a tee," he said.

The camera returned to the River Court and the black-haired woman. "Monica was always understated; she was the quiet one on the team," she said.

It was Kay's turn again. "The starters and backups were so good that year that the freshman got a lot of playing time early in the games. She was my mirror in the triangle we ran," she said.

Monica returned to the screen. "I've always been known as being introspective and keep to myself. I was surprised that I made varsity my freshman year," she said.

Angela, in her hotel room, was next. "The second half of my senior season, I was moved to small forward. That was my first prolonged exposure to Monica and how she played. She's good, and I saw potential in her," she said.

An older black woman was on the screen. Her hair was white, and she wore thick glasses. She ran a hand over her hair and sighed. Finally, she looked into the camera. "Monica was always playing basketball. It's her dad's fault. We had her too young, and when I was at work, he would watch her. The only thing he seemed to know how to do was to play basketball. We tried hard, and he tried hard, to make ends meet he joined the Guard. The Guard got called up for that fool's errand in Iraqi, and he never came back," she said, paused and sighed, "It's been Monica and me ever since."

Monica was back on the screen. "Somehow, my life and basketball got interconnected. A relative told me y name was for Sanaa Lathan's character in the movie Love and Basketball, which turned out to be also my parent's favorite movie," she said, and nodded, "Basketball was my escape from turning into nothing. I got to go to college and made some great friends. I even still connected to my dad." She paused and looked at the camera. Monica tilted her head as if listening. "How? I just come here, and just walk over to this corner," she said, and pointed, "I'll show you," she nodded and walked over to the corner, the camera followed and pointed to something into the concrete around the corner. "When they repaired the court, his friends put his initials in the wet concrete."

The camera zoomed in on the concrete, and the writing was just barely readable. "For FT," is what it said.

The screen changed to Coach Scott sitting in the bleachers. "Yes, you could say that Monica didn't contribute much to her freshman year. That wasn't her job; her job was to learn and improve. Ashlyn, Cara, and later Angela buried her behind them, but when she contributed, she contributed, and built chemistry with her teammates, Monica's best years were later in her career. She moved up the chain, eventually becoming our sixth man and starting her senior year. Monica wasn't a waste of space, as often said about her," he said.

Coach Sinclair was next on the screen. "Monica gave us what we expected at the pace we expected. Not everyone can mature at the rate Kay did. I'm still proud of what Monica became for us and as a woman," she said.

The Doctor was on the screen now. "I shepherded the Wonder Freshmen that whole season and acted as a team mom for them. Monica wasn't a problem at all; she did what had to be done and improved," she said.

Kay appeared on the screen. "All I got to say is watch our senior year, and you tell me?" she said.

Ashlyn again was looking at herself. "She was a great player and willing to learn," she said.

Angela appeared on the screen again. "A totally underrated player," she said.

The black-haired woman at the River Court was next. "Monica and I were the inside players our senior year when we ran the three-guard offense; of course, she is worth discussing," she said.

The brown-haired high school basketball coach was next. "Three years we played together and two of them we won championships. Of course, she was worth having on the team, that second championship she was coming off the bench and scoring. Championships are won on the bench," she said.

The show returned to Monica. "I was in the grays as they say it. I didn't develop as fast as Kay, I wasn't overhauled to play another position like Jaslyn, nor was I prone to goofs like Anna, I was sure and steady," she said.

The screen dissolved to the same clips shown at the end of Anna's episode. It showed Anna hugging three other girls, one of them; number sixteen was a younger version of Monica. The image dissolved to Monica holding a basketball for a team photo, the basketball said Conference Sixth man of the year.

The screen changed to the Tree Hill High School Studio. "Not everyone can be a standout, but every team needs that steady presence. A roll Monica Burton would eventually fill for Tree Hill; just this year, she was just a young freshman trying to learn. Tomorrow, we move up to one of the junior bigs and her role with the team. I'm Trey Terthero, and I'll see you tomorrow with Forty-two," he said.

Ashlyn nodded, removed her earbuds, and turned off the video.