Chapter 235: Tree Hill High School
Tuesday, January 24th, Morning
The early morning brought him to his office in the field house. Being senior enough, he only taught four classes and only had a study hall. One of his periods was dedicated to department work, as he was the head of the English department; the other was his own time.
Lucas Scott found himself behind his desk, going over the various things he needed for the school. Taking a deep breath, he looked over to the wall and saw the various plaques and trophies. Nodding, he pulled out a small post-it note, and he wrote on it.
All our accomplishments mean dust in the end. The one thing that truly lives after you is love.
Lucas looked at the post-it note and crumbled it up, throwing it at his waist paper basket. It bounced off the wall and landed on the floor next to the waste paper basket. It was a silly and pessimistic statement.
Leaning back, Lucas looked up at the joint of the ceiling and wall. He closed his eyes and wondered if he would ever write another word. His muse had left him four-years-ago.
A knock broke his silent meditation on his open office door. Lucas opened his eyes and sat upright. It's the Old Man that had been visiting Ashlyn after the games. Lucas looked him over and nodded.
"Please, come in," Lucas said.
"I'm sorry; did I wake you, Lucas?" The Old Man asked.
"No, not at all; I was just thinking," Lucas said.
The Old Man sat down in front of Lucas' desk. He dusted his leg off, "I think I do at least a half-hour of thinking every afternoon," he said.
"Yeah, well, anyway, if you're looking for Ashlyn, she should be in her office in the guidance department," Lucas said.
"I'm not here to see her," The Old Man said, "She probably wouldn't see me anyway."
Lucas shrugged, "Well, you and Ashlyn have, and with all due respect, you two have a complex relationship," he said.
"Life is never clean, Lucas," The Old Man said.
"I've heard that before, and believe me, my life is the blueprint for that statement," Lucas said.
"Have you heard, or has she said anything about me?" The Old Man asked.
"Not to me," Lucas said, "I wouldn't know why she would confide in me."
"You're a mentor to her and have been like a big brother to her," The Old Man said.
"Well, she's not talked to me about any of this. Knowing her, she's not talking about it much," Lucas said.
The Old Man nodded, "She's always been that way," he said.
"She's got a lot on her plate, with Brett getting ready to start college all the way in South Bend, plus there's Maeghan, Landen, and Logan," Lucas said.
"I wouldn't know," The Old Man said.
"Nor would I, unless she told me, which she hasn't told me anything," Lucas said.
The Old Man nodded, paused, and then shook his head. "I'd figure with everything that has happened over the past few years; things would've changed," The Old Man said.
Lucas shrugged, "Not everybody sees things the same way," he said.
"Enlighten me," The Old Man said.
"Ashlyn can hold a grudge," Lucas said.
"She gets that from her mom," The Old Man said.
"I wouldn't let either of them know that," Lucas said.
"Why?" The Old Man asked.
"They've called Ashlyn the she-bear for as long I can remember," Lucas said.
The Old Man nodded, "Why would they call her that? She's not built like a bear?" he asked.
"It's her temper; someone commented once that Ashlyn's temper reminded them of an angry she-bear. It just stuck," Lucas said.
The Old Man nodded, "I can see it," he said.
"Brett is the same way; some people have called her little bear," Lucas said, "Including Ashlyn."
"She's a lot like her mom," The Old Man said.
"More so than either will care to, or even like to admit," Lucas said.
"Which means they both take after Ashlyn's mom; they are much alike and don't care to admit it," The Old Man said.
"We learn our behaviors from our parents, and we don't care to admit it either," Lucas said.
"Where did you come up with that?" The Old Man asked.
"Gregory House," Lucas said.
"Never heard of him," The Old Man said.
"Don't worry about it," Lucas said.
"Okay," The Old Man said, "Could you talk to Ashlyn about this?"
Lucas shook his head. "Why would I abuse the trust of someone I've known since she was a child?" he asked.
"To help an old man reconnect," The Old Man said.
"One reason Ashlyn and I have stayed close…" Lucas started to say.
"Is Angela?" The Old Man asked.
"Is I've only interjected myself when I needed to and stayed out of much of her business as I could," Lucas said.
"Not even to help an old man?" The Old Man asked.
"No, what you're asking I can't do," Lucas said.
The Old Man nodded, "Are you sure of this?" he asked.
"Positive," Lucas said.
The Old Man nodded, again, slowly, he stood up. "Thank you," he said and left the office. After a moment, Lucas shook his head, turned around, and poured himself of coffee.
After a few sips of coffee, Lucas put down his mug. It said on it #1 Dad; it once was a present from Sawyer. Lucas rapped his fingers on the desk for a moment or two.
Finally, Lucas reached over to the office phone and dialed a well-known extension. "Hey, Ash, how are you doing?" Lucas asked.
"I have an appointment, so can we make this quick?" Ashlyn asked.
"Yeah, I will," Lucas said.
"So, what's up?" Ashlyn asked.
"I just had an interesting visitor," Lucas said.
"Which one of the girls showed up?" Ashlyn asked.
"None," Lucas said.
"Lucas, I have an appointment coming in. Can we wrap this up?" Ashlyn said.
"It was Buck," Lucas said.
"I see, well, my appointment is here; talk to you later," Ashlyn said and hung up.
Lucas looked at the phone headset. He hung up the phone and shrugged.
