Chapter 261: EA Laney
Friday, January 27th, Evening
The crowd settled in, including a large number of Tree Hill students and parents. The family of Lucas, Ashlyn, and Brett settled around Kay and Ivy. Among the people showing up was Izzy Scott. She took her seat next to Ivy and looked over.
"Hi, how are you?" Izzy asked.
Ivy turned to look at Izzy, "I'm fine, wait a minute, you're the model congresswoman," Ivy said with shock in her voice.
Izzy laughed, "I prefer Izzy," she said.
"Oh! Yeah! How rude of me, I'm Ivy," Ivy said, offering a hand.
Izzy took it and shook it firmly, "A pleasure," Izzy said, "Excuse me," she followed up and leaned over Ivy to Kay.
Kay leaned over to meet Izzy, and they kissed each other's cheek. "When did you get in?" Kay asked.
"Not long ago. How are you, Kay?" Izzy asked.
"Except for the chronic pain, I can't complain," Kay said.
"She's a drama queen when it's bothering her," Ivy said.
"She's always been a drama queen," Izzy said.
"It's always bothering me," Kay said.
"I don't doubt it," Izzy said.
"Ivy," Kay said, "Izzy is my sister-in-law, my brother Keith's wife."
"Nomi and Ellis' mother?" Ivy asked.
"I hope I'm their mom, or Keith would have some explaining to do," Izzy said.
"They're great kids," Ivy said.
"Thanks, I try," Izzy said.
"Izzy, have you heard from Keith at all?" Kay asked.
"Not since he went downrange, I've been hoping for a letter from him," Izzy said.
Kay nodded, "No news is good news?" she asked.
"Yes," Izzy said, "That's what I tell myself as I try to pull strings to hear from him."
Kay nodded.
"Is that Nathan Scott?" Ivy asked.
"Yeah, he's my uncle," Kay said.
"You failed to mention that," Ivy said.
Kay shrugged, "He's really low-key, doesn't want the fuss," she said.
"That mean's that's Haley James-Scott; god, I grew up listening to her," Ivy said.
Kay looked down at the bleachers. She smiled, "Yeah, that's my Aunt Haley," she said.
"Can I meet them?" Ivy asked.
"Yeah, we'll probably see them before we leave," Kay said.
Ivy playfully punched Kay in the arm. "You never told me you were related to future Hall of Famer Nathan Scott," she said.
"You never asked," Kay said.
Izzy laughed and turned to talk to the person next to her for a few moments. Kay shook her head and let Ivy cuddled next to her. Slowly, Kay stroked Ivy's hair as the game began.
Kay felt the old rush of watching the basketball game. The itch in her soul started, as she wanted to be out there playing. The ache in her shoulder grew as her attention spiked in the game.
Laney has a good team, Cara worked her team hard. The score ended up being 12-10 at the end of the first quarter. Kay noted Tree Hill is a slow and methodical team, but they played strong defense.
The second quarter started, and Laney couldn't keep the same pace. It became a defensive struggle. Kay gritted her teeth as her shoulder screamed; Ivy leaned closer to Kay and gently rubbed her left arm.
Kay's blood started to settle down because of Ivy's attention. Moving her right arm, Kay began to stroke Ivy's hand, which brought a smile to both of their faces.
The second quarter ended with Laney out scoring Tree Hill 8-7. Tree Hill was still leading at half-time 19-18 as people started to get up to get snacks or use the restroom.
Kay looked over to Ivy and patted her hand. Ivy looked up at Kay, smiled, then turned to see an older honey blonde hair woman had replaced Izzy. It took a moment, but Ivy finally recognized who it is.
"Oh my! You're Haley James-Scott," Ivy said.
Haley nodded, "That I am, but you could call me Haley," she said.
"I grew up listening to your music; my mother was the biggest fan," Ivy said.
Haley smiled, "That's good to hear," she said.
Ivy nodded and smiled, "Kay never told me about you or your husband," she said.
"That's Kay for you," Haley said, "That's why I took the opportunity to introduce myself."
Ivy nodded, a bit star-struck. "It's nice to meet you," she said.
Kay shook her head and shrugged.
"It's nice to meet you, Ivy, is it," Haley said.
Ivy nodded, "Wow," she said.
Haley looked up at the scoreboard. "I have to head back; we'll talk more later," she said.
Ivy nodded, "I look forward to it," she said.
Haley slipped away and watched as Haley made her way back to her seat next to Nathan. Ivy turned to Kay with a look of awe.
"This is a hell of a night, MJ's gym, Nathan Scott sighing, and meeting Haley James-Scott," Ivy said.
Kay smiled, "You know what we call that here?" she asked.
"What?" Ivy asked.
"Friday," Kay said.
Ivy laughed, and they settled in to watch the third quarter. Kay felt Ivy lean against her again and rest her head on Kay's left arm. Kay and Ivy held hands as the game re-started.
To Kay's disappointment, the third quarter was much the same as the second, the same tight grinding style of play. Kay never liked this style of play; she always enjoyed it when the game was more fluid.
The third quarter ended with a whimper and not a bang. It was so much like the second quarter; it even finished with the same number of baskets. Laney scored 8 points to Tree Hill's 7. The game was now tied 26 all going into the final quarter of the game.
Kay watched as Tree Hill came out onto the court. Slowly, they took up position on the court. Kay noticed there was a change in at least the attitude of three of the players. One of them Kay knew by the red hair was Brett Pierce-Burke. The other two were number 19, the shooting guard, and the center. Something was about to happen, Kay noted.
The fourth quarter started with a bang. Brett knocked the ball away from the Laney player, and Tree Hill shooting guard number 19 secured the ball. The shooting guard passed the ball to the Tree Hill Point Guard, number 48. She took the ball down the court and scored.
This style of play Kay liked. Tree Hill turned it on, and they started to beat down the Laney players. Kay knew why they didn't play this style all game because it would wear the players down.
As the game ended, Kay nodded; she turned to Ivy and kissed the top of her head. Patting Ivy's hand, Kay reflected this team was different than the ones she played on, but they were good. The scoring in the fourth quarter ended up being Tree Hill 17 to Laney 5. The final score was Tree Hill 43, Laney 31, another win for Tree Hill, Kay reflected.
