Chapter 316: The Field House

Tuesday, January 31st, Afternoon

The hallways never seem to change. They are just rows and rows of lockers and doors. It seems frozen in time, maybe even only fixed there. Perhaps not set, but time is a semi-repeating loop over and over. Or is it just a rhyme like an expert poet, syllables, and beats? Or is it only returns of the original sound in the form of echoes.

A lone woman walked through the halls and came to the area called the Commons. It's now empty, but not long-ago kids ate here. For many of these kids in this school, it's their best meal of the day. She looked the space over and turned around. Gently she ran a finger over a table, then looked back to the hall. Finally, she turned back and to the Commons and nods, then heads off.

She walks through the hallways and looks around the walls. Various school spirit banners and posters hang on the walls, black, blue, and white, the school colors. She stops and looks at one of the signs. It states that there's a big game coming up, and it's one of the last home games of the season. She smiles and nods to it.

Finally, she walks away from the poster. She stops at a locker, pauses, and looks it over. She reaches out with her hand and runs her fingers over it. They repainted the door over the years, and the surface doesn't look that damaged.

"So, who occupies you now?" she asks, in a calm voice, "A jock, a cheerleader, possibly a geek, a nerd, or just a kid that is trying to find their way in life?"

She shakes her head and stares at the locker some more. She runs her hand down the face of the locker door again. The paint is rough, as it's been applied sloppily with a paintbrush, but it didn't cover the dent in the door. She stopped and rubbed the dent. Finally, she looked at the combination lock and shook her head.

Pushing off the locker, she looked around the hallway, sighed, and started to walk down the hallway. She looks down at her feet; she's wearing flats, which helps keep her Amazonian height manageable. Finally, she turns down the hallway and walks down to a door, and enters it.

She walks through the Girl's Locker Room to the Field House. Looking to one end of the gym, she could see through the door's windows the Commons. Slowly she looks over the gym and takes it all in. She stands in the corner of the parquet and looks over the banners and the drawings on the walls. Finally, she bends down and runs several fingers over the floor. After a moment, she stands up and looks around the gym, slowly she walks over to the sideline. She lined her toes along the baseline. She looks up at the banners again.

Her eyes follow along the walls. Several blue jerseys are hanging on the wall as well. There is also one white jersey with the blue number thirty-three and the blue name Scott. There's at least one other one, a blue one, with the number twenty-two, that also had Scott's name on it. They were retired numbers, and she seemed to focus on them. The number twenty-three belonged to Nathan Scott.

After a nod, she walks to where the scoring tables are and knelt. Her bare knee touches down on the parquet as she's wearing a plaid tartan skirt. She ran her left hand along the floor, and on her left ring finger, a University Class Ring can be seen, which says Duke University on it. Finally, she stands up and walks down the sideline.

She walked over to the bleachers. She looked them up and down, then slowly climbed up them. Randomly she stopped. She sat down and stretched her long legs out, and slide her hand over the surface of the bench. The bench is nice and smooth, as they varnish it yearly, except where grooves were cut into it and bolt heads. Her hand stops and feels the cuts and grooves. Some of these grooves spelled out full names, others just initials, many just random tracks. They were a near fossilized record of past students.

After a moment, she looked down at one of them. The edges of the inscription were worn down smooth from time. This inscription simply reads, "KR+DS forever." She chuckles and felt around and found another inscription, this one read quite simply, "CLS was here."

Again, she is looking up at the all-state banners and smiles, seeing many familiar names are up there. "Nathan Scott, Angela Scott, James Scott, Keith Scott, Mackenzie Ward, Ashlyn Pierce, Willa Taylor, Candace Strauss, and Karen Scott," she said reading of the name, but refused to read off the last Scott name on the banner. The town barely even acknowledges he played here.

Well, she knew that not all stories end happily ever after. The story is only the beginning; it doesn't end with the happily ever after. Maybe, there should be a set of stories that take place the day after the happily ever after. What would the day-to-day grind of being the person you are? Sure, Cinderella married Prince Charming, who became king, what is left out is Cinderella's job now is a royal breeding machine. Cinderella would spend most of her adult life pregnant or giving birth. Back in Cinderella's time, pregnancy was hazardous for women, and chances are she would have died during or because of one of those childbirths. These fairytales also leave out that it is perfectly acceptable for Prince/King Charming to have a mistress or multiple mistresses and bastard children. Monogamy is a modern concept for men.

Like a song on repeat, she looks around the gym, lost in memories—thoughts of why did she come back here and relive a rough time in her life. Two and a half years, she attended this school and played basketball here for two of those years. It took two years for her reputation to return to being good. Yet, the dark shadows seemed to hang over her.

She wondered when did that road back here start? Maybe, it started here in this gym. She walked down off the bleachers and to the sidelines—the sideline where it might have started.

Her eyes locked on to the Girls Basketball All-State Banner, again. On the list, she looked at the name Candace Strauss and noted she made all-state honors in her junior and senior years. Why is that name important? Is this her gym? Is her story important anymore? Maybe she is just a fond memory to someone.

She sat down on the bottom bench of the bleachers, looking up at the banner. Maybe, it's about the season after, and its season of expectations, and started with a seventeen-year-old girl stepped on this floor. She sat there, and her mind drifted off.

Candi was shaken awake to bring her back to the current world. She looked around the old gym and looked up. Standing above her is the towering figure of Mackenzie Bissette. Candi smiled up at the tall woman, who looked down on her and smiled.

Candi stood up on the bench she had been sitting on and looked Mack in the eyes.

"Mack, it's so good to see you!" Candi said with a smile ear to ear.

"Crazy Scott!" Mackenzie said, "come here." Mackenzie gave her a big bear hug. They separated and looked at each other.

"I'm glad I got to see you," Candi said.

Mackenzie smiled, "I'm too, so glad you come in," she said.

"Wouldn't miss this for the world," Candi said, telling a half-truth.

Mackenzie smiled and nodded. Candi looked over and saw Cara Stille standing there, and the two women shook their heads at each other. Candi stepped off the bleachers and looked at Cara.

"You look like you're in good shape," Cara said.

"You look like the enemy now," Candi said.

"I wanted to coach, and the old man has this place locked down," Cara said.

"Still," Candi said, and the two women laughed and hugged. They separated and looked at each other.

"I'm so jealous, your tan in the winter," Cara said.

"Can't help it; I live on the beach," Candi said.

"My God, stop!" Cara said.

Candi laughed, "So, how have you been?" she asked.

"You know me, never one to complain," Cara said.

Candi shook her head, "Right!" she said.

The three women took a seat on the bleachers and looked up at the walls. Candi nodded and looked up at the all-state banner.

"Hard to believe it's been so long ago," Cara said.

"You made my season," Mackenzie said, "You in the huddle looking at me and said we're going to feed the big girl until they stop us."

Candi laughed, "Yeah, and y'all hated me," she said.

"We didn't," Cara said.

"Well, that's how it felt," Candi said.

The three women nodded and sat in silence. For the longest moment, the gym is as quiet as Whitey Durham's Church. Finally, the noise was broken when a few more people entered the gym. Candi looked up to see a tall caramel-colored skinned blonde woman among them.

Candi stood up, and the two women looked at each other.

"Candi?" Willa Taylor asked, "Oh my God! Candi, I didn't expect to see you here."

"Willa, I didn't expect to see you either," Candi said; the two women hugged each other.

"When did you get in?" Willa asked.

"Saturday," Candi said, "Why did you come?"

"Coach and I played with many of the women being honored," Willa said.

"Yeah, family," Candi said half-heartedly.

"There's my White Mamba," a voice said.

Candi turned to see who said it. "Uncle Skillz?" she asked.

"Who else?" Skillz Taylor asked. Candi walked over to Skillz, and they hugged. They separated and looked at each other.

"No one else," Candi said, with a smile, "How have you been?"

"I can't complain, but since you're a doctor, do you mind looking at something?" Skillz said.

"Uncle Skillz!" Candi said, in mock jest.

"Dad!" Willa said in horror.

Skillz held up his hands, "You know, I kid," he said.

Candi shook her head, "It's starting to look like old home week," Candi said.

"Well, your dad has touched a lot of people, Candi," Skillz said.

Candi noted Skillz wore his high school championship ring. She looked around and saw Willa had hers, as did Mackenzie, and Cara wore her two.

"Where's your ring?" Cara asked.

Candi rubbed her eyes. "I don't wear jewelry," she said.

Mackenzie put her big hand on Candi's shoulder, "Is that a doctor thing?" Mackenzie asked.

Candi nodded, "Yeah, and a me thing, as well," she said.

"Come on, you came all the way here and didn't bring it?" Willa teased.

"Remember, I came within a quarter of a national title," Candi said.

"Yeah, stopped by Angela and Kay," Cara pointed out.

"Well, we can't win everywhere we go," Candi said.

"So?" Mackenzie asked.

Candi rolled her eyes and reached into her shirt. She pulled out a simple gold chain, and hanging from the chain was her high school championship ring. "I said I didn't wear it, not that I didn't have it," Candi said.

Mackenzie laughed, "Yeah, so you said," she said.

Willa nodded and shook her head. She reached back pulled her hair out, putting her hair tie around her wrist. Gathering up her hair, she reset her hair back into a ponytail. "I didn't expect to see you," Willa said.

"You said that before," Candi said.

Willa nodded, "I know, and that's why I keep saying it; 'cause that's how much I didn't expect to see you," she said.

"I'm full of surprises," Candi said.

"You've always have been," Cara said.

Candi nodded and looked over to Mackenzie as she walked to the sideline. She bent down and ran her hand across the parquet. Mackenzie stood up and looked over to the people by the bleachers.

"I miss my time playing on this court. It's simpler times back then, fun times, remember?" Mackenzie said.

"I can't complain," Willa said.

"Built my future on this court," Skillz said.

Cara nodded, "It's nice to be back home," she said.

"What about you, Candi?" Willa asked.

"Yeah, White Mamba, what about you?" Skillz asked.

"I don't know," Candi said.

"C'mon, Candi, you've always had something to add," Mackenzie said.

"You don't think about being here?" Cara asked.

"Y'all know it wasn't the best of times for me," Candi said.

"You've got to have some good memories of when you were here," Cara said.

"I don't know," Candi said.

"C'mon, White Mamba, is well, at a loss for words," Skillz said.

"That's surprising; Candi's usually never at a loss for words," Willa said.

"I'd like to know if she does," Cara said.

"I think we all would," Mackenzie said.

"Well…" Candi said, stretching out her words.

"I know I would, Sempai," a soft feminine voice echoed in the gym. Everyone turned to look at the door and saw a Nordic-looking young woman, her hair cut shoulder length but held in place by a simple headband. She slowly walked over to them and looked them over. "What did I miss? Also, I would like to know Candi's favorite memory of playing here," she said.

"Aveline?" Candi asked.

The blonde woman nodded, "Yes, Senpai," she said.

"You don't have to call me Senpai," Candi said.

"As you wish, Senpai," Aveline said.

"I didn't expect to see you," Candi said.

"Me either, Senpai," Aveline said.

"You know damn well it was helping you learn the game," Candi said.

"It's just nice to hear it, Senpai," Aveline said, and the two women hugged.