Chapter Twenty-Three

"No!"

"But –"

"No!"

"If you'd just –"

"I said, no!"

Jake and Nathan glanced at each other, before looking back at one very angry principal, who currently had his back to them as he stood by the window in his office. Although his parents had tried to hush it up everyone knew that Vegas, the boy who had collapsed at the game on Friday, had done so because he had taken drugs. More specifically he had collapsed due to dehydration, because he hadn't taken enough water with the drugs.

Mr. Durham, who had been a basketball coach at Tree Hill High before he had retired early to care for his sick wife and then returned long after her death to become principal, was horrified at the revelation, but even more so by Jake and Nathan's suggestion.

Jake took a deep breath and started to explain once more. "Whitey, if this boy was taking drugs then some of his friends on the team must have known. If Nathan could join the team –"

"If Nathan joined the team then they would be cheating," Whitey told them calmly.

"Sir," Nathan cut in, "if Vegas wasn't the only boy on drugs then the team may have been cheating anyway – and for a long time now."

Whitey got even angrier, if that was possible, and returned to looking out the window while Jake kicked Nathan to tell him to stop talking. Jake took over the conversation, "Mr. Durham – Whitey –I know you want to get rid of this drug dealer as much as we do. This is the best lead we have right now and in order to follow it up we need someone to have access to that team and the locker room."

"Alright," Whitey said finally.

"So Nathan can be on the team?"

"No." When both Nathan and Jake looked puzzled, Whitey continued, "I'm making you assistant coach, Jake."

"Assistant coach?" he repeated.

"You'll get to be at all the practice sessions and you'll have access to search through all the lockers."

"Oh. But, see, we thought that if Nathan could be on the team, then he would be able to talk to the boys and become friends with them…"

"By all means befriend the boys, Nathan," Whitey told him, "but, I'm sorry, I can't put you on that team. We have to keep records of the boys who play, and I'm sure the police station might be able to create a fake birth certificate for you, but the moment you step on that court it's cheating."

"I don't have to play in the games; I can just be on the team –" Nathan began to argue.

"Jake tells me that you used to play for your school, Nathan, so if I put you on the team there's a more than fifty percent chance that the coach will play you at least once. I can't tell him about the situation and he's not going to like me giving him an assistant in the first place, but it's the most I can do for you," Whitey said firmly, and both Nathan and Jake could see he wasn't backing down.

"Alright then," Jake conceded.

The sound of the bell made both Jake and Nathan stand up. "I have to get to class," Nathan said, and picked up his bag. After Nathan left, Jake moved to follow him out, but Whitey stopped him.

"Yeah?"

"I'll come find you after school once I've spoken to the coach about it."

Jake nodded. "Okay."

"How is Miss Sawyer?"

Jake stared at his fake boss for a moment. "Uh-what?"

Whitey smiled, for the first time since Jake and Nathan had entered. "Your relationship with Peyton; how is it?"

"You…you know about that…"

"It's quite obvious, Jake. Well, not to everyone, but when you're my age you notice things like this easily."

"Oh…"

"I have no problem with it, if that's what you're wondering."

"You don't?" Jake asked.

"Not at all. I'd be much more worried if Nathan seemed to be showing an interest in one of the students," Whitey laughed. "Just be careful."

"Be careful?"

"Peyton is a wonderful woman, but I don't know if you've ever seen her angry. Just remember; she might not be thrilled when she finds out about the case," Whitey said wisely, leaving Jake with something to think about for the rest of the day.

After dinner that night, Nathan and Lucas went upstairs to Lucas's room. "So, I'm sorry you couldn't be on the team," Lucas told him.

Nathan just shrugged. "Whitey's right – if they play me, then it's cheating. Plus, at least Jake will have some kind of access, right?"

Lucas shook his head. "I didn't mean just for the case – I figured you would have been looking forward to being able to play after, you know, you had to stop playing in high school when you got injured."

"It doesn't matter," Nathan said.

Lucas could tell that it did, but decided not to push it. "So…when Jake's assistant coach what's he going to do, exactly?"

"Well, Jake said the coach wasn't exactly happy with his appointment so I don't think he'll let Jake take practice sessions or anything, but he'll be allowed to be there, which is what we really need. Of course –"

"I have an idea!" Lucas exclaimed, suddenly, sitting up straighter.

Nathan looked curious. "Which is?"

"I could join the team! I mean, I'm not excellent, but I'm not terrible. And they'll be having tryouts won't they, now that Vegas can't play?"

"Yeah, they're having tryouts. But that doesn't mean you'd definitely be picked."

"We can always try," Lucas argued. "If I don't get on the team then we'll just have to leave it. If I do get picked, then I'll be able to talk to the guys more than Jake can and I can see what they know about Vegas taking the drugs."

"And who gave them to him," Nathan realized, warming to the idea.

"So what do you think?"

"Are you sure you want to get involved in the case again?" Nathan wondered. "Last time you did, things didn't exactly work out well with you and Brooke."

"I don't see how joining a basketball team could worsen my relationship with Brooke. Besides, she's a cheerleader now so it might even make it better," Lucas pointed out.

"That's true. I'll have to call Jake first, though, and see what he thinks." Nathan got up off the floor to use the phone, but when he did so he distinctly heard a creak on the floorboards outside the door.

Nathan and Lucas shared a look before Lucas called out, "Mom? Dad?"

When the only answer was another creak on the wood, Nathan crossed the distance to the door with a single step and opened it. There was someone there, about to leave, but it wasn't either of Lucas' parents. "Brooke!"

She turned around to face Nathan; a sheepish smile on her face, but a number of questions in her eyes. "Hi." After a moment's silence, she voiced one of those questions. "What did you guys mean by 'the case'?"