Thanks to everyone who continues to read. I deeply appreciate it. A minor side note, as to Scooter's last name, if you watch the end of D3, right as Scooter skates past Charlie and Orion to talk to Julie, if you watch it in slow mo you can see what his last name it. For Dwayne who unfortunately doesn't appear. Maybe I should keep this trend up. Well see with Chapter 16 which bears the same number as Kenny.

Chapter 7: Negotiations

After Charlie, Casey, Jim, Nat, and Fulton left it was a boring week for Lizzy. She still had her grandmother around but that didn't mean a whole lot, especially since all the woman wanted her to do was to talk about what happened between her and Portman or draw. Lizzy loved drawing, aside from hockey and baseball it was her passion, but she just hadn't felt inspired. Finally Thursday Nonna Jacobs sat Lizzy down at the table in the kitchen. "I want to show you something," Nonna said. Lizzy did her best to not roll her eyes as she waited at the table. In front of her was a sketchbook and a pack of colored pencils and a regular pencil. She tapped her finger against the pad and impatiently waited. "Here," Nonna said, offering her a photo. Lizzy saw that it was a photo that had been sitting on her dad's desk in his home office. She recognized the frame from the back. Since her grandmother was holding the frame face down Lizzy couldn't see the contents. Lizzy sighed but took the photo and flipped it over.

"This is my mom," Lizzy said softly. The photo was of Lizzy's mom, Rebecca, and her older brother, probably Seth based on the red jacket he was wearing, she had seen it in other photos of him when he was younger, sitting on some kind of bench or something. She couldn't tell what it was since there was only a corner of it in the photo, but she could tell that they were sitting since her mom was holding the young boy on her lap. The boy couldn't have been Ben or Matt since they were both blonde like her mother. She looked closer to see the boy had blue eyes but there were flecks of brown around the pupil making it definitely Seth in the picture. Chris, like her, had had blue eyes from the day he was born. They were sitting in front of a wooded background and her mother was smiling at the camera. Lizzy had never known her mother as the woman had died due to labor complications with her but Matt had told her their mom was beautiful inside and out. Almost the complete opposite of their step-mother who Rob had married when Lizzy was just over a year old.

"It is, I want you to draw her."

"Nonna, I'm not in the mood."

"Well get in the mood. I want you to draw her. Or at the very least, draw your brother."

Lizzy sighed but took the photo out of the frame and drew, working hard to get a photo-realistic copy of her brother. She often did it of other photos but had never done one of her mother. "Hey, kiddo, what ya drawing?" her dad asked. Lizzy looked up at him in shock then looked at the clock on the microwave above the cooktop. It was already after five. She had been drawing for more than three hours and it still didn't look right. She moved to rip it from the book but her dad took it from her. "This is your mom. We took this photo just before Seth's second birthday. He loved playing in that park. She loved watching him play. It was still cold for late April but your mom insisted we take him. Every time I see you draw something and it turns out like a photograph it always makes me grin. I love it."

"It's not right." Lizzy shook her head, reaching for it. Rob moved it out of her reach then slid over next to her.

"It's beautiful and amazing. You're the best artist I know and you'll just keep getting better. I'm going to keep this. Not just because it's your mother but because you drew it. Let's go out tonight. My treat. Anywhere you want."

"You always treat when we go out."

"True."

Friday Lizzy called Portman to see if he needed a ride back to Minnesota, just trying to be nice since she would be passing through there, but he told he had been back there since that morning and was staying with Fulton. So the following morning she drove back to Minnesota and stopped at the local library to get the information she needed on Martin Spencer, his attorney and what the fund was for. She did a little more searching before heading to Charlie's. Sunday afternoon she drove over to Adam's and rung the bell, waiting nervously. Finally the door opened and an older blonde woman was standing there. "Hi, is Adam home?" Lizzy asked.

"Of course, come in," she answered. She stepped out of the way to allow the young brunette in.

"I'm not interrupting anything, am I?" Lizzy asked, biting her lower lip. The woman looked like she was dressed for some kind of party though Lizzy knew the woman's pink blouse and dark skirt could be everyday wear. Her own step-mother often dressed that way.

"We were just getting ready for Easter Dinner. You're invited to stay if you'd like."

"Oh, uh, I should call my aunt. I forgot it was Easter. I can go—"

"No, sweetheart, it's okay. Wait here, I'll go get Adam." Lizzy nervously stared at the floor and listened carefully. She could hear other people towards the right side of the house and knew that's where the kitchen was and a TV was playing towards her left where the study was. She figured that's where the men were watching a game of some sort.

"Lizzy?" Adam asked softly as he stopped in front of her. Lizzy's attention was draw from the exquisite marble tile beneath her old, broken-in sneakers to the dirty blond in front of her wearing a baby blue polo and black slacks. She was way underdressed. "Lizzy?" Adam asked again.

"I was wondering if you wanted to go do something, but I can see I'm interrupting so I'll just go."

"Please don't go. My entire family is here. I need my best friend. Wait, why didn't you go to Charlie or Fulton first?" Adam asked.

"Son, I know you're not having a conversation in the foyer," Mr. Banks called from somewhere off to the left.

"Hang on, be right back." Adam made his escape following the voice and a few minutes later he reappeared. "We can go up to my room as long as I keep the door open." Lizzy nodded and followed him. "So, why me?"

"Can't I hang out with you?" Lizzy asked as they sat down.

"You could, and I'm always glad for the company, especially when my entire family is here, but typically you go to Charlie and Fulton first."

"Are you mad that you think you come third in that line?"

"Of course not. You've always lived closer to Fulton and Charlie's your cousin. I don't care."

"Charlie's doing something with Averman and Connie and Fulton's got Portman over. Wait, if your family is over—"

"Remember what Charlie's always said about the Ducks? Once a Duck, always a Duck and the Ducks are family. You're a Duck as much as I am, that means you're family. Please stay for dinner."

"I don't know if I can. I mean my family's never been big on Easter, my dad goes to church and always gives us Easter gifts but no big dinner or nothing. Especially since I can't be there this year since we have school tomorrow, but my aunt might do something. Why's your door have to be open?"

"Two teenagers alone in a bedroom," Adam said. That was all the explanation Lizzy needed. "So what do you want to do?"

"You have a Playstation and your own TV?" Lizzy asked.

"You're not the only spoiled kid you know," Adam said.

"You never struck me as the video game type."

"Dad bought it after the Junior Goodwill Games. You want to play?" Lizzy nodded and walked to his shelf of games picking one out. They battled for a while and over three or four games until Adam turned his TV off and faced his chair towards hers. "You and me against the world huh?" he asked curiously.

"Always. Even if that means against Fulton," Lizzy answered.

"What's going on? You're quiet and you're never quiet. Not for long," Adam told her.

"Do you think I'm spoiled?"

"I just told you I think you are, didn't I?" Adam rolled his eyes. He smirked then noticed she was serious. "There's nothing wrong with being spoiled or getting your way constantly."

"That's not that reassuring coming from a kid who was friends with Todd McGill," Lizzy said.

"Look, spoiling is rarely about the kid. The parent is trying to make them happy and think the only way to do that is by buying the kid's love. Do I think that your dad tries to buy your love? Yes, but only because he's not sure how to show you just how much he loves you. You've always relied more on Matt than your dad and that affects him. Do I think that you use that when it comes to getting the Ducks to do your bidding? Not always. 99% of the time your manipulation comes from a place of love and you do it to make things easier on us, not yourself. I've see how manipulation affects people when it comes from a bad kid, it makes people like Joe Larson and Kyle Riley do bad things they wouldn't normally do, and I never see that from you."

"I manipulated Charlie into dumping his girlfriend."

"You laid out the facts with Charlie in the only way he'd see them, through pictures and you were trying to do that to ultimately keep him from getting hurt. With Fulton, there's no manipulation because that boy loves you. He's your best friend and he'd do anything to keep you from getting hurt. Where's all this coming from? I mean you're not normally this self-conscious."

"I don't know," Lizzy said hesitantly. Then she changed the subject. "Can I borrow your phone?" she asked, motioning to the extension on his bedside table. He nodded and she called her aunt. A short conversation later, Lizzy sat back down next to Adam. "Maybe it was something my aunt said, maybe it was something I've realized, I don't know." Lizzy shrugged and a blonde popped into the room.

"Hey, Ads, Mom says dinner's ready. Your friend can stay if she wants," the boy said.

"Liz, this is my brother Ralph. Ralph, this is Lizzy," Adam said.

"Ralph? Like the kid in the Christmas movie?" Lizzy asked.

"It's short for Raphael. When Adam was younger he couldn't pronounce Raphael or Raph so he just called me Ralph. The name stuck," Ralph said.

"Raphael, like the painter. I like it." Lizzy smiled.

"I'm glad you got that, most people say like the turtle."

"You look older than Adam who I know was born in '82 and the turtles didn't come out until '84, ergo painter, not turtle."

Ralph smiled. "Would you like to stay for dinner?" Adam asked.

"My aunt says it's okay," Lizzy said. Monday just as the bell rang to end Civics, Lizzy realized she still needed to talk to someone before making her plan concrete. "Holland! Holland!" She called after the varsity goalie as he nearly bolted from the Civics classroom. "Scooter!" she yelled finally getting the older boy's attention as he was halfway down the hall. He stopped and turned to look. She raced after him dodging between people as easily as Adam dodged enforcers on the ice. "Hey," Lizzy said.

"Hey, what can I do for you?"

"You know Rick Riley don't you?" Lizzy asked, gripping her bag strap tightly.

"Yeah, don't you?"

"Not well, I didn't go here last year. All I know is what my brother has told me of him. Could you like introduce me to him in the next two days? I need to talk to him before I talk to the board about a new baseball field."

"Okay. I'll see if he wants to meet up for dinner. Say around six and please, no jeans. Not if you aim to get him to talk to his dad." Lizzy agreed and they went to their separate classes. That night they went to a local restaurant and waited for Rick. When he did arrive he was wearing a sweatshirt from the University of Minnesota. "Hey, man," Scooter said. Riley greeted him then looked at Lizzy. "This is Lizzy Jacobs, Lizzy, this is Rick Riley," Scooter answered as Rick sat down. Lizzy smiled.

"Hello, I know that last name, how do I know that last name?" Riley asked.

"She's Seth's kid sister. Varsity captain your freshman and sophomore years," Scooter said.

"Of course. So what can I do for you?"

"I'm not here about hockey, I'm actually here about baseball," Lizzy said. Riley looked at her interested. It wasn't often he was approached to talk about something other than hockey. Most people thought that was all he was good at. "I know that Eden Hall is a hockey school and I'm not trying to change that. I'm just trying to give baseball a better footing." She explained what she wanted and how she planned to get it. Both boys were impressed and Riley nodded. He told her that starting higher than what she wanted and working down towards it would be a better way to get what she wanted than flat out asking for it and not budging. Then he gave her some advice about how to make the board stick with their agreement.

After dinner they stood on the sidewalk and Lizzy stuck out her hand. Riley shook it. "It was a pleasure to meet you. I am curious though, your eyes, they remind me of someone and it's not your brother, his eyes are hazel," Riley said.

Lizzy looked up at Scooter who nodded. "Charlie Conway?" Lizzy suggested.

"That's it, that little—" Riley was cut off by Scooter's look.

"Charlie's my cousin on my dad's side. You don't judge me by what you know of Charlie and I won't judge your brother because of what I know of you," Lizzy suggested. Riley scoffed and smirked. "I have that effect on people."

"I'm glad you weren't at Eden Hall last year. I would have had a harder time justifying my need to get rid of those Ducks," Riley said.

"Yeah, well, I only decided to go after Seth threw a vase at me." Riley looked shocked. "My dad keeps our place at like 78 and I had just been working out in the basement. I came up the stairs into the living room and he goes off on me about something stupid. I said things, he said things, a vase comes flying at me. I turn so it'll miss me, it shattered against the wall and cut up my back. My dad threw a fit when he came in the door. Said I didn't have any choice about not going to Eden Hall and that Seth was banned from coming home until Christmas. So ... that was fun and here I am."

"Ouch. Your brother did always have a temper," Riley admitted. Lizzy eyes darkened at that and Riley backed off. "Well, you need anything Scooter knows how to find me."

"Thank you," Lizzy answered.

Wednesday afternoon after play practice, Lizzy headed for the room where the board always held their meetings. "Ms. Jacobs, what can I do for you?" Dean Buckley asked, putting down the papers he was looking through.

"Dean Buckley, I was hoping to speak with the board about the baseball field."

"If we have time."

"Okay," Lizzy sighed. She sat down and watched the board hold their meeting.

Finally the dean turned to Lizzy. "Now, Ms. Lizzy Jacobs would like to speak," Buckley said.

"Thank you, Dean Buckley." Lizzy stepped up to the front of the room and looked at the members around the table. "Members of the school board and the alumni association, I have only been here for five months but I've learned a lot and I know that one of Eden Hall's biggest accomplishments is that the Ducks didn't blow up in your face. Instead they brought diversity and prestige to this school. I want to do the same thing for your baseball team."

"You want to bring in a whole new baseball team?" The woman in dark blue asked.

Lizzy looked at her for a moment then recognized her as the treasurer of the school board. "No," Lizzy answered, "But I can see how you could draw that conclusion. I want a new baseball stadium or at least an upgrade to the one we do have. You see currently the field was new 15 years ago. The showers don't work in the visitors' locker room, you have no dugouts, no electricity, seating for 20, the announcer uses a bullhorn, and there is no grass."

"You want us to build a brand new baseball field after we spent close to $10,000 on the ice rink and changing the mascot from the Warriors to the Ducks?" the treasurer asked.

"Honestly yes, though it's not just because the school could really use a new field. I'm asking for this because of what it'll bring to the school. You see with a better field, you'll bring more attention to the baseball program, more attention means more and better players, which in turn leads to more students and that means more money for the school. So really this is a good thing for the school."

"Ms. Jacobs," Tom Riley started, "what is your record for this season?"

"5 and 2," Lizzy answered.

"And how many games do you have left?"

"17."

"So at best you can end the season 22 and 2?"

"At best we can end the season 29 and 2. 24 regular season games, six playoff games and one state game."

"And when was the last time your team came anywhere close to that?"

"Last year, state championships, we won," Lizzy said.

"Ms. Jacobs, last year the varsity baseball team ended their season 6 and 18," Dean Buckley said.

"The question was "my team." Last year I was on a softball team that won the Ohio State Championship with a record of 34 and 3. Your baseball team yes, they haven't won state in ten years, playoffs in eight, and a season in four years, but—"

"Ms. Jacobs, we can't award a new stadium to a team that can't even win a season," Tom said. Since the last time the team won a season was four years ago that meant no one on the team now had been on the team then.

Lizzy shook her head. "That's not what I said. I want us to earn that stadium. I'm suggesting that you make a deal. If we can raise half the money, then you donate the other half."

"And how much is half?" the treasurer asked.

"$25,000." Lizzy looked at them hopefully.

"There's not that much in the school budget," the treasurer said.

"Oh, but there is," Lizzy pulled out the copy she had received and set it down on the table. "You see, right here on page six there's a tiny footnote for the Martin Spencer Fund."

The pages were passed down the table to Tom who looked it over. "Ms. Jacobs, that fund was to expand the library," Tom Riley said.

"And how'd that work out for you?" Lizzy asked curiously, keeping her tone from accusatory. Riley had warned that would get her shut down. "It didn't, because the land you want to build on was zoned for residential nine years ago and you lost that bid. So without moving the entire library, you can't expand it. I also know that you can't afford to move the entire library. This fund however was donated to improve the school with the recommendation that you expand the library, but not the requirement. I have spoken with the attorney for the Martin Spencer Estate and he says that a new baseball field would also be something Mr. Spencer would have loved to see for the school."

"50,000 dollars for a team who can't win?"

"Here's my deal. The jv and varsity baseball teams will attempt to raise half of the money necessary to get the new field in exchange for the school board donating the rest."

Tom shook his head. "You're only going to attempt? We need more from you than that."

"Okay, by May 5th the two teams will raise at least half in exchange for the donation."

"Three quarters of the amount and you win State," Tom told her.

"Half and we win our season," Lizzy bargained. To have to do more would be difficult for them.

"Half and you win playoffs," Tom said.

"My final offer, by May fifth we raise half of what's necessary to build the new stadium and win our season with no more than eight loses, in exchange for you donating that fund and construction starts no later than the end of the school year."

"Give us a moment," Tom told her. Lizzy stepped back and the board deliberated. Finally Tom turned toward her. "You have a deal."

"Great," Lizzy said. She pulled a three-page paper from her backpack and handed it to Tom. "Just need the officers of the school board to sign on the dotted lines and we'll be good to go." Since she had already typed up her deal into a formal contract, she had to make sure they had agreed to it. That way she didn't have to go back and retype it. If she didn't get them to sign it and they only made a verbal agreement, they could go back on that and that wouldn't be good for the team. Riley had also warned her of that. Since Riley had only made a verbal deal with Russ the year before about changing the Warrior name if they lost, he tried to renege on the deal. When the Ducks had presented him and the school board with the petition on top of the deal they had no choice but to agree.

"We didn't agree to that," the treasurer said.

"Of course not, but I know what you did to the Ducks and what you'll try to do if we don't have a contract. You'll try to take the money we do make and use it for the hockey team or something else for the school. This contract states the deal we made plus if we don't raise half, then any money we do make goes to stadium improvements."

"You know a lawyer?" the treasurer asked.

"My dad's a lawyer, my best friend's dad is a lawyer, and my brother wants to be a lawyer. Why do you ask?"

"You seem awful prepared for this meeting."

"I do like to be prepared, now do we still have a deal?" Lizzy asked. Tom looked at the other officers of the school board and pulled out his pen signing the contract.