"Here you go kid."
Nathan feels a kick on his chair and looks up from his position. He mumbles a quick thanks as he accepts the ice pack the uniformed officer hands him. He winces when the cold pack touches his throbbing knuckles.
The officer sits across from Nathan at his desk.
"Is he going to press charges?" Nathan asks.
"No."
Nathan furrows his eyebrows in surprise. "Really?"
"He said he just wanted to teach you a lesson. He wanted you to spend the night here."
"Of course," Nathan mumbles.
"But since this is your first offense and he isn't pressing charges, I'm letting you go with a warning."
Nathan nods gratefully and lets a soft breath of relief out. "So I can go?"
"Yes, but-" the officer adds when he sees Nathan prepare to stand. "I have to release you to an adult."
Nathan slumps back in his chair. "I told you already. I'm emancipated."
"That may be true, but I'm not gonna be liable if anything happens to you. Plus, you can't drive with that hand."
Nathan sighs before shaking his head.
"Is there anyone you can call?"
He shifts in his seat before defeatedly answering, "Can I use your phone?"
Brian Durham hastley tucks his button down into his jeans before cinching his belt on. He looks up when Principal Turner knocks on his door.
"Good evening Coach Durham, do you have a minute to speak?"
"My apologies Principal Turner, but it's gonna have to wait. I have to get to my granddaughter's recital."
"Of course. We'll talk Monday. Enjoy your weekend." Principal Turner smiles before leaving his office.
Coach Durham grabs his wallet and the bouquet of flowers off his desk. He begins walking out when his desk phone rings. He hesitantly picks up the phone and answers. "This is Coach Durham."
"Coach? It's Nathan. I'm at the police station."
Coach Durham signs the last release form at the front desk when Nathan is brought out. The disappointment he feels for his player is quickly replaced with concern. The ice pack Nathan was given helped with his swelling, but it didn't mask the growing purple bruise and cuts on his knuckles. Nor did it cover the red rings around his wrists, remnants of being handcuffed recently.
"You okay, son?"
"Yeah," Nathan nods. "You should see the other guy," Nathan smirks.
Coach Durham looks at him unimpressed before returning the paperwork to the receptionist.
Nathan drops his smirk and says sincerely, "Thank you Coach."
"I wouldn't get too excited. You and I are going to my granddaughter's recital." Coach Durham begins walking towards the exit.
Nathan looks at his coach bewilderedly.
"So, are you gonna tell me what happened?" Coach breaks the silence. He quickly merges into the highway and escalates his speed, causing Nathan to reach for the grab handles.
"I was at the river court, then Dan showed up."
Coach briefly glances at his athlete. He doesn't press the young boy.
"He just started talking all this crap. At first it was the usual stuff, ya know? Asking whether I'm keeping up with my workouts and how much ball time I should've had at last night's game. But then…" he pauses. "He started blaming me for my mom's drinking. I guess it's gotten out of hand." Nathan looks out the window, afraid if he looked at his coach's direction that he'd see the pain and guilt he felt.
"Did Danny call the police?"
"No, someone walking by did."
"Is he pressing charges?"
"The cop said no."
Coach Durham nods softly. "Let me tell you something, son. Danny's always been a bully who blames everyone else for his own mistakes. You, Nathan, are more of a man than he will ever be, even at your age. I admit I had my doubts when you first said you wanted to pursue emancipation. But sometimes separating from your parents it's what's best. It took courage for you to leave the way you did. A judge wouldn't have granted it if they didn't see it was your best option. I'm proud of you, son."
Nathan nods. "Thanks for coming to get me Coach," Nathan responds.
"You're welcome. Now we just have to work on controlling your temper… and raising your grades," Coach Durham chuckles.
"You're not wrong," he replies, joining in his laughter.
"Next time you need an outlet, work out or de-stress with a girl in the backseat of your car."
"Coach."
"Just because I'm an old man doesn't mean I don't have working ears, boy. I've heard those rumors about you. I'm not judging."
Nathan shakes his head, amused at where their conversation ended.
They pull into a parking lot and Nathan reads the building's welcome sign, "Oppenheimer: School for the Gifted."
"So, how come I never knew you had a granddaughter?"
"You never asked."
Nathan scrunches his face in realization: he doesn't know much about his coach outside of basketball. "What's her name?"
"Haley." Coach pulls into a parking spot. "Do me a favor and grab that bouquet from the backseat. We're late."
Nathan follows his coach through the dark auditorium. They apologize to the families they pass as they walk through the row towards the reserved middle seats.
"Hi sweetheart," Coach Durham whispers to the woman sitting to his left.
"You're late, grandpa," Vivian scolds teasingly.
"I know, I'm sorry. I had an emergency, but I brought her her favorite flowers."
She leans forward to glance at the young man sitting next to her grandfather. Nathan catches her eyes and offers her a soft smile. She returns a wave. She sits back in her chair. "You bring him for her too?"
Coach Durham hushes his oldest granddaughter.
Even though Nathan knows this is a kids dance recital and that his attention should be on the dancers, he can't help but feel drawn to the live music playing. Soft piano medleys are not his usual taste, but something about it is calming and grants him peace. It's a beautiful distraction from where the night started.
The curtains begin to close and all the dancers make their way off stage. Nathan assumes they're wrapping up, but the lights remain off. Then, the curtains open and the spotlight falls on a single dancer. Everyone's attention is on the young dancer performing her solo. Everyone except Nathan. His attention is on the pianist who's not only playing, but now singing.
Nathan finds her voice enchanting. So much, that he wishes it was her performance. The song slows down and the dancer's movements match it before the curtains close. The audience erupts in applause when the curtains open again and all the dancers are on stage.
The crowd begins to head out of the auditorium.
"Nathan, hold onto these for me, will you?" Coach Durham hands him the bouquet. "I'm going to head to the bathroom before finding Haley. I tell you, son. There's a lot of things I miss about my youth, having a young bladder is one of them."
"Oh, grandpa," Vivian responds embarrassed.
He chuckles before asking her to show him where they are.
"We'll be right back, Nathan." Vivian tells him.
"All right," Nathan decides to wait for them in the auditorium. As he waits, he begins to regret his choice, but then he hears a door from the front stage open and the pianist exiting.
"I'll see you guys next week, you did awesome!"
"Thank you Miss James!" He hears a choir of little children exclaim.
She waves at them before closing the door. She looks around the room and spots Nathan. She's confused when she finds he's sitting alone near a middle aisle.
He stands up when she nears his direction. "Hey."
He sticks out his hand for her to shake. She takes his hand, not realizing how battered it is. "Hi."
"Ow," he pulls away.
"Oh, I'm sorry. Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine." He soothes his right knuckles with his other hand.
"What happened?" She asks gently as she looks at his cut up hand.
"It was nothing. You were great up there though," he comments sincerely.
"Oh, thanks," she smiles.
"I'm Nathan."
She laughs softly as she adjusts her bag strap on her shoulder. "Scott. I know."
Nathan looks at her confused.
"I mean, I know of you." He furrows his brows. "You're Tree Hill High's basketball star" she answers in a matter-of-factly manner.
Nathan cringes at the title and she grins at his response. "Right. And you are?"
"I'm Haley."
"Haley? Wait, are you Coach Whitey's granddaughter?"
She nods. "Are you the reason he was late to my recital?" she teases.
Nathan laughs softly. "Yeah. Sorry about that." He rubs the back of his head. "He did me a huge favor. Your grandpa's a good guy. Oh! And these are for you." He grabs the bouquet from the seat.
"Irises!" She beams at the revelation. "They're my favorite flowers." She takes the bouquet from his hands and lifts it to smell them.
At that moment, Coach Durham and Vivian enter the auditorium.
"Oh no." Coach says when he sees Nathan and Haley sharing smiles. He squeezes his temple when realization hits him.
"What?" Vivian asks.
"I think I told the boy to get Haley in the backseat of his car."
Vivian looked at her grandfather with her mouth agape.
And she's back… for now.
I was rewatching scenes from my favorite shows growing up and this was one of them. I played around with this writing idea. It's inspired by a Friday Night Lights scene in Season 1 Episode 4, "Who's Your Daddy."
As of now, I don't have plans to expand this into a longer story. If you've followed me long enough, you know I don't do well with long chapter stories. I also don't know if I'll return to updating the High Flyer's story.
But I hope y'all enjoy this short story!