12th Grade, High School
Age: 16-17
Late September/Early October 2009
…
Vince slams his locker door shut and tosses his backpack over his shoulder. Ashley B's distraction had cost him time in hanging his posters and what should have taken him only a few minutes ended up keeping him for most of the lunch period. Knowing he'll only have a few minutes to sit before leaving for class, he bypasses the cafeteria all together and heads straight to his next class. He can eat at his desk.
Besides, his mind is still focused on the dumb ticketing scheme the sophomores have concocted.
He sits down and picks at his lunch, not hungry, and instead pulls out his book and binder for class. Before long, the bell rings and the other students start to fill the classroom, chatting amongst themselves in a jovial way that ignites Vince's frustration. No one else seems bothered by the ticket issue, but he can't seem to let it go. He knows, just like Ashley B said, in the grand scheme of things, it isn't a big deal. It's just a way to hype up ticket sales. It isn't meant to be an attack on him or his character and maybe he's hyper fixating on it because it helps him avoid his more pertinent problem. It's easier to be angry at the sophomores for making homecoming about dates than it is to be angry at himself for not yet making his college decision.
He is brought out of his thoughts by Gretchen, daintily taking the seat next to him.
"Did it take a long time to hang the posters?" she asks as she pulls her own book from her bag.
He shrugs her off. "Not really." But that doesn't explain his absence from their lunch table, so he continues before she prompts him for an answer. "Ashley B was hounding me about how bad off this dance is going to be."
"I don't think it'll be terrible," she says. "They'll need quite a bit of help with the actual setup, but speaking with Theresa, they have a suitable plan in place."
Vince's upper lip curls at her suggestion. Gretchen is being much too lenient on the sophomores for his current frustration level. He doesn't understand how this whole thing seems suitable. How is giving preference to couples over singles suitable?
"Did you see that they're doing discount tickets?" he asks, wondering if maybe she didn't realize the plan in its entirety.
"I did."
Her face doesn't betray her opinion. He waits just a second to see if anything slips, but when it doesn't, he tests the waters to see what she's really thinking.
"Seems tacky."
"They were trying to make the dance interesting," Gretchen says with the slightest shrug. "They thought it might increase turnout."
"Increase turnout? To Homecoming?" Vince asks, surprised. "They don't even need to advertise it and people will come."
"I think it makes sense." Gretchen's tone drops into defensiveness. "Their senate is sparse and their class lacks the school spirit that ours does. I can understand that they may be concerned about turnout."
She makes a solid point. She did, after all, spend her lunch period with them and so he can only assume that she learned the reasoning behind the choices the sophomores made. But just because the choices make sense, doesn't mean he agrees with them.
He feels his lips pull into a dissatisfied tilt. He had assumed that Gretchen would agree with him on the stupidity of the decision. Maybe Ashley B is right and he's overreacting, which of course makes the fire of frustration in his gut rage even more.
"Sure," he grunts, leaning back in his chair and crossing his arms.
Their teacher walks into the room and begins dropping her things on the desk, readying herself to teach her lesson. He glances over at Gretchen, who has turned away from him to reach into her bag to ready her own things for class. He sighs and lets his arms sag. He shouldn't have taken out his frustrations with the situation on her.
"I'm sorry," he says, the anger bubbling under the surface gone and replaced with guilt.
Gretchen turns away from her books and gives him a small smile and a shake of her head.
"I was merely trying to play devil's advocate. The girls need all the help they can get," Gretchen says. Then she shrugs. "Besides, I can't say I don't agree. It is a bit kitschy, isn't it?"
He smiles back. He knew Gretchen would agree with him and maybe some of his frustration had been related to that – that he thought he knew her well enough to know her thoughts.
"Well, we might as well take advantage of it," he says, remembering what Ashley B had suggested. "Do you want to get our tickets together for the discount?"
"There's no one else you'd rather ask?" Gretchen asks.
"No," Vince scoffs, as if it's a completely wild idea.
He knows, though, that much of the school would probably expect that he goes with a date. He is one of the most popular boys in their grade, after all. But, he has long since come to the decision that dating isn't worth it. His sole focus for so long was basketball – getting on varsity, getting a scholarship, going to a Division I program – and through that entire process, nothing was worth getting in the way of his dream. Now that he has finally made it there, with just a decision of which school to attend in his way, he can't lose sight of the dream now. He has enough other things competing for his attention, such as his friends, and his major, and his newfound scientific interests.
He can get in his own way. He doesn't need a girl to further complicate matters.
So, when Gretchen just raises an eyebrow at him, he replies genuinely, "Gretch, there is no one else I would rather go to our final homecoming with besides my best friend."
Then he frowns. "Unless, of course, there's someone you would rather go with?"
She shakes her head. "Oh heavens, no," she says, in the same tone that Vince had used earlier to scoff at her. "Our school isn't so big that if there was someone I had my eye on, I wouldn't have already found them. Right?"
He smirks. The two of them always seem to be on the same page. While Vince isn't so sure that he couldn't have found someone had he allowed himself the opportunity to look, he agrees with Gretchen. Wouldn't he have already fallen for someone if he was going to like them? Look at TJ and Spinelli. Gus and Ashley T. Ashley Q and Vance Lombardi. He can't imagine that he would be so dissimilar to those couples that he wouldn't have an inkling of his attraction for someone he had spent the last four or more years with every day from September to June.
"Well, then," he says. "It's a date."
…
Chuck McLaughlin licks the tip of his pen before he sticks it to his notepad, taking notes on whatever Vance is saying on the sidelines. Vince crosses his arms as they all stand on the other side of the field, getting a water break during their practice. During basketball season, he has been interviewed by Chuck a few times for the Grand Street Gazette's sports section. Chuck has been the head of the sports department for as long as Vince can remember – even as a kid he can visualize Chuck's name taking credit for the front page stories each week.
This week, it seems that the Grand Street Gazette will be focusing on the Homecoming football game and, given how long their coach has allowed Vance to stand off to the side, a nice write up about their future hometown hero heading to Alabama. In a town that cherishes their local college football team, Vince has seen a surprising number of men around town starting to wear hats emblazoned with the University of Alabama logo.
Roll Tide, he supposes.
"What do you think they're talking about?" Sam asks, tossing his Nalgene bottle on the ground and gesturing toward Vance and Chuck.
"How Vance is going to survive without Ashley Q dictating everything in his life besides football," Dave jokes.
The boys all give a laugh.
"Hey, I heard the other day that Ole Miss is interested in Ashley Q for their cheerleading squad," Phil says. "It's not the same school, but it's not that far either."
Vince raises an eyebrow. He isn't necessarily surprised – Ashley Q was always the most athletic of the four Ashleys, maybe even one of the most athletic girls in the school – but he hadn't known she was trying to be a cheerleader in college. He figured Ashley Q would just go ahead to Alabama, join some sorority, and get married before the ink dried on her diploma. But, then again, he hasn't paid too much attention to anyone outside of his inner circle.
"I didn't realize she was that good," he murmurs.
"That's because you don't ride the bench," Phil jokes. As the team's kicker, Phil spends more time on the bench than the rest of the boys. He must let his eyes wander, but if Vince is being honest, he never noticed there was much else to notice besides…well, the game itself. "Next time you're not in the play, watch her tumbling. She's way better than anyone else out there."
With the water break over, the boys head back toward the center of the field, where the coaches are preparing their next set of drills. Vince cycles through the drills easily and when it's his turn to step aside, he does so, standing just off to the side and waiting until he is called back to the front.
"Hey, Vince!"
He looks over his shoulder to see Vance jogging toward the field. When the boy gets closer, he nods over his shoulder toward where he had just been.
"Chuck wants to talk to you."
Vince bites the inside of his cheek and glances at their coach, who just waves him off.
"Good to see you again, Vince," Chuck says when Vince approaches. The older man licks the tip of his finger before flipping the page in his writing pad. "Excited for the big game?"
"Of course," Vince says. "Homecoming is always a fun game."
"So, I know basketball season doesn't start for a few more weeks, but decision day is coming right up and the whole town is anxious to hear where you're going in the fall," Chuck pries.
"And the whole town isn't going to find out before my own mother," Vince replies.
The voice he uses is one he adopted for talking to news reporters. After his first TV appearance on the local news, he knew he needed to keep an even keel with reporters. They can be sneaky, writing in the margins about his tone of voice as if they know what he's thinking. Like a telephone voice, he has a reporter voice. A don't-let-them-catch-you-being-snarky voice. A voice where his joke comes off good natured rather than angry that they're prying into his life.
Chuck laughs. "Oh, of course not, but you've narrowed the decisions down, right? We know a few big names have been in town looking at you."
Gossip flows through their town like wildfire. Without having to say a word, it seemed that everyone around him knew which schools had offered him the opportunity to join their teams. Each person seemed to have their own opinion too. A majority of people he ran into wanted him to stay local, play at the University of Arkansas, and be the hometown hero they all envisioned he would be when he was younger. Others thought he should go to the best school he could get into – wouldn't it be cool to see him on TV one day? There were still a few who thought he should hold out hope for a school like UNC or Duke, maybe try to walk on in the fall.
No one ever seemed to ask what he was looking for in a school aside from the ranking of their basketball team.
"I suppose they have."
"I know U of A is pretty invested," Chuck continues, either not sensing Vince's tension or barreling through it. Vince assumes the latter. "It's pretty impressive for a year to have so many talented athletes, with you and Vance in particular going to top schools."
Vince grinds his teeth and resists the urge to walk away. He knows Chuck's interview style. He is going to pester him until he breaks, but Vince has long since learned how to save face.
"Well, I'm making my decision not just on basketball," he says, hoping it will get a rise out of the reporter.
"Of course," Chuck says flippantly, almost shrugging him off. "But this will be a stepping stone for your career."
Going to college in general is a stepping stone for his career is what Vince wants to say. Instead, he bites his tongue. Chuck McLaughlin doesn't know about his potential plans outside of basketball. He hasn't even told his parents, although his mother has been pestering him about his major and he thinks she may have an idea. Moms seem to know everything after all. But, to the rest of town, Vince is basketball. Yes, he makes the all-academic team every year and he is in a hard-fought battle with Simon Welles for the Salutatorian position in the class, but no one really knows that.
The public's scrutiny of his long decision making process is frustrating, but maybe this could be his way to slowly start planting the seeds in everyone's head that playing basketball in the NBA may not be his future goal anymore.
"Well, yes," he says. "But my choice is coming down to which schools will allow me to focus on some of my academic interests in addition to playing basketball."
The back and forth has run dry and Chuck looks bored by Vince's lack of falling into his trap.
"Oh, yes, well," Chuck says, jotting something onto his notepad and barely looking up. "Thanks for taking the time to chat. Good luck at the game and I speak for the whole town when I say we're all excited to see where you end up next year. I'm sure there will be a lot of March Madness brackets filled out. Would you mind sending over Coach for a minute?"
When he turns around, Vince drops his pleasant customer service smile and bites back his groan, letting it erupt in the back of his throat. He needs to make a decision, not so the rest of the town can know, but so he can start counting down the days until the school year starts and he can start fresh somewhere else.
…
Homecoming week flies by, with the themed days all blurring together. The final day of the week, Friday of the parade and the game, is never a big academic school day. Afternoon classes are canceled in favor of a pep rally and field day before the students are dismissed to work on their parade floats. The seniors typically run the show and this year is no different. By the end of the pep rally games with only the dizzy bat race left, the seniors are so far ahead in the points, they could come in dead last and still win the pep rally.
Vince flops onto the grass and watches as the remainder of his teammates continue the dizzy bat race. Dave can barely walk once he ditches the bat on the ground and Sam actually does fall, landing on his butt and laughing as he gets up and jogs to the finish line. With the pressure off, they can all just have fun and enjoy their final pep rally game. He can't help but laugh as the team crosses the finish line, seemingly dizzier and more disoriented with each go.
He lays back onto the ground, turning his head so his cheek rests flush against the grass and lets his eyes wander up into the stands. Gretchen is up there somewhere, never the athlete but always eager to be a spectator. She and Mikey probably found a space that wasn't rowdy, but clear enough to watch.
The senior section of the crowd erupts with cheers and he turns away from the stands back toward his teammates. TJ has just come out of the dizzy section, the bat tossed to the side and he does a somersault toward the finish line. Ashley Q, who has now picked up the bat, spins around in circles. Once she drops the bat, she barely looks dizzy and, not to be outdone, flips toward the line – completing a tumbling pass rather than running. The crowd of seniors at the end of the bleachers goes crazy, screaming with joy and excitement.
The pep rally is for the whole school, but in reality, Vince thinks it must be truly for the seniors. A final hurrah for the fall. A chance to start their final school year off with fun, considering most of them are rushing to complete college applications, waiting for big decisions, or, in Vince's case, sitting on his decision because he can't seem to make it.
He gave himself homecoming week. Tomorrow after the dance it will be over and back to the reality that he needs to choose a school, which he will do on Monday. But for now, he'll just cheer on his classmates just like everyone else.
Spinelli is the final competitor to go for the seniors. As unofficial captain, Vince had chosen her in their roster to be last at dizzy bat to ensure they would win. She hadn't really wanted to – she had wanted to stay with Gretchen and Mikey in the stands, but he had begged her. He wanted an anchor who was quick and he figured a ballerina should be good with dizziness. She had ultimately agreed under the condition that any activity he put her in didn't put her as teammates with her old soccer teammates. Easy enough – he filled the dizzy bat roster with only Third Street alums.
He stands as Spinelli crosses the finish line and rejoins the group. He holds out his hand for a high five, which she returns quickly.
"Great job, Spin!" he says.
"See, I told you that you wouldn't even need me," she says, but he can see her grin.
"Oh, come on, we needed everyone," he tells her.
The crowd begins to go wild again and he looks over, seeing a few of the boys standing in front of the senior student section, egging the group to cheer louder and louder. They all start to shout, "Seniors! Seniors!" in unison. Looking over at the adults, Vince can see the principal and the other teachers beginning to look between themselves, probably trying to decide when to intervene. Too early and it destroys the school spirit but too late and they'll never return to order. Ultimately, they give the crowd a few minutes to celebrate before the principal finds his way to the microphone.
"Alright! Alright! Settle down!" the principal says, standing in front of the microphone at the center of field. The crowded bleachers calm down and once it's quiet, the principal continues. "And now, what we've all been waiting for – the results of the Homecoming Court voting!"
They had voted earlier this morning in their first period classes. Between then and now, a group of teachers had tallied every vote, checking it twice, to ensure they had the correct results. Each year at the conclusion of the pep rally, the results were read and the students who had won would ride in on the parade on their class's float, waving to the crowd of onlookers along Grand Street. Vince and Ashley A had a monopoly on the position for their class. He thinks he may have finally mastered the correct way to wave according to Ashley A, but just to mess with her, he won't follow her directions.
"Now, for the lower court," the principal says. "For the freshmen…"
Their principal can be quite the ham when he needs to be, seeming to Vince like an older version of TJ in some ways. He reads the names as if he is at an awards show like the Oscars or the Grammys, giving a quick pause before each name. He allows each class to clap and cheer for their representatives, but also quickly hurries them over to the line where the girls each receive a bouquet of flowers from their class advisor.
"And the Homecoming King and Queen for Homecoming 2009 are…drum roll please," the principal says.
The students in the bleachers all begin stomping against the metal, causing a thunderous echo throughout the field. As the sound dies down, the principal makes a big show of opening the envelope, and once he has it open, he leans forward and shouts into the microphone, "Vance Lombardi and Ashley Quinlan!"
Vince takes a step forward only to stop in his tracks. Ashley Q's high-pitched squeal behind him draws him out of his surprise and he turns to see her jumping excitedly as the other three Ashleys move to embrace her. Vince eyes Ashley A, trying to see if she displays any of the disbelief he feels, but she smiles broadly as she wraps her arms around Ashley Q.
His mouth hangs open and he brings his teeth together, digging his front teeth into his bottom lip in an attempt to hide his shock. He had been their class's homecoming prince each year. He had assumed it would be no different this year. Every year, he rode on the float with Ashley A and he did his perfunctory dance with her at Homecoming. Sure, he had joked in the past that their constant bickering would cost them the title, but he had never really believed it. Homecoming Court voting was just a popularity contest and he had never lost anything like that.
How did he lose?
He swallows thickly as Ashley Q and Vance head toward the other members of the Homecoming Court, waving at the adoring crowd who cheers them on. As the crowd cheers on, the noise begins to sound further away as Vince turns his attention to the grass below his feet. It shouldn't hurt this much. He has lost plenty of things to Vance in the past – such as being the top football player and even his favorite position on the field – but this feels like a personal affront.
He had wanted to use this week as a distraction and instead losing the vote became one more failure on top of his mounting pile of uncertainty. His frustration with the ticketing earlier this week suddenly seems so trivial in comparison as his stomach starts to climb into his throat. He hasn't picked a school and, even when he does pick, it's not the school anyone in town wants him to pick.
He hadn't realized until this moment how much he was relying on the validation that came with being voted Homecoming King.
"Vince?"
He looks up to find Spinelli, TJ, and Gus standing before him, each with concern etched on their faces.
"You okay?" TJ asks.
He swallows his pride. "Of course. Now I don't have to dance with Ashley A," he says, his voice tight. "Or worse, Ashley Q."
Crossing his arms, he turns away from his friends and back toward the center of the field, where the Homecoming Court is still standing, waving at the crowd and receiving their crowns. Homecoming Court is just a popular contest anyway. It always has been. And with the way the town has been fawning over Vance, he supposes it makes sense that the class would choose him instead. Especially considering Vince keeps dragging his heels with his decision. Besides, his decision, regardless of which school he picks, isn't like Vance going to Alabama. It's second tier in comparison.
Over the last few years, Vince learned quite a bit about not reaching the goals he had set for himself. Once determined to be in the NBA or go to the Olympics, he realized that most people never do that, especially people with varied interests. He worked his butt off and he is proud of how far he has come, but he isn't sure basketball is his endgame anymore. He loves the sport and would love to continue playing after college, but he has other dreams too.
But he would be lying if seeing this play out with the backdrop of Vance being a top recruit for one of the best college football teams in the country hasn't been hard. Now, with this new development, along with everything else that has happened this week, Vince can't help but wonder what else can possibly go wrong.
…
Sorry for the long wait between updates. I could not get this right.
Next chapter: The dance and Vince makes a decision.
If anyone has any requests for other storylines to cover at the dance, drop it in a review!