"UGH!" Lydia slammed the front door behind her, stomping angrily into the kitchen.
"Hey honey, How was your day-" Haley asked started, sipping her tea
"I got suspended." Lydia cut her off, reaching into the fridge and grabbing a fruit juice. Haley widened her eyes in a surprised expression and looked to Brooke, who shrugged. both turned to face the 15-year-old, who slouched down on the couch and flicked on the television
"You what?!" Haley yelled.
"I got suspended!" Lydia yelled back with a firey attitude. Haley's eyes darted toward her best friend, eyes slimming with frustration.
"Oh no I'm not leaving," Brooke said, looking between the Scott girls while sipping her tea.
Haley rolled her eyes and put one hand on her hip. "Well then prepare for a lot of shouting." She rolled up her sleeves and marched around the kitchen island, standing to face off with Lydia. "Lydia Bob Scott, what the hell did you do?"
"I, believe it or not, didn't do anything!"
"That's not what I asked, I asked what did you do?!" Haley crossed her arms.
"I STAND BY MY WHAT I DID!" Lydia screamed, standing so she was at eye level with her mother. She'd inherited her father's height. Lydia glared angrily at Haley before picking up her school bag and marching upstairs to her bedroom.
"You still haven't told me what it is you stand by!" Haley yelled after her. She stood at the bottom of the staircase, waiting for any reply, before sighing and walking back over the her place on the kitchen island.
"Are you sure she's not mine?" Brooke asked, trying to lighten the mood. Haley stared at her, unimpressed.
"I love her to death but that girl sometimes," Footsteps came running down the staircase. "She drives me crazy."
"Mom," Haley's 13-year-old son Jackson came walking into the kitchen. "Lydia's in a mood."
Haley groaned and slammed her head down on the table. Brooke looked at her and chuckled sympathetically, rubbing her back.
"She and your mom got into a fight."
"Why?" Jackson asked, taking a seat next to Haley.
"Nice try, Jack," Haley picked herself up. "Mind your beeswax." She grabbed her son and kissed his cheek before taking her cup and placing it in the dishwasher.
"Hey baby," Nathan greeted as he walked into the space, sweaty and gross, basketball in hand.
"Hi," Haley kissed him on the cheek. "Ugh, go take a shower. You stink,"
"Oh really?" Nathan wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into a tight hug. "I stink do I?"
"Yes, you do!" Haley laughed, hitting his arm to get him to release her. "Go shower!"
"I can smell you from here, boy toy!" Brooke pitched in, pinching the end of her nose to support her point.
"It's true, Dad," Jackson added. "I think you need a stronger deodorant!"
Nathan laughed and gave in, releasing Haley and heading toward the staircase.
Jackson turned back to face Brooke. "Why do you call him boy toy-"
"Mom!" 8-year-old Rose came running in, small pink basketball in hand.
"Hey sweetheart," Haley greeted her daughter. "How was basketball with Dad?"
"Fine. He let me win as normal," She pulled herself up onto a chair next to Brooke.
"There's my mini-me," Brooke hugged Rose, kissing her on the cheek. "How's it going?"
"Haley!" Nathan called from upstairs. She sighed and left Brooke with her kids, going to meet the source of the call.
"What's up?"
"Why's Lydia yelling?" Nathan asked, a towel wrapped around his waist.
"Maybe because her dad is walking around half-naked." Haley joked, placing her hands on his bare chest. "Go put on some pants, and then we need to talk with her."
"You know you love it," Nathan teased, kissing her neck. Haley couldn't help but smile, melting under his touch.
"WHAT THE HELL DOES YOUR MOTHER MEAN YOU GOT SUSPENDED?!" Nathan thundered, storming into his daughter's room. Lydia sat on the bed, headphones on, scrolling mindlessly on her phone. She sighed, closing her phone and removing the earpieces.
"You might actually understand this if your first resort wasn't yelling at me," Lydia said, calm and collected. Nathan huffed angrily and faced Haley, who shrugged her brows.
"What happened?" Haley asked, annoyance obvious in her voice." Lydia closed her eyes and inhaled, sitting up straight to face her parents.
"If you drop the glare, I might explain myself," Lydia crossed her arms.
"Lydia Bob Scott, you better start right-"
"Okay! Fine! I locked Turner out of his office and called him a sexist dick over the loudspeakers."
Nathan retreated, taken aback by his daughter. "What?"
Lydia sighed again, rubbing her hands over her face. "You know the Tree Hill High has never had a girls' basketball team? Never. For a town famous for 'The Ravens', you'd think they'd be all-inclusive. Well, they're not, which is fucking ridiculous-"
"Language," Haley scolded sternly. Lydia rolled her eyes and continued.
"So I went to Turner and asked about it."
Nathan looked at Haley, his brows furrowed in conflict.
"He told me there'd never been interest in a girls team before, which I know is bullshit because-"
"Lydia!" Haley yelled.
"Sorry! Anyway, I know that's not true because I know for a fact that there was a whole petition thing and everything when Jamie was in his Junior Year. I brought that up and he said it's not in the budget. So I said surely there could be some common ground and maybe we could take some from the boys' team, which he quickly shut down. And then I got angry"
Nathan and Haley stared at their daughter, then at each other, as if communicating with their eyes.
"W-"
"Hell Yeah, Lydia Scott!" Brooke pushed past Nathan and Haley and high-fived her goddaughter. She looked up at the parents. "What? I was eavesdropping"
"Brooke?" Nathan said.
"Yes?"
"Out."
Brooke pressed her lips together and stood to leave, smiling at Lydia and giving her a thumbs-up before pushing back out the doorway. Nathan and Haley chuckled.
"Well," Haley started, pulling down her shirt and going to sit next to Lydia on her bed. "I genuinely don't know whether to applaud or punish you."
"Literally," Nathan chuckled, leaning against the door frame. "I mean, what else would we want from you then to be able to stand up for what you believe in?"
"Plus I will not have spent all those hours driving you to pee-wee basketball games and training for nothing."
Lydia chuckled, looking down at the floor. "It's just such bullshit," Haley inhaled and exhaled loudly, giving up on controlling her daughter's language. "Why shouldn't we have the same opportunities? It's 2030, guys!"
"Why didn't you just tell me that when we were downstairs?"
"Coz you were yelling, and I was trying to explain myself. Plus, there isn't much opportunity to yell back at you guys when I know I haven't done anything wrong," Nathan smirked. He loved seeing his traits reflected in his daughter.
"Well, we need to fix this, don't we?"
"Why doesn't your mom organize a meeting with Turner so we can discuss this properly?" Nathan suggested, looking to Haley for support. She nodded in agreement.
"Yeah, of course. Besides, we don't need a suspension on your transcript, do we?" Lydia and Nathan both glanced at Haley.
"Mom, haven't you been arrested like four times?"
Haley's mouth dropped open in shock. She shot an angry look at Nathan, who raised his hands in defense. "Wasn't me!"
"Brooke!" Haley called, standing up and walking past the doorway. "I'll take care of that meeting with Turner," she quickly confirmed before marching off to find and kill her best friend. Nathan and Lydia shared a laugh.
"For what it's worth, I completely agree with what you did," Nathan said.
"Really?" Lydia raised her brow in surprise.
"Yeah, one hundred percent. It's not like I didn't do worse things in high school."
"Really? I thought you were too busy getting married and having babies."
Nathan chucked. "That was my Junior year. I had plenty of time to muck up before then."
"Oh yeah? What'd you do?"
"I once stole a bus and drove it onto a train track," Nathan said, chuffed. "I also got suspended for drinking beer in class and calling a teacher a slut." He furrowed his brow in disappointment, remembering his dickish behavior.
"Oh my god Dad!" Lydia laughed, putting a hand on her chest. "So what I'm hearing is that I can fuck up more?"
Nathan's face dropped. "No, that's not what I'm saying," He stuttered.
"Don't worry I won't tell Mom,"
"Just don't get pregnant, okay?"
"Ew, Dad, No," Lydia grimaced, giggling at how uncomfortable Nathan looked.
'Okay,' he mouthed, walking forward and kissing her on the forehead. "I hope you know how proud of you I am," he said gently.
"I know, Dad."
"And the daughter and niece of Ravens State Championship winners damn well better be able to play for the bloody team."
Lydia sighed and slammed the door as she stepped out of the car. What 15-year-old wanted to be at school on a Saturday? Discussing a suspension nonetheless.
"How is Turner still even allowed to teach?" Nathan said, wrapping an arm around Haley's shoulders. "The dude's like 80."
"Nathan!" Haley scolded. "Keep your voice down. We're the adults now you know,"
"Oh I know. I feel it every time I go for a run," He rubbed his lower back. "I don't like being 30."
"Hm-Hm 41." Haley corrected via a fake cough. Nathan dropped his arm back to his side, scowling at his wife.
"Your daughter, Haley, has a naturally firey attitude-"
"Well you forget where she got it from!" Haley yelled back. Turner exhaled loudly, looking away from the Scotts. Haley sighed, looking at Nathan. "Look, there is no doubt that Lydia went about this in the completely wrong way," She glanced sternly at Lydia, who looked away sheepishly. "But the cause of her outburst is more than valid! Why the hell don't the girls get the chance to play basketball?"
Principle Turner pinched the bridge of his nose and leaned back in his chair, sighing loudly. "The harsh truth is that the people of this town don't care about girl's basketball. The boy's team is so popular-"
"Let me remind you that the only years the Ravens have come anywhere near a championship was when my father played, my brother and I played, and when my son played. Not to boast, but noticing a pattern?" Nathan leaned forward, placing his hands on Turner's desk. "Now my daughter doesn't even get the chance?"
"Mr. Scott, your family line is no doubt the pride of this town, but that doesn't change the current sentiment," Principal Turner replied
Lydia scoffed and folded her arms defiantly. "So, what? We just accept that the girls are supposed to sit on the sidelines forever while the boys get all the glory?"
"It's not just about glory, Mss Scott," Turner explained, his tone growing more serious. "It's about funding, support, and the realities of what drives attendance. The community rallies behind the boys' team, and as unfortunate as it is, that doesn't translate to the girls."
"How do you even know that if it's never been explored? And why don't we change it?" Haley interjected, leaning forward in her seat. "Why don't we give the girls the same opportunity to show what they can do? Let them play and build their own following-"
"Easier said than done," Turner cut off. "A new team needs resources, and right now, there simply isn't enough interest. It's a cycle."
Haley's frustration peaked. "This isn't just about basketball! It's about giving the girls a voice, a chance to compete! Why should they have to fight for that?"
"Because," Turner sighed, "the system is broken. You're all passionate, I get that, but you're fighting an uphill battle."
Nathan spoke up. "But isn't that what a real fight is about? Standing up even when it feels impossible?"
Haley nodded in agreement. "Exactly! We can't just let this go. If we want change, we need to start somewhere."
Turner sighed once again. There was no backing out of this, no way to win. Staring back at him were three faces who knew what they'd come for. And they weren't going to lose. "Haley, Nathan, you were both students here more than 20 years ago-"
"Girls were cheerleaders, boys were jocks." Haley finished. "I mean, we're terrible examples; I was a cheerleader, and Nathan was a forward on the basketball team. There wasn't any room for questioning 'your place' in the social network. Principle Turner, that was 23 years ago. I am proud of my daughter for standing up for what she believes in. It's only what's right."
She looked around at the two family members around her. Nathan watched her in awe, a proud smile plastered across his face. Lydia beamed at her mom, standing up for what's right. Turner rubbed a hand over his forehead and cleared his throat. "I will bring it up at the next PTA meeting. Is that enough for you today?"
"Uh, I believe there is still a suspension to be dealt with?"
"I will shorten the suspension from 4 days to 2, okay?"
Lydia shrieked with joy and hugged her mom tightly, reaching an arm out to pull Nathan in too. "Thank you, guys. I love you both."
Nathan chuckled, wrapping a long arm around his girls.
"We love you too, honey." Haley squeezed Lydia.
Two Months Later
Haley honked the car, signaling to her daughter to hurry up. "Lydia!"
Lydia quickened her pace and said goodbye to her friends, jumping in the car and slamming the door shut.
"You took forever!" Rose groaned, leaning her head down on her sister's lap. Lydia chuckled and tickled her stomach.
Haley laughed at the scene, watching it in the rear mirror. "Well?" She asked expectantly. "How'd it go?"
"It was amazing." Lydia squealed. "The first official training of the Ravenettes was a success"
"Aww, that's great, sweetheart. I'm so proud of you. You put your mind to something and it all worked out."
"Yeah, I'm pretty proud of me too." Lydia beamed as she fastened her seatbelt and tucked away her gym bag, carefully putting her new Captain's badge in the front pocket.