Focused, p.9
Focused, page 9
part #2 of True Images Series
In that instant though, surrounded by strangers who were hyped up that Lee’s incredible talent had gotten our team within ten points of the other team’s score, I realized that he was going to be pulled along by the forces of destiny to a life that I couldn’t be part of. I would get dragged under in the current of his rising celebrity, and he would be lost to me, as unattainable as a star. So for the rest of the game, I sat watching numbly, trying to breathe through the heaviness in my chest.
The fans grew increasingly frustrated as the lead eluded us, despite Lee playing like a whirlwind unleashed on the court. The problem was that he couldn’t win the game by himself. He and Will worked like one unit, knowing each other’s next move like they shared a brain. But the rest of the team seemed out of the loop. Never giving up on them or hogging the ball, Lee gave them chance after chance to run the plays, take the shot, play their position. But there was a disconnect between them that over and over gave the other team opportunities they shouldn’t have had.
The end of the game drew out as both teams went into penalty for fouls. Every possession seemed to end at one free throw line or the other. The other team quickly learned not to foul Lee, since he was automatic at the free throw line. Instead, they would foul any other Haskins’ player as quickly as they could manage before Lee could get the ball. In the end, we lost by one point. Being so close to winning made the loss even more devastating.
I watched as Lee’s energy drained out of him as soon as the final buzzer sounded. The guy who had seemed to have endless depths of stamina, plodded with heavy steps to shake hands with the other team. I knew then, that whatever happened in the future, he needed me now.
Mari ran ahead of me as I paused to grab my jacket. She was already hugging Will by the time I made it through the crowds to the locker rooms where the team was. Lee seemed to be hesitating and looking around instead of following his teammates to change. When he saw me coming, he headed straight for me, barely acknowledging the calls of, “Good game, Lee,” from people he passed.
“I’m dripping with sweat,” he said to me when he was steps away. But it was really a question.
“I don’t care,” I assured him.
His arms closed around me and his forehead came to rest on the top of my head. I wrapped my arms tightly around his waist, and let him hold me. Waves of heat rolled off him and I felt the dampness of his jersey beneath my fingers. He’d given everything he had.
Sooner than I wanted, he took a deep breath and stepped away. “Can you stay and let me take you home?”
“I’m planning on it.”
“I’ll try not to be too long. Coach is going to have a thing or two to say to us though. ”
“Don’t worry about me. I’m fine waiting.”
He nodded and disappeared into the locker rooms. I climbed back up into the now nearly empty bleachers and settled in to wait. My mind was churning though.
It roamed through all the things that were stressing me out, dwelling on each of them in turn. The enigma that was my dad, the fog of suspicion surrounding Parker with the school theft earlier that week, my future with Lee. Well, really, my future. What was I going to do about college? I needed to be figuring that out soon. I probably shouldn’t have left all the college brochures the counselor gave me in my locker over the weekend.
Pretty soon, players began coming out of the locker room and heading outside. Will and Mari waved at me as the left. I figured Lee would be out soon and began making my way down the bleachers again. As I got to the bottom, Lee came out and met me. “Hey Sienna, Coach wants to go over game stats and stuff with me really quick. Are you okay for a few more minutes?”
“Sure.”
He reached out and pulled me down towards him with a hand around my neck. He kissed me, his lips lingering over mine. “Oh man,” he said, shaking his head. “Believe me, I’ll hurry.”
Knowing that it would probably be longer than he hoped, I called my mom and told her what was going on so she wouldn’t worry when I got home late – or get mad. Keeping in touch about our whereabouts was one of her rules.
When I hung up, I realized that everyone else was gone except Coach Phillips, the assistant coach. He was gathering up a few stray basketballs and dirty towels. After putting the balls away, he turned off the gym lights. The light from the double doors to the concession area outside and the locker room hallway spilled over the darkened court in three separate shafts of light like pillars on the floor.
The change from the bright gym, packed with screaming fans and alive with the action of the game was palpable. The dark gym was so still and quiet I could feel the silence, but echoes of the game seemed to vibrate through the shadows, just beyond hearing. How long did it take for the ghosts of time to fade away?
Part of me wished I had a camera with me to capture this new experience, but it wouldn’t have mattered. No picture could capture what I was feeling. Shivering and anxious to be moving, I left the bleachers. Peeking around the corner I could see into the coach’s office.
Lee sat in a chair with his back to the big window, his hands clasped behind his head as he and the two coaches talked. They were obviously still going to be a minute. Not wanting to be in the gym any more, I decided to see if I could get to my locker and get those college brochures.
Walking out of the gym, I smiled at the few people from the athletic boosters who were still cleaning up the concession area and hurried down the hall. I turned the corner and saw nothing but darkness in front of me.
I took a few steps forward, moving slowly as my eyes adjusted. Green light from the exit signs and pale moonlight through an occasional window lit my way through the maze of halls leading to the hallway where my locker was. Red lights blinked from the ceiling occasionally, and I realized it was the security cameras. Sometimes I would jerk to a stop, feeling like I was about to run into something, but it was always just a darker shadow that tricked my eye.
The hallways were even spookier than the gym had been—so grim and silent in the heavy darkness. I caught a sound that might have been whispers, but I realized that my imagination was playing tricks on me. My heart was beating fast, defying my self-assurances that this was no big deal.
Seeing that I was almost to my locker, my steps quickened. I grabbed the combination lock on my locker and held it sideways to catch the light from a nearby exit sign. Barely able to see, I turned the lock more by memory than by sight. Amazingly, I got it the first time.
As I opened my locker, a clang of something metal sounded in the distance. I gasped and waited anxiously to see if I needed to run. Everything was still, but I didn’t care. Images from the zombie movie Parker had filmed in these very hallways came to mind, creeping me out even more. I wanted to get out of here. Now.
Reaching blindly into the dark hole of my locker, I grabbed the brochures, no longer caring about them much, but I didn’t want this to all be for nothing. I slammed my locker shut, clicked the lock, spun the dial, and started running back the way I came. My tennis shoes barely made any noise and the surrounding silence pressed painfully against my ears.
I don’t know what made me stop, but something did. Then I heard it – voices. Not imaginary whispers, but actual words. My mind skittered to figure who else might be here in the dark. A teacher or a janitor would turn on the light. How many other students would be around, innocently going to their lockers? I knew with dread that whoever they were, they were up to no good. And it would be very, very bad if they saw me.
I stepped quickly into the recess of one of the classroom doors and pressed myself into the dark corner just as two forms moved out of the classroom across the hall. They were both male, one built bigger than the other, but both of them were lean.
“I told you man, I heard something.”
“I don’t see anybody. We’re good. I’m telling you, nobody will be back here. The game was over a long time ago.”
“We should have waited longer.”
“Man, if you’re so worried, put your mask on. I don’t know why you took it off.”
“It’s hot and the cameras are off, right?”
“Yeah, but not for much longer. Let’s go grab the iPads out of Mr. Tipton’s room and we’ll get out of here.”
As they moved on, I looked anxiously up at the ceiling. I even leaned slightly out of my shadow to see down the hall. Sure enough, there were no longer any blinking red lights to mark the cameras.
The two figures walked in front of the big picture windows where the hallway passed the quad outside. One guy was pulling a ski mask on, but before he did, I saw his face. I knew who these two were.
I’d had a run in with them once. I’d taken their picture during a lunch break at school once, and they’d threatened to hurt me unless I deleted the picture. I’d known then that they were bad news, and I’d avoided them ever since. Dread slid over me as I imagined what they would do if they found out I was a witness to their theft. Terrified, I waited until they picked the lock on Mr. Tipton’s door and disappeared inside.
Then moving as softly but as quickly as I could, I made my escape. As soon as I was far enough away that I doubted they’d hear me, I took off running. The silence and looming shadows no longer frightened me. Something much more dangerous and real was behind me.
Turning the final corner, I welcomed the light of the concession area. Lee and the two coaches were standing there, but everyone else was gone. They were obviously waiting for me.
Seeing me, Lee’s shoulders relaxed as he said, “There you are. I couldn’t figure out where you’d gone. I was about to call you.” Then looking closer at me, Lee asked. “Hey. Are you okay?”
Sending up silent prayers of thanks that my phone hadn’t started ringing in the hallway back there, I blurted out, “I was getting these out of my locker.” I held up the brochures clutched haphazardly in my hand. “Then I saw two guys back there. They’re breaking into classrooms.”
The two coaches looked at each other, their eyes widening. Lee grabbed my shoulders and asked urgently, “Did they see you?”
“No, but one of them heard me. The other guy convinced him he didn’t though.”
“Where were they?“ Coach Webb asked.
“They were breaking into Mr. Tipton’s room when I left.”
“Let’s go,” Coach Webb said, motioning to his assistant. “Lee, get her out of here. We’ll call the police, and they’ll be here soon, but I don’t want you guys around when we don’t know for sure where they are. They could be armed.”
Lee nodded and took my coat from my limp hands. “Come on, Sienna. Put this on. It’s still raining out there.”
I slipped my arms in the sleeves, but I couldn’t zip it up with my shaking fingers. Lee took over for me and pulled the hood up over my head. He reached down for the duffle bag he’d dropped on the floor and urged me outside with a firm grasp on my hand.
We dashed through the rain, and when we were finally in Lee’s truck, he hurried to get us out of there. The engine roared to life and he tore out of the parking lot before I’d even found my seatbelt.
“You know? You certainly are a magnet for trouble.”
I nodded miserably. “I know. Why is that?”
My house is close to the school, so it was only a minute before Lee pulled up in front of it. Alex’s car was in the driveway, I noticed, so he must have come over right after the game.
“My mom is going to freak,” I said.
Lee reached over and patted my knee. “I know. Come on. I’ll go in with you.”
When I opened the front door and stepped in the living room, I saw that my mom and Alex were wrapped up, kissing each other in the kitchen. I felt my eyes go wide as I stopped in front of the door, staring at them.
“Sienna?” Lee asked from behind me.
I realized I was totally blocking him in the doorway and moved quickly. My mom and Alex broke away from each other, looking as uncomfortable as I felt. It almost made me forget what had just happened. Almost.
“Hey guys,” my mom said, running her fingers through her curly hair. Then she must have looked more closely at me. “What’s wrong.”
“I saw two guys robbing the school.”
“What?” she asked.
“What?” Alex asked a second later, echoing my mom and following her into the living room.
I told them the whole story, glad that Lee was there to hold my hand. I probably clenched his hand too hard at certain points, but he didn’t once seem to care.
“I can’t believe it,” Alex said. “One robbery was gutsy enough. I’d better not leave any of my personal equipment at the school anymore.”
“Sienna, are you sure they didn’t see you.”
“Yes. But what if they find out?
“No one will say anything about you being there,” Lee assured me. “The only people who know are in this room, and the two coaches. They won’t want to put you in any danger.”
My mom stood up and walked around the room, her arms crossed nervously. “I just can’t believe it. So you’re sure you recognized them?”
“Definitely.”
“Well, if anything good has come out of this, at least you can testify that Parker wasn’t involved.”
I hadn’t considered that. “You’re right, but then more people would have to know about me being there.”
“Well, Lee may be right about the coaches wanting to keep you out of it, but I’m sure the police and the administration are going to want all the details. Hopefully though, they’ll all be anxious to keep your identity a secret. We’d better hope so.”
Chapter 9
Lee
“Do I need to make you all hold hands or something?”
My head jerked over to look at Coach Webb when he said this. Man, he was upset. I didn’t blame him. After losing last night’s game, it was hard to deal with our crappy attempts at running the new play he’d come up with. It was designed to take advantage of the strengths of the new players, but they couldn’t seem to get their heads out of their butts.
Not to mention he’d been at the school late talking to the police and checking out the losses and damage with the administration. It was no wonder he was in such a bad mood.
I was the only one who could meet Coach’s eyes. The rest of the team was staring down at court. I glanced over at Thomas Hardy, the player who was causing most of our problems. He had a chip on his shoulder about something.
When nothing but silence answered his question, Coach Webb said, “Tell me when you’re ready to play like a team. In the meantime, hit the line.”
And so we ran. And ran. And ran.
At least this time, I was in good condition for it. Not everyone was.
Hitting the locker room after practice, I saw that Thomas was hauling it to get through the door first. I probably enjoyed it too much when I heard him puking into a toilet a few seconds later. Some of the other guys who hadn’t had a 9:00 a.m. practice during football season looked a little green too. Maybe they’d think twice about partying after games from now on.
Michael Fine bumped me with his elbow as he walked past. “I never saw such a bunch of pansies,” he said to me.
I wanted to agree with him – which didn’t happen often. He was arrogant and we had our issues, but he didn’t mind working hard on the court. That was more than I could say for some. Somehow, I had to get this collection of egos working as a team. I looked hard at Michael. “Yeah, well, you’d better watch out. If some of these guys ever get their head screwed on straight, they’re going to give you a run for your starter spot.”
His cocky smile faded. “No way.”
“Why not? Thomas might not have the greatest shot from the field, but he could snag a rebound from you any time he wanted.”
Thomas had been walking weakly over to his locker as I said this, and he heard me. I’d meant for him to.
“Are you saying you can shoot better than me?” he challenged.
I cocked an eyebrow at him. “Without a doubt. Look, we don’t need someone who can take outside shots. Will and I can handle that. We need someone who can rebound and be strong in the key. That’ll win us more games than if you made every three point shot you threw up in the game last night. You’re built like a bull with arms like an orangutan.” I stopped as the burst of laughter drowned me out. Thomas was glaring at me, but Brian socked him in the ribs and held out one of his arms.
“Man, you do have freakishly long arms,” Brian teased him.
I continued. “Nobody could beat you if you’d just decide to do your job. Don’t tell me Coach Hatfield let you play quarterback whenever you wanted. Basketball’s no different. We all have a job to do, but if everybody keeps showboating and slacking off, we’d better get used to losing.”
I turned my back on them and grabbed my stuff before heading out. There were murmurs behind me but I didn’t pay attention to them. Maybe it would sink in eventually, but I knew it would take time. Right now, I wanted to get out of here. I had better things to do than hang around a locker room reeking of vomit and bad attitudes.
When I got home, I had plenty of time to shower and change before it was time to meet Sienna for lunch. In fact, too much time. I was always so anxious to see her that I was keyed up anytime we were apart. I’d pretty much been that way since the first time I’d seen her.
She’d been standing in line at the football game concession stand, talking to her friend, when I’d happened to turn and glance her way. Standing there with the light shining on her, she’d been fascinating with reddish streaks in her golden hair and her beautiful face shining. She was tall and thin but with curves that I couldn’t take my eyes off. There had been something distant and aloof about her – as if she was issuing a challenge to any guy who might think he had a chance with her.
But I liked challenges, and I’d known immediately that I wanted to get to know her. From then on, I’d done everything I could to be around her. I’d even signed up for journalism and joined yearbook.
Knowing Sienna just made me want her more. She was so passionate about her photography and so driven to do whatever she set her mind on that I connected with her like no other girl I’d ever known. I respected her for it, but I also wanted to help set her free from it. I understood how hard it was to be so focused on something. I wanted to help her relax and have fun.
