• • •
When your vision returns, you are greeted by the sight of a decorated gymnasium filled with well-dressed teens, dancing, and mangling. You see all this from a top-down view. You have no idea what's going on and how you ended up in the gym. You start to panic and scream out, but no one can hear you. You are soon dragged to the center of the gym. You hover over a couple dancing close together. The sound of the two is all you can hear as the rest of the teens' voices in the gymnasium fade away. The music is lowered, but still audible.
- - -
••• Oct. 11 - Homecoming Dance •••
"You really look like a princess, y'know," the dark skin-stocky well-built young man says as he sways to the slow melody while holding the waist of a lovely young ebony woman.
"I know," the young woman says as her date towels her around. The end of her slightly-fancy pink dress puffs out. "Tell me something I don't know, milord." The girl says sporting a huge smile on her face as her date finishes toweling her. She resumes to rest her hands around the young man's neck.
"Okay milady," the young man pulls his date closer, "do y'know I love you, Sharaty?" He kisses her forehead, Sharaty's cheeks blushes brightly under the multi-colored lights of the gymnasium
"I love you too, Damian," she sneaks a quick peck on his lips. "And I already know that, so try again." She finishes with a warm smile.
"Okay, I bet you don't know," Damian leans forward and whispers into Sharaty's ear, "I got the EC full athletic scholarship to GSU." Sharaty's jaw drops as she pulls away and stares into Damian's dark brown eyes.
"Are you for real?" Damian nods his head yes. Sharaty lets out a shriek that a few of the couples near give them side glances. Damian lifts Sharaty into the air and spins around, then stops to bring her into a passionate kiss. They don't care for the chaperones' presents.
- - -
The scene before you fade away and you're once again transported to another one. This time you hover above the Heritance football field. You spot your school team, in their home red and black gear, getting ready to run their final play of the game. Again, a force pulls you, but this time towards a player on their side. The noise of the two stands becomes low just enough for you to hear the announcers.
••• Oct. 18 - Homecoming Gameday •••
"It's the last play for The Pack against Park View's Patriots with the latter leading by three," a female announcer says, "The Pack is fourth and long with 30 seconds on the clock," she finishes.
"Angela, they also have no time outs left and eighteen yards out of field goal range, so what will the Pack do here?" A male announcer speaks. "Looks like The Pack is GOING FOR IT," the male announcer yells.
"Look Paul," Angela says, "Number eleven just handed number thirty-three the ball!"
"Why," Paul interjects, "didn't he pass it to their star runner back, Kingston?"
"Nope, it was a FAKE," Angela informs, "Oh no, Blakeman, the QB, is running it himself right into the Patriots defense!" She announced with horror, lacing her voice. "The Patriots are closing in on Blakeman."
"Looks like this could be the end for The Pack," all excitement evaporates from Paul's voice.
"NO, IT'S NOT," Angela roars into the loudspeaker, "Look, it was another fake. Blakeman just launched the ball down field deep into Patriots' territory!"
"Who's even down there," Paul jumps back in with some of his excitement returning. "OH MY - LOOK FOLKS," Paul screams into the microphone, "IT'S NUMBER TWENTY, DAMIAN KINGSTON!"
The bleachers on the left side of the field erupted into cheers from the spectators. The Pack's cheerleaders start chanting, "GO KINGSTON, GO KINGSTON, GO!" The crowd in the stands join in. People passing by the school field can hear the chant.
"I just got a few more yards to go," Damian thinks to himself. As he runs, he notices someone running alongside him on the other side of the outer bounce line. It was his girlfriend, Sharaty, all dressed up in her cheerleader outfit. She drops her pom poms to the ground to cup her hands around her mouth.
"YOU GOT THIS BABE! I LOVE YOU; NOW MAKE OUR DREAMS COME TRUE!" She finishes by blowing him a kiss and pointing down the field towards the in zone.
Damian turns his focus back to running and he pushes himself to run even faster. There's no Patriots behind him.
"Kingston," Angela says, "has just ten seconds left on the clock!"
Paul interjects again, "With three yards left to go!"
The Pack fans cheer loud for Kingston to keep going. Angela and Paul both start the countdown which gets the Pack side to join in.
"FIVE, FOUR..."
The stands on the other side of the field start roaring, "STOP HIM!"
A Patriot player flanks Damian from the left. Damian notices them and the short distance he's from the goal line.
"THREE, TWO..." the Pack fans continue.
The rival player is now on Damian's tail.
"ONE!"
Damian and the player leap into the in zone.
"ZERO," the Pack's stands finish their countdown.
"TOUCHDOWN, THE PACK ARE GOING TO THE STATE CHAMPIONSHIP," Paul screams into the microphone. Cheerful noise comes from the Pack stands and players as the other stand and team groan.
The referees officially announced that Damian had made the touchdown, but there was something wrong.
"Hold on Paul," Angela speaks up with concern in her voice. "Damian isn't moving down there." The field and both stands go quiet as the officials rush to Damian's side. They move the Park View player away from him as one of them checks on Damian. Two women cry out for him as tears stream down their faces.
"SWEETHEART GET UP," an older black lady screams from the railing of the bleachers, it's Damian's mother.
"He's going to be fine, honey," Damian's father says while holding Damian's mother.
"BABY NO," the other one came from Sharaty, who's trying to get closer to Damian, but the coach of the Pack is holding her back.
After a long time, Damian is finally carried off into the back of an ambulance for a severe injury. Sharaty joins Damian in the back; she was okayed by Damian's parents; they'll follow them in their car with Damian's young siblings.
- - -
Once again, the scene in front of your eyes fades out to black, then fades into blinding white. It takes a second before your eyes adjust to the white room. You notice Damian lying in a hospital bed with his right leg in a cast being propped up by a few pillows. He's surrounded by a few balloons with variations of "wishing you a speedy recovery" scribbled on them.
You hear squeaking patterns of shoes on the newly waxed floors outside of his room, you hear a nurse taking a call and someone coughing. Until the sound outside becomes non-existent, you just hear Damian and the little TV playing in his room. The announcer on the TV pulls your attention.
- - -
••• Dec. 10 - Championship Game •••
"The 2011 championship game between Heritance High School and Oscar Smith has come to an extraordinary conclusion. Oscar Smith took the win with forty-seven to twenty-one. The Pack played a good game, but Oscar Smith played a better game," the young male announcer takes a beat.
"It's an unfortunate loss for the Pack especially after the outstanding win that got them into the championship by Damian Kingston which also cost him his scholarship and put a sirous halt on his football career..."
"Fuck you," Damian throws the remote, but it hit his foot of his injured leg which caused him pain. The impact of the remote causes the TV to turn off. As the pain runs up and down Damian's leg, he holds back the tears.
Ping... A notification from Sharaty pops up on his phone screen. A slight smile comes across his face. Just what he needs right now in his darkest hour, a loving message from his girlfriend.
"I love you babe, but I'm sorry... I don't think I'm strong enough to see you through your trials and tribulations. It just brings me so much pain to see you in that room all broken. I know you're going through so much right now, so I think it's best for us to separate to give you time to focus on your recovery. I don't want to be a steady reminder of a dream of us walking into GSU, it's a dream you'll never see come true. This brings me to tears just to type this all out. Just know I will always love you and will always be here for you as a friend. - Once your Lady."
As tears run down his face Damian throws his phone, this time the object clears his foot and smashes against the wall opposite him. He pulls his good arm up to cover his face as he subs.
- - -
You start to feel an ache in your heart as if you could feel the pain the young man is going through. You try to place a reinsuring hand Damian, but the scene in front of you starts to shake and become blurry. A force pulls you away.
"Aye aye," AT gently shakes your shoulder.
You blink widely at them then you scan the dark room frantically. The air tastes a bit stale and feels warm, it looks like a boiler room.
"Aye Newbie," Sable kneels next to you. "Where'd you go?" A wicked smile crosses her face.
More calmly now you look around to see you're surrounded by some of the members from the Cove. You must've blacked out or something during the walk to this location. You tell Sable and the gang what you saw.
"Aye, it sounds like the Newbie had a spirit walk y'all," Sable says as the rest of the group laugh and cheer for you. You just sit there wondering what the heck is a spirit walk.
• • •