John Allen Brooks whistled a happy tune on his way home from basketball practice. He was feeling good about how his team played today. They had very good recruits, all of them having great potential and driving spirits. Best of all, he felt good to be working side by side with the one person he truly admired and loved. Having been appointed as the next team captain made a very big difference in his life. He felt more mature and responsible for his teammates and for her. She was a very good team doctor and everyone respected he greatly. So it was up to him to maintain that stature. He would do everything in his power to build up the team...for Coach and for her.
In fact, he felt so good he could not help but actually start singing aloud.
"I feel good! Nanananananana..I know I do! Nanananananana..." He danced as he sang the familiar tune in his head.
He did a final strut and finished the song with a loud Michael Jackson "Whoo!" Anyone who had seen him then would think he was a trying hard James Brown wannabe but he didn't care. He was free, he was happy. And he didn't give a damn to anyone who would stand in his way of getting to the top.
He was about to open his mouth to sing again when from afar he heard a faint all too familiar tuneless voice singing, "I am the genius of basketball, Ethan the Great Myers!". Grinning lopsidedly, he turned around and saw the tall redhead center happily strolling and singing on his way home too, oblivious to the discomfort of everyone around him.
"Hey, Ethan!" he called out, mainly because he wanted to talk to him alone and partly because he wanted him to keep quiet.
Ethan Myers stopped singing and saw Allen ahead waiting for him.
"Alien, my man!" he replied, his eyes lighting up in delight as hurried to catch up with his buddy. "You're on your way home?"
"Not really. Will you stop calling me that? It’s Allen, not alien! Anyway, just about to make another stop at the grocery. You look happy." he commented, putting his hands in his pockets as they started walking home together.
"Well, who wouldn’t be? Kara told me I was very good during this afternoon's practice. Coach didn't yell at me and that arrogant Harwood boy did not get in my way!" he quipped with a haughty laugh. Then, he stopped laughing and turned to Allen who was regarding him with an amused smile.
"How about you, buddy? You look happy, too! Oh yeah! You were with Raine the whole time, eh? You looked very intimate. What were you two talking about?" he asked, suddenly turning suspicious eyes at him.
Allen smiled at the memory of Raine's voice shouting "Nice, Allen!" and "Don't give up, guys!" from the sidelines, the way she crosses her arms whenever she did not approve, and every time she would pull out that mighty fan of hers and whack some poor arrogant player on the head.
"Oh, we were just going through some plans for the playoffs next week.” Then he sighed in resignation. “Damn, she is just so pretty and smart! I would love to hear her voice again and again--even if it's me who's getting hit by that big fan of hers!" he said with a small, longing smile.
Ethan head locked Allen in his arm and messed his hair with his fist."Such a lover boy, eh? No wonder you're so inspired. There's nothing in that curly head of yours except Raine!"
"Gaaa! Ethan! Stop! I can't breathe!" Allen complained, struggling against the redhead's strong grip."Please remember your strength, man! Anyway, I'm starving! Let's eat!"
The tall redhead slung his arm around the captain's shoulders and raised his fist up in the air."Lead the way, Cap’n!"
Arm in arm, they strolled down the road towards the nearest fast food, singing "I feel good!" as they did. They stopped by the intersection, waiting for the light to turn red before they cross.
Then fate decided to play a little game.
It was one of those unfortunate days when Ethan's shoelaces came loose, and he was unaware of it. As soon as he stepped on the road, he tripped on them and fell flat on his face. The shock was quite hard and left him a bit disoriented.
"Oww!" he wailed, shaking his head a little to clear it.
Allen, who had gone some distance past him, looked back. He had to keep himself from laughing and instead, turned to help his friend up. As soon as he did, a speeding car came into view, swerving uncontrollably from side to side. Ethan was in the middle of the road, still half dazed from the fall.
"Watch out!"
Ethan looked up at the sound of Allen's voice and saw a pair of wild headlights heading straight at him! He raised his arms instinctively to shield his eyes from the blinding light and tried to move out of the way. However, his body was not responding! He could hear the screeching tires very near him and suddenly felt a strong force push him out of his present position. He fell back and heard a simultaneous thud and crash as he landed on the sidewalk. It took a second or two for him to recover and he rubbed his head. As his vision cleared, he looked around to check what had happened.
The first thing that caught his eye was Allen's body lying lifeless on the road, alongside the car that crashed into the nearby post. His eyes widened in horror as he ingested what had just taken place.
Oh shit…Allen!
Scrambling to his feet, he rushed to where Allen lay to check his condition. His horror grew as he saw blood stain the ground, trailing from his body. His blood...Allen’s blood!
"Help! Somebody help!" he cried to no one in particular. He did not bother checking the driver of the car. Based on the strangled moan he heard, he figured the guy was alright, although he wanted to kill him for doing this to his friend.
Seeing that no one was coming to help, he fumbled for his phone and shakily dialed 911 to report the accident.
"Hang on, buddy! Help is on the way. Ethan has taken care of it. You'll be alright. Hang on!" he said, sitting beside the lifeless body. He couldn't touch him. He was afraid he would add to the damage already done.
He stayed there until he heard the welcoming sound of sirens coming a few minutes later.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
The phone kept on ringing and Raine came out of the bathroom to answer it. Grumbling as she went to where the phone was while drying her hair, she picked up the receiver.
"Hello?" She felt annoyed at the fact that whoever was calling could not wait until she finished taking a bath.
"Raine? It's me, Ethan!"
Raine stopped drying her hair as she heard the familiar voice on the other line.
"Ethan! What is it?
It sounded serious. She could hear the anxiety in his voice, something very different from the one she's used to whenever there's a game. She was suddenly afraid that something bad happened.
She could also hear noises in the background like he was in a busy place. "Where are you?"
There was tense silence on the other line.
"It's...its Allen! He's been run over by a car!" came in the broken reply.
Raine almost dropped the receiver, suddenly feeling weak at this information.
"What? This is not the time for jokes, Ethan Myers! Tell me you're just kidding, right?"
She was praying hard that his answer be different from the first one. She held the cord around her fingers tightly, praying silently, hoping he was wrong.
When he answered again, the tears that were tenderly brimming in her eyes finally coursed freely down her cheeks.
