ZACK’S POV
Waking up in the morning, I found myself naked in bed and Caroline missing. Where did she disappear??
I got out of the bed and got ready for the high school a lot early so that I didn’t had to hurry. I had nothing to do in the early morning itself so I came down and saw that mom was already awake.
“Morning Zack. You up so early??” she was surprised to see me awake and I simply gave her a smile. Hope she doesn’t ask about Caroline.
“She went home before anyone woke up" in a teasing tone she told me and I blushed in embarrassment. There was a quick need to change the situation so I asked her something that was always in my mind.
“didn’t dad have any friends in the town?” I asked her and she wide opened her eyes not expecting it so quickly.
Her perplexed face made it clear that she didn’t know any such friends as she hadn’t spent too much time in the town. Dad had lots of good friends in his university. But in school.... That’s when she was reminded of David.
“Yes, Grover used to talk David who was his best friend in the town. David’s dad used to be a teacher in the high school so they were quite close in high school” suddenly she bluffed and I was taken back.
“Why you guys didn’t tell any of these things to me before?” A shock burst out of me and mom felt that.
“It was for your dad to share of all these things with you, not me. When the right time came Grover would have brought you to the town and told you everything you wanted to know. In his absence I had to do it and I don’t feel good about it. That’s why I am telling you after you yourself found out things” she bowed her heads down and in a low tone answered me.
I felt sorry for her and told her it was fine and incidents in high school had made me awkward that’s why I asked about it to her. I was guilty for changing the situation into an uglier one!!
There was not a trace of Caroline anywhere in the town and even when I called her, she didn’t pick up. What’s wrong with her?? I had to demand a lot of answers from her and didn’t wanted her to think last night as a good sign. It was just the effect of alcohol and I had to make it clear.
At high school, I was assigned to meet the physical education coach as per dean's order otherwise, I would have skipped it as I didn’t want to be dragged back to the tracks for some time. A man in his late 50s came to meet me there. He was really muscular and wore a hat and once he saw me, his eyes were filled with happiness.
“Are you son of Grover?” he asked me in an eager tone and I nodded a yes to him. Now who was this man??
The coach then hugged me like anything and I was utterly appalled by his action. What the hell was this man doing?? Who was he?? How dare he hug me??
Everyone was seeing the coach act so euphoric for the first time and we had already become the center of attraction if the gym. He took me to the tracks and asked the athletes present there to line up. As everyone gathered, he introduced me to them as the son of the Grover, only record holder of 400m event the GYT till then. Those weren’t the only things he was happy about. He was proud to tell everyone that I was the son of his long-time best friend.
This is when I finally realized who the man was. He was the person mom was talking about. It was David, dad’s best friend in the town. He had become the coach of the high school. But I never imagined our meeting like this. I was really feeling embarrassed all of a sudden. All the people I met in high school were treating me as the son of a legend and everyone knew everything that I, myself didn’t know. What can be more embarrassing than that??
After hearing about me from coach, one of the juniors asked me whether I would join them in their training. This was an unexpected question!! Should I snap them to my reality?? Or should I play a good boy when I was worse than a bad boy?? When I had already made up my mind on not to step on tracks for the time being, how on earth was I going to start training others?
Coach looked at me with hope but seeing me struggling with the answer, he told the trainees that we would think about it. After that, he took me to his cabin. In the cabin, I was amazed to see dad and coach David’s photos framed. Sweet!!!
“Have a seat Zack” he asked me to take a seat and that’s when I finally relaxed back to get another ton of surprises.
“Guess your father’s surprise turned into a horrific shock for you” David told me and I felt it to be true. By what all mom had said, the town was the a much bigger shock for me to take as it was a puzzle for me.
“We had planned a great get together in the town. I always knew that Grover didn’t wish to come back to the town after whatever happened in his family. Still, I had a hard time convincing him to make it a surprise for you and Stella. We had planned to give you both this surprise after the zonal championships” David didn’t even have the courage to look at my face and tell it. I was stunned to hear about the surprise from him. Did fate had to be so cruel that it had to take dad away for early??
This really made me wonder whether this shifting to town was what his dad had planned after the championship and what happened was a play of his fate?? Indeed, fate had played the worst with him. I was senseless. I just listened to David saying and sharing memories dad.
But the biggest gift and happiness David gave me unexpected was when he took me to the trophy room of high school to show and motivate me with dad’s achievements. There I saw dad’s championship photos framed and kept with the trophies. I was filled with both excitement and thrill to touch and feel those trophies which his dad had won with his passion and hard work. I also saw David’s eyes filled with memories of those days.
Fuck, I really missed dad to a great extent as I had never got a chance to be with him while I experienced all these which I was experiencing alone. My dad was a champion. He was also the front page of three consecutive year books of the high school. I couldn’t help but smiled seeing all these.
I was happy knowing my dad more and how he struggled to reach where he was. David held me by his shoulders and told me how dad used to talk about showing all these to me together. I mustered my strength and controlled my eyes from spilling tears!!
“Tell me son, what are your future plans?” David asked me in the same hopeful tone and I still had no answer for it.
“Son your father had once asked me to come to the city and give you a personalized training in some techniques and tricks of training which I’m an expert in and I used to help your dad with it during his high school days. It was meant to increase your potential. If you ever feel to start again, just give me a hint. I’ll pull you up from the pit of trauma you are in" he patted my back just like dad used to do and I ended up hugging him. I loved this man for sure!!!
But that was not the end. I was not done exploring the trophy room and another dynamite of shock hit me when I saw a frame in which there were 4 people and apart from a man, I knew the other. Damn, it was Zoe, Mike and Caroline. I went near to the frame and had a careful look at it. Yes, my guess was right. It was them. But Caroline? How??
“This can’t be happening “It was so unbelievable for me that I had to double check it to ensure I was not misunderstanding anything. David was also confused why I was reacting so and asked me about the same.
“This is the only gang in the high-school who had their members selected to the university sports academy in the west. They were real prodigies of athletics just like you are" David told to me proudly a I was still flabbergasted. Was Zoe, Mike and Caroline athletes????
“Who’s this?” I pointed to the boy in the pic and David’s expression suddenly changes into a despair one.
“That’s Jake. The only boy of the high school who had the capability of being selected to the Olympics” the more he talked about him, the more he grew hearty. What was it, David??
“But…. we are too unlucky to have lost such a person in a very tender age" he let out a sigh looking deeply at the pic and I was numb.
“What do you mean?” just to confirm it, I asked him again he broke the news.
“Jake is no more Zack. He lost his life in a diving accident" he told me in the saddest tone he had and I felt very bad hearing it.
“But Caroline?? Zoe?? Mike?? They never told me they were athletes. And Caroline. Like how?? What is her connection with this town?” I was driving crazy with the mask everyone was having on. Why wouldn’t anyone just tell me the truth in a single stance?? Weren’t they surprises I already got enough for them??
“Caroline used to be a good athlete of the academy and Zoe; she was the best. But after Jake’s demise, everything had changed between the gang and no one knows what led them to it. And Caroline had left the town immediately after Jake’s funeral" David told me what all he knew and I sat on the chair wondering why would Caroline ever keep such a secret from me. I needed to know the reason and this time, it had to be a detailed done without any further shocks or surprises…..