The Photograph (Eastbrook 1)

Chapter 8

Of all the hours Rachel spent in a gymnasium, Saturday mornings were the worst. Saturday mornings were created for sleeping, cartoons, and pancakes, not ladder sprints. 

“Morning,” Rachel mumbled to Nana as she entered the kitchen for a bowl of cereal before practice. 

“What are your plans for the day?” Nana asked.

“After practice, Brent is taking me to lunch.” Rachel conveniently left out that she and Brent were meeting George Howard for coffee after lunch. A week earlier, Rachel had emailed George and invited him for coffee to talk about her father. 

As the week wore on, Rachel had lost the excitement about her meeting with George. She was second-guessing the decision to meet with him, to look for her mother, to open up her past. Rachel didn’t want Brent to know her apprehension, but midway through the week, Brent had offered to accompany Rachel to coffee with George, so she was sure he sensed her nervousness. Rachel had said yes, playing it off like it was no big deal, but inside she had been glad Brent would be with her. 

Before she could meet George, Rachel needed to survive practice. Coach Davis’s Saturday practices were known to be ruthless. The team didn’t have a chance to catch their breath on Saturday mornings. 

The majority of the team was stretching and shooting when Rachel arrived at practice. She was surprised to be one of the last girls to arrive. She thought she had woken up early enough; maybe her clock was slow. She hoped the coaches didn’t notice her late arrival.  

Practice was as rough as expected. She sprinted through a half hour of fast-break drills. She ran six ladder sprints in the middle of practice, and the team closed out by practicing the full-court defensive press. When practice ended, Rachel could barely walk. She wanted to go home and pass out. She threw on her sweats and started walking for the doors.  

“Hey, Rachel, wait up.” Rachel turned around and saw Lillie waving.  

“Can you give me a ride home?” Lillie asked with a hopeful look in her eyes.

“Sure, no problem.” Rachel didn’t want to add anything else in her day, but she couldn’t turn down Lillie. Plus, it was only a few minutes out of the way.

“Thanks so much, I didn’t want to walk home in the cold,” Lillie said. It was a damp morning with gusty lake winds.

“Where are your parents?” They hurried out to Rachel’s car together. 

“Dad is still out of town, and he won’t be back until the middle of next week. Mom is still asleep.” 

“Asleep? It’s 11 a.m.! Wait, did you walk here this morning?” Rachel asked Lillie as they pulled out of the parking lot.

“Yep. Mom had a late night at work, so I didn’t want to wake her. What are you up to today?” Lillie asked.

“Lunch with Brent, not sure what else.” 

“You should come out with me tonight, I could use a partying partner.” Lillie grinned. “Brent can come, too.”

“Okay, we’ll see.” Rachel waved good-bye and backed out of Lillie’s driveway.

Rachel’s heart was beating out of her chest when she entered Starbucks. She felt like she was about to play the biggest basketball game of her life. Rachel scanned the cafe as they entered. She didn’t see George’s big frame seated anywhere, so Rachel found a table while Brent ordered drinks for them. After Brent sat down with their lattes, Rachel watched George walk through the front door. Rachel waved, and George returned the gesture. After he received his cup of coffee, he joined Brent and Rachel at the table.