***WALKER***
Walker hobbled his way through the hallways of the Fine Arts building, cursing the brace on his leg, wondering how he was going to get through two more weeks of pretending he was hurt. It wasn’t because he wanted to get back on the court; he didn’t really care that much anymore. He had more important things to think about. It was just the inconvenience of the whole thing. Everything took twice as long and was twice as hard, and he didn’t have the time or energy to waste right then. He had plans to make, a life to begin.
It was a relief to see Professor Jefferies door open when he walked up and his assistant sitting behind her desk. “Does he have a few minutes to see me?” he asked the young woman. “I know I don’t have an appointment.”
Before she could answer, Professor Jefferies poked his head out of the door. “Walker, perfect, I was going to send Alex out to find you before I left,” he said. “Come in. I want to have a quick chat with you.”
Surprised by the greeting, he followed the professor into his office and sat down in the only chair not heaped with books and papers. “Sorry about the mess, I’ve been trying to get organized to go on sabbatical for six months to help my wife with thebabies,” he said. “Twins can be a handful. I don’t want her trying to do it all on her own.”
“Congratulations, you must be so proud,” he said. “I hope to have kids someday.”
“It’s not for everyone, but I couldn’t wait to be a dad,” the professor said, then laughed. “I just didn’t think I’d be doing it twice for the first time. Anyway, I wanted to talk to you about stepping in for me announcing the games. I know you’ll probably want to get back out there and play once you’re healed, but…”
“I’d love to,” he said, cutting the professor off. “That’s what I came here to talk to you about. I’m glad I caught you before you left. I’ve been struggling trying to figure out what I want to do, I’ve had so many majors…well, it must be some kind of record. Being behind that microphone, bringing the game to life for the fans, it just felt right. I don’t know if I could make a career out of this, but this is it, this is what I want to do.”
Professor Jefferies sat back, clearly a bit stunned, then a smile spread across his face. “I think you mean that,” he finally said, then shook his head. “It won’t be easy, you’ll need a degree in journalism, a minor in digital media might not hurt. I know you’ve taken some of the classes, but you’re really going to have to bust your butt to get it done in one semester.”
“So, it’s possible?” he asked, afraid to get his hopes up. “There’s enough work to pay the bills?”
“You probably won’t get rich unless you get hired on by a professional sports team or a big network, but the money is there,” Professor Jefferies said. “You’ll just have to hustle a little bit, but you’ve got the job here, that should give you a leg up, and you’ve got the look. That’s important too.”
It was his turn to be stunned; he couldn’t believe it was really going to happen. He was going to graduate. “What do I need to do first?” he asked. “I want to get started right away.”
By the time lunchtime rolled around and he headed for the student center to meet Maddie, he had a backpack full of textbooks, paperwork from his overjoyed advisor, and a class schedule for the next semester. When he saw her, he raced over to Maddie, grabbed her and swung her around, then set her down and gave her a big kiss.
“It’s all set! I’ve declared my major, registered for classes, and got the job announcing all the games until we graduate,” he said. “I can’t believe it all came together so easily. I keep thinking I must be dreaming.”
“Congratulations, I’m so happy for you, Walker,” she said, giving him a big hug. “Let’s go get some lunch, and you can tell me all about it.”
Across the room, Thomas had wedged himself into a corner and was watching the happy couple as they filled their trays and sat down, the animated look on Walker’s face making him want to puke. Nothing he’d done seemed to stop Walker. He’d been bested every time and he was running out of ideas, not to mention time. Old man Marbury sent him here to derail the Kappas, and so far, he’d managed to do nothing. If he didn’t show some results soon, he’d be in serious trouble.
This was supposed to be his big break, his chance to join the upper circles of the clan and become something, his one opportunity to prove that he was born to be a leader. Just thinking about what he’d be missing out on if he failed made him want to strike out at something, made him want to make someone pay even though he was the only one to blame.
He’d been too soft on Walker. It was time to show him who was boss, and in the process he could bring his mentor a little surprise, a new addition to the clan. If Maddie wasn’t cooperative at first, she’d come around eventually; they all did, and then he’d finally have the power he craved. Shoving the tray with his uneaten lunch away from him, he got to his feet,tempted to go over and interrupt the intimate little lunch across the room.
Instead, he turned and headed home. He had a lot of plans to make, a kidnapping to plot, and a few phone calls to make so he could pull the whole thing off. In just a few days, Walker’s entire world was going to come crumbling down on his head, and he was going to be the cause of it all. Feeling better than he had in days, Thomas joined the stream of students and walked out of the building, leaving Walker and Maddie behind and completely unaware of the plot against them.
***Maddie***
After lunch with Walker, Maddie knew that she couldn’t put off telling him about Justin any longer. His plan for the future attitude scared her. He’d hinted enough about marriage to know he thought that was their next step. He’d promised to love her no matter what, but she was about to test that promise in a big way. She hoped it wasn’t going to blow up in her face. There had been so many times she could have told him, and he would see that too. She just hoped he would understand her reluctance.
Needing to see her son, she headed for the campus daycare, hoping they would be outside playing on the first sunny day in almost a week, and she could catch a quick glimpse of him through the fence. The playground was empty when she got there, but she took a seat on the bench anyway, enjoying the sunlight and quiet for a moment, rehearsing in her mind what she would say to Walker.
A few minutes later, a bell rang, and the doors to the building burst open, followed by a flood of children and their teachers. She spotted Justin immediately and couldn’t help but smile. He really was a miniature version of his father, right down to theway he walked. She was tempted to call out to him, craved one of his little boy hugs, but she knew that would be a mistake; he’d want to come with her, and he looked perfectly happy playing with the other children.
Telling herself that she’d only stay for a few more minutes, she hunched down in her coat against the cold and watched Justin scampering around with his friends. “Well, I never expected to find you over here on this side of campus,” Thomas said, walking up to her. “What are you doing over here?”
Quickly looking away from Justin, she looked over at him. “I like to sit here when I have a few minutes between classes,” she said, then shrugged her shoulders. “It’s usually quieter than this.”
Thomas studied her for a second, then looked over at the playground, his eyes roaming over the children. He came over and sat down next to her. “No, it’s not, it’s not quiet here at all, the kids come in and out of that building all day,” he said. “No, I think you’re here for a different reason.”
She didn’t say anything; she just stared at the ground in front of her, determined not to give him anything. The last thing she wanted was Thomas finding out about Justin before Walker did. Thomas stretched out his legs, put his hands behind his head, and looked around, taking in everything around them. Then, his eyes came back to the playground, and her heart began to pound. A few minutes later, he let out a grunt of satisfaction, then slowly turned to look at her, a big smile on his face.
“What’s his name?” he asked. “He looks exactly like his father.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she said, still looking anywhere but at the playground. “I’m just sitting here trying to get some peace and quiet.”
“Oh, come now, let’s not play games,” Thomas said, sitting up again. “Does he know? I bet he doesn’t, how interesting…”
