Interim 3: Kindling

[Cade]

Saturday afternoon

A Saturday meet-up was not strange for the track team, most of the guys tended to run together, and sometimes the girls joined them, though this time was just the guys.  Normally They met late in the afternoon, to avoid the real heat of the day, and only for a couple hours, giving anyone who had plans a chance to get ready before them.

Coach Kline was there, mostly as a witness and to give them access to the field, taking times and such.  He knew the guys treated it as keeping score, and he smiled.  Six of the eight here today were on the Track and Baseball teams, and all four members of the Relay team were present.  After some stretching, he called them all together

"Alright everyone, We're going to start with a timed Mile run.  We can move on to a relay run or two, and some dashes, and hurdles after that.  As normal, Four laps around is a mile."   The eight youths all nodded.  It made sense to start with the Mile, and then relay since it required the whole track, the rest didn't.  

Each of them took their place in the lane, starting blocks, decided by their previous "point ranking"   Cade Allistair, though Team Captain, was not in the pole position, he was third, but there was a look in his eyes.  He wasn't playing today.

Coach Kline raised his whistle to his mouth as they took their stances, and then let out 3 short tweets followed by a longer one, imitating a race start, and the eight runners took off.   To everyone's surprise, Cade pulled ahead,   and never looked back.   Cade wasn't thought of as an endurance runner, he was an impeccable sprinter though, and right now, they were witnessing something new.

Cade was angry at everything.   Angry at Liam for attacking Lona, angry at Jase for what he probably did to him, as he couldn't think of anyone else having been the culprit.   He was angry at himself for not telling his father immediately, which may have saved Liam from Jase, even if it earned his and Lona's ire.    That anger became a raging fire, and he just let it all out, letting it fuel his run.   He pulled further and further away, and four minutes and fifteen seconds later, he'd run past Coach Kline the final time.  It would be nearly two minutes before anyone else crossed the line, and he was standing there, still mad, his body slicked with sweat, and seemingly ready to go again.

Coach Kline was almost beside himself.  Cade had just set a men's record for the School, and unless he was mistaken, quite possibly the state at the high school level.  Even his other runners were in awe, crowding around him, and he just shrugged.   "I just needed to run some stuff off is all."   As the others drank their water and caught their breath, he didn't smile, but moved to the relay position. 

"We're moving on to the relay right?"  Coach Kline nodded, and Sandy Berch, Adian Calson, and Deondre Price all nodded, with Deondre taking the baton.  He was the one who started, and Cade was the one to bring it home.  They decided on a single run of the 400m since they'd done a full mile already.  

As the other members moved to the stands, the relay team took position. and Coach Kline once again gave the starting signal.  Beginning with Deondre, the other three pulled out all the stops, and their hand-offs were perfect, but it once again came to Cade, who's insane speed at the end, put them very near a state record relay run.

Deondre was the one who came to Cade first.  "Damn man, I know you're a sprinter, but where'd all this speed come from?"  He seemed abit concerned, as Cade did look more cut than normal, and Cade shrugged.  "I never stop training man.  I found a good reason to get serious from now on, and I'm gonna do it."  

The tone of his voice was harsher than normal, and Deondre was taken aback.  Cade was always so calm and collected, this was different, and concerning.  "Alright man, just wanted to check on you."

The others watched, unwilling to get between the two, and Coach Kline  nodded. "alright Let's do the dashes next."   With that, the tension was broken, and the eight youths returned to the matter at hand.  Cade won every single one of the races, except the hurdle events, which he didn't participate in.   He won them all convincingly too, as if he were trying to prove a point.  By the end of the day he was abit slower, and as Captain, had sent the others home while he picked up the hurdles, and Coach Kline studied him.

Cade had never shown this level of intensity, something was on his mind, and it angered him greatly.  "Cade, you know you can talk to me."   

Cade looked from where he was hefting the hurdles up and nodded.  "I know Coach."   

"Something's on your mind, you set at least two records today.  I've never seen you that intense, that mad, before."

He nodded.  "I know."

"It's not something you can talk about is it?" The older man had a look of concern on his face for his protege, and student.

Cade shook his head, but said nothing.  

"Alright, I'll say one thing more, and then you can come to me if you need to.  Anger can make a great fuel, it can drive us to strive for more, to be better than we are.  It can also be a poison, that keeps us from greatness.  It can cost more than it will ever gain you.  Don't be consumed by it."

Cade looked at him, and the fires of his anger began to cool, if only for now. He nodded solemnly, "Thanks Coach."

[WS ST]

"Coraline," her moms voice came from the kitchen, "I saw the mail truck, would you go get the mail, please?"

"Yes, mom." Cora called back as she ran down the strains and slipped her feet into her flip flops before jogging ou t to the mail box. As she opened the box she glanced up and down the street and didn't see any cars on the road much less a mail truck, but sure enough there was a letter inside the box. After grabbing the letter and heading back inside  she paused at the door. She had looked at the front and saw that it was addressed to her and that it was from Julliard. Biting her lower lip she stuck a long thumb nail into the flap and tore the letter open and pulled out the single thin sheet which she unfolded and read.

She had to grab onto the door frame to steady herself as a wave of dizziness swept over her. She read it again slower and then threw open the door. "Mom! I'm in, i'm in!"

Her mother came running out of the kitchen to see her daughter dancing around in the living room the front door wide open.

Cora explained haphazardly finally letting her mother have the letter to read. It explained that an opening had become available at Julliard and on the basis of Coraline's original application video she had been selected and was being offered the full scholarship.

Her dream was becoming true. They called her father who was on the way to the golf club but who canceled his golf appointment and turned around there was a lot to get done and little time, school started there in four days.

While they waited for her father to return home, Cora's mom returned to the kitchen and Cora retrieved her phone. Cade was at track practice and would be for a while yet so she texted him a short message,

//Need to talk to you  asap, very important//   She hit send then immediately started typing  another message //it's good news not bad//  after she sent that she stopped and stared at the phone, "Shit." //at least i hope it is come over when you can. I can't go to the thing with the others now.//

This was going to suck.

[Cade]

It was nearly seven before Cade checked his phone, and smiled.  Cora always made him smile, and given how she'd been looking forward to going with the others, it had to be pretty big.  He sent a text to her  //going home to shower, then I'll be by//  Knowing he had sweat a great deal, he resolved to go home first and shower, put on something nice and comfortable then head over to see what was going on.

It was an almost night and day difference in his mood, as that was the sort of effect being around her had on him.  Getting home he noticed his Dad was out again, so he said hello to his mom, and made for the shower.  The hot water felt good as he scrubbed himself down, and the tension in his muscles bled away under the constant streams of hot water.   

Exiting the shower and drying off, he donned his boxers and made his way to his room, getting a set of nice jeans and a navy polo shirt.  Once he was fully dressed, he told his Mom he was going to Cora's, and didn't wait for an answer.  He was hungry, but it could wait, he could just stop and get something later.

The drive to Cora's was short enough, and after pulling up in her driveway, he got out and went to the door, ringing the doorbell.   He knew whatever it was was important, for her to text him like that, but aside from that, he had no inkling how much things were going to change.

[WS ST]

Cora didn't invite him in, that was the first clue that it was somehow bad. they didn't hug or kiss either she had a look on her face that he couldn't quite place, like she was anxious.

"Hi Cade thanks for coming over. I know we were supposed to go to the thing you know, but something came up today." Now she looked sheepish and seemed unable to meet his eye.

"What is it Cora you can tell me."

"I got a letter," she said as she pulled it from her back pocket and handed it to him. "You read it, okay."

Cade took the letter and saw where it was from.

[Cade]

Cade took the letter carefully, and began to read.  It was her dream come true.  

He looked up at Cora, and smiled  "This looks totally legit Cora, congratulations."   He seemed genuinely happy for her, and yet he couldn't quite understand why she was not as elated as him.

"What's wrong?"  He knew that with all the recent changes, this was very unexpected, but he didn't think she should let it stop her from pursuing her dreams.  She'd be gone for awhile but it wasn't like it was forever, was it?

[WS ST]

"I just, ... I have to leave in a couple of days. And I feel bad leaving . We just started dating. I.." She closes her eyes. "I probably won't be back until Christmas break. I know it's not fair to you..." She lets the thought drop off.

 

[Cade]

"I know what your dream is and how much you want it Cora."  He reached out to cup her chin and pull her gaze up to meet his.  "Follow your dream.  Christmas break will come before you know it, and I'll be here waiting."

It did suck that she was leaving so early into the relationship, they'd been dating roughly a month, but had been friends much longer.  "I knew one day you would have to leave for Julliard, so I guess I'm mentally prepared for this.   I can't say I'm totally happy, I mean I'm really going to miss having you around, but not so much I'd say to not go."

"Besides, if you can't come back here, I'll just have to go visit you there."

[WS ST]

Cora's apprehension virtually sailed away and her face lit up with a huge smile as she stepped close to Cade, cupped his face in her hands and kissed him.

"Thank you," she whispered as he embraced her and she rested her head on his shoulder snuggling his neck. "Stay for dinner moms making a celebratory roast lol. We can catch up and let everyone else know tomorrow. Okay?"

[Cade]

Cade kissed her back even as he wrapped his arms around her.  "As you wish."  He knew that The Princess Bride was one of her favorites, as it was one she'd asked him to watch more than a few times, so his use of Westley's response was calculated, but genuine too.  

The roast and indeed the rest of the meal was good, better than normal even, which showed how excited her mother was.  Even her normally gruff father was in a good mood.  He knew some in the Fellowship would probably be surprised, but he didn't think any of them would tell her not to pursue this amazing opportunity.