Scene from Remember the Titans

I danced in front of my mirror, hairbrush in hand as a makeshift microphone as I belted out the words to "Never Can Say Goodbye" my new favorite song by the Jackson Five. Twisting and twirling, scrambling in vain to hit every one of Michael's high notes, I ended up knocking myself right into my mother.

"Gosh, Mama, don't you knock?" I whined.

"Mary-Courtney Davis, is that anyway to speak to your mother? I should wash your mouth out, young lady. And for your information I knocked three times already but how could you hear me with that awful music blasting?"

"It's not awful, Mama."

"Whatever. You kids these days...anyway, I was trying to tell you that you have a phone call."

"Who is it?"

"Who do you think?" she asked with a half smile.

I couldn't contain the grin on my face as I bolted down the hall past my mother to the telephone in the kitchen.

"Mary-Courtney, no running in the house! And turn that music down, your father will have a fit if he comes home to all that racket."

I didn't even care about her scolding. All I cared about was who was on the other end of that phone.

"Hello?" I said breathlessly into the receiver.

"Hey sugar. Your voice is about the best thing I've heard today."

Flopping down on a nearby chair I held the cord close to me.

"Hey Ray. How's it going, baby?"

Ray Budds was my boyfriend of a little over two years and a stand out player for our school football team, the T.C. Williams' Titans. I was the cheerleader, he was the jock and in everyone's eyes we were the perfect all American couple. I loved Ray, I really did. We'd been together since we were fourteen and he had big plans of being recruited by some fancy college where he'd play ball and we'd get married and have kids and live happily ever after. That was the plan for most high school couples in small towns and I was fine with it. I was happy. By all