Cooper Schwartz did not go to classes on Monday in Loyola High School. It was too much.
“I thought yesterday I couldn’t get worse,” he said on the phone. “I’ve been crying all morning.”
His good friend and double partner on the tennis team, Braun Levi, was killed Sunday morning in a traffic accident in Manhattan Beach. Police say they arrested a 33 -year -old woman from Los Angeles under suspicion of drunk driving and homicide. Police found Levi lying on the street after the accident.
Hundreds of students and community members arrived at the Loyola campus on Sunday night for a prayer vigil.
Few had to meet Levi better than Schwartz. The two had been competing in the youth tennis tournament since they were 8 years old, generally gathering in the final. When Schwartz transferred Loyola from Brentwood as a second year student, they became double partners.
“It was natural,” he said about them becoming partners.
When describing Levi, Schwartz said: “Every time you were with him, you were going to have some laughs, some smiles. He always did something from nothing. He was just having a great time every time.”
Both lived in Pacific Palisades and lost their homes for the fire of Palisades. Schwartz spent more ate week living with Levi after the fire. His experiences were the same.
“You are awake all night and nobody knows what to do with insurance,” he said. “His family is dealing with the same things and you don’t know what to do.”
Both families moved: Levi to beautiful Beach and Schwartz to Century City. The two older adults approached the graduation and had associated to win the doubles of the Mission League last week. Levi was captain of the team, an outstanding four years and attending Virginia.
Schwartz said that Levi registered with him on Saturday night in a courtesy phone call, a friend talking with a friend. Loyola had just learned of the tennis playoffs of the open division of the South Section that are scheduled to start on Friday. Then news came from the tragedy.
“To be honest, collecting a tennis racket is the last thing I want to do right now,” said Schwartz. “I know that Braun would do it because I would play, but if I’m not playing with Braun, I’m not playing. He is who warmed me with every game, every practice. Having that last victory is something because seeing beets.”
Loyola’s tennis team met Monday for the first time from the tragedy. The players are afflicted. A decision has not been made on Friday.
Schwartz intends to remember Levi in the best way he can.
“Braun was first my friend on the court, but then he was my friend out of the court,” he said.
He has more tears to spill while trying to make sense of something that makes no sense.
