Sunday breakfast was fun. Kenny plus several of the first five and the bench were there, plus a bunch of cheerleaders came with Misty, Cherry and Susie. There were so many we had three tables pushed together end to end. We talked about early basketball practice and who wanted to go to the library later. If we kept this up, the library would have to open a conference room for us. There were going to be about fifteen there as a group. Misty, Cherry, Susie, Kenny and I walked to the campus chapel for the early service. Everybody was happy with themselves for being good little girls and boys for going to church.
After church we walked back to the girls dorm picking up a Sunday paper on the way for us all to read. We camped out in the parlor till it was time for Kenny and I to go to practice. Practice was from ten-thirty to twelve-thirty or one depending on how fast you did your free throws.
I was finished with my twenty-five straight and was shagging rebounds for Kenny before he had a dozen sunk. I made him settle down and do the motion. You know, the gentle push using your fingertips to make the ball gently spin in reverse so it would either come off the backboard into the basket or if it hit the back rim it would spin into the net. He finally did twenty-five in a row but he was at ninety when he did it.
A quick shower and we were off for the dining hall. The same group was there so we again pushed our tables together and had a great time stuffing ourselves.
When we went into the library we sat in a group at several tables clustered in a corner. The staff, who were sure to bitch, eyed us to watch if we were rowdy but all of us needed to study, we could be rowdy later. I was surprised that Sarah didn't show up. Guess I would see her later or at breakfast.
After four hours of studying we were all yawning and stretching so we left. Sunday night the only people who could get food were the guys eating at the training table. Everyone else had to shift for themselves so the bunch of us agreed that we would put our books up and go dutch to Mac Donald's for supper.
Now we were rowdy. We had a great time walking the mile, or what seemed like a mile, to the red and white tiled restaurant then nearly taking over the place. (Mikey D's used to be small.) After eating we all walked back to campus. Some of us went to the student union lounge while some went back to their rooms. Susie, Kenny, Misty, Cherry and I went to the student Union and shot some pool and listened to the jukebox. They had free coffee and cookies so Kenny and I had crumbs everywhere. About nine, we all agreed that we needed to go back to the dorms. The girls and I went into the parlor for a few minutes and sat on a loveseat hugging - one on each side of me. I got some kisses, then they told me it was time to go, no playing in the room tonight. When I stood to leave, Kenny stood at the same time at another loveseat hidden along a wall. A dreamy eyed Susie stood with him. Kenny and I walked back to the dorm to crashing early so we would be fresh for a new week. While getting ready for bed I was wondering about Sarah so I walked down to Adrian's room but he wasn't there. His roomy said he hadn't seen him all weekend.
Monday morning breakfast was a repeat. It seemed we now had a steadily growing group who ate together, laughing and joking making meal times fun. I didn't see Adrian or Sarah but figured on seeing Sarah at the library after supper.
The day sped by including practice. Most of the group who had gone to the library on Sunday showed up Monday evening. Again no Sarah, wonder what was up.
Tuesday night was a home game, so I went with the two girls. They were talking about being selected to be in the rotation for basketball cheerleaders because some seniors had to study so they were going to start back to practice. The jv did okay as did the varsity. The team looked pretty good. They were not hitting that well from the field, barely fifty percent.
Wednesday morning I saw Adrian at the dining hall but when I went to go ask him about Sarah, he had vanished. He probably didn't see me so he left before I could get to him.
Wednesday evening still no Sarah at the library. Guess she has a new place to study. Oh well, I thought sadly, it was fun while it lasted.
Thursday morning I noticed one of the football guys on crutches with his face bandaged up. Looked like he had been in a car wreck. I didn't see Adrian though so I thought I would go to his room later before practice.
After my last class and before practice I put my books in my room then went down to Adrian's. I knocked, a voice yelled to come in and I walked in. Adrian was at the table along with his roomy with their books spread out. Adrian's right hand was bandaged up and he took it off the table and put it underneath as soon as he saw me. He wouldn't look at me.
"Whaddaya want?" he grunted.
"Wondered how Sarah was. I haven't seen her around," I said.
"Whaddaya wanna see her fa?" he grunted again.
"Adrian, Sarah and I are friends, I miss seeing her," I said with exasperation.
"Leave her alone, she's not here right now and may not be back. If she does come back, leave her alone," he said still not looking at me.
I went over to the table and put my hand on his shoulder turning him to me. "What's wrong Adrian, is Sarah okay?"
The roomy started to get up when Adrian used his bad hand to push my hand off his shoulder. I put my hand up for the roomy to sit still. "Adrian, you have to talk to me and tell me what's up. It's not like I'm a stranger."
Adrian looked up at me with a pained expression, "Just leave it for right now okay. I'll talk to you soon. Man, just leave it, I can't talk about it right now."
I could see the pain in his eyes and couldn't figure out what was going on but decided I best "leave it" like he asked.
"See ya later," I said as I left.
While I was at practice there was a buzz about a couple of the football guys having a big fight. Seems it was bad enough that both of them may lose their scholarships. Wondered whether that was the guy from the dining hall and the other was Adrian. No one had the details, just the glorified rumors.
I was feeling like I could go full out at practice so was checked out by the doc and the trainers and told to see how I would do.
No sweat. I was out of shape but had no problem handling the ball and could still hit the basket from the corner as always. Even my jumper from twelve to fourteen feet was working.
The coaches had me do some drills with the varsity and then we did some scrimmaging using me in my natural positions. It worked pretty well. Kenny was a great center. He would block out the defender and position himself for a clean pitch in and had a smooth hook shot that was deadly. He was good on the defensive boards too. You had to be careful on the offensive boards with him as his elbows were always flying around. I passed on too many shots from the corner and was yelled at by the coaches to take the shots when I was open. I started taking the shots and hit most of them.
After that practice it took me forty-two shots before I had my straight twenty-five. I shagged the balls for Frank till he got his then we showered and went to supper.
That night after getting back from the library Adrian was waiting for me in my room.
"Sorry about not talking to you. Come on down to the day room and talk to me, okay?" he asked.
We went to a small room with a couch, tables and chairs between sections of rooms. They called it a day room as guys could use it for study or table games or just to sit and gab.
We sat at a table, alone in the room. "I don't want you to hate me but something really bad happened."
Adrian looked at me to say something but it was probably best if I was waited till he said what he needed to say.
"The guy I fixed Sarah up with messed us up. Sarah, Mandy and me, he messed us all up, he hurt us all," Adrian was staring at the tabletop.
"How did he mess you up, how did he hurt you." I asked concerned.
Adrian looked at me, grimaced then stared back down at the table. "This is hard Chuck. If you weren't a stand up guy I wouldn't even begin to tell you. Please don't hate Sarah or me either."
"So tell me, what is so bad?" I asked.
"You're going to hear about it soon enough anyway cause it's now on public record. Benny, that's the guy that I fixed Sarah up with, gave us the clap."
"Huh?" I was stunned.
"Last Friday night we all went out, then to Mandy's. We stayed Friday and all day Saturday. Sarah had said she needed somebody to take care of her itch so Benny did that," Adrian said still looking down.
"Okay, so how did he give you and Mandy the clap?" I asked wondering how that could happen.
Adrian was shaking his head. "Sarah and I fool around some times. We were each other's first. Mandy left the apartment to go shopping Saturday evening so Sarah and I played around. Then later Sunday night, Mandy and I got it on and I gave it to her."
"Oh my!" I said in wonder. "How did you find out you had gonorrhea?"
"Easy, my dick was dripping by Monday morning and Mandy said she had some kind of infection Tuesday too. I went to the clinic to find out what was wrong. They make you tell them who you've had sex with and to have them come in. That meant I had to tell Mandy, then get Sarah to get Benny to come in. Benny said it couldn't be him as he insisted he was clean. I convinced him to go in so he had to get bandaged up while they checked him out. He was some kind of carrier that didn't show all the characteristics of the infection."
"So where's Sarah?" I asked.
"Home," Adrian stated. "The clinic called home to tell them about the two of us. Dad showed up a few hours later and took Sarah home without even getting any of her clothes. He wasn't happy with me either."
"Did you tell him that you two had been fooling around?" I asked.
"No, Dad just thinks the four of us were swapping around and that's how we all got it." Adrian was still looking at the table. "The clinic didn't go into how we all came down with it, just our contacts. Sarah didn't name you as a contact as she was afraid that Dad would find out. Besides you're clean, it was Benny."
"So how's Sarah and Mandy?" I asked.
"All of us got shots and will have to have two more. Mandy's okay with Sarah and I. She already knew about us. Sarah is the one I'm worried about. She's only nineteen but Dad still thinks she's ten. I don't know what he'll do when he sees me. I don't know what he has said to Mom."
"How come Sarah didn't use a rubber? She was into her fertile time wasn't she?" I asked.
"Yeah she was and is. Who knows? She was horny. She gets crazy wanting to fool around some time. Then when she gets a chance she throws caution to the winds," Adrian said shaking his head.
"So you beat up Benny, huh?" I asked the obvious.
"Yeah I did. The coaches, they won't do anything about it but because of the venereal disease I may be put on probation. You know like social probation where you can't go off campus and do extra curricular activities."
"So when are you going to hear about Sarah?" I asked.
"I'm going to call home and ask Dad to let her come back to school. She's going to be a teacher and we need good teachers. Dad will listen to that and probably bring her back," he said.
"Well, let me know what's up. I hope Sarah gets to come back to school. I miss her," I said standing getting ready to leave.
"You still miss her after all this?" Adrian asked.
"Sure I miss her. You know we had something pretty special going for a while. We enjoyed each other and had a good time together," I said emphatically.
"Would you still go out with her?" he asked looking at me.
"Sure. We might want to wait till she gets a clear test before we do any fooling around, but yeah I still like your sister and want to be around her," I said.
"You know people may find out that she had the clap? How would you feel about that?" he asked.
"I don't know, guess we'll have to see how it goes. But tell her I miss having her around," I said still standing ready to leave.
"So what about Misty? And I heard you were hanging with that other cheerleader Cherry too?"
"Neither one of us are serious about anyone. We are just having a good time together. That was neat of you to bring Misty too that meeting," I said.
"I didn't do it. She begged me to convince you that she was right for you instead of Sarah. She's got guts, I can tell you that for sure," he said shaking his head.
"Yeah she is brazen. The two of them together are a disaster looking for a place to happen. Time for me to hit the bed. See you at breakfast okay, eat with us, eat with the big group." We shook hands and I left him sitting at the table.
The next morning at breakfast Adrian ate with us but was very quiet waiting for something bad to be said. I noticed Benny wasn't there which made me feel good. After breakfast Adrian started walking with me to my first class.
"Dad's bringing her back this morning," he said.
"That's good news," I said.
"He wants to have lunch with you."
"Huh?" I asked staggering a little.
"He just told me to ask you to have lunch with him. Will you?" Adrian pleaded.
"Sure, where should I meet him?" I asked.
"He'll come with us to the dining hall. You two can eat off by yourselves until you get talked out about what he wants to say." Adrian was looking down again.
"Should I be worried?" I asked.
"Probably not. If he didn't really want to talk to you or for you to have anything to do with us, he would just ignore you. Just be yourself, he'll be fine," Adrian said looking up at me and smiling. Lunch found me with Sarah's Dad in a secluded corner of the dining hall a little apprehensive but still hungry as usual.
"How old are you Mr. Johnson?" Sarah's Dad asked.
"Seventeen sir, and please call be Chuck," I said.
"Is Chuck your name or is that short for something?" he asked.
"Charles, sir."
"Call me Adrian," he said. "Sir is for the Army and I'm not in the Army any more."
He looked at me then said, "Oh yes, was your Dad in the military?"
"Yes sir, ah, I mean Adrian. But that's not where I learned that from. All of my family says yes sir, no sir, yes ma'am and no ma'am. It's just the way we were raised," I explained.
"You know many Negroes?" he said gruffly.
"Yes sir, quite a few. I grew up playing with a lot of kids, some Latin, some colored but we were all kids together," I said.
"What would your family say about you seeing a Negro girl," he asked even more gruff.
"So far they haven't said anything. I told them before that I had been eating with and studying with a Negro girl. My Dad asked me why I thought it was so important that I told them the girl was colored," I said.
"What did you say?" he asked.
"You had already told Sarah not to see me anymore and I was trying to explain how I felt to them. I missed being able to enjoy Sarah's company. I told them that you were from the North and probably wasn't used to folks getting along." This I said looking him in the eye.
"Oh!" he said with what looked like glistening eyes. "I'm sorry I was rude to you. You're right I am from the North and up here we don't mix very well. I've heard that there are even mixed couples down South and out in California. Although some states down there in the South have laws against mixed marriages. I guess I'm just confused over how you kids look at things these days."
Sarah's Dad shifted around in his chair then continued. "Sarah had some problems and I took her home. I was going to pull her out of school. Then Junior or Adrian Junior talked to me about how she needs to go to school to be a teacher. He's right, she needs to go to school. I also think he was right when he said that if you and Sarah had been seeing each other Sarah wouldn't have had her problem. I guess what I'm saying is that I'm sorry I misjudged you. I'd love to meet your folks someday. Sarah is back and if you want to still eat with her and study with her, please ask her. I think you would be good for each other here at school."
With that Mr. Williams raised his hand and waived. Adrian and Sarah showed up with their trays and we finished eating. I shook hands with Mr. Williams before I had to take off for class. I told Sarah when I would be eating supper and that there was a large group of us eating together now and that most of them all went to library together afterward. Adrian walked with me as his next class was in the same direction.
"So how'd it go?" he asked.
"Real good. Sarah and I don't have any restrictions. He seems to have reconsidered us," I said.
"Good. Hope we can all be friends again," he said.
"What about Mandy?" I asked.
"She's cool," he answered. "She and I are probably going to get married when we finish school. She says no more fooling around with Sarah if Sarah's going to be with other guys!"
"Good thing she's open minded," I commented.
"Yep, it sure is. I think she and her brother may have had a relationship. That's probably why she's so agreeable about Sarah and I," he said.
"Well I'll see you for supper and study," I said as I split off to go to class.
Supper was fun. I had Misty on one side and Sarah on the other. The two of them seemed to get along well. Cherry was kind of put off as she usually sat on the other side of me. Guess it would be first come first sit. (Ha)
Sarah was surprised at the new huge group that went to the library together. What was really surprising was how well behaved a large group like that could be. There was a lot of interaction between the enthusiastic study group. Student helping student to understand something. Also there were enough of us who knew how to type so papers were ready to turn in. The group was working out well.
Friday was a travel day for a game Saturday at a distant city. Travel days sucked as you spent all morning turning in your homework and getting assignments for work to be turned in on Monday. We were going by bus, about eight hours there, sleep, eat, play, and eight hours back getting back Saturday night late.
I studied all the way up on the bus finishing everything but not being able to type up a report I had written on the way. Amazing that profs knew we would be on a bus for sixteen hours and give us work that would have to be researched in the library and or typed up. Real smart for supposedly intelligent college folk.
We ate and I went to bed to sleep soundly till six. I got up and put on my tennis shoes and went out for a run before team breakfast at eight. I ran for an hour with a couple of other players that felt they needed to stretch their legs then went directly to the banquet room set up for our meals. We filled up then went up to shower and harass our sleep-in roommates. Amazing how hard a pillow can be thrown.
At the early lunch the coach told me I would be dressing for the varsity game and to plan on playing as the starting guard had some kind of flu bug. That would have made me nervous but I had practiced with everyone and was comfortable doing anything they asked. I looked up Kenny to tell him that I would probably play. He and I went for coffee and he and the point guard talked to me about tendencies of the team we were going to play and how they were going to play them. Defensively they said we were going to shift back and forth between man to man and zone defense.
I talked the coach into letting me warm up with the JV so I was able to get a few more shots in before the varsity warm up and game. I was hitting everything pretty good.
The varsity warm up was cool. Kenny was passing sharply for our lay ups and doing kick outs for outside shots. They did a rotating post where each guy stood at center doing rapid kick out passes. I was ready. The nerves were gone.
Before the game started, the starting guard went to the locker room looking pretty green. Coach nodded at me so I took off my warm-ups. The game was a laugher. We scored inside, from the outside, from the stripe and on about half dozen technical fouls. I did three for three from the corner plus two jumps from about ten feet, plus four free throws, fourteen points and five boards and only two fouls. Not bad for a freshman who got to play for about half the game.
We ate then did the eight hours back to school. This time I slept most of the way. We got in about midnight and were all amazed to find a group of fans waiting to meet us. Surprise, surprise even some cheerleaders. Misty and Cherry gave me some hugs and kisses saying that they had listened to the game on the radio and heard how well I had done. That's cool, I didn't know the game was broadcast. Because of the hour, we couldn't go into the parlor to visit so we all went to bed.