Chapter 12

I ran into a snow squall going over Seven Mountains near Lewistown. Some cars pulled off because of the bad weather. My good old Golf kept on chugging along. It handles pretty well in slippery conditions. Dad chose well when he picked this car for me.

I pulled into the small parking lot near Hartranft Hall when I got to campus. I needed three trips to carry everything upstairs to my room. I knew from the full closet that Damian was back already. He wasn't around – I assumed he was over at the Lasch Building hanging with our friends. I took my car back to the East Parking Deck.

Damian was sitting at his desk when I returned to our room. He grinned when I walked in the door. "Hey man, it's good to see you. I expected to see you yesterday."

"I didn't have any desire to hurry back. I was enjoying myself at home with my family and friends," I explained.

"What are you going to do for books tomorrow?" Damian asked. "The bookstore is closed on Sundays."

"I bought them before we left for the Rose Bowl." I pointed to the shelf full of books over my desk. "I'm all set."

"Why didn't I think of that?" Damian said, shaking his head. "This place was really deserted when I got here Friday night. No one else from the team came back as early as me. A few guys came yesterday afternoon."

"What'd you do to keep yourself busy?" I asked.

"Hanging with Billy mostly," Damian replied. "I ate with Joel and Cameron." He was referring to our next door neighbors, Joel Peterson and Cameron Miller.

I unpacked my clean clothes and put them in the closet. The rest of my things from home were packed away quickly. It was nearly 5:30. Damian and I decided to head for dinner. I grabbed Jay and Shawn. Damian invited Joel and Cameron to join us. We ate in the regular dining hall instead of the Training Table. Football players weren't required to eat there after the season was over.

I got to know Joel and Cameron better that evening. I knew them in passing from us running into each other in the hall or bathroom during the fall semester. Joel was majoring in architectural engineering. He was from Womelsdorf, a small town outside Reading, Pa. Cameron was majoring in history. He hailed from Biglerville in Adams County, a few miles north of the Gettysburg battlefield.

The six of us talked over dinner. Joel was the more serious of the two. Cameron had a wicked sense of humor. They questioned us about what it was like to play USC in the Rose Bowl. We told them stories about our experiences. I found out that Cameron was a Civil War buff like me. We had a good talk about the Battle of Gettysburg after dinner. I envied him living so close to my favorite battlefield.

I went back to my room and spent some time on-line. eLion helped me to get my schedule printed out for the semester. I wasn't sure where I had put the copy I had last semester.

My schedule was unusual compared to last semester. Almost all my classes were on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Thursdays I had C I 295, Introductory Field Experience for Teacher Preparation all day. I had no classes at all on Tuesdays.

I started my days off with Psychology 100 at 8:00 am immediately followed by History 2 as 9:05. Educational Theory and Practice 115 followed at 10:10. I had a couple hour break for lunch and then Economics 2 at 1:25.

I gave Johara Safay a call later in the evening. I left a message with her roommate Nicole. Johara was back on campus but was out for the evening. Nicole promised to have Johara call me if it wasn't too late when she returned.

Damian and I went over to the Lasch Building to do our daily workout. We played a little pool and some poker with Shawn O'Conner and Evan Foster after we finished our training. We enjoyed reuniting with some of our teammates after our break. We didn't head back to our room until after 10 pm. I didn't hear anything from Johara that evening.

I dragged myself out of bed at 7 am the next morning. Eight o'clock classes four days week were going to be a bitch. Worse, Damian only had two eight o'clock classes this semester, Tuesdays and Thursdays. I did my best to be quiet and not wake him when I dressed and prepared for the morning.

My Psychology 100 was course was held in one of the big lecture halls, 112 Chambers Building. There were close to 200 students in this section of the course. We had two instructors instead of one – Ms. Louise Randolph and Mr. Kenneth Robbins. The instructors seemed OK.

I hurried across the north end of campus for my next class, History 2 – Western Heritage II. I purposely chose the section taught by Mr. McDaniels, my History 1 instructor from last semester. I enjoyed his lectures and decided he would be a good choice for this course.

I grabbed a copy of the Daily Collegian on the way into the Forestry Resources Building. This was the first edition of the paper since our bowl game. The reporters did a feature article on our victory over the USC Trojans. The reporters properly made Zack Hayes out to the hero of the victory. They recognized Anders Voight's and my contributions too. I was reading the article when I noticed someone sit down beside me. I looked up from the paper.

Kelly O'Keefe greeted me with a big grin. "Hi Kyle," she said. Her smile lit up the room. "How was your Christmas break?"

"Good," I answered, meeting her smile with one of my own. "I had a good trip to the west coast." I pointed at the article in the paper. "How was your vacation?"

"Chaotic," Kelly replied. I looked questioningly at her. "I have four brothers and two sisters. We had to rent a hall for Christmas dinner. We had close to seventy relatives for the dinner when everyone arrived."

"But you had fun, right?" I asked.

Kelly agreed. We spent a few minutes talking about our families while we waited for Mr. McDaniels to arrive. I enjoyed talking with her. Tanner Riggs was a lucky guy to have a girlfriend like Kelly.

Cameron Miller, from my dorm, slipped into the room and found a seat in the back just before class started. I gave him a quick wave of recognition when he noticed me. Mr. McDaniels went over the course outline. The course looked to be a simple continuation of History 1 from last semester. That suited me fine. I got an A then. I should do just as well this semester.

I spoke with Cameron when class was over. He overslept and almost missed class. He headed back to Hartranft. I headed back across campus for my next class. Educational Theory and Practice (EDTHP) 115 was held in 102 Forum Building. It was another massive class with nearly every second semester education major at Penn State, roughly 360 students. I found a seat with Chad King, Chelsea Wright and Josh Bruno, all study-mates from last semester.

The professor was Dr. Gloria Scott-Hall, a tall, dark haired lady in her early forties. She proved to be a very engaging lecturer. I expected to enjoy this course more than EDPSY 14 last semester. Dr. Scott-Hall didn't seem to have an axe to grind against us football players. We would do the big lecture hall on Mondays and Wednesdays. On Friday I would meet with 30 other students with Mr. Ben Wheeler, one of Dr. Scott-Hall's grad assistants.

I headed back to my room and read the assigned reading for my Psych class until lunch time. I had to go on-line to find the location of my afternoon class – 100 Thomas Hall. It turned out to be the closest building yet for any classes I had at Penn State. All I needed to do was walk past Mifflin Hall, cross Pollock Road and I was there. Thomas Hall was right across the street.

The class was Economics 2 and it started at 1:25 pm. The room turned out to be another class in a large auditorium. The schedule of courses on-line said that there was room for 726 students in this section. A man in his early fifties with graying hair and a beard called us to attention promptly at 1:25 pm. He introduced himself as Dr. Charles Noble. He launched into his introduction to economics and microeconomic analysis of how individual households and companies behave in our economy. It didn't seem like it would be a fun course, but I knew it was important for me to learn the subject.

I headed over to the Lasch Building when Econ was done. I did my training routine for the day and then hung out in the players' lounge until dinner time. I caught up with Damian later in the afternoon. We took on Karol Zizka and Max Rosen in Madden NFL Football. We got our asses kicked.

Our neighbors Joel and Cameron joined Jay, Damian, Shawn Byrd, Christian, G. J., and me for dinner. I worked on my reading assignments for Econ for part of the evening.

Johara Safay hadn't returned my phone call when I finished my Econ reading. I decided to give her a call. Johara's roommate Nicole answered the phone.

"Hello, Nicole, is Johara there?" I asked.

"She's taking a nap now. Is it urgent? Should I wake her?" Nicole replied.

"Nap?" I questioned. "No, don't wake her up."

"She's been under the weather since we got back to school," Nicole explained. "Poor thing, she threw up every morning. I think she has the flu."

"She's..." I blurted. I caught myself before I revealed Johara's pregnancy. Obviously she hadn't told her roommates yet. Trying to recover my equilibrium, I added, " ... Flu – there's a lot of that going around. Please tell Johara that I called when she wakes up. I want to talk with her."

"Talk?" Nicole replied, giggling. "If Johara doesn't want to 'talk', I'd be happy to take her place."

"Ummm ... OK," I answered tentatively. I continued, ignoring her proposition. "Please let her know I called. I need to talk with her." I hung up the phone when we concluded the call.

Wow! I wondered how many people Johara had talked to about her pregnancy. Why wouldn't she let her roommates know? What else are friends for? I forced my attention to less unpleasant matters.

I pulled my playbook off the shelf and started studying the plays for wide receivers who lined up on the weak side of the formation. I'd always lined up on the strong side or in the slot. I knew I needed to know all the wide receiver plays if I wanted to get more playing time next season.

It was nearly 9:30 in the evening when my cell phone rang. I answered, "Hello?"

"Kyle?" the voice said quietly. "It's Johara."

"Hi!" I asked brightly. "How are you doing?"

"OK." Her tone was subdued.

I asked, "You haven't told Nicole and Kathy, have you?"

"No," Johara answered, almost whispering. "I'm ... I'm too embarrassed."

"They're your friends. Trust them," I suggested. "You need all the friends you can get right now."

"Yes."

"I'll do anything I can to help you," I said.

"I know," she answered succinctly.

"Anything at all," I offered. "Just ask me."

"OK," Johara replied. I let the phone stay silent. I wanted to try to draw her beyond her clipped answers. This girl needed help. Finally she added, "I ... I could use someone to ... listen."

I offered, "Any time. I don't have classes tomorrow."

We agreed to meet at the HUB after her fourth period class was over. I encouraged her to hang in there before we said good bye. I felt bad for Johara. She seemed to be keeping all her troubles bottled up inside her. She needed a friend desperately. I didn't know if I could help, but I had to try.

Damian was super-considerate on Tuesday morning when he got up for his eight o'clock class. I never heard him. I'm sure he was hoping I'd show him the same consideration the rest of the week when I had to get up for my eight o'clock classes. My alarm woke me at 8:30. I may not have had classes, but I did have a list of things I wanted to get done that day.

After a long hot shower I headed for the dining hall. I enjoyed a leisurely breakfast perusing the paper I grabbed on the way to Pollock Commons. When I was done with my breakfast I headed up Bigler Road to the Natatorium.

Three quarters of the money I had in the bank from last summer was gone. I needed to earn some more so I didn't go too deep into debt to Dad this semester. I didn't want to stick Dad with thousands of dollars of debt by the time I graduated from college.

I checked in at the front desk and explained that I wanted to see about a job. The receptionist had me take a seat. I waited about ten minutes before a man in his mid-thirties came out. He extended his hand to me. "I understand you are interested in working as a lifeguard part time," he said as we shook hands. I nodded yes. He continued, "Come on back to my office. We'll talk."

I followed him back through the building to a small office in the back. The walls were decorated with plaques and photos of high divers. One of the photos was of this man, much younger, holding a trophy beside a pool. Apparently he was the diver in the other pictures.

"I'm John Coleman," he declared while I was gazing around his office. I turned my attention back to him. "I understand from Madelyn that you have experience as a lifeguard and are interested in working here."

"Yes sir. That's right," I answered. I remembered Mr. Coleman now that I had a name. I had talked to him last summer after my swim test.

"What are your qualifications and work experience?" Mr. Coleman asked.

"I earned my BSA Lifeguard certification though the Boy Scouts four summer ago. I worked on the aquatics staff at a scout camp in Lancaster County every summer since then," I explained.

"The Boy Scouts have a good program. BSA certification is acceptable here. Where did you work – the pool or with the boats?"

Mr. Coleman obviously knew scouting. "I spent most of my time at the boat yard teaching Canoeing and Rowing Merit Badges. I worked the pool a few weeks of my employment at camp. All the aquatic staff has to at our camp. I taught Swimming and Lifesaving Merit Badges when I worked at the pool. I also worked with the aquatics director to train older scouts as BSA Lifeguards."

"It sounds like you had a very well rounded experience," Mr. Coleman said. "What is your name?"

"Kyle Martin," I answered.

Mr. Coleman glanced down at a paper on his desk and smiled. "I was hoping you'd stop by Kyle." I gave him a puzzled look. Mr. Coleman explained, "I keep a list of the all the prospects for lifeguards. I put your name on my list last summer. I wondered if you would stop by when the football season was over."

"Oh," I responded still a little puzzled that he knew so much about me after six months. "How did you know I play football?"

Mr. Coleman continued, "I have a note here on my list. 'Contact after football.' Anyway, you aren't anonymous on campus. I made the connection between your name on my list and you when you scored that touchdown to start the game against Kent State. I've kept my eye on you since then."

"Thanks," I answered.

Mr. Coleman redirected our conversation back to the topic at hand – a job for me. We discussed my schedule and availability. He had no problem promising me time off when spring practice started in March. We stood up when the interview was finished.

Mr. Coleman said, "You'll need to fill out this application and give it to Madelyn at the front desk before you leave."

I asked, "How soon would you like me to start?"

"Not just yet," Mr. Coleman replied. "We need to check your references and do a background check before we can hire you."

"The background check won't be a problem. I had to do one for one of my education classes this semester." I explained. "I'm studying to be a teacher and we're going to be visiting school classrooms for C I 295."

"That's good," Mr. Coleman said. "Do you expect any problem with a reference from your supervisor at camp?"

I chuckled. "I'll kick his butt if there is. My older brother was the aquatics director the last two summers."

"Ahh ... I see. I don't expect his reference will be a problem," Mr. Coleman said with a grin. "I'll be in touch in a week or so when the background and reference checks are done, Kyle."

We shook hands and I left his office. I spent ten minutes filling out the employment application before I headed back to my dorm. It's going to be nice to get some time at the pool again. It's also going to be nice to get some income again.

I browsed on-line for Centre County based health and pregnancy services before lunch. I wanted to be ready with information for Johara when we met. I made a list of a few places that could help her. I headed for the HUB a few minutes after noon.

Johara and I met outside downstairs. We decided to go downtown for lunch. We chose the Penn State Sub Shop on Beaver Avenue. We found ourselves a booth and settled in. Johara said very little while we ate our sandwiches. Her answers to my questions about her classes were curt. I tried a different, more direct tack to draw her out.

"Andy and my family will do whatever we need to do if it turns out that Andy is the father," I offered. Johara nodded yes. "Andy is certain he used condoms when you were with him. He's pretty sure he won't be the father." Johara's face slumped. "Did you have any progress with the other two guys?"

"No," she answered quickly.

I reached across the table and put my right hand on her left and squeezed. "I'm here to help," I explained, staring into her eyes. "What did they say?"

"Rick ... Rick..." she stammered. I squeezed her hand again. She sighed and continued, "Rick laughed at me. He told me he wasn't interested in a bastard with some..." She drew a deep breath. " ... some slut like me."

I pursed my lips and tried to keep my temper in check. "Son of a bitch!" I spat. I took a deep breath. "How about the other guy – uh ... what's his name?"

"Stan," Johara replied, slipping back to one word answers.

"What did Stan have to say?" I probed.

"Stan said it couldn't be his," she answered. She sighed and added, "He isn't returning my calls anymore."

"All guys aren't bastards like these two," I squeezed Johara's hand again. "Look for help from your friends. We're here for you." Johara nodded. "Did your parents offer any suggestions?"

"I can't tell them! I just can't!" Johara insisted, straightening up again.

"You haven't told your parents," I reiterated. "You haven't told your roommates. Have you told anyone other than Rick, Stan, or me?"

"No."

"Johara, I'm worried about you," I explained. "You have lots of people who will help you out with this problem but you're cutting yourself off from all of them. Let your friends and family help you. You need to make some decisions about your pregnancy."

"I ... I ... just don't know what to do about this," she whined. "I can't have a baby."

"Making no decision is a decision too," I stated. "If you do nothing you are going to have a baby in seven months. Is that what you want?"

"No," Johara insisted.

"Do you plan to get an abortion then?"

"No," she answered quickly. After a moment's hesitation she added, "I don't know."

"Look at me," I commanded. I stared into her eyes, clasped her left hand with both of mine. "You have to choose one or the other. You have the baby or you get an abortion. There aren't any other choices."

"I don't know if I can do this, Kyle."

"People are stronger than they think," I explained. "Who would imagine my fifteen year old brother could handle raising twin sons? He is doing it. You can handle it too if that is what you want. I think you need to talk about this with some professionals." I handed the printout I made of health services available locally for pregnant women. We discussed the various organizations I found on-line for about ten minutes. Johara promised to contact one of them.

We stood and picked up our coats at the booth when we were done. "Johara?" I asked as I helped her put on her coat. "You are going to tell Kathy and Nicole, right? They will help you through this."

"I will, Kyle, I promise," Johara answered.

"Good!" I replied. I gave her a hug. "You need to let your friends help you."

"I understand," Johara answered. She smiled at me. "Thanks for this kick in the pants. I needed it, I guess."

I gave her a kiss on the cheek. We walked outside together and headed back towards campus. We walked together until we got to the sidewalk on Shortlidge Avenue that led back to my dorm room.

"Follow through on the counseling," I insisted. We paused for a moment. "It'll help. Keep in touch with me and let me know what else I can do to help you, OK?"

"I promise, Kyle," Johara said. We hugged again before we parted.

I headed back to my dorm room, picked up my playbook and headed for the Lasch Building. I planned to spend the afternoon studying video and my playbook.

Ryan Reynolds set me up in the video room on one of our computer terminals. The system was set up to catalog every play we ran or our opponents ran all year. You could call each one up by down and distance, play type, formation or game and time. It was a pretty cool set up.

I started off learning the wide receiver plays where you line up on the weak side of the formation. I reviewed the play on paper in my playbook first and then watched the video of each time our team ran the play. I would follow the route running at first. When I understood what our team did, I went back and looked at how the opponent's defense reacted to the play. I liked this method of studying. I had a good grasp of the play when I finished studying it on paper and on video.

Coach Adams popped in after I had been studying for an hour. "What are you up to Mr. Martin?"

"Studying video and the playbook together," I replied. I glanced up to see him looking over my shoulder. I explained my plan.

Coach watched me for about thirty seconds as I watched the next play. He headed for the door. "Interesting," Coach Adams said. "Very interesting." I caught a slight grin on his face as he left the room. I think I just earned a few brownie points with my coach.

Zack Hayes and Evan Foster came in around 3:30 to study video. Ryan Reynolds hooked them up at another computer. Some others came in later in the afternoon. We studied until supper time. Zack and Evan invited me to have dinner with them.

The dinner wasn't fancy, just spaghetti. I enjoyed myself. We talked and relaxed together at the table over the dirty dishes. Zack asked, "Have you run into Karl yet?"

"Karl?" I asked, confused at first. Then I remembered. "You mean Karl Weaver?"

Zack nodded yes. We explained to Evan, Jake and Aaron that Karl was our high school teammate and friend who transferred to Main Campus this semester.

"It'll be good having Karl around," I commented. "You oughta invite him to the party on Saturday night."

"That's a good idea Kyle, but I can't. We're not having a party this weekend," Zack explained.

"Why?" I asked.

Aaron explained, "I'm taking off for the Senior Bowl this Saturday."

Evan added, "I'm going home this weekend. It's my mom's birthday. My sisters and I are throwing a surprise party for her fiftieth birthday."

"I'm commanded to show up at home too," Zack said with a chuckle. "Now that those lousy Packers knocked Sam and the Seahawks out of the playoffs, Mom and Dad want me home when Sam and Trish get in from Seattle. They have a weekend of wedding planning to do."

"Sam and Trish?" I inquired. "They're finally setting a date for the wedding?"

"Yes," Zack said. "May 1st."

"It's about time," I answered with a smirk. "They've been living together for the past two years."

Zack related the story of how Sam and Trisha met three years ago soon after the Philadelphia Eagles had signed Sam as a free agent. They met at a dance club while she was a senior at Temple. Things progressed through her senior year and Sam's first year with the Eagles. Trish moved into Sam's apartment as soon she graduated from college. I got to know Trish last spring when she and Sam were part of my brother's wedding party.

I thanked Zack, Aaron, Evan and Jake for inviting me to supper before I headed back to my room. I read for a while and then went back to the Lasch Building to do my daily training.

Wednesday's classes went smoothly. I was lucky this semester. I seemed to have some excellent professors. Damian and I went over the Lasch Building after classes and before dinner for our training. We found notes in our lockers about our individual, end-of-season evaluations with our position coaches, coordinators and Coach Burton. Mine was scheduled for next Tuesday at 1:30 pm. Damian's appointment was for the following day at 8:00 am. That elicited a groan from my roommate when he read it. No sleeping in that morning.

Thursday morning Damian and I didn't need to be quiet when we got up. Both of us had an eight o'clock class. Mine was C I 295, Introductory Field Experience for Teaching. We ate breakfast together before we split up for our day's work. My class met in 170 Chambers Building.

Over a hundred future teachers found seats in the lecture hall that morning. The professor for the course introduced himself as Dr. Thomas Buchanan. He was accompanied by six grad students. Dr. Buchanan explained how the class would work. We would take a bus to a different school each week to observe three classes, return to campus and then meet with one of the graduate students to review and discuss the teaching and discipline techniques used in actual classrooms.

We boarded buses after half an hour of introductory lecture by Dr. Buchanan. When the twenty students in our section had boarded the bus, the instructor introduced himself. His name was Ryan Patel. Mr. Patel announced our destination today was Lewistown Area High School.

The assistant principal met us when we arrived at the high school complex, just off Rt. 322. I had passed the high school numerous times on the way to and from State College this year. Mr. Patel broke our class into groups of four persons. One of the guidance counselors took my group upstairs to a third period 11th grade English class first. We found seats in the back of the room as the students filed in for class.

Mr. Baker, the teacher, welcomed and introduced us when class began. I noticed two or three of the guys in the class did a double take when they heard my name announced. I knew from their looks at me that they recognized me. I acknowledged them with a head nod. They smiled and turned their attention to the front of the room again.

We observed the teacher's lesson of the day. It seemed familiar to me. I had been one of these students a year ago. I took lots of notes so I would be prepared for the discussion when we got back on campus.

The guidance counselor took the four of us to a ninth grade history class for the next period. The teacher was giving a lecture on the causes of the American Civil War. The teacher simplified things considerably from what I knew from my readings, but still the lecture touched the key points.

The counselor took us to the cafeteria for lunch when the period was done. My classmates Joe, Emily, Caitlyn and I went through the lunch line to get our meal. The counselor led us back to the faculty room to eat with the other teachers and our classmates.

Our group observed a biology class after lunch was over. We met back in the guidance area when that class was over. We loaded us up in the bus and returned to campus. I thought about how things had changed for me. Eight months ago I was a student just like the kids I observed today. My perspective was changing. I identified more with the teachers than the students as I watched them using some of the techniques I learned last semester in EDPSY.

The bus dropped us off behind Sackett Building a little after 2 pm. We headed upstairs to room 318 for our discussion of what we observed during the day. Mr. Patel led us through a discussion, tying what we observed into the lectures we had on Monday and Wednesday in EDTHP 115 and also from last term's EDPSY 14. The theory in the lectures made more sense when you saw real teachers applying it in the classroom.

My class ended at 3:45. I had just enough time to go over to the Lasch Building and squeeze in my daily training before dinner time. I bumped into Damian at the weight room. We headed back to our room together when we finished our workout.

Cameron Miller, Joel Peterson, Jay, Shawn Byrd, Trevor, Tony King, Christian and G. J. were standing at the elevator when we reached our floor. Cameron smiled and asked, "We're heading to dinner, guys. Want to join us?"

Damian spoke before I could get the words out. "Sure, that sounds cool," Damian answered, looking at me. I nodded my consent. Damian added, "We need to drop our books. Give us a second." Damian and I hurried across the hallway to our room, left our books on our desks and met the group back at the elevator doors before the next elevator arrived.

Dinner was fun. We talked about our time off during Christmas break. Cameron Miller was a natural born raconteur. He told some good stories about his family's ski trip to Utah. Joel steered the conversation back to football. He was fascinated by our experiences on the team.

"You guys are so lucky," Cameron said wistfully. "I'd give anything to have the talent you guys have. I'd love to keep playing football."