Chapter 17

Kyle looked at Sarah as if she was daffy. "What do you mean they came to meet me? What did I do?"

"It's not what you have done, it's what you can do. You can run faster than any boy in this school, probably faster than most of the boys in this state, and you can kick field goals farther than any high school senior in memory. All of that is a direct quote from my father, who has been watching you practice every single day since you decided to smoke past Deputy Pinehurst on the track that day. He's known Billie for a long time and Billie suggested that he stop by the track that morning because I guess he knew you were going to be there. You need to know that until you arrived, Billie had won every footrace that he had ever run, and when you flew by him, people in this town noticed."

"Sarah, I wasn't even running fast that morning."

"That's not what Dad said!"

"Are they expecting me to do something tonight?"

"My God, you are naïve! They are here to convince you to attend the University of Iowa."

"But the Governor?"

"He just comes for the party, I think. But tonight, maybe he will lend some support to whatever pitch they make for you."

"But I haven't even thought about college now. Since my Mom died, I don't have any money for college, and I can't mooch off my relatives forever."

"Kyle, I don't understand. What do you mean your mother died? Who is that lady living in your house?"

"That lady is my aunt, Jill Harper, and I am living in her house. My mother died early this summer and now I have to live with my aunt and cousin until I turn eighteen."

"Kyle, I'm sorry. I had no idea. I just thought that you had moved here and were new to the school. Oh my, I think I need to let my father know."

"I'd really just as soon that you didn't. I don't want to walk around with a sign that says pity me. My aunt is very nice, and my cousin is a blast, even though she is younger than me. We all get along fine. Things happen in life, Sarah, maybe not to you or your family, because you seem to have it pretty soft, but to most of us, things happen and you move on."

"But Kyle, you don't have..."

"It's okay, Sarah, please. I'd really prefer that you just not share that with people, especially here. Whatever I make of my life, I want to be able to say that I was the maker of it. I'll do just fine."

Several of the other guests, in the standard mingling of a party such as this, stopped by Sarah and Kyle to introduce themselves. A few even made special mention of having seen his films and how impressed they were with his work ethic. Kyle could not understand how these total strangers knew anything of his abilities or work ethic. After the fourth man commented on the kicking show, a certain level of frustration began to rise up in Kyle.

"What kicking show?" he asked in a slightly raised voice that displayed a fair amount of unhappiness.

"That morning that you had all those cheerleaders out there holding the ball and running to get them like you are some sort of movie star. I must admit I was a bit envious, because there is no way that I could have ever attracted that many girls to do my bidding for me."

"How do you know what I was doing out there? It wasn't a game. I was just practicing. Are you spying on me?"

"Nobody is spying on you, Kyle. The security cameras at the school record everything that happens there, twenty four hours every day. A bunch of us volunteer to review them, so that it doesn't take up anyone's time at the school. Hell, once Charlie saw that tape the first day, he called a bunch of us and we were all in watching them every day. You are really impressive on the field."

"I don't know what to say. I had no idea that I was being filmed. Nobody ever told me about it. The coach said I could run on the track and practice my kicking and I never thought about it, but the idea that I was being secretly filmed doesn't make me very happy. Sarah, did you know about these movies?"

Sarah was about to answer him when her father approached with the Governor and the coach in tow.

"Kyle, if you have a few minutes, these fine gentlemen would like to talk to you privately." Kyle nodded affirmatively and Dr. James led them to a cabana structure on the back end of the patio, near the swimming pool where they could talk without interruption. He also stepped in between Sarah and the doorway, wordlessly indicating that it would just be for the others and that she, and he, would remain in the area, but out of listening range, to be polite. Sarah seized the opportunity to tell her father about Kyle's mother.

"Dad, there is something else you should know about Kyle. That is not his mother he is living with, it's his aunt and cousin. His mother died early this summer, and he has no other family."

"Where's his father?"

"His father is the author of those books I have been reading, don't you remember? I told you about them, and about how much he looks like his dad. He told me his father died five years ago, so he is alone now. He also said that he had given up on the thought of going to college because he doesn't have the money to do it."

In the cabana, after five minutes of small talk about nonsense, the coach began. "Kyle, Ron James called me about a week ago or so and told me that I needed to make a trip over here to look at some movies. I told him that I couldn't come over to watch game films because that would count as a recruiting visit. He told me that they weren't game films, just stuff from security cameras. Normally, I would insist on knowing a lot more about a subject before I agreed to drive this far to watch a movie, but Ron James and I go back a long way, and when he said this was something I needed to do, and that he had called the Governor and told him to come as well, well I figured it must be something special. I want to tell you right now that he was not exaggerating one bit. The first film that he showed was of a blur on the track. The camera angle was such that your speed just made a blurry image. The really funny thing was that I could see Billie Pinehurst just perfectly. Then came the film with you kicking field goals; my goodness, in all my years in football, I have never seen or heard of any young man your age who could kick with such ability. I can assure you that if you will attend the University of Iowa and play on our football team, you will be a four year starter."