Chapter 28

Cal was not used to uncertainty, especially about his own actions. What had happened to the self-confidence that had stood up to deadly kidnappers and hired thugs? that had allowed him to come onto the football team cold and win a spot as a freshman? that had motivated him to intervene with Cheryl's family for their own good? that helped him build a nice business taking pictures of all kinds in people's homes?

He certainly had not turned wishy-washy or anything and he still had more self-confidence than most people, but he was spending more time second-guessing himself than he ever had or than he thought he should. Despite all of the assurances from those he cared about, his destruction of Greg's knee stole far too much of his thinking. Quitting basketball was his only possible move, given his sense of fairness, yet he spent far too many hours asking himself if that was really the only way to help Dante. He had begun to view those two actions as failures where he had given in to impulse.

Another aspect of quitting that bothered him was how much he had been motivated by his dislike for Coach Hall. He had always considered himself tolerant of people, and that was part of the disciplines he had been taught. Seek to understand what motivates people and how they act, but do not judge them. Had he let the coach get under his skin? Was he so anxious to strike a blow at Hall that he had quit when there might have been other ways to help Dante?

Talking to Ken had helped, but it had also raised one disturbing question about himself: was he too set in his ways for a guy his age? Since he started martial arts just after the Khalid tragedy, Cal had been remarkably disciplined and regimented for a teenager - maybe for any person. Did the discipline and structure in his life make him too rigid, less able to 'roll with the punches?'

In his times of introspection, usually during his morning workouts, he admitted to himself that Tessa pairing with Vick had started his troubles. On the one hand, he would chastise himself for being so arrogant as to think he had any claim on Tessa when he was going with Cheryl. On the other hand, he had to admit that Tessa owned a piece of his heart and probably always would. Why could he not just get over it?

Outwardly, even Cheryl had few clues about Cal's current mental struggles. The discipline of his training stood him in good stead socially. And he was in no way hampered in his studies, his photo business, or in other normal activities. But there was a little something missing.

The supremely capable in any activity carry a justifiable arrogance that they have earned. While always a reserved and even self-effacing person, Cal carried that arrogance. Now, it was slipping a little.

What Cal could not get out of his mind recently was his campaign to expose the 'Coach Hall Scandal'. The whole situation was rife with injustice and unfairness, and that should have been enough to justify public exposure. And the Overland's were behind it, at least Penelope. He certainly shared his mother's desire to 'get' them.

Beth Hall's visit had been the first fissure in Cal's certitude, and as he thought about Principal Jameson, he began to collect more doubts. Those two women would most likely be hurt if the story went public, perhaps badly hurt.

Despite what Cal had said to Beth Hall when she dropped in, he did feel sympathy for her probable loss of her best home. His belief that Coach Hall had to go had not wavered, but would it not be kinder to Beth if it was behind the scenes.

In his two interactions with Principal Jameson, he found that he respected her. From other students, he also sensed respect for Jameson, and he knew from Pete that the school had not always been so fortunate.

As he worked it over in his mind, Cal identified the impact on the basketball team and the program as the most important argument to him personally. Even though he had quit, he felt loyalty to the program. His friendship with Dex Madison and his respect for Coach Meinert were big reasons for that loyalty, as well as his friendship with his former teammates. He did not want to see Coach Meinert's legacy ruined even more by a scandal.

Now, the problem was that he had sicced Tessa on the story, and she seemed to be going after it full force. He wondered if he could even stop what he had started at this stage.

Teri looked a little surprised to see Cal at her front door that late January evening. For a moment, her mind flashed back to the time when Cal did not have to knock. She hoped that the slight blush she felt was not visible.

"Hi, Teri. Are Tessa and Vick here?"

Tessa could tell from the way Cal plopped down in the chair that he had to say something he thought she would not like. After greeting both she and Vick, he just blurted it out.

"I don't think we should release the story." Cal then replayed for his friends the thoughts and uncertainties that had bedeviled him recently.

The devious side that Vick had exhibited more and more recently quickly showed itself. "I think you're right, Cal. We've talked about it several times. Hall has to go, though, don't you agree?" Cal nodded without hesitation. "If we have a ready-to-publish article, won't that be the best leverage to force him out?"

"How would we use it?" Cal asked.

"Show it to Jameson and to Genevieve Overland. Jameson will fire Hall to save her reputation and to save the school a scandal. Genevieve will pay Hall off if she has to to protect her family from further scandal."

"Damn!" Cal mouthed, "And I was glad I didn't have to face you across the scrimmage line!" All three broke up at that. "So, Tessa, you're not angry about all of this work with no publication?"

"Not really. You can't believe how much I'm learning from Carl and from this sneaky lunk, here. I figure that I could submit it confidentially as a sample of my work to some professor or some admissions committee."

"Yeah, I guess that could help you, couldn't it. Do you think you will be ready about a week before the last game of the season?"

"We're still missing the name of Jameson's lesbian lover, if that's what it was. It's hard to estimate when we will find her, but I plan to start writing the article as if we had the name, then fill it in when we find it."

"If we're not going to publish," Tessa went on, "I'll include the quotes about Chad from Hall and his wife. I'll name you as the one who heard the quotes. I know you didn't want your name associated with this in the paper. It would be all right as a, um, a negotiating tool, wouldn't it?"

"You were about to say 'blackmail', weren't you?" Cal asked with a grin. "Yeah, that will be fine. Thanks, Tessa! I really appreciate your willingness."

"Hey, I don't won't to mess up the basketball program and hurt some good people any more than you do."

The two sets of parents expressed disappointment that the Overlands were not going to get hit. A mother's fury over anyone who threatens her child is not something to be underestimated, and they all had to let Elaine fume for a while.

In the end, Elaine complimented the teens on the mature way they approached the issue. She opined that Greg was already in deep, and she believed Penelope would have a rough time with Genevieve. Not a single person showed any concern for Coach Hall.

They had met at the Walts' again. Martin was not at all disturbed when Cal and Elaine walked home with their arms tightly around each other.

It was getting late in February, and Cal was becoming concerned about Tessa and Vick finding Principal Jameson's suspected partner. There had to be some basis for blackmail, and that was the only thing that made sense.

Finally, one day in school, Cal and Tessa were passing in the hall as they did every day at that time. Tessa gave him a huge smile and a 'thumbs up', and he had no doubt what she meant. Just as he caught himself making a reflexive move toward her, he saw her jerk back a bit and blush.

"I'll call you tonight and we'll set up some meetings," Cal said across the busy few feet separating them.

It was quickly decided that Cal, Tessa, and Vick would be together in all of the meetings. The next debate was who to talk to first. Cal held out successfully for Beth Hall, followed by the principal, and finally Genevieve. Talking to Coach Hall was not discussed. No one thought that would be necessary.

Beth was confused about why three students needed to speak to her, but hearing Cal's name, she had an idea of the subject. She arranged to meet with them at her parents' home the next evening.

"And... and this will never go public? You're sure?" Beth asked, shaken by what she had read.

"No, it won't," Cal assured her. "I really am sorry that this will cause you so much trouble. I hope you understand that your husband just has to go."

"I g... guess so," Beth said, barely audibly. "Ever since I talked to you, I've been steeling myself. Since the team was doing all right, I thought maybe... I'm ashamed that Roy was involved in this. It's hard to have any more respect for him. Thank you for not publishing it."

There was no reason for any more of a meeting. Tessa and Vick had said nothing beyond 'Hello'.

At the meeting in Principal Jameson's office, Cal let Tessa carry the ball. She started off by saying "We have decided not to let this go public," and laying the article down in front of her.

All three teens watched the principal's face closely. They knew the article so well that they could tell by her expression just what part she was reading.

Looking up after finishing the article, the principal cleared her throat twice and asked "Why did you decide not to go public?"

"The important objective is to get Coach Hall out of here," Tessa answered. "We do not think you deserve to lose your job. You are a victim of the Overlands, just like some others have been. It would be a loss to the students and the school if you left."

"Thank you for that," the principal said quietly. "That means I will have to fire Hall, doesn't it?"

"Maybe," Tessa told the woman. "We are going to meet with Genevieve Overland. We hope she can persuade Hall to resign."

"How would she accomplish that?"

"Hall was the beneficiary of the Overland schemes. Let him be the victim," Tessa said with a chill in her voice.

"I can't imagine what we have to talk about any more," Genevieve said haughtily when Cal was finally put through to her.

"Mrs. Overland. You must know that meeting with you again is not something I would do without a very good reason. I will tell you that this has nothing to do with Cheryl, and only indirectly with Greg. It involves something that Penelope has done. If made public, it would not be good for your family."

"So you've sunk to blackmail, now?" Genevieve spat out.

"It will take very little of your time for us to explain, and I believe that you will be grateful. Please!"

Although she would never admit it, Genevieve had developed a high regard for Cal, and she believed him. Within an hour, the introductions were being made in the library of the mansion. This time, Cal took the lead again.

"For some very good reasons, this will not be made public," he said, handing her the article.

That the matriarch was shocked and angered by what she read could not be hidden from her face. Tessa mused that she would not want to be Penelope when they left, no matter how much money she had.

Genevieve certainly was not going to acknowledge her reactions to the article, and she tersely asked "And you expect me to do what?"

"If you could persuade Hall to resign after the last game of the season, it would do the least damage to all involved," Cal said.

Genevieve looked slowly and searchingly at all three of the teens in turn, then nodded her head. "You are absolutely correct. He will resign. May I keep this?"

Genevieve's meeting with the teens occurred mid-evening. As they were still driving out of the driveway of the mansion, she stomped off to find her daughter-in-law, stopping well before she reached Penelope and Brandon's quarters. She regained enough control of herself to decide to put off the confrontation until time for the late evening local news, which the couple nearly always watched together. She planned to interrupt that plebeian little domestic ritual tonight in a big way. A little time to cool off beforehand would be a good thing.

Precisely as the news started, Genevieve walked in and dramatically turned off the TV with the remote, which was sitting right in front of Brandon. "Mother!" he exclaimed. Penelope looked up with a combination of irritation and a little worry. That particular look on the matriarch's face never foretold a pleasant encounter.

"You were damned near on the evening news yourself, Penelope! Listen to this."

"Headline: 'Money Really Can Buy Anything'. It goes on:

"What does a star high school football player do when he can't make the varsity basketball team because that just isn't his sport? Well, if his name is Greg Overland, he has MaMa buy him a spot on the team.

"Now, it may not be as straightforward as you think. In Greg's junior year, his family and that of Chad Clark tried pressuring the coach to get them on the team. That failing, they tried blackmailing the principal to force the coach.

"When that did not work, Greg's mother, Mrs. Penelope Overland, made sure Greg would have a spot for his senior year. She made significant donations to a college to 'buy' a college job for the uncooperative high school coach Rod Meinert. It was a college with which..." Genevieve's reading was cut off by a strangled scream from her daughter-in-law.

"They... they can't print that! It's... it's libel! Or slander! Or..."

"Not with the proof they have," Genevieve spat out fiercely. Then, she lost it. "Penelope, are you purposely trying to ruin this family!?" The older woman's voice was so fierce that Penelope recoiled a bit in her chair.

"You, with plenty of help from my useless son, have turned Greg into the criminal he is by coddling and sheltering him from any responsibility for his actions! He never had to earn or work for anything! If it didn't come easily for him, as most things did, you did whatever it took to get it for him!" Genevieve was on her feet, stomping back and forth and waving her arms.

"Your infatuation with that boy is beyond just embarrassing. It is shocking and unhealthy. You..."

"Mother!" Brandon objected loudly.

"Ohhhh, chivalry, Brandon? How touching! Too bad you couldn't have paid some attention to the way your son was turning out. Maybe, just maybe he would not have turned out to be the disgrace of the Overlands. Maybe he would be heading for college football instead of prison, maybe..."

"But that boy ruined his knee... !" Penelope cried out with manic intensity.

"PENELOPE!" Genevieve's voice cracked like a bullwhip. "Once and for all! Greg tried to rape that girl and he beat her boyfriend! He did it! Not a single doubt about it! I do not want to hear any more objections from you. He is a criminal, and he is going to prison!

"And YOU!" Genevieve said while stabbing her finger at Penelope, "made matters worse by paying for his disastrous revenge attempt. Your unholy infatuation with your own son very nearly took YOU to prison, as well!"

Genevieve made a visible effort to control herself, and made a show of reading more of the article silently. In an absent-minded voice, she said "My, but this girl can write!"

"Wh... what girl?" Penelope asked, desperate for anything to change the subject even a little bit.

"Oh. Tessa Walts. She is very close to Cheryl and the Banner boy."

Penelope actually jumped to her feet as she made a surprising show of standing up to her mother-in-law. "That Cheryl girl is in the middle of everything bad that happens to Greg!"

"She had nothing to do with this article. I was just trying to explain who wrote this."

"Surely no one will publish it, will they?" Brandon asked.

"No, because this girl and her friends have tact and maturity that makes me cry when I compare them to Greg." The bitterness dripped from Genevieves's voice. "Once again, I'm buying the family out of one of Greg's messes. It looks like I will being making that despicable Coach Hall much more comfortable than he deserves."

"Listen to this", Genevieve continued. "Mrs. Overland assured Coach Hall that if he promised Chad Clark and her son Greg starting spots on the team, she would guarantee his hiring.

"In order to make certain that Coach Hall was the choice from the three well-qualified candidates, Mrs. Overland threatened to expose a potentially embarrassing incident from Principal Jameson's past.

"Everything in Mrs. Overland's plan worked perfectly until her son and Clark got themselves severely injured in a rape attempt and had to change schools."

Cal asked if he could deliver the news to the principal. She could not completely hide the tears of relief. "This is not something an administrator should say to a student, Cal. Oh, notice that I finally learned the name you use. Anyway, I owe you."

"Then may I ask a favor right now?"

"Of course."

"Call Coach Meinert and ask him if he is interested in returning to his old job," Cal said.

"That's your favor?" Patricia Jameson asked, sounding incredulous. "That is the best possible thing that could happen for me right now. Of course I will call him. Do you have reason to believe that he would be interested?"

"I think you know him fairly well, don't you?" Cal asked. "He was a pawn, and he does not like that at all." Cal repeated key parts of the conversation he had had with his old coach.

"Here I was looking at career disaster," Patricia mused aloud. "Something I probably deserved. Now there's a chance to erase this whole year. In my opinion, I still owe you."

Cal was not far down the hall when Patricia Jameson picked up the phone to call Rod Meinert and sound him out.

The day after the final game, Coach Roy Hall tendered his resignation. There was a lot of press coverage, and a lot of analysis of his whole brief tenure, but not a hint of scandal anywhere.

Incredibly, within a week, a local boys' military prep academy offered Hall a job. The money was subsidized by an outside donor to bring it up to what he had made at the public high school. Genevieve Overland happened to be on the board of that elite academy.

Cal, Tessa, and Vick talked about what they considered Hall's undeserved good fortune. Tessa and Vick had only met Beth Hall briefly, but they understood Cal's satisfaction that a good woman was at least given a chance to work out her marriage. He was willing to give up some revenge for that.

The day after the NCAA final game, the Roberts family showed up at the Banners' door shortly after dinner. Fortunately, everyone was home. As soon as the social niceties had been observed, Mrs. Roberts spoke as Dante, Terrell, and their father sat silently.

"Mr. & Mrs. Banner, you have made us change some of our opinions about rich white folk. You surely have taught your son some fine values. Dante just got official notice of the scholarship he wanted most. If Cal hadn't had the guts to quit when he did, Dante might be flippin' burgers next year and trying to go night school. We surely are grateful to all of you."

Elaine and Martin did not even have a chance to respond before Dante spoke up. "I'm being interviewed for tomorrow night's TV sports report. Cal, I'm going to tell them why you quit."

"Dante, Man! I don't think you should do that," Cal objected. "We've tried to keep the whole mess with Hall quiet. There are too many people who might get hurt."

"But he doesn't deserve to have it kept quiet!" Terrell jumped in. "I can't believe he got another job. He shouldn't be coaching anyone!"

Cal ran his hand through his hair in a gesture of frustration and said "I really don't want any publicity."

"But most of the press has made you out the bad guy since last fall," Dante insisted.

"I don't care much what most people think," Cal insisted.

"Look, Cal," Dante said, "it was unfair what Hall was doing to me. You objected to that and took a big step to make it right. Well, I don't like unfairness any more than you do. It's unfair what's been said about you, and I can fix it. I'm going to!"

Cal had never seen the mild-manner giant looking so resolute before, at least not off of the court. Cal looked helplessly at his parents and saw immediately that they were with Dante on this one.

"This could stir up a lot of racial feelings, Dante," Cal warned.

"No. I won't say anything about that. I don't want that either. I'll just say that Hall didn't think I fit in his system, OK?"

'Stay tuned for local sports as we talk to a Memorial star who will be playing big-time college basketball next year, ' was the trailer after the evening weather report on the TV news show.

After congratulations and some questions about what school and what he thought his chances were, Dante broke in and said "I want to thank Cal Banner for getting me a chance at this scholarship. I might not have it if not for him."

"Cal Banner? Isn't he the point guard who quit the team?"

"Yes, he is. Let me tell you why he quit..." Apparently under dire threats from Dante, the editors left most of his explanation in, running the segment much longer than had been planned.

Cal and his family were glued to the TV, and Elaine could not stop the tears. Within minutes, the phone started ringing. The first three callers were reporters, and Cal firmly refused any interviews. A few sincere well-wishers and teammates apologizing did get through.

The calls from reporters caused Cal to think of Principal Jameson, and he realized that the press would probably be all over her the next day. He did not think that she would say anything inappropriate, but he hated to see her caught off guard.

For very good reason, the school administrator's home number was tightly guarded, but Cal really felt the need to talk to her. After puzzling for a moment, he thought of Carl Plonske, whose cell number he did have. He asked Carl to find the principal's number, but instead of giving it to Cal, to call her himself and ask her to call Cal about an urgent matter.

In a surprisingly short time, Patricia Jameson called, and less than thirty minutes later, she was at the Banner home. They all spent an hour discussing what she should say to the press, and she was grateful for the advance warning.

The principal dropped a bit of a bombshell after they had talked for a while. "What do you think Hall will say?"

Cal was on his feet in a flash, saying "I hope it's not too late already," as he dialed Beth Hall's parents' number first. Beth was not there, but they had the children and knew that the couple had gone out to dinner. Beth's mother mentioned that they were trying to patch things up. Fortunately, they knew which restaurant. The principal and Cal hurried off in her car.

At the restaurant, the principal was about to go in by herself, but Cal mentioned that Beth was probably the key and that he had some connection with her.

Beth was more than a little surprised and Roy Hall was obviously not pleased when Patricia Jameson and Cal sat down at the four-top table with them. Patricia had rehearsed in her mind what to say, and started right in. "Roy, this is not an attempt to harass you or cause any trouble. Are you aware of Dante Roberts' TV interview?"

That led to a recap of what Dante had said and a warning that the press would be on Roy quickly. Patricia was about to give her former coach some warnings and suggestions, but Cal took her arm and pulled her up and away from the table. When they were out of earshot of the couple, she looked at Cal questioningly.

"Mrs. Hall can take care of it much better than you can. Right now, she has a lot more leverage," he explained.

"Leverage?"

"Divorce."

"Oh."

Working hard to keep her voice down, Beth still made the intensity of her words very clear to her husband. "This is it, Roy. This is where you decide if we stay married. Either you decide to do what it takes to sound like a reasonable man who made some mistakes and is sorry, or I see a lawyer in the morning. It all depends on what you say to the press. You did a good job when you resigned. Don't blow it now!"

"But... but what can I say? That kid made me sound like the bad guy in all of this."

"And... ?" Beth said sarcastically.

Roy seemed to be staring at his wife in disbelief a lot lately. Maybe it was moving back near her parents that made her so belligerent, he just did not know. After the Banner kid quit, she had really lit into him. He had played the black kids and the season had been OK. He thought he was on his way.

Then the older Mrs. Overland had lowered the boom. He had never met her before, but it made him shiver to think of how she had made him feel like a child. Just when he thought he had made it to the big time, he was pushed aside to a small private school. At least the money was all right.

It was almost as if Beth had taken lessons from the Overland bitch, and he felt just as helpless. Part of him wanted to just walk away, but over the past few weeks, he had painfully admitted to himself that he did not have the courage to go through that. With a sigh, he asked Beth what he should say to the press.

If Cal thought Dante's interview would be the end of the subject, he was badly mistaken. There was nowhere near the pressure from the press that there had been after the two Greg incidents, but they did not give up.

Cal's friend Dex Madison did not play fair, either. He called and asked if Cal would let Judy Morrison interview him. Judy, a reporter for a local TV station, had helped Dex greatly in a controversy with an earlier principal, and had done an outstanding piece after Dex's breakthrough college basketball game. Cal did not know that Dex and Judy were lovers.

Considering the favors that Dex had done for Cal and both the boys' and girls' teams, Cal saw no way he could refuse. At least if we was to break his long silence with the press, he had Dex's guarantee of a sympathetic and skillful interviewer.

By the time Judy called him, Cal had thought of one condition that might get him out of the interview. "I want my friend Tessa Walts to be there," he insisted to Judy.

"Girlfriend?" Judy asked.

"No," Cal said a little too quickly. "Life-long friend. She's going into journalism. It would be great for her if she could watch. Dex has been helping us on a project."

"I guess that would be alright."

"We're not on the record yet, right?" Cal asked when Judy was seated with him in the parlor of the Banner home. "OK. Ground rules: I don't want to trash Coach Hall. It's not because of him, but because of his wife. So, if I don't tell the complete story, you'll just have to take what you can get. Is that acceptable?"

After agreeing to Cal's limits, Judy signaled her cameraman and started the questions. "Within the space of a few months, you were accused of ruining the chances of both the football and the basketball teams. How did you handle that?"

"Well, I stayed away from the TV a lot," Cal quipped, with a grin at the camera. "It's important what people think about you, but that's not what will keep you awake at night. How would I live with myself if I didn't defend my sister? How could I sleep if Dante lost out on a scholarship because I made Coach Hall think he could win without Dante?"

"Didn't people's attitudes affect you when you were on the field or an the court?"

"Judy, I don't think I would have competed any less if the stands were empty. I used to golf a lot, and I played just as hard when there were only four of us with no spectators. It's the competition, not the applause that matters."

"There is a rumor that the former basketball coach will return next year. Will you rejoin the team?"

That was the first time Cal had even thought of that issue, and he had to pause and think before answering. "It would not be good to let people think that I quit to get rid of the coach, then rejoined the team when I succeeded."

"But now everyone knows the real reason."

"Honestly, Judy, that's the first I've thought about it. I can't give you an answer right now."

"What is your favorite sport? Football or basketball?"

"If I'm playing pool with my Dad, that's my favorite sport at that moment."

"So you're not going to rank them for me?" Judy asked with a chuckle.

"Nope."

"One person, a former teammate, has been responsible for a lot of trauma in your life this last year. How do you feel about him?"

"I am always concerned that he may try to harm my sister or her boyfriend again. Other than that, I don't think about him."

"So you're pretty sure you can take care of yourself?"

"I've done everything I can to prepare for that."

"Would you have done things differently in defending your sister, knowing what you know now?"