Primal: Part One (9 page)

CHAPTER ONE

THE RECRUITER

(ONE ON ONE)

“Girls?  I thought it was the boy’s team…”

Marquis couldn’t hide his displeasure as he leaned back in the padded chair.  Across from him Phillip Kennedy, a recruiter for Overbrook Meadows school district, sat behind a large desk that was remarkably neat.  He shuffled through a few papers in a file folder he’d created for Marquis.  When he found the print-out he was looking for, his eyes narrowed as he read it.

“Uh, no.  It’s definitely the
girl’s
team...”

The recruiter was middle-aged.  He was tall and handsome, and he appeared to be in great shape.  He wasn’t what Marquis expected when he spoke to him on the phone earlier that week, but of course expectations change.  Marquis, for example, never expected to use his education degree for real-live
teaching
, but now he was glad that he had it.

Even still, he shook his head.

“What’s wrong?” Phillip asked him.  He was all smiles.

“I don’t think I want to coach a girls’ team,” Marquis said honestly.  “I could’ve sworn you said it was the boys’ team.”

“Honestly, I don’t think you asked,” Phillip stated, still smiling.  “But I could’ve been more specific.”

Marquis thought back to the conversations he had with this gentleman and decided he might be right.  Phillip said there was a coaching position available for “Finley High’s varsity basketball team.”  Marquis mistakenly assumed it was for the boys.

“This is already getting further away from what I want to do,” he revealed with a sigh.

“I understand,” Phillip said.  “You want to coach football.”

“I think I’d be better at it.”

“But we don’t have any openings right now, and you agreed to coach
basketball
,” Phillip reminded him.

“Yes, but I thought–”

“What do you have against coaching the girls?” the recruiter asked with a smirk.

Marquis frowned.  Technically this meeting was part of his job interview, so he didn’t want to sound too negative.  But he couldn’t think of a way to answer that question without negativity.

“Let me guess,” the man said.  He leaned forward with his long forearms on the desk.  “They’re too slow.  They don’t hustle enough.  They miss all their shots.  They cry when they fall down, and no one comes to their games…”  His grin was bright and sunny.

Marquis felt like he was being set up, but he nodded.  “Yeah, that’s about right.”

“Man, that’s wrong,” Phillip chided him.

Marquis grinned slightly.  “Hey, those were your words.”

“But you agreed with me,” Phillip said.  “I was just fishing, trying to find out what your complaints were.  I don’t agree with any of that.  I think this position would be very rewarding.”

“Have you coached girls’ basketball before?” Marquis wondered.  “You sound like you might have a little experience.”

“Oh, no,” Phillip replied.  “I’ve never coached or played any sport professionally.  I didn’t even play in high school.”

“Really?” Marquis asked, raising an eyebrow.

“I know.  People see a tall, skinny black guy and assume he can ball.”

Marquis shrugged.  “I did think that.”

“No, I’m just a fan of the sport,” Phillip said.  “All sports, really.  I have a few sons who did pretty good in high school.  One of them got a basketball scholarship to TCU.  He’s not a starter, but he does get some playtime.  All of my boys went to Castleberry…”

Marquis couldn’t hide his interest.  “I went to Castleberry.”

“Yes, I know,” Phillip said.  “Class of 2007.”

Marquis knew the recruiter got that information from his application, but he was surprised that he remembered such a small detail.

“You played basketball all four years,” Phillip went on, “varsity for the last three…”

Okay, that information wasn’t on his application.  Marquis’ expression was now guarded and curious.

The recruiter laughed.  “I remember you!” he explained.  “My oldest son came out of Castleberry in ’09.  You played with him your senior year.  His name’s Barry.”

Marquis’ eyes lit up.  “Oh, wow.  I remember Barry!  How’s he doing?”

“Great!” Phillip said.  “He got a nursing degree from Texas Lutheran.  Lives in Weatherford now.Married with two kids.”

“That’s awesome,” Marquis quipped.  “I always knew that guy would end up helping people one day.  He was one of those kind of people you could always count on.”

“Yes,” the recruiter said.  “He is.  But my point is you have a strong basketball background, so I think coaching the girls’ team would be a good move for you.”

Marquis was not thrilled to get back to that subject.

“I know you went to LSU on a football scholarship,” the recruiter said.  “And everyone knows how great you played for the Cowboys.”

“Yeah, right.  I didn’t even finish my first season.”

“Through no fault of your own,” Phillip added.  “If you had been healthy, you’d be on a Gatorade bottle by now.  Those numbers you were putting up had every defensive line in the league shaking in their boots when they saw you on the field.”

Marquis’ mind drifted back to his glory days in the NFL.  But some of his memories were not as pleasant as the recruiter’s.

“I also know about the rough patch you had when you returned to Overbrook Meadows in 2012,” Phillip continued.  For the first time during the meeting, his smile went away.  “I know about the partying,” he said.  “I know about the fights, and I know about the
arrest
…”

Marquis suddenly had a sinking feeling in his gut.  The
rough patch
the recruiter was referring to didn’t last long, but it was memorable.  Marquis was somewhat of a celebrity at the time, so his few bad deeds made it to the local papers.  One had even made it to the national news.

But, “Those charges were dropped,” he said in his defense.

“Yes,” the recruiter said, all smiles again.  “I know.  I don’t think you would’ve made it to this interview, if you were convicted of aggravated assault.”

Marquis took a deep breath and blew it out slowly.  He thought the recruiter’s office was too chilly when he first arrived.  But now it was much too warm in there.  He was glad he didn’t wear a tie with his long-sleeved shirt.  It would’ve been choking the life out of him by now, and he’d look supremely guilty when he reached to loosen it.

“You know,” Phillip said, leaning forward with a conspiratorial tone, “a lot of people still think you paid the victim off, and that’s why he stopped cooperating with the police.”

Marquis was glad he didn’t ask him to respond to that.  He felt like perspiration was blossoming on his forehead.  But he didn’t want to reach up and wipe it.  He didn’t expect this interview to be an emotional minefield.

“But, as you mentioned, the charges did get dropped,” Phillip said, leaning back in his seat again.  “So your background check should be clean.  I’ll send you down the hall to check when we get through here.  That is, if you still want the job.”

Before Marquis could respond, the man said, “I think you should take it.  Given your
questionable behavior
, since you moved back to Overbrook Meadows, a lot of people view you as a stereotype; a former NFL player who doesn’t know what to do with his money…  A rich black man with a hood-mentality who hangs with thugs, can’t hold his liquor or watch his temper.”

“I’m, I’m not rich,” Marquis told him.

“I know you’re not,” Phillip said.  “You only played half a season in the NFL.   And that was three years ago.  You’ve been through a messy divorce.  I understand that you’re trying to get a fresh start.”

Marquis didn’t like that this man had so much dirt on him.  But all of it was true, so he couldn’t get upset.  He knew that a lot of people in the community had a similar opinion of him.

“Coach the girls’ team,” Phillip suggested.  “There aren’t a lot of schools or school districts that would be willing to take a chance on you.  Plus it’s late July.  Classes start in exactly one month.  Teaching positions are few and far between.  And there are no other coaching positions available in this district.

“Everman’s head football coach is retiring next year, and they will have an opening then.  If you do well at Finley High, prove that you have your head screwed on right, I will do my very best to get you that Everman spot next year.  If not there, I’m sure I can get you a football position somewhere else in the district.  All you have to do is put your two grievances aside for one year.”

“My two grievances?”

“Yes:  You don’t want to coach basketball, and you don’t want to coach girls.”

“I got over the basketball part before I got here,” Marquis told him.

“Good,” the recruiter replied.  “Then we’re halfway there.  So what do you say?  Will you lead the Lady Grizzlies?”

“The
Lady Grizzlies
?”  Marquis shook his head.  “I’m pretty sure that name is the toughest thing about them.”

“I think you’d be surprised.”

Marquis wasn’t buying it.  In his mind’s eye he saw a gym full of long hair, sparkling fingernails and makeup ruined by tear-stains every time one of them fell down.  But hell, the recruiter was right about one thing:  He did have to start somewhere.

“Okay,” he said.  “I’ll take the job.”

“Great!”  Phillip stood to shake his hand.

Marquis stood too.  He and the recruiter were roughly the same height, but Marquis outweighed him by at least fifty pounds.  Finley High’s newest teacher had rich dark skin, serious eyes and a light moustache.  Even with a collared shirt on, Marquis’ neck and shoulder muscles were prominent.

He wasn’t in as good a shape as he was during his glory days in the NFL, but he hadn’t totally abandoned his fitness regimen.  Running was one of the things that kept him sane when he returned to his hometown and had to contend with his shattered dreams and an expected but still painful divorce.

“I’m going to get your paperwork finished up,” the recruiter told him.  “Mr. Walters is your new boss at Finley High.  He’s hard on the kids, but most of the teachers I’ve spoken to love working for him.  You can meet him on August 17
th
.  That’ll be your first staff development day.”

Marquis nodded.  “Alright.”

“The sheriff liaison’s office is down the hall on the left,” the recruiter said, pointing.  “You’ll have to fill out more paperwork for him, let him get your fingerprints.  Once he gives the green light, you’re good to go.  Stop by my office again before you leave, and I’ll give you a welcome packet.”

“Are they still looking to start me at fifty thousand?” Marquis asked.

“Fifty-two, five,” Phillip corrected him.  “You’re only getting that much because you’re teaching a core subject
and
coaching.  Sorry, I know that’s a big drop, compared to your NFL salary.”

“Eh.  I don’t need a million dollars to be happy,” Marquis told him.

“That’s the spirit!”  The recruiter walked him to the door and gave him a pat on the back as he exited the office.

● ● ● ● ● ●

Marquis had four weeks to come to terms with the fact that he was going to coach a girls’ basketball team.  He had also gotten over the realization that teachers don’t make very much money at all.

He arrived at Finley High at 9 am for their staff development day.  He entered the main office and was greeted by a short, slender woman who couldn’t wipe the smile off her face.

“Wow.  It’s really you!”  She reached across the counter to shake his hand.

“Hi,” Marquis said.  “I’m here to meet with Mr. Walters.”

“Yes, he’s expecting you,” the woman said.  “He’s here.  He just stepped out for a moment.  My name’s Sophia.  I work here in the office.”

“Nice to meet you,” he said, still holding her hand.  “I’m Marquis Berry.”

She grinned.  “Oh, I know
all
about you, Mr. Berry.”

Marquis wasn’t sure if that was a good or bad thing.  “You can call me Marquis,” he said.

She let go of his hand but didn’t back away from the counter, so he didn’t either.

“I can’t believe you’re going to be coaching here,” she gushed.  “I remember when you played for the
Cowboys
.  Why aren’t you coaching football?”

Sophia was fair-skinned, with nice, plump lips and a 100 watt smile.  She had a slim waist and a nice figure.  Marquis didn’t check to see if she had a ring on her finger.

“I wanted to coach football,” he admitted.  “But there were no openings –not when I applied.  I probably should’ve filled out an application sooner.”

“They start looking to fill holes in the staff right at the end of May,” the clerk said.  “When did you apply?”

“Middle of July.”

“Oh, well that’s probably why,” Sophia said.  “Did you want to coach football here?”