Senior Year Box Set

“Not really. I almost killed a man. That has me thinking about quitting the dojo. I didn’t even think about it. I just punched him in the throat to finish the fight like I’ve been trained.”

Mom came over and hugged me.

“Things like this scare me to death. I probably overreact when people attack you, and you resort to violence. Don’t think I’m so naïve as to believe that violence is never the solution. I just get afraid that you might not come out on top someday. If you hadn’t had your training, he might have killed you,” she said as she stroked my hair.

“I understand your concerns and support you if you want to stop going to the dojo,” Dad said. “Today was a reminder that even with security, you’ll be a target. I hate that you have to have security with you, but for now, I think we have to live with it.”

“Don’t get me wrong, I’m grateful that Cassidy taught me to defend myself, and I plan to keep sharp. But I think I can do that without going to the dojo four times a week for training. I’m just learning new ways to hurt people. Watching Tomas’s dad unable to breathe because of what I did scares me. I know this is going to sound dumb, but it was almost too easy. How dangerous do I really have to be?” I asked.

“Dangerous enough to defend yourself,” Mom said.

I gave her my one-eyebrow look. I’d expected her to read me the riot act.

“Don’t give me that look.”

That made Dad chuckle, and the chuckling broke up our stare-down.

“I just read something about the military. They aren’t training their regular soldiers in hand-to-hand combat like they used to. The whole concept now is you can reach out and take care of the enemy from a distance.

“I guess what I’m more worried about is someone with a gun. I talked to Fritz about what happened in Mexico, and you’re lucky you weren’t shot. Today he had a knife. What if he’d had a gun?” Dad asked.

If I could get close enough, I might have a chance, but Dad was right. He could have shot me from the door, and there would have been nothing I could do about it.

I received a text from Wolf asking where I was. It seemed all the recruits were going to grab some food before the game at a pizza place. I showed it to my parents, and we got ready to go.

◊◊◊

“Whoa! What happened to you?” Tim asked.

“Had a disagreement with Tomas’s dad. He tried to convince me that I shouldn’t interfere in his son’s plan to play quarterback here,” I said.

“Tell me you have video,” Wolf said.

“Sorry, no video,” I lied.

After the last fight, I’d decided that if I had it to do over again, I wouldn’t show anyone video of me being attacked. I didn’t need people thinking that if they fought me, they could make a name for themselves.

“I call bullshit. You always have a bodycam on,” Tim reasoned.

I pulled them away from everyone else because we were attracting eavesdroppers.

“It’s not something I’m proud of. I almost killed the man. They had to take him to the ER in an ambulance,” I explained.

“So, you do have video?” Tim asked.

“Where’s Tami when I need her?” I asked.

“Why, what would she do?” Tim asked.

“Smack you in the head like she used to do to Alan. No one sees the video. I gave it to the police,” I tried.

Both Wolf and Tim rolled their eyes at that but didn’t press it.

They then shared their experience so far. From what the guys said, they liked the campus, sports facilities, and the dorm. They’d gotten the same impression about the students here as I had. They reminded us a lot of back home.

After we ate, we were taken by one of the Oklahoma staff and given a game-day experience. Oklahoma’s football stadium isn’t like others where the parking is next to it. A lot of the tailgating is done in parking lots and on the streets. It didn’t take our dads long to each have a beer in their hand, courtesy of friendly tailgaters.

I was impressed by how their fans treated people in Ohio State gear. Unlike Wisconsin, where I think I heard the f-bomb dropped a hundred times, they invited their opponents’ supporters to join them for some food and good-spirited banter.

We then were taken to Sooner Fan Fest. It was on the east side of the stadium in Heisman Park. I took notes and planned to bring them back to our booster club. There were food vendors and inflatable interactive games, and it was a great place to sit and enjoy your food. They had activities for both children and adults to enjoy themselves. Of course, we ate again. One of their vendors sold pie, and I spotted a little girl with a pecan slice. I wasn’t passing that up.

I spied an autograph tent set up for past and present Oklahoma Sooner athletes to spend some time with the fans and sign autographs. We just missed seeing Jason White, a Heisman Trophy winner.

When we saw the Pride of Oklahoma Marching Band go by, we knew it was time to enter the stadium. We were taken through the Legends Lobby to see all the memorabilia of Oklahoma’s history.