The bus ride back to S of O was a joyous one. There was plenty of laughter and excitement over the results of the first cross-country competition of the season. Rolla was no pushover. They were a much larger school in a much larger conference with a veteran team that had fared well the last several years.
This was S of O’s first test, and they had done very well. There were three more dual meets ahead of them before they moved into larger competitions. Each school they would compete against was much larger, with better training facilities and larger teams to pick their varsities from.
But Coach Moffit knew he had a special team, a strong team, maybe his best team ever. And so did every runner on the S of O team.
The athletes’ dynamic on that bus changed with that race against Rolla. For the first time, they became a team, shedding any thoughts of individual success for the team’s good. They would develop a bond after that first race that would change them from individuals into a brotherhood.
Cross-country was like no other sport because a team was only as strong as its weakest link or at least the fifth runner since final team scores were based on the top five team finishes. Practices would seem less tedious now and more focused on bringing the weakest runners up to their highest levels.
On that bus ride home, there was a sense that every team member was equally important to the team’s success. There was a sense that they would need to bond as friends as well as teammates. As a result of that first competition, they were united in becoming a family.
Coach Moffit knew that too. Within a few days, he moved the entire team to the fifth floor of Brown Hall. They would share a four-bedroom suite with a common area. Justin couldn’t believe his eyes when he first saw his new residence. It was so much nicer than anything he had seen in Rowlison Hall. The suite was large, with a carpeted common area and bathrooms in each of the four bedrooms. It was air-conditioned. The suite was freshly painted. It looked new. Each bedroom had two full-size beds, unlike the bunk beds in other dormitory rooms. There was a small kitchen with a full-size refrigerator. There was even a television set in the common area. Justin would share a room with Earl Myers.
Life at S of O was becoming much more tolerable.
“Living together, eating together, taking classes together will bring you closer,” Coach Moffit told them.
There was only one thing that wasn’t coming together for Justin. That was his relationship with Risa. She wasn’t waiting for him when he returned from that first competition. He went to her dormitory. She wasn’t there. He called her floor several times over the next few weeks. There was one common phone on each floor of the dormitory. It was frustrating to call. Many times, the phone line was busy, and sometimes no one would answer. If Justin was lucky, someone would answer and go to Risa’s room to look for her. But he was always told that she wasn’t there.
Justin tried to put her out of his mind. They had only had one date. Perhaps she just wasn’t that into him. Besides, he had a lot on his plate now. He needed to concentrate on his training and his classes.
As Coach Moffit had anticipated, housing the team together in Brown Hall was bonding them even more. They pushed each other both in practices and in classes. Performances were improving, and so were grades. They were a family now, spending most days and weekends together. They ate together, went to classes together and attended campus church together. Most evenings were spent together in that common room, watching television, talking and nursing sore muscles or minor injuries that resulted from the grueling workouts that Coach Moffit put them through.
His belief in long runs on back country gravel roads mixed with hill and resistance training was improving everyone’s performance, but at a cost. Shin splints, pulled muscles, blistered feet, and lower back aches would touch every member of the team that season. Justin had endured intense training in high school but nothing like this, and certainly not into the season. He had endured two-a-day training for three weeks before each season began. Everyone used to refer to it as “hell month.”
But once the three weeks were over, practices went to just once a day and eased up considerably. But Coach Moffit believed in only two types of practices, hard and harder. The two-a-days ended before the season began, but the intensity of the workouts never slowed. Justin often wondered if his body could hold up to the challenges of the workouts.
One thing was for sure, no one on the team had much time to get into trouble. Between the workouts, classes and studying, there just wasn’t time or motivation. When the evenings and weekends came, rest and sleep seemed more inviting than the social events and parties outside the campus fences.
Ozark people loved to party, especially during the fall, winter and early spring when tourists weren’t around, and there was very little else to do. Most restaurants and tourist activities closed after summer and didn’t re-open until late spring. The sounds of traffic, people and outdoor activities were replaced with quiet. There wasn’t much else to do but drink and party.
Many of those parties involved drugs. For that reason, the hosts were cautious. They held the parties in areas the police and strangers were less likely to find. Most were held in the woods, in open patches close to the lake. A favorite spot was on Outlook Mountain. It was called Outlook Mountain because it overlooked the tri-lakes that ran through the Branson area. It was the same mountain that Justin had run up many times in a weighted backpack during one of Coach Moffit’s insane workouts. He had never been to the other side of the mountain, the side with a hidden gravel road that went up one side to the top where there was a reasonably flat area concealed on all four sides by trees. It was a perfect spot for a party.
The parties were secret, but somehow word of them always seemed to get around campus. There were always several students that found their way to the parties. Most of the time, they checked out of the dormitory for the weekend, saying they were going home when they instead partied the weekend away.
Earl Myers had attended many hill parties but not during cross-country season. He was dedicated, more so than anyone Justin had ever known. Earl gave 100% to everything he did. He had been a good influence on Justin. They were becoming very good friends even though they were nearly complete opposites.
Still, he considered Earl to be his best friend. Earl never pulled any punches. He said what he felt no matter what.
When it came to Risa, Earl was frank, “She’s no good for you, buddy. I’m telling you, that girl is trouble. You’re better off if you never see her again.”
It bothered Justin when he said that, but he let it slide by.
Earl was too good of a friend to let his feeling for Risa change how he felt about him. Earl was different from any friend he had before. He was honest, and he would do anything for his friends. He was a big, clumsy guy with a heart ten sizes too big.
There were plenty of times that Earl’s constant talking, his stupid practical jokes and his constant quoting of bible verses, drove Justin a little crazy, but still, he had never had such a strong friendship. He could tell Earl anything and know that he wouldn’t be judged or that his conversations wouldn’t be kept private. Justin told Earl about Elise, his first love.
“I loved her, Earl. I think that I still do. But we broke up when I left for S of O. She was afraid our relationship wouldn’t work long-distance. She was going into her Senior year and wanted to date other boys. She wasn’t ready to commit to just one guy. I understood, but it hurt. I miss her a lot.”
“Why don’t you write or call her?” Earl asked.
“I’m afraid that she might not answer. Besides, she’s right. Our relationship couldn’t have lasted. We are both too young to be in a serious relationship. It’s better that we make a clean break.”
“Well, buddy, there are plenty of cute girls right here on campus. Most of which, I think, would be anxious to date a city boy like you. You’d have it made here if you just opened yourself up to a good old hill girl. Trust me, hill girls know how to have fun. They also know how to cook and take care of their men, if you know what I mean. You could do a lot worse.”
“Yeah, you are probably right, Earl, but I just don’t think I’m ready yet. Besides, with the coach’s insane workouts, all that I feel like doing when I get back to the dorm is sleeping.”
“Hell, buddy, if you can sleep at night, you’re not working out hard enough. The pains in my body keep me up most of the night.”
“What about you, Earl? I don’t see you dating any of the girls on campus.”
“That’s because it’s cross-country season. That’s my top priority now. Once the season is over, watch out, hill girls, because smooth Earl will be on the prowl. Justin, why did you decide to come to S of O. Don’t misunderstand, but the school is a little out-of-character for a city boy like you.”
“Well, to be honest with you, Earl, I sort of ran out of options. I had an illness my senior year that slowed my running. I lost my chance at a scholarship, and my parents couldn’t afford to send me to college. Coach Moffitt thought he could get me back into shape, so when the school accepted me, I figured it was my best option. So, I came here.”
“You could have walked on someplace else, maybe earned a scholarship after your first year.”
“No, my parents couldn’t afford to send me to college. They have enough trouble making ends meet. I did apply for financial aid at Kansas. But what they offered wasn’t enough. Besides, it meant going into debt. I just didn’t want to do that.”
“What about you, Earl. Why did you choose S of O.?”
“I didn’t consider anybody else, Justin. Hell, it really didn’t matter to me whether I went to college or not. Nobody in my family ever went to college. I planned on getting a factory job, maybe in Springfield and building a small cabin on my family’s property. But Coach Moffit called and asked me if I’d like to join his cross-country and track teams. School was free, and hell, I could always get a factory job if it didn’t work out.”
“Do you miss your family, Earl?”
“No, not really. My dad’s an alcoholic. He stopped working several years ago, and now all he does is sit around the house and drink. He gets violent when he drinks. Mom and my younger brothers are afraid of him. But not me. He and I have tangled a few times. When he’s drunk, I can whip his ass. To tell you the truth, I enjoy being away from home. Once in a while, I start missing mom and my brothers. When that happens, I can go home for a day or two. That’s about as long as I can stand being home.”
After the Rolla meet, S of O went up against Missouri Southern in a dual meet in Joplin, MO. It was an unusually cold day for September, with temperatures in the fifties and the wind blowing gently out of the west. The race took place on Joplin’s municipal golf course, a flat course conducive to achieving fast times. This was one of two races that season that Coach Moffitt specifically targeted to earn qualifying times at the NAIA National meet at the end of the season.
Most of the team figured that only one, maybe two of S of O’s harriers had a shot at qualifying for Nationals. Brad Connelly had been to Nationals last year. He had been the only member of the team that year that did qualify, finishing 38th in a field of 180 runners.
Still, Brad had to qualify again this year, and his finishing time in the Rolla meet was nearly thirty seconds slower than the NAIA National qualifying time.
Coach Moffit also had hoped that Eric Cramer would qualify for Nationals also.
Ten minutes before the Joplin race was to begin, storm clouds moved overhead, and a light rain shower started. As the rain came down, the wind picked up too. When the starter’s pistol went off, fourteen runners sprinted down a fifty-yard funnel-like start, with wide open space in the beginning and narrowing to a narrow pathway for most of the remainder of the course. Brad took the lead with Eric right on his shoulder. Justin and Earl, both known for their slow starts, were near the tail end of the pack. The first portion of the race went directly into the wind. Rain was intensifying and blowing almost horizontally directly into the runners’ faces.
Justin settled in behind the backs of two Missouri Southern runners who shielded him from the wind and pounding rain. It was a strategy that would pay off for him. The first third of the race went straight west, right into the wind. But the second third of the race curled around the back portion of the golf course going northeast out of the direct impact of the wind. Justin was able to pass the two competitors directly in front of him when the running path widened slightly, and he no longer needed the bodies ahead of him to shield him from the wind and rain. He had conserved energy by staying behind the two runners during the windiest part of the run. Now he was preparing to make his move as he came out of the back of the course and began heading back to the finish.
That’s when Earl’s victory screams began. One after another as he passed competitors. Based on the number of screams, Justin reasoned, Earl must have been at the very back of the pack when he began his move.
The wind seemed to pick up as Justin turned back east for the final mile of the race. The blowing air seemed to lift him, pushing him faster than he thought he was capable of going. He was nearly at a full sprint when he passed the next two competitors. He counted only one Missouri Southern runner ahead of him as he reached the final, long, flat straightaway to the finish.
Earl’s screams continued with every runner he passed. Justin could hear Earl’s heavy breathing and loud footsteps directly behind him as he came up on the right shoulder of the top competitor. Fifty yards left. Justin, the Missouri Southern runner and Earl, were all in a full sprint to the finish line. They were side by side for the final twenty-five yards. Finally, Earl pulled ahead by a body length with Justin directly behind. All three runners crossed the finish line within one second of each other.
Coach Moffit had qualified four of his runners for the NAIA Nationals that day, more than any other season.
That night the team would celebrate in their suite on the fifth floor of the dormitory with pizza, cake and soda, compliments of Coach Moffit. He ordered pizza, and his wife Diane made the cake, three layers, chocolate cake with chocolate icing. Coach even rented the video Hoosiers to play on the common area television.
The party had barely begun when someone knocked on the door. It was a student.
“Is there a Justin in here?” he said.
“Yes, I’m Justin.”
“There’s someone downstairs to see you, a girl,” the boy said with a grin.
“Who is it?” Justin asked.
“I don’t know, man. She didn’t give her name.”
Justin excused himself and told his teammates that he would be right back. Then he went down the stairs to the first floor.
Waiting in the lobby was Risa. She smiled when she saw him.
“What are you doing here?” Justin asked.
It had been two weeks since he last saw her. She looked more beautiful than he remembered, but he refused to show his excitement to see her. She had not answered his calls. She simply vanished from his life with no explanation. He was hurt. He was angry with her.
“I came to see you, silly,” she said with a wide grin.
“Where have you been for two weeks?” Justin asked.
“I’ve been here, just busy. I’m sorry we weren’t able to talk. I’ve missed you.”
“Well, you have a strange way of showing it. I tried calling you. I stopped by the dormitory. I even went to the bakery hoping to see you.”
“Yeah, they transferred me out of the bakery. I’m working in the campus bookstore now. And, sorry about not returning your calls. Something happened, and I didn’t feel that I should burden you. Can we take a walk and talk, Justin?”
“OK, but only for a few minutes. We’re having a small pizza party upstairs. I told the team that I’d be right back.”
She reached for Justin’s hand. “I promise this will only take a few minutes. I just need to talk to you in private.” She held his hand and led him out of the dormitory and down the concrete walkway toward the pond.
Her hand felt so warm, so tender, Justin thought. He wasn’t going to admit it, but he missed her. She was like no other girl Justin had ever known. He was physically attracted to her, but it was much more than that. She seemed so genuine, so caring. There was a deep emotional connection between them. He couldn’t explain it, but when he was with her, he was his happiest. He felt at peace.
The sky was clear, and the moon was full that night. The air was cool, with a slight breeze that was reminiscent of an early Fall evening. Risa wore a light blue sweater and tight blue jeans that framed her long, thin legs. Justin was under-dressed for the cool evening in shorts and a t-shirt. But the cool breeze felt good to him. He was just happy to be walking with Risa.
Clear, full-mooned nights on the S of O campus were a sight to be seen. Wide, cobblestone pathways that curled through campus leading from one building to another, all illuminated with old, iron post streetlights that looked like something from an old movie. And the bright, white lights of the fountain jetted water high in the air and arched back to the pond. With the white stone buildings serving as a backdrop, the campus looked like a set for a movie about college life many decades ago.
The ten-minute walk to the fountain was silent. Justin waited for Risa to talk, but she didn’t. He could tell she had something heavy on her mind that she needed to tell him but was waiting for the right time and place to do so.
She led him to a bench on the far side of the fountain. It was quiet there. No other students were around, only the sound of the fountain in the background.
When seated, she reached over and gently kissed him on the lips. It was a tender kiss, sweet, soft and long. She placed her hand on Justin’s leg, looked him in the eyes and began to speak. “I’m so sorry if I hurt you, Justin. I didn’t mean to. I care about you deeply. But there are things going on in my life that I wasn’t able to share.”
“OK, what’s going on?” Justin asked.
“When I met you, there was an instant attraction. You are different from anyone that I have ever dated. I wanted to get to know you. I wanted our relationship to grow. The truth is that I had just broken up with someone. I thought it was over. I wanted it to be over. He’s a boy that I knew from high school. We had dated for nearly four years. His family and mine are friends. They’ve known each other since I was born. Ever since we started dating, they assumed Richard and I would marry and settle down in Sikeston,” Risa said with sad eyes.
“So where is this Richard now?” Justin asked.
“He’s here at S of O. In fact, he lives at Brown Hall, on the third floor. He’s a year older than me, a sophomore. He’s a basketball player. You’ve probably seen him. He knows you.”
“What?” Justin responded. “Did you tell him about us?”
“Yes, I had to. He forced me. You don’t know Richard. He’s a very jealous person. He has a dark side, a scary side. That’s why I broke up with him, or at least, tried to break up with him. Richard doesn’t take no for an answer. What he wants, he usually gets. You haven’t been at S of O long enough to know that basketball players are treated like Gods on campus. The sport is hugely popular down here. But more than that, it brings in tons of revenue and keeps the alumni donating to the college. The entire third floor of Brown Hall is an athletic dorm for the basketball team. In addition, they have access to a lake home off campus, completely furnished by the alumni. That’s where some of the team and alumni spend parts of the summer and weekends during the off-season. Team members can go there anytime they want. Richard is there tonight. That’s why I felt safe talking to you, Justin.”
“Are you afraid of him, Risa?”
“Not so much for me. I don’t think that he would ever hurt me. But I am afraid for you. Like I said, Richard is a very jealous person, and he has a lot of friends. I told him that we only went out once and that it was over now. I think he believed me, but I’m sure he is keeping an eye on both of us.”
“Risa, why did you want to talk to me tonight? Was it to warn me or tell me that we couldn’t see each other again? Because I kind of assumed we were already over because you hadn’t answered my calls or tried to see me the last couple of weeks.”
“I wanted to see you, Justin. Richard had me stay with him at the lake house for the last two weeks. A friend of his saw us together coming back from our date. He told Richard, and Richard confronted me. He was so angry. I’ve never seen him that upset. He made me promise him that I would never see you again. That’s when he made me pack my bags and move in with him at the lake house. Someone would drive me back for classes and pick me up afterward to go back to the lake house. I felt like a prisoner.”
“How’d you get away tonight?”
“This weekend, the team is initiating the Freshman players. They’re having a private party. None of the girlfriends are invited. He brought me back to campus late last night and will pick me up again tomorrow evening. He made me promise not to see you. Justin, I don’t want to stop seeing you. I know that we don’t know each other very well, but I feel there is something special about you. I feel so good when I’m around you. There is something special about the way I feel about you, and I think you feel the same way. Tell me you don’t want to see me again, and I’ll go away. But if you feel the same way about me that I feel about you, then we deserve to see how it works out.”
Justin did feel the same way she did. His brain told him to walk away, but his heart wouldn’t let him. He wrapped his arm around her, pulled her lips close to his and kissed her long and passionately. They spent the remainder of the evening before curfew in each other’s arms on that bench on the other side of the fountain.
Risa was like no other woman Justin had ever known. She cast a spell on him that made it impossible for him to stop thinking of her.
The relationship is insane, he thought to himself. Risa is dating another guy. She isn’t willing to give Richard up. She wants to have him and me too. There is zero chance of our relationship ending well.
Justin knew it was an unwinnable situation. He knew in his head that she would never leave Richard. She either loved him, or she was so afraid of him that she couldn’t leave. Whatever the reason, Justin knew that the path he had decided to take would end in heartache. Still, in his heart, he couldn’t walk away from her.