When it became apparent he was in no hurry to leave, she opened up a little. 'I had a sorority sister at Hollins whose brother played for State. She was watching a game, our sophomore year, and I walked into her room. There was the great Neely Crenshaw, moving Tech up and down the field, fans going wild,the announcers giddy over this great young quarterback. I thought, 'Well, good. That's what he always wanted.A big-time hero.Adoring masses.Coeds chasing him all over campus, throwing themselves at him.Constant adulation. Everybody's all- American. That's Neely.''
'Two weeks later I was in the hospital.'
She shrugged. 'I didn't know. I wasn't following your great career.'
'Who told you?'
'I was home for Christmas break, and I had lunch with Nat. He told me you'd never play again. It's such a stupid sport. Boys and young men mangle their bodies for life.'
'It is indeed.'
'So tell me,Neely , what happened to the girls? When you're no longer the hero, what happens to all those little sluts and groupies?'
'They disappear.'
'That must've killed you.'
'Now we're making progress,' Neely thought. 'Let's get the venom out.'
'There was nothing pleasant about the injury.'
'So you became just a regular person, like the rest of us?'
'I guess, but with a lot of baggage. Being a forgotten hero is not easy.'
'And you're still adjusting?'
'When you're famous at eighteen, you spend the rest of your life fading away. You dream of the glory days, but you know they're gone forever. I wish I'd never seen a football.'
'I don't believe that.'
'I'd be a regular guy with two good legs. And I wouldn't have made the mistake with you.'
'Oh please,Neely , don't get sappy. We were only sixteen.'
Another long pause as they sipped from their cups and got ready for the next serve and volley.Neely had been planning the encounter for weeks.Cameron had had no idea she would ever see him again. Still, he knew the element of surprise would not help him. She would have all the answers.
'You're not saying much,' he said.
'I have nothing to say.'
'Come on, Cameron, this is your chance to unload with both barrels.'
'Why should I? You're here trying to force me to dig up bad memories that took years to forget. What makes you think I want to go back to high school and get burned again? I've dealt with it,Neely . Obviously you haven't.'
'You want to know about Screamer?'
'Hell no.'
'She's a cocktail waitress at a low rent casino in Vegas, fat and ugly, thirty-two and looking fifty, all according to Paul Curry, who saw her there. Apparently she went to Hollywood, tried to sleep her way to the top,got squeezed out by a million other small-town homecoming queens trying to sleep their way to the top.'
'No surprise.'
'Paul said she looked tired.'
'I'm certain of that. She looked tired in high school.'
