“After that, it’s all about your work experience and whether you have a degree, no matter where it’s from. Like I said, you wouldn’t need the edge having a better degree would afford you.
“The only exceptions are if you’re going into a technical or professional field, but even then, most of those fields require you to go to grad school. And especially for you, if you go that route, your grades will be a lot more important than whether your degree is from Oklahoma or USC,” Tami explained.
“You think it’s more of a football decision, then?” I asked.
“Absolutely not. In the grand scheme of things, football, and for that matter, baseball, is not what you should use to decide. Wherever you go, I suspect you’ll be fine. I suggested Oklahoma because of the quality of life. Going to that strip club is a prime example of what I’m talking about.”
“This should be good,” I said.
“Think about it. If you’d pulled that stunt in LA, how fast would it have been all over the Internet?” she asked.
I blinked a few times as that settled into my brainpan.
“Think of the paparazzi,” Tami continued. “Did you see any when you were on your visit to Oklahoma?”
“No,” I admitted.
“How did everyone treat you? Were you swarmed with people wanting a piece of you?” Tami asked.
“Four girls wanted something,” I said with a smile.
“I bet they did.”
“Okay, I get it.”
And I did. USC was very attractive to me, but at heart, I still was a small-town boy. Every time I went to LA, there were temptations to go wild. I was sure I would find enough excitement in Norman, and if I needed something extra, I could fly to either New York or LA.
Tami was right. For me, I would fit in better in a smaller town.
◊◊◊
Chapter 33 – Made My Decision Tuesday March 14
This morning, the rain was cool, and the air crisp against my skin. Typical for March. I needed my run, though, so from my perspective, this was terrible timing. Even Duke was smart enough to go back inside.
With my toes pointed out toward the street, I stood at the edge of the driveway. A chill wind whipped through my hair. I wanted to shiver, but I steeled myself and ignored the cold.
Rain puddled at my feet, soaking my running shoes. I usually enjoyed the rain during the summer. I liked walking barefoot through puddles in the lawn and the smell of rain mixed with fresh-cut grass. This morning, it was miserable.
I took off at a brisk pace. I wanted to get this over as quickly as possible, so I planned to push myself.
While I ran, I contemplated what Tami had said to me. I’d been focused on comparing and contrasting only things related to education and football to pick where I’d go to college. Quality of life seemed to be an afterthought until Tami pointed it out.
She was right that if I lived in LA, I would, in effect, be living in a fishbowl. I would also need more security, and the traffic was terrible. But there was a lot I liked about LA, too. Besides the weather—which was a huge deal, really—I already had a circle of friends there.
I had to ask myself, would I really be happier in Norman, Oklahoma? Or did I need to step out of my comfort zone and embrace life in LA?
Right now, I wasn’t sure what I would do. But no matter what, I would make my decision tonight.
I sprinted the last block when the wind and rain picked up. Even with my protective gear, I was soaked through. I wondered if anyone else was dumb enough to be out running this morning. Hopefully, it would dry out in time for our game tonight.
◊◊◊
I felt much better after a hot shower. I walked down to the house and found Cassidy cooking while Manaia and Paul were drinking coffee.
“Why are all of you here?” I asked my security people.
“We had someone come over the fence this morning while you were out running,” Paul explained.
Mom and Dad came into the kitchen carrying the boys.
“You’re going to have to do something about that alarm, or you get to deal with the boys’ hysterics,” Mom said.
“You said someone came over the fence. What happened?” I asked.
“While you were out on your run, the drones alerted us about someone at the back fence. I saw them start to scale it, so I set off the alarm and locked all the doors remotely,” Paul said.
“I got here first and subdued the intruder,” Manaia said.
Cassidy snorted.
“What’s so funny?” I asked.
“It was Brock Callahan. His brother tossed his hat into the yard. Brock climbed the fence to get it. He seemed a little pissed when Manaia body-slammed him,” Cassidy shared.
That would explain why the place wasn’t swarming with police.
“It was a good test run,” Paul said, to try to put it in the best light.
“Fix the alarms, or you two can calm down Little David and Coby next time,” Mom warned.
Manaia and Paul both flinched.
Angie and Peggy came down, and we all had breakfast. Cassidy’s cooking had improved a lot.
Paul drew the short straw and had to take Cassidy and me to school while Manaia helped Peggy load the boys into the car seats to go to daycare.
“Jill Lacier wants to talk to you,” Cassidy said.
