Hazardous Choices

By Joseph Rinaldo

After surviving life in a violent Chicago street gang through his high school years, Darnell Jackson’s future appears promising. A football scholarship gives him the chance to escape the thug lifestyle.

During his first year in college, Darnell safely resides in a small Kentucky town, playing Division Two college football and trying to make something of himself. Adjusting to the new surroundings proves tough, but a teammate and a girl give him hope that his future will be better than his past.

In the summer after his freshman year, he returns to the old neighborhood to be with his mother. The gang reasserts its hold on him, and the leader orders Darnell to kill a specific member of a rival gang. Nearly dying in a gang fight, Darnell shoots an enemy gangbanger; unfortunately, it is the wrong target. This forces Darnell to re-evaluate his future. As a result, he lies to the mercurial leader of his gang, claiming he completed his assignment. After “doing work” for his gang, Darnell receives permission to head back to school and the security of small-town life.

When the head gangbanger learns of Darnell’s lie, the small Kentucky town isn’t so safe anymore.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Joseph Rinaldo
• Release date: Nov 5, 2011
• ISBN: 9781466075672

Joseph Rinaldo

I am Joe Rinaldo, and I’ve written four novels - Valerie's Retreat, A Mormon Massacre, A Spy At Home and Hazardous Choices - that are available on Amazon. By day I work as Credit and Financial Manager for a heating, ventilating, and air conditioning distributor. When I first started writing, I thought being a numbers guy would make me an oddity as an author. That’s proved to be wrong. The more people I meet in this industry, the more I run across accountants and CFOs. Apparently, creativity infects a variety of people. Of course, I have the same dream as other writers. I hope my books sell a million copies and become smash hit movies. Selling ebooks isn’t the get-rich-quick scheme I thought it was before being published. It’s been a lot of work.

Book preview

HAZARDOUS

CHOICES

By Joseph Rinaldo

Smashwords Edition

Copyright 2011 Joseph Rinaldo

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return it to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Chapter 1

Ben Rotteli, Head Coach of Western Kentucky State University Bobcats football team shouted at his players, CRASH DRILL! LET’S FIND OUT WHO WANTS TO HIT SOMEBODY!

Half the players ran to the twenty-yard line, and the other half ran to the thirty-yard line. They stood facing each other from ten yards apart, waiting for the whistle to blow. At the whistle, each player would charge at the person directly across from him and try to push him back past his starting position or knock him down. This drill always signaled the end of practice.

"End practice with a good hit, not the SISS-E-FIED love taps I’ve seen so far today, bellowed the Defensive Line Coach Frank Pearl. The whistle blew, and both lines charged. Most battles quickly reached a decision, but two offensive linemen continued after everyone else had finished. Coach Pearl ran to them. Who’s not a SISS-EE!? Who!? The rest of the players hollered for one or the other or both. Coach Pearl continued to yell in their faces. Who’s not the SISS-EE!?" One player finally slipped, his knee touching the ground. The team roared with approval for their effort.

Before Coach Pearl could announce who received the title of sissy, Coach Rotteli bellowed, Hit the showers. The other coaches gathered around the head coach as the players walked toward the locker room. With the players safely out of hearing range, Coach Rotteli started the discussion. Did anybody jump out today as deserving the starting tailback position?

Marco Ramirez will work out fine carrying the ball. Why are you so worried about the tailback? We need to be worried about depth; we’ve got one decent player for every position, and two for none, Offensive Coordinator Karl Vaughn replied, cash-strapped WKSU’s only full-time assistant coach.

Yeah, he’s right. We wouldn’t be allowed on Noah’s Ark, because we don’t have two of anything, chimed in Coach Pearl and got everybody laughing.

Very funny, Pearlie, said Offensive Line Coach, Marvin Johnson. Where did you get that line? I know you’re not clever enough to think that up on your own.

Lou Holtz said that about one of his South Carolina teams. Before anyone asks, I’ve waited five years to use that line. Coach Pearl had gained a well-deserved reputation for using other people’s lines.

The receivers ran good routes today, but I’m worried Mr. Troy Murphy won’t be able to pass on time to anybody. He looked awful today, said Coach Rotteli, bringing everyone back to the business at hand. At that moment, Ben felt someone tapping his shoulder. He turned to see his son standing behind him, holding a bag of footballs he had just collected off the practice field.

Hrrr, said Eric Rotteli, an eighteen-year-old with Down syndrome, a form of mental retardation. After several years in a special after-school speech therapy program, Eric still tried to form words, but remained completely nonverbal. He understood what people said and made gestures for things, but never developed the ability to converse.

Good work, Eric. Take those in to the storage shed at the other end of the field. Ben pointed the way for his son, who attended all the practices he could. Eric sprinted for the storage shed. He was enjoying his high school’s spring break by hanging around the football team and helping out.

I wish some of Eric’s hustle would rub off on the d-line. They were just going half- assed out there. Nobody cared about spring practice today, lamented Frank Pearl about his area of responsibility.

Nobody except Darnell; that kid goes full tilt all the time, said Karl Vaughn about his favorite and best offensive player. Coach Vaughn believed in Darnell Jackson and had recruited him in spite of alleged gang affiliations and an actual criminal record for petty theft.

Well, Ben, said Frank, you appear to have a pain-in-the-ass visitor. I’m headed to the office. The other coaches turned to see Bartholomew Chesterton waddle-jog his short but excessively round frame toward them.

Ben and Karl stayed to greet Bartholomew as Marvin followed Frank to the football offices. The two graduate assistants who filmed practice from the plywood press box at the top of the bleachers joined the coaches going indoors when they spotted the big booster on the field. Being the only full-time coaches on WKSU’s staff, Ben and Karl felt obligated to entertain the school’s largest contributor, who had donated almost all the money for the football field.

Hey there, coaches, I only got to see the last few minutes of practice, but that was an outstanding hitting drill. I noticed that Troy really took command of the quarterback drills. He put the whole team on his shoulders and said, ‘I’ll carry ya’ll to victory.’ I love watching that kid play, Bartholomew said. Everyone knew attending practice indulged his fantasy of coaching college football. The small fortune he had amassed after finding coal on his farm just outside of Owensboro, Kentucky, enabled him to donate his way into the inner workings of Division Two WKSU. The strip mine had failed to generate an income that would allow him to realize his real dream of being a major influence at the state’s largest Division One school. The money at his disposal did allow him to be a big fish in the WKSU pool of contributors.

Neither coach saw any benefit from pointing out that Troy had his worst practice ever. Ben politely said, We really want a take-charge quarterback.

I didn’t see you running any plays today; something wrong? asked the self-centered booster.

No, we’re working on mechanics today. Every coach at every school will tell you that spring practices are the time to work on fundamentals. That involves lots of repetition and lots of teaching, said Karl. The full-time coaches tried to take turns responding to Chesterton’s inane comments so neither coach would become overly frustrated dealing with this man.

Mechanics are boring. I like to see hitting, like they did right there at the end.

Now it was Ben’s turn. Hitting is what football players live for.

Even these two coaches had reached their breaking point, so they excused themselves with smiles and handshakes before heading to the football offices.

In the locker room, quarterback Troy Murphy sat with his head down.

Hey, Troy. Darnell sat down next to him. Shake it off, man. You threw a few bad balls; don’t sweat it.

Come on, D, Troy said. I sucked; I mean I truly sucked raw eggs. In fact, I am insulting raw eggs by saying that.

Raw eggs might be insulted, but rotten eggs wouldn’t. Think of yourself as sucking rotten eggs, Darnell chuckled.

T-dog, relax, man, Marco Ramirez said, using Troy’s nickname. I don’t want you this mad at me if I suck someday like you did today. Get over it; this is just spring practice.

You know, Marco, I wish you’d take spring ball a little more seriously. We only won one game last year. I can’t live through that again this year. HEY, EVERYBODY! Troy stood up and got everyone’s attention. Hey, ya’ll, I want to apologize for my poor performance today. (A few murmured, No big deal or Don’t worry about it, and Troy put his hands up for silence.) "From now on I'm makin' it a big deal! I want every one of us to take these practices more seriously. Look, we were just terrible last year. How many of us came from a high school team that won your state championship? I’m serious; hands up. Darnell and defensive cornerback Sam Morton raised their hands in response to Troy’s question. Keep them up. Who in here came from a high school that made your state playoffs? Nearly every one of them raised their hands. Now raise your hands if you would have tolerated a one-win and ten-loss season in high school! Every hand went down. Look, I know we have a tendency to look at college ball like a job. We play to get the money for school, but let’s take a little pride in our work and get serious. Tomorrow we all show up ready to go hard all through practice." Troy went to his locker and started changing. The locker room remained quiet; no one spoke while they showered and changed.

The coaches went to the Rotelli’s office, which doubled as the conference room. They discussed the depth chart, position by position, without regard for job titles. The defensive coaches offered suggestions on offensive players, and vice versa. Eric Rotteli sat at the conference table next to his father. While they discussed football, Eric worked Search-A-Word puzzles. The coaches obeyed an unspoken rule of not cursing around Eric. Ben Rotteli never cursed, but Coach Pearl cursed enough to make a two-dollar whore blush, except when Eric was present. Coach Vaughn often became incensed to the point of uncontrollable yelling during coach’s meetings, except when Eric happened to be there; so Eric's presence inadvertently created a more professional and productive atmosphere at coaches’ meetings.

Darnell has hands of glue and almost always runs a perfect route; he’s solidly the starter at wide receiver. I have an idea. I’ve been toying with the idea of moving Troy to second string and putting Chris Osborne on the first squad as quarterback. What do you think? asked Karl, who was responsible for making the decision of who started. Ben could overrule the coordinator’s decision, but he never did. The coordinator and Ben might speak privately to discuss the reason for a decision or a back-up plan if Ben disagreed with a decision, but once a responsibility was delegated, Ben gave the coach free rein.

Anyone else feel that way? Ben inquired.

I wouldn’t do that if I were you, said Offensive Line Coach Johnson. I know the Osborne kid has the better arm, but the other players look at Troy as a leader. You’ll shake the whole team’s confidence if you yank him.

During the players’ dinner at the cafeteria while the coaches held their meeting, Darnell sat next to Troy. T-dog, you have a knack for leading. People want to follow you. That’s what makes you our quarterback and team leader.

Thanks, D, Troy said, as he continued to eat. I’ve got a question for you. You’re obviously the best player on this team. Why not go to a bigger school or a better program?

I really didn’t get recruited by anybody but WKSU. At five-foot-seven and one-hundred-forty-five pounds, no one wanted me. I can’t play the physical bump-and-run of Division One football. The bump takes me out of the play. Darnell gave his broad charming smile.

Ok, but why way down here in Owensboro, Kentucky? Another D-Two school would have given you something.

I had a few offers close to Chicago, but I couldn’t stay there. This is close enough to get home once in a while and far enough away to not go home much and be part of that situation. Darnell started eating, too.

What’s the problem at home? Troy asked before anyone else came over to their table. The quarterback from Owensboro and the wide receiver from Chicago had kept a business-like relationship during Darnell’s freshman season, but during the spring practices they had gotten to know and like one another. Darnell had spent his first few months at college keeping to himself, while Troy adjusted to being the starting quarterback and team leader. Through the season each had learned to trust the other on the field, and that had begun to carry over off the field.

Back in Chicago I was in a gang. Don’t ever tell anyone that, Darnell whispered.

No problem, Troy said, with a mouth full of food.

I really didn’t want any part of gang life, but in my building every kid had to make a choice. Either be in the gang and get beat up once during initiation, or get beat up every day for refusing to join. I’m say’n, they’d bring three, four or even five guys at you at once to beat you down. They might end up killing you, or you’d have’ta move off somewhere. We couldn’t move, so I thought getting beat to a bloody pulp once was better than getting bloody every day. Darnell shrugged as if asking Troy what he would have done.

Tough call, man. I would have done the same thing, replied Troy, still shoveling food into his mouth. How bad was the initiation?

They beat me for…I don’t know how long. One dude was real big, I mean Godzilla big. He landed one punch on my temple that about knocked me out while I was trying to punch another guy about my size. Darnell punched the air and demonstrated where Godzilla hit him.

How…, another fork full of mashed potatoes went into Troy’s mouth, …how many came at you?

I’m not really sure. Four, for sure. Darnell stared at Troy for a moment. Is this your last meal or something? You’re eating too fast. I know a nice woman like your mama told you to chew your food thirty times before swallowing.

Vaughn gave too many reps to Chris, Troy said, meaning that the Offensive Coordinator had allowed Chris Osborne, the back-up quarterback, to run the offense’s plays more than normal in practice. Doing this gave Troy a clear signal that Coach Vaughn was considering Chris as the starter. I’ve got to go watch film after I eat but before Vaughn leaves, so he’ll see I’m putting in extra work and deserve to start.

T-dog, you da man! Brown-nosing to keep your ass in the starting lineup. Darnell smiled and scratched the tip of his nose.

As the coaches’ meeting broke up, Troy returned to the football office to use the film room. Vaughn passed him in the hall. What are you doing here?

I’m going to watch the tape of today’s practice, and you don’t have to look so surprised, Coach, Troy said in a voice dripping with sarcasm.

Vaughn turned to the other coaches walking away from him down the hall and said very loudly, Hey, everyone, Troy came back to watch extra film. Could someone look outside and tell me if the sky is falling?

Troy who? jested Coach Pearl.

Troy and Coach Vaughn went into the film room which resembled a classroom but with too many chairs in too small a space. The room had to hold the entire team when they came together to watch film. Fortunately, this happened very seldom. The coach and quarterback settled into seats directly in front of the thirty-six-inch screen television. Karl put in the tape of that day’s practice. I really want you to watch your feet. I want you to grade yourself on foot-checking the receivers. Since you’re right-handed, your left foot should point at your primary receiver first. If he’s not open, then you move your feet so your left toe points at the second receiver as you look at him, and so on.

Got it. Troy wrote that at the top of the page in the notebook he brought. Coach, before we start watching today’s practice, I was hoping for a list of things to do better. I’m hoping by correcting the items on the list that I’ll be the starter.

Good idea, Troy! First, I want to go over what you’re doing right, and I don’t want you to change. You are a natural-born leader, so keep acting like a leader. The other kids seem to follow you. That means you have their respect, which gives you a lot of responsibility to set a good example; coming back to watch today’s practice is setting a good example.

Thanks, Coach. That’s nice to hear, Troy said with a smile, because he loved to receive compliments.

You have pretty good arm strength, so keep up the good work in the weight room. Now let’s watch the practice film and see where you can improve. Coach Vaughn began his critique as Troy scribbled notes.

After the coaches’ meeting ended, Eric went to the weight room. He used a little- traveled hallway from his father’s office to the weight room. Being at work with his father meant following the rules laid down by his father: no going outside and no lifting weights unless someone else was with him. Since most of the players went to the dining hall after practice, Eric only found Coach Johnson lifting weights. Marvin waved Eric toward him. You ready to lift some weights, buddy?

Eric nodded his head and jogged to Marvin. The coach opened a drawer in the file cabinet in the corner of the room where all the players’, coaches’, and Eric’s lifting schedules were filed. Pulling out two manila file folders, he said, I’ve got our charts. Let’s open yours and see what you work on today. You did leg work yesterday so we need to work your arms today. My chart says…I’m working the upper body today, too. We’ll go through the stations together. Let’s start at the bench press, and you’re lifting a, a…, Marvin ran his finger down the sheet, …a hundred and twenty-five pounds. Say, you’ve really improved since I lifted with you last summer!

Marvin, a part-time coach handling the offensive line, possessed the gift of gab. With little or no feedback, he often spoke for hours on end. Once Eric began lifting on the bench press, he said, I think you’re like me, Eric. You come to the weight room after having to sit in one place at the coaches meeting, and you want to unwind with a little physical activity. That’s the way to lift. He glanced up when he heard the door before returning his attention to Eric. We’ve got some company.

Hey, Coach Johnson, the players said in unison. Eric replaced the bar with the weights in its rack and sat up. The players, of course, recognized him, and offensive lineman Matt Harkin spoke first, What’s up, Eric? You showing Coach Johnson how to lift weights?

Eric smiled, enjoying himself.

Maurice Washington, the other lineman, joined the conversation, Eric, pump those weights because Coach Johnson is too big a SISS-EEE to keep up with you! I expect you to make Coach Johnson look like the SISS-EEE he is! You hear me, Eric? He’s a SISS-EEE! Everyone howled with laughter at Maurice’s imitation of Coach Pearl.

On the final day of spring practice, the Western Kentucky State University Bobcats held their annual spring brown-and-white game. Due to the previous year’s dismal performance, only a reporter, the mothers of two players, four players’ girlfriends and of course, the annoying super-booster, Bartholomew Chesterton attended the game. Everyone expected the late-summer Mid-Southern Conference coaches’ preseason football poll to predict another last-place finish for WKSU, but the coaching staff, beginning their second season at WKSU, truly believed this would be their breakout year.

Rotteli had coached Mott High School in Warren, Michigan, to three straight 2A State Championships before accepting the position at WKSU. Unlike the WKSU football program, the high school had been very successful in making the state playoffs nearly every year. Rotteli planned to make WKSU a fixture in the NCAA Division Two playoffs. To help him achieve this goal, Rotteli had convinced Karl Vaughn to be the Offensive Coordinator at WKSU. Vaughn had coached the offense for the three-time state champion high school under Rotteli and received the offer for the high school’s head coaching position within minutes of Rotteli’s resignation. Both men moved to the college ranks for the same reason: ambition. Their high school experience had indicated that they possessed real talent as coaches, and they wanted to see how far up the coaching food chain they could go.

On one sideline, Coach Rotteli would command the Brown team as chosen by the Brown team’s senior captains. They picked Darnell first, and the white team captains immediately chose Sam Morton, the best defensive back for WKSU and the only person who could cover Darnell. The coaches decided not to modify the rules, (as many coaches did to prevent injuries and simplify the scrimmage) to encourage the kids to go full bore as if this were a real game.

After a punt with the score tied zero-zero, the Brown team got the ball on their own twenty-yard line with only two minutes remaining.

OK, Chris, Ben Rotteli said to Chris Osborne, the Brown squad’s quarterback, we’re going to put Darnell out wide in single-man coverage against Sam. He’ll run down the sideline, and you hit him in stride forty yards from the line of scrimmage.

Will do, coach, Chris said, with a big smile on his face. Opportunities like this gave him the chance to show off his strong arm and would hopefully put him in contention for the starting job. Chris looked at Darnell. I’ll get it there; be sure you catch it.

On his way back to the huddle, Darnell smiled, You just get me the damn ball. Darnell idolized Keshawn Johnson and never missed the chance to imitate him.

After the Brown squad positioned themselves at the line of scrimmage, Sam, the White team’s defensive back, began his incessant verbal barrage. You really think you have a chance to catch this pass with me on you? I know it’s going to you because a tie game with less than two minutes means we look to Darnell.

Darnell gave his voice a rapping rhythm for his rhyme, Sam, my hands are like glue. Nothing you can do.

Hut, hut, came from Chris behind center, and both players got quiet. Hut."

The play started perfectly; no defenders pressured the quarterback, giving Darnell time to race down the field. Chris threw the ball with all his might. His extra effort to heave the ball resulted in poor throwing form. The ball flew with a slight wobble, causing it to be severely under-thrown.

Darnell tried to stop and come back to the ball, but stopping from a full-out sprint caused him to slip. On the way down, Darnell reached up for ball. The ball touched his fingers an instant before Sam, following a step behind, ran into him. In a fluke of physics, Sam actually balanced himself on Darnell as the receiver fell, keeping the defensive back on his feet. He immediately snatched the ball that flew like a wounded duck straight up from Darnell’s fingers. With the ball in his hands, Sam turned to run, but Darnell grabbed his leg and pulled him down. The White squad got the ball at the Brown forty-two yard line.

Troy led his team right down the field with several short throws. This burned a great deal of time off the clock and put the White squad in scoring position. With first and goal at the nine, Troy lofted a very catchable pass to tailback Marco Ramirez coming out of the backfield. The linemen pulled out in front of him, and they ran the screen play to perfection, allowing Marco to run in for the touchdown.

The touchdown came with eleven seconds left on the clock. The Brown squad got the ball back and threw two desperate bombs down field with no completions. Sam continued jawing with Darnell on the field after the game. Tell me, D, how many balls did you catch today? I remember, ummm, let’s count them, NONE! Why are you considered the best person on this team? Best means unstoppable, and that’s me, not you.

Troy heard most of the monologue as he approached the two. Chill out, Mordred, Troy said, using Sam’s Arthurian nickname. Sam studied English Literature and had given himself the nickname because nobody like him well enough to think of one for him. We’re all on the same team again now that the game’s over. Sam tended to become very sharp-tongued on the field. No one cared when they played another school, but if he did it when they were playing themselves, it could be divisive. Troy wanted to head off any problems before they started.

No problem, T-dog. I’m just reminding D how much fun watching the film of this scrimmage will be. Sam wore a big 'look how great I am' grin on his face.

The coaches and Eric formed a casual circle at midfield. Coach Rotteli began, What’s the verdict; do we have a great defense, or were the offenses just so bad they couldn’t score any points?

The only thing we learned for sure is that Troy is a leader at quarterback, and Sam can flat-out play man-on-man coverage, said the White squad’s Coach Vaughn.

Coach Johnson jumped in the conversation. We might want to run a no-huddle west-coast offense. Troy took command, and that might accentuate his skills.

That’s something we’ll definitely consider. I tell you what, gentlemen, it’s four o’clock; let’s call it quits for now, since everyone has been working ten to twelve hours a day, Rotteli said, and the other coaches breathed a sigh of relief. Rotteli then turned to Eric. Would you help the managers clean up? We’ll take off as soon as the equipment’s put away. Eric ran to help the student managers. As everyone watched Eric sprint away, they spotted Bartholomew coming toward them. The part-time assistant coaches scattered like a flock of scared birds.

Troy looked great in the fourth quarter! Why did ya’ll put Darnell on the other team? How are they going to get their timing down? Ya’ll know how important the timing is between a QB and his receiver! The Brown defensive line put no pressure on Troy all game... Bartholomew continued uninterrupted because both coaches wanted to wait until all his advice came out before trying

Reviews for Hazardous Choices

[lindahawley_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Hazardous Choices is a gritty urban story of 21st century America that will broaden your understanding of inner city life and its far-reaching affect. The dialogue is absolutely brilliant, and riveting. There are passages that use the full bloom of the English language, such as, “Caroline clutched at new ideas the way dogs grabbed bones. She just kept gnawing incessantly on the idea.” If you love the game of football, the suspense of the games within Hazardous Choices will make you feel like you are participating. There is natural humor, surprises, and great suspense in this story. But the heart of this novel is a profoundly tragic reality revealed in the cliffhanger. In my opinion, Hazardous Choices is a must-read for every school teacher in America, and certainly for every coach.Note: This novel is rated R.