Victors Over Leukemia

By Estrellita H. Redmon

The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society statistics show every three minutes someone in the United States is diagnosed with a blood cancer such as leukemia, lymphoma, myeloma, or myelodysplasia. Unfortunately, my family was no exception when my son was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Our experience inspired me to write Victors Over Leukemia to relate my son’s and family’s struggle with, and ultimate triumph over, a disease that not long ago was a certain death sentence. Whatever the situation that has piqued your interest, I am glad you chose this book.

I wanted this book to present our ordeal from the perspectives of all the main characters. Whether or not you have had prior experience with a blood cancer, I want you to become part of our story and determine which perspective speaks to you. As you read Victors Over Leukemia, I hope it fortifies your hope in triumph as the main characters articulate their thoughts, fears, faith, and emotions as they travel the tough road of a leukemia diagnosis.

Each person’s experience is unique, but there are some constant variables. Based on this premise, I believe the reader will identify with the book. It’s the true story of a brave young man and is filled with facts, faith, humor, and encouragement.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Gatekeeper Press
• Release date: Dec 12, 2022
• ISBN: 9781662933097

Book preview

CHAPTER 1

The Prelude Septemer 2009

Victor Gregory Redmon was born a carefree spirit and an independent thinker. He was one of those people who brought life to every party. Indeed, Victor made everything he was involved in seem more fun to the onlookers. Without doubt he was one of those the glass is half full souls.

Victor had looked forward to his first spring break as a freshman in college. The sun was hot but comforting against his skin, and he could barely see the others who were sunbathing on the white sands between the dunes and the waves. The Jet Ski was operating at full force as Victor enjoyed the power of the waves off the shore of Panama City Beach, Florida. He was glad that his two close friends, Austin and Myke, could join him. There was always fun and plenty of laughter when the three of them could hang out together apart from classes and studying.

As he daydreamed about how the second semester in school was going, without warning the engine on the Jet Ski sputtered and then stopped completely. Great, Victor thought as he tried to restart the engine. After the third attempt, he realized that he was drifting farther from shore. Austin and Myke were too far from him to be of any help, so his best action was to try to swim while pushing the ski in front of him, hoping that the waves would assist in carrying him back to shore. The plan seemed to be working, until a strong, abrupt current swept him under the heavy Jet Ski. He felt his head hit the undersurface of the ski, pushing him deeper below the water’s surface. Victor was feeling dazed and couldn’t get his bearing.

Wait; there was fullness in his chest. What is going on? I know how to swim. Why am I losing focus? Concentrate, stroke. Don’t give in. It was no help to talk to himself. Water was filling his lungs and he was drifting into darkness. No, he tried to yell. But more water was coming. Life was drifting away. His chest was burning and images of his parents and sister flashed across his mind as he felt the water take over his lung capacity.

It’s a beautiful day. Don’t let it get away. It’s a beautiful day.

Victor sat up in bed. His breathing was labored and he felt extremely short of breath. His skin was wet with sweat, and he didn’t know if it was from the awful nightmare where he was drowning, or from the increased work of breathing during an asthma flare. He was feeling better now that he was sitting up. Take nice, slow, deep breaths, he told himself. The alarm on his phone was still playing. He reached over to turn it off. Thank God it was all just a bad dream. But somewhat of a stupid dream because how did he end up under the Jet Ski? Well, that’s how dreams are and his dreams rarely made any sense.

Victor thought about the eighteen-hour course load he was taking this semester and shook his head as he thought about the work he needed to do to finish the fall semester. He was feeling very tired, but with good reason, he figured. He had taken, for the second straight summer, a full load of classes. During the summer he had worked an average of five days per week at his part-time job. Over the last year, along with working part time and going to college full time, he had been training for running a half marathon. He really wanted to run a full marathon, but would have to settle for running a half, given the time commitment needed to train for a full marathon. It was Thursday and Myke would be waiting for him at the gym this morning. They usually started with weight lifting by 6:30. Later this evening he would run at least three miles in the neighborhood. Tomorrow, he and Austin, his roommate, would play tennis at the campus courts. It was the last Thursday in September, so the temperatures were in the low eighties by midday, which made it easy to play tennis later in the day.

Victor was in great physical shape, and he wondered if he should run the stadium steps this evening. He loved running the stadium—the ultimate challenge of cardio and strength. Although, if his mother knew, she would say that running the stadium steps was bad for his knees. Victor smiled. Momz was always worrying about him.

The phone was vibrating next to him.

Hey, Vic. This is Myke.

What’s up?

Man, my car won’t start. Go ahead and go to the gym without me. I’ll catch you tomorrow. Don’t want you to have to come and get me. There won’t be enough time for you to get to your first morning class.

Okay, that’s cool. I’ll hit you up later.

Okay, later.

Dressed in blue running shorts and a white sleeveless T-shirt, Victor stepped out onto the sidewalk in front of his house. He would change the usual routine and run this morning and do weight training in the evening. Off he went, running into the morning air of Tallahassee, Florida, feeling like a champion—a Victor.

The dogs were barking in the family room. They could make a lot of noise for two small dogs. Bantam was a six-year-old female miniature pinscher/terrier mix, with short black hair and white under coloring on her chest and lower legs, similar to the tuxedo look of the Boston terrier. Troy was a five-year-old, black-and-tan, full-bred male miniature pinscher, with a nervous personality, which made him a great watchdog. Both dogs were typical of the min-pin breed with their high energy levels, high-stepping prance, and ability to run and turn in tight circles. Bantam was Carissa’s dog and Troy was Victor’s dog. Both were loveable pets with their own distinctive personalities and peculiar needs.

Carissa rolled over in bed. Why? Why are they barking? Maybe Daddy will let them out, she thought. It was 5:30 a.m. and she had no interest in getting out of bed before 6:30. Her room was right next to Victor’s, but for the last year and a half, she was really the only one on the north side of the house. Her parents’ bedroom was on the far south side. For years she had slept with a night light on, which gave her a comforting, secure feeling.

She missed her brother. Victor was twenty months older and had graduated from Chiles High School in May 2008. Carissa had thought Victor would leave town to attend college. But, after several college campus visits and multiple scholarship offerings, Victor decided to go to Florida A&M University. Overall, that worked out well for Carissa because she was able to meet his college friends, and many times he would bring them over for Sunday dinner at the house. She could hear the house alarm being turned off and the beep signaling the opening of a door.

Good. Daddy let the dogs out, she thought, and turned over to sleep for another hour. Basketball season had started and she needed all the rest she could get. The first game of the season was in two weeks, and Carissa was hoping to have a starting position as the point guard again. Although she loved tennis, she had chosen to play basketball in middle school and had continued with basketball in high school. On several occasions the tennis coach at Chiles had called her about playing on the tennis team, but she was not excited about playing tennis at Chiles. She fell soundly asleep.

Estrellita, get up. It was Gregory, gently shaking her as he often did when she slept through the alarm.

Oh, okay. Thanks for awakening me, Estrellita mumbled.

I figured you didn’t hear the alarm.

Yeah, it’s getting to be a normal routine for me, Estrellita confessed.

Did you talk to Victor last night?

No, I tried to call him, but I didn’t get an answer. I don’t remember his schedule this semester. But maybe we can have dinner with him this evening, since it is Friday.

I think that is a good idea. I will text him when I get to the office. Carissa probably has basketball practice, so we can get her carryout from wherever we decide to eat. The dogs are barking. I guess they want to go out. Gregory proceeded out of the room and down the hallway, into the kitchen, and then out to the family room.

Slowly, Estrellita got out of the bed and headed to the master bathroom. She was reminding herself that it was Friday and tomorrow there was a home football game at Bragg Stadium. She was not sure who the FAMU Rattlers were playing. But it really didn’t matter. She enjoyed football and it was fun to have her mother and Gregory’s mother attend the home games with them. Carissa liked riding to the games with Victor, but both of them would usually come over and sit with the family after the half-time show. In general, they liked sitting in the student section until after the university’s band—the famed Marching 100—completed the half-time show. They, like many other people, believed that there was no better marching band entertainment than that given by the Marching 100. Estrellita smiled and turned the shower on. It was the start of another day, and work was bound to be exciting. She was sure about that and was looking forward to what the day might bring.

Gregory left the house about the same time as Carissa. He was headed to the Florida Supreme Court, where he had worked as a staff attorney since 2005. As usual, the traffic on Thomasville Road was moving slowly, but it was okay; at least it was moving, unlike when they lived in Miami, where morning gridlock on I-95 was the norm rather than the exception.

He activated the hands-free option in the car to call Victor.

Victor answered sleepily.

Hey, Victor. Can you have dinner with us this evening around six?

Ah, I would like to, but I already told Danielle I would go to the movies with her.

Oh. Okay, I understand. We’ll catch up with you at the game tomorrow.

Victor wished he could have gone to dinner with his parents, but he had a lot of work to get through for his classes. This was a particularly difficult time for Victor because he was feeling really tired. He had barely been able to finish his run yesterday.

He had met Danielle the first week of the fall semester of his freshman year at FAMU. She was from Anderson, Indiana. Victor inwardly admitted that Danielle was not only downright gorgeous, she was also very intelligent and had received a Presidential scholarship award to attend the university. Danielle was majoring in biology and pre-dentistry, so they had several classes in common and spent a lot of time studying together. In spite of Victor’s attraction to Danielle, he was not willing to make a commitment to an exclusive relationship. He didn’t want any romantic involvement that could function as a distraction from maintaining the all-A academic record he began during the summer semester. After all, his ambition since the age of eight had been to be a physician, and he knew to get into medical school, he would need a high grade point average and excellent Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) scores. Nope. A girlfriend was the last thing he needed right now. But if the times and circumstances were ever right, Danielle would be his first choice for his exclusive girlfriend. Romance or not, Victor thought that it would be nice to go to the movies and decompress for a few hours before hitting the books. Not tonight though! Instead, he would study until he dropped.

CHAPTER 2

Awakened by the sound of Bantam and Troy barking, Victor’s eyes fluttered open, and he stretched. Victor was at his parents’ house, and he found it was comforting to be in his old room and bed. It was January 1, 2010, and classes would be starting again in six days. The family had stayed up late on New Year’s Eve waiting for Father to return from church. It was the usual routine that Father would go to church on New Year’s Eve. Momz would stay home and watch the ball drop on the live TV broadcast from Times Square. The prayer and toast as a family would happen as soon as Father arrived home from church. Victor smiled. It was good to be home.

Notwithstanding, Victor was tired…really tired! The fatigue was beyond anything he had experienced before. The fall semester was over, but he struggled through the week of finals and managed to hold on to a decent GPA and make the honor roll. However, for the first time as a college student, he did not make the dean’s list. He had enjoyed the Anatomy and Physiology II class. Organic Chemistry II had been a challenge, but he managed to do well on the final. College Physics I was a somewhat easy A, but Linear Algebra had kicked his butt! In this new semester, he was registered as a pre-pharmacy major and was planning to minor in mathematical sciences. In February it would be time to apply to the College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences (COPPS) as a pharmacy major. Once accepted into COPPS, he would be committed to a six-year pursuit of a Doctor of Pharmacy degree. However, Victor was actively considering whether he should pursue a bachelor of science degree in mathematical sciences, which he could finish in a total of three years.

His ultimate goal was to go to medical school; so spending six years in pharmacy might not be the best path to take. Victor had discussed with his parents on several occasions his love for math and his desire to make math his minor degree. Victor’s parents were very supportive, but he could tell they were concerned with the extra strain of having to take so many classes to achieve a minor in mathematics, particularly with his low energy level. Also, his appetite had decreased, and he knew his mother had noticed. Father urged him not to burn the candle at both ends, which Victor interpreted as Father being concerned about his overall well-being. Victor had really tried to rest the entire Christmas break. No matter how much he slept, he felt tired. His workouts and marathon training had come to a halt while he studied for finals, and eventually, his state of perpetual tiredness made it hard to even think about running. Oh well, he and Austin were planning to start P90X next week, and that would more than compensate for not running. Anyway, Victor didn’t like running in Tallahassee’s winter weather, which frequently was below forty degrees Fahrenheit. Victor found that the cold air usually caused a flare-up of his asthma.

There was a knock at his door.

Who is it, Victor said as he stood up from the bed.

Hey, Tone. Carissa opened the door.

What’s up, Sistone?

Do you want to go over to Grandma’s house? She made waffles. I know it is kind of late, but we can eat her waffles any time of the day, Carissa explained.

Sure. Just give me a few minutes to get washed up and dressed. Maybe after that we can go over and help Granny put away the Christmas decorations. Victor walked into the Jack-n-Jill bathroom.

Carissa sat on Victor’s bed and thought about waffles, bacon, and syrup. It was always so good to have Victor back home. She liked that they had special names for each other and that Victor was willing to spend time with her, even though she was still in high school. She could hear the shower running, so it wouldn’t be long before they were on their way to the most delicious waffles in town—Grandma’s waffles.

Victor was driving and Carissa was searching for the CD she wanted Victor to hear when Victor’s phone rang.

Sistone, answer that for me.

Hello, Carissa said.

Hello. Victor?

Oh, hey, Danielle. This is Carissa. Victor is driving, so I answered his phone.

Oh, okay. Can you ask him to call me when he has a chance? I wanted to ask him about a class we are taking together this semester.

Okay, I’ll tell him.

Bye.

Hey, Victor. That was Danielle. She wants you to call her about a class you all are taking together.

Okay, I will call her when we get to Grandma’s house. Victor hoped he would not forget to do it. Just driving the ten miles to his grandmother’s house was tiring.

Carissa was singing along with a hip-hop song as they pulled into Grandma’s driveway. Grandma was out on the porch, watering her plants, and smiled as they got out of the car.

Hello, grandson and granddaughter. How are you all today? Come on in. Breakfast or brunch, if you wish, is ready for serving. Gladis was glad that they had agreed to come over for breakfast. She enjoyed the company. Since the passing of her husband in May 2008, she had been living alone. Gregory talked to her about moving in with them, but she wanted to maintain her independence and therefore chose to remain in the last house she and Samuel had purchased together. In a kind of partial compensation for the husband she lost, nowadays, Gladis focused on how much she loved her grandchildren. She looked at them as they sat at the kitchen table. Oh, how close Victor and Carissa were. She could not recall two siblings more close. However, her grandmotherly intuition had her concerned. Victor looked tired, and in less than a week, he would be back in school again with a full load of classes. As a retired registered nurse, she clearly understood the value good rest played in the well-being of the numerous persons she had cared for during her long career. Now, Gladis could only hope and pray that Victor would rest well before he began another grueling academic semester. Nevertheless, now Victor and Carissa were enjoying the waffles, and Gladis was enjoying their spirited banter and laughter.

She thought about how much her life had changed in the past two years. Samuel and she had enjoyed several decades of life in Miami, Florida. They both had grown up in Miami and raised their four children there. In fact, her son Allen and two daughters, Deborah and Kimberly, still lived in the greater Miami area. But life as they had known it radically changed after Samuel suffered a massive heart attack in March 2004. Complications of the heart attack had included a stroke and loss of blood flow to his lower extremities. Samuel nearly died, becoming non-communicative for a long period. After many weeks of being in the hospital, he underwent a right-below-the-knee amputation and ended up on dialysis for end-stage kidney disease.

After weeks of rehabilitation, his left foot became gangrenous, and there were no other vascular surgeries that could be done to improve his blood flow. Samuel had no choice but to lose his left leg as well. The ongoing home dialysis and trips to the physician offices were more than Gladis could contend with in the Miami-Dade County area. Her husband was a double amputee, and transportation was a major obstacle to his continual care. With her children’s encouragement, in the fall of 2004, Gladis decided to make a few house-hunting trips to Tallahassee. While Miamibased relatives looked after Samuel, Gladis was able to successfully purchase a new home that would meet their needs. In December 2004, the couple moved to Tallahassee, where they had the support of their eldest son, Gregory, and his wife, Estrellita. Gladis was glad E was her daughter-in-law. As a board-certified internal medicine physician, E’s help in coordinating Samuel’s care had become critical. The Tallahassee medical community was excellent, and Gladis felt confident that Samuel had received top quality health care for some years after their relocation. But there were some things that even the best medical care could not prevent. Two days before Victor graduated from high school, Samuel passed away at home on May 28, 2008, from complications of sepsis and end-stage renal disease.

Gladis thought about how proud Samuel had been of his grandchildren. He would still be proud of them if he were alive. But he was gone. Gone to a better place. No longer suffering with pain and physical limitations. Gladis was thankful for that, despite the void it left in her life.

Victor and Carissa finished up their waffles. Victor had only eaten one waffle and two strips of bacon. That was quite unusual. Gladis wondered if he was feeling okay. But before she could ask, Victor and Carissa started talking again.

Grandma, thanks for cooking. It was really good. We’ll get the Christmas lights put up in the boxes. Do you want the boxes left in the garage? Victor asked.

That will be fine. Just put them on the top shelf. Maybe I’ll come over later to your house and watch some football. See you all then. Gladis hugged them and watched as they walked out into the front yard.

Victor and Carissa put up the last box of Christmas lights in Grandma’s garage. Victor was tired and wanted to go home and lie down for a while.

Victor, do you want to call Granny now so that we can go over to her house and put her Christmas decorations away too? We should probably take care of it now, since we are on a roll.

Yeah, I guess we can. I’m kind of tired. But at least the weather is nice, so let’s go on over and do it.

Carissa called Granny and explained their plan.

Margie Howard, whom her grandchildren called Granny, still lived in the same house where her three children grew up. The Jake Gaither community, from the late 1950s through the early 1980s, had been mainly a neighborhood of college-educated parents, and the majority of the children had followed their parents in becoming college graduates. Estrellita, Andrés, and Enrique had all graduated from FAMU. And now Victor was a student at FAMU. It was a family tradition. Margie smiled. It was good to have three generations of Rattlers.

Victor’s maternal grandfather, Edward Howard, whom the grandchildren called Papa, would have been proud to know that his eldest grandchild, Victor, was going to someday join the international FAMU alumni too! There was no question in Margie’s mind that Victor would continue to do well and graduate with a fine academic record.

Twenty minutes later, Victor and Carissa pulled their vehicle into the driveway and saw the boxes by the back gate. Margie came to the back door, down the porch, and followed them into the front yard.

I appreciate you all helping Granny out by doing this. My knees hurt a lot when I have to keep bending down to put these lights up.

No problem, Granny. We like doing it. Besides, you have the bestdecorated yard this year. It won’t take us long. Have a seat in the porch chair and just talk to us, Victor said.

Yeah, Granny, Carissa agreed. Watch. It won’t take long at all.

Margie smiled, sat in the chair on the porch, and started talking about the New Year’s Eve church service and how good it was to see another new year.

CHAPTER 3

The alarm on his phone was buzzing. It was now February 5, 2010, but Victor was more fatigued than ever. Along with his classes, he had also continued to work, as needed, at the Marble Slab Creamery, owned by his past tennis coach and dear family friend, Dallas Coach Williams. Victor wanted to help Coach whenever he could. There was no doubt that Coach was family—both in spirit and in deed. Since the death of Papa, Victor had become even closer to Coach. After all, Coach was one of Papa’s closest friends, and both Coach and Papa had spent their lives promoting the efficacies of tying together education and sports (especially tennis). Coach was a college professor with Ph.D. degrees in two fields of psychology. Papa had been a mathematics professor for many years before becoming one of the assistant vice presidents at the Tallahassee Community College.

Victor’s chest was feeling tight. He had developed asthma after his family moved to Tallahassee from Miami just before his fifth birthday. Tallahassee was full of blooming trees, flowers, and pollen in the spring. An allergist found that Victor tested positive for being highly allergic to pollen, ragweed, dust mites, and Bahia grass. In the winter, his asthma exacerbations were mainly caused by viral upper respiratory infections. As he contemplated all of this, he was sure it was probably his asthma that was making him feel short of breath now. And it was most likely the ongoing heavy course load, along with working, that was keeping him so fatigued. In fact, it was all he could do to muster up enough strength to make it to class each day and return home.

Home. Victor thought about his parents. They had been so excited about him choosing to stay in Tallahassee and attend FAMU. His mother was a graduate of FAMU, and his parents were strong proponents of historically black colleges and universities, believing that they offered a fostering environment for learning, leadership, professional contacts, and confidence. To reward him for making such a wise decision, his parents had bought him a house that was only three miles from the university. The house was a new construction in a neighborhood tucked away from the busy highway carrying local traffic from Tallahassee to Crawfordville.

Victor had a roommate, Austin, who was two years ahead of him at FAMU. They had become friends at the age of seven and nine while taking tennis lessons from Coach. When Coach stopped teaching tennis, Victor was sixteen, and both he and Austin joined Coach as part-time employees at The Slab. Austin was now in his second professional year in the College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences at FAMU, while Victor was a second year pre-pharmacy student.

The alarm on Victor’s phone started buzzing again. He had placed the alarm on snooze when it originally sounded off. Now it was ten minutes later and he really needed to get up and make it to his nine o’clock biochemistry class. Wow, his chest was really tight. He reached over and took the albuterol inhaler off his nightstand and took two long puffs, just the way his mother had taught him. This should help him in a few minutes. He also needed to use the steroid inhaler, Flovent; he would remember to do that once he came out of the shower. Should I call Mother? he asked himself. Maybe I should, he answered himself. I will call her after class.

Estrellita thought about her son. His appetite was usually great, and he could eat two full plates of food with little weight to show for it. At his heaviest, he was only about 130 pounds, with a height of 68 inches. Estrellita noticed that at Sunday dinner, three days ago, he could not finish his food and he left his salad uneaten. Victor loved tossed salad with romaine lettuce and sliced tomatoes. His low intake at dinner was concerning Estrellita. She recollected that during the Christmas break he had eaten very little compared to previous holidays. Maybe she was blowing things out of proportion and he was just overworked with classes and not getting enough rest. Estrellita had also noticed that the dark circles under his eyes persisted, even during the holiday break. She and Gregory had discussed with Victor that maybe he should only work at The Slab when Coach needed him to fill in for emergencies, rather than three shifts per week. Victor had reluctantly agreed to the lower work status at The Slab. Gregory and Estrellita hoped this would help Victor. He seemed stressed and strained from his classes and extracurricular activities.

Estrellita wanted to call and check on Victor, but decided he might feel that she was treating him like a baby. Instead of calling, she got out of her car and headed to the conference room for her first scheduled meeting of the day at Leon Medical Care (LMC).

Gregory entered the Florida Supreme Court building on Duval Street. He pressed the elevator button and quietly hummed one of his favorite hymns. I need thee. Oh, I need thee. Every hour, I need thee. Oh, bless me now, my Savior. I come to thee.

The elevator doors opened and Gregory entered and pressed the button for the third floor. He had completed his fourth full year at the Supreme Court in Central Staff. He had considered looking at some private practice opportunities, but for some reason he did not have the confidence that this was the right timing. To everything there is a season and he had not felt the release to move to another position outside of the Court, at least not yet.

Gregory thought about Carissa, his youngest child. Carissa was a senior at Chiles High School and in a few months she would graduate and potentially leave home. Gregory was not sure he was ready for his baby girl to leave home. But he also knew that he could not hold her back. Love and support were what Gregory strived to give both of his children, but he knew he could not be a dictator over their lives. Neither of his children would respond well to that type of parenting, and he was sure that Carissa would rebel if she were given ultimatums. Still, he hoped that she would attend FAMU and pursue her studies of engineering locally, and not at Georgia Tech, which was where she seemed most excited to enroll. Carissa had applied to ten colleges and universities and had been accepted by all of them. Among them were Cornell University, Johns Hopkins University, University of Florida, Spelman College, and Washington University.

Gregory and Estrellita were close to their children. Victor was twenty months older than Carissa, and the two of them seemed to thrive when they were together. Lately, Victor’s attitude was depressed. Well, maybe not depressed. Perhaps it was just fatigue that Gregory was noticing. Just two nights ago, he and Estrellita had discussed that Victor needed to get more rest. He would call him later tonight.

Lawton Chiles High School was located in northeast Tallahassee, about six miles from Carissa’s house. She was now eighteen and in her last semester at Chiles and was very eager to graduate and go on to college. It was Wednesday, February 5, 2010, and she would spend the afternoon at the Magnet Lab, where she was participating in an externship. Carissa looked forward to the diversion from the classes at Chiles, which had become mundane. The girls’ basketball season was over, and it had been a really successful one. She and her teammates had achieved a milestone in school history…they had won the district championship! Now, there was not much excitement left, except for graduation in June. As she walked to her Advanced Placement chemistry class, she thought about Victor and wondered if he was in his biochemistry class yet. Unlike Victor, she was not as eager to socialize with a lot of people. She had her close friends and acquaintances and that was enough for her. She had enjoyed playing basketball and being on such teams since middle school. At five-foot-two, ninety-six pounds, she was a talented point guard and had received the most valuable player award in the ninth grade.

Carissa entered the classroom and sat in the front row as the teacher began pasting formulas on the computerized whiteboard.

With difficulty, Victor had made it through his