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told the new guys where to go, what to do. Not
only do the players have to deal with the usual pain and anguish of
not having any privacy, now they have no familiar escape routes to
get away from the fans.” Craig rolled his eyes and finished, “I
just hope it doesn’t affect the season.”
    “Poor guys.” This from Millie, which
surprised Jacelyn. She was a kind, sensitive woman who rarely put
anybody down.
    Craig rolled his eyes. “I know.”
    “I wasn’t being sarcastic. If you were pulled
out of your comfort zone for a month, Craig, you’d be nervous about
it.”
    “They’re in their comfort zone, Millie.
They’re playing football here.”
    She shook her head, but before she could say
more, Hal interrupted. “My turn. This is from a player who thinks
he’s going to like it at Beckett. ‘The weight room’s a lot better
than Fairview, where we had the camp before, and they say the food
is going to be great.’“ Hal skimmed down. “And listen to this. He
says, they ‘watch the soap operas. Most of the guys do, even if
they don’t admit it. Victor Newhouse on
The Young and the
Reckless
is an icon.’“
    Breaking her silence because she was so
surprised, Jacelyn asked, “Do you think they really watch the
soaps?”
    Hal laughed aloud. “Do you think they really
know the meaning of the word
icon?”
    “It’s an emblem or symbol of something good.
In this case, Victor stands for the best of actors.” Mike Kingston
filled the doorway, wearing a rolled-up-at-the-sleeves
blue-and-black checked shirt and a scowl on his face. His hands
were tucked into the back pockets of black jeans.
    Millie gave a little gasp. Hal and Craig
exchanged looks. Jacelyn was mortified.
    “Victor’s all that and more,” Mike told them,
his chin jutted out arrogantly. “I guess y’all are just too busy
figurin’ out things like the theory of relativity to enjoy simple
pleasures.”
    Church-like quiet pervaded the room. In the
hallway, there was a bustle of traffic and conversation, but no one
spoke in the lounge.
    Finally, Jacelyn stood. She hated that he
overhead the sniping. She hated the sniping itself. “Mike, did you
want something?”
    “Yeah, I was looking for you. I was hoping we
could move up our meeting time. The guys are all coming in and I
wanna help them.”
    “Sure. Let’s go to my office.”
    “I changed my mind. We’ll keep it at four.”
His jaw was rigid. “I’ll be back.” He turned and stalked out.
    “Wow, just like the Terminator,” Craig said
snidely.
    “Put a sock in it, Craig.” Millie’s voice was
irritated. “You and Hal were cruel.”
    “Why, because I’m telling it like it is?
Hell, Millie, they play ball. They were carrying video games and
large-screen TVs into the dorm when I came up. They’re just big
kids with a lot of toys. Pardon me if I don’t feel sorry for them
being out of their
comfort zone.”
    “You could be sorry you insulted one of them
to his face.”
    “I didn’t know he was here. This place should
be off-limits to them.”
    Millie stood. “This is a damn lounge, Craig.”
She turned to Jacelyn. “Let’s go get coffee somewhere else where we
don’t have to listen to this.” She threw a disgusted glance at the
guys. “Maybe we’ll bump into a few players. I’ll bet they’re nice
guys.”
    “Jacelyn?” Hal’s tone was critical.
Unfortunately for him, it reminded her of Neil’s two nights ago.
Mike had stayed after her ex left and told her to forget about Neil
and just worry about Kyle.
    “Millie’s right, Hal. You’re acting like
children. Don’t do this again in front of me.”
    In defiance, he turned and tacked the article
to the bulletin board. Craig rose and did the same. Jacelyn could
see the headlines: Distraction of Camp Hard on the Bulls and The
Rigors of Training Camp. Craig faced Jacelyn and pointed to the
board. “This is ridiculous. They’re a bunch of spoiled
crybabies.”
    Without responding, Jacelyn strode out of the
lounge.