End Zone

22

After our eighth game, which we won easily, I finished showering and went to my cubicle to get dressed. Lloyd Philpot Jr., wearing a jockstrap and red socks, was waiting for me.

"I have to talk to you," he said.

"Sure."

"I have some information I want to pass along."

"Okay."

"There might be a queer on the squad."

"A queer," I said.

"I found out about it just before we left here at half time. Roy Yellin told me about it. He told me to keep it quiet until we can decide what to do."

"I guess Yellin heard it from Onan. I think I heard Onan mention it once."

"Yellin heard it from Rush."

"Who's Rush?"

"Mike Rush. One of the marginal players. A fringe guy. He's been out with groin damage."

"Okay," I said. "So who's the queer?"

"I don't know," Lloyd said. "I just know there is one."

"But Yellin didn't tell you who it is."

"Yellin doesn't know either. He told me he just knows somebody on the squad is queer."

"Does Mike Rush know who it is?"

"Does Mike Rush know who it is. I don't know. Yellin didn't say."

"What did Mike Rush offer as evidence that there's a queer on the team?"

"What did Mike Rush offer as evidence," Lloyd said.

"Right."

"I don't know," he said. "But Mike's not the type to make up stories. I know Mike pretty well. Mike's daddy is a committee vicechairman."

"Look, Lloyd, why are you telling me this?"

"To get your thinking on it, Gary. Yellin and I are getting together in Ms room later on to figure out what to do. I'm for Kimbrough. Go to Kimbrough with it."

"Because he's one of the captains."

"That's it, that's it. But Yellin wants to go to Dennis Smee. Yellin can't stand Kimbrough. He hates Kimbrough's stinking guts. So he's leaning toward Smee. Maybe even one of the coaches. But I don't think we should go to the coaches at this point. You start with the lowerdowns. That's the way it is in anything. Either way we have to figure out what to do and pretty damn soon. There are guys walking around here naked right now. It could be any one of them."