CHAPTER 20

The following Saturday, the team had a light practice in the morning and was released for the rest of the day. Samuel and the three other equipment managers finished the laundry and cleaned the locker room. He left the field house and returned to his dorm to find someone else moving in. It was Murray Walker, his new best friend. They said hello and shook hands and sat on their beds.

Coach Britt had given Samuel the name of his roommate and said he would call. Samuel, living online when he wasn’t working, had checked out the kid and knew he was a rising sophomore who had averaged only five minutes a game during his freshman season. Five minutes, two points, one rebound—the slimmest production of all thirteen players. He was six feet tall, had walked on, survived the cuts, and made the team.

“What’s all this? ” Murray asked, nodding at the wall covered with maps and notes.

“It’s a mess, isn’t it? I’ll be happy to take it down. ”

“No, that’s okay. Coach told me that you’re from South Sudan, in Africa. ”

“What else did Coach tell you about me? ”

Murray smiled and shrugged. “Well, he said you’ve been through a lot lately, I guess. I’m real sorry. ”

Samuel rose and stepped to the wall. “I’m from a village near the city of Rumbek, in central South Sudan. The village is gone now, and my mother is somewhere there. ” He pointed at the wall as if he had no idea where she was. “I’m hoping my brothers and sister are with her. ”

“Refugees? ”

“Something like that. My father was murdered by rebel troops last month. ”

“Oh man, I’m real sorry. ”

“Thanks. It’s been pretty bad. ”

“I can’t even imagine. ”

“The website says you’re from here, Durham. ”

“That’s right. Born here. ”

“Why’d you pick Central? ”

“Because nobody else wanted me. I wasn’t exactly heavily recruited. Coach Britt invited me to walk on and I made the cut. My parents went to school here so I’ve always pulled for Central. ”

“Your family’s here? ”

“Yep. Ten minutes away. My Mom’s a lawyer and my Dad runs a food bank. ”

“What’s a food bank? ”

“It’s a nonprofit charity that collects food and gives it away to folks who’re hungry. ”

Samuel sat down on his bed and looked oddly at Murray. “Hungry people around here? ”

“Lots of them. ”

“You’re not kidding? ”

“I’m dead serious, man. I know it’s hard for you to believe, but here in the land of plenty there are a lot of poor people. You want to go see some? I need to make a delivery. ”

“Not really. I saw enough back home. ”

“Let’s get a burger and I’ll show you around. My truck is loaded with food for a pantry. ”

“You have a truck? ”

“It’s a hand-me-down but it works. ”

“What’s a pantry? ”

“Come on, I’ll show you. My Dad asked me to make a delivery. ”

“Well, I’m kind of low on cash right now. ”

“Okay, I’ll buy you a burger. You can buy next time. ”

They parked in a McDonald’s and got out. Samuel noticed the stack of boxes in the bed and asked, “So, where does the food come from? ”

“We buy some, a lot is donated. We have a warehouse full, actually three warehouses, and we’re feeding ten thousand people a week. My Dad’s the boss and he runs a tight ship. I work there part-time. ”

They sat in the window, ate, and talked basketball. Murray wanted to know everything about the tournament in Orlando, the wins and losses and all the scouts watching. Two years earlier, his summer team played Houston Gold in Atlanta and got crushed. They talked about Coach Britt. Murray loved the guy and Samuel said he had probably saved his life. They talked about the two former players arrested for armed robbery. Murray described them as a couple of good guys known to make bad decisions, said the rest of the team was worried about them. They had lawyers and there was a good chance they would take pleas to lesser charges and avoid jail, but they would miss a year of school and basketball. He said Coach Britt was careful who he signed, but when it came to recruiting nothing was for certain. They talked about the conference, the other schools, the road games, and life on campus.

“Plenty of girls? ” Samuel asked.

“Oh yes, lots. And they like athletes. With your strange accent they’ll be all over you. ”

“Sounds awful. Wait till I speak to them in Dinka. ”

Which led to a long discussion of life in South Sudan.

They talked nonstop and left the restaurant friends for life.

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