A lot of people think I’m a dumb meathead, but just because I was good at
sports doesn’t mean I didn’t exercise my brain. I’m actually really smart
and well-read, but I chose not to go to an Ivy League school, because my
family didn’t have the money for it. Of course now we know that I could have
taken out loans, and had them paid off after my first vector season, but we
couldn’t run that risk. Besides, I ended up becoming a professional vector
player because of a series of events in my life, starting with birth, and
being admitted to my state school somewhere in the middle. So no, I don’t
walk around with that prestige, but I’m happy with my choices, and you can’t
argue with the results. There was a reason that I did so well in sports. I
possessed a naturally high degree of precision. I could hit or throw a ball
exactly where I wanted it to go, at least as long as it was within an
acceptable range. I didn’t have all that much strength, so yeah, I could
throw it towards the moon, but it would never reach it. I did not exactly
choose Vector so much as it chose me. I liked to play a lot of different
sports, but when it became clear which one was on the path of least
resistance, I took my opportunity. I worked really hard to show the scouts
that I had what it took to do this for real. I could play every position,
but I was mostly a grabber. For those who don’t know, the grabber is the one
that’s blindfolded much of the time. I had to take direction from the
caller, and find the balls scattered throughout the field. At that point, I
could remove my blindfold, and pass it to the wielder. I did things a little
differently, and built up a nice reputation.
Here’s the thing, the opposing team’s jacker is watching you at all times,
and as soon as they see your eyes, they know you have a ball, and they come
after you. If they reach you before you can pass the ball, you lose that
ball, and have to find it all over again, and good hiders do not make that
easy. That’s why I just never took my blindfold off. It’s a strategy that
had never been employed until then, and one that no player replicated quite
as well after I started it. Man, I knew where my wielder was, and the
jackers, and even the shielders, even though I didn’t need to know that
information. I kept my ear on the whole game, and could give you the
play-by-play later even though my eyes were covered the whole time, and I
was busy with my own job. I could covertly pick up that ball, and toss it
over before anyone could stop me. I was sneaky about it too, sometimes
pretending to have a ball when I didn’t. If a jacker tags you, and your
pocket is empty, they incur a penalty, so they better be right. They learned
to be real careful when I was on the other side, but it still didn’t usually
do them any good. Yeah, I was a great player, but like all good things, it
was destined to come to an end. My game partner, the caller, was my best
friend. We had to have a good relationship, and a secret language, in order
to communicate effectively without anyone else knowing what was going on.
One night, he took me to dinner to tell me that I ought to think about
stepping down, and letting a new generation take over. It was tough, being
told that it was time for me to leave. I felt like I had a few good years in
me. I chose to go through with it, and I think my fans respected my
decision. Looking back, I'm grateful for the honesty, and wish I had told
him as much. I loved being the star of the show, but he was right. There
were so many great kids whose chances I was stealing just by sticking
around. I kept enough money to live comfortably, then gave the rest to
charity. I never married, nor had kids.
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