"to the ruin of few, but to all striking fear"
motto of the 'unofficial social enforcement committee' as reported in the nonfiction bestseller 'of every eight'
OF EVERY EIGHT
Introduction to a tale of criminal exploitation under football's glowing sheenThe dimly lit stage and adjacent seating at the Cesar Chávez Memorial Art Park & Exhibition Hall was almost silent, every hypothetical pindrop echoing in the cavernous closed environment as enchiladas, quesadillas, tacos, burritos, pan dulce, empanadas, tortas and credit hour notes changed hands in the open floor space hidden beyond the solid black wall behind the podium. Even that lectern was an odd reminder of the Califan social order if it was possible to forget at the Delano Festival of Books: wide enough to field a committee; folding capacity and pop-out legs turning it into a table for panel discussions in a few seconds; and in either case, almost impossible for a single person to command without the others yielding the floor.
As the clock ticked 13:09, satiated attendees and a few rushed scragglers began to filter in to the seating area, some visibly worried about the tomato stains on their books. Califan football fans interested in the Federal Team, and indeed anyone who had kept up with the news, had already learned to put on a brave face if the topic of the U-15 squad should come up. It seemed a fine enough idea at the time, after all: put the brightest young athletes in the game together in a bid to give them all experience on the world stage and a chance to mature while setting a positive example - and try to patch up any personality conflicts later. An observer familiar with the context would assume that everyone in the lecture space knew the grim details of what had happened, and the sporting result - not to mention the feat of writing, editing and publishing a complete book of significant popular interest, normally celebrated at the DFB - must have been of secondary importance at best.
At 13:11, already feeling out of place with half a pizza crust wrapped up in his pocket, Ricardo Mayor reminded himself that he had been elected as a delegate in his neighborhood and then among the other delegates at the City Assembly for a reason. He hated that he had to remind himeslf, but he had been elected to express the mandate of Delano at the Kern County Assembly for a reason, and other county delegates were no fools when they voted for him in the Federal Assembly ballot, and finally, he had every right to represent the International Sporting Affairs Committee after being duly elected there. After all, it was his job.
Slowly pulling a hand in front of his face as if stroking it from a short distance, he yanked a neutral
expression out of himself the best he could, forgetting even after all that neurotic worrying the first thing he had learned in Communications 101: No one will actually notice if you're nervous. Even if he had remembered, though, he probably would have miscategorized the feeling as guilt.
Why after all, as the intrusive question continued to plague him,
should I have survived?According to the written materials, the panel to discuss the joint effort
Of Every Eight was to begin promptly at 13:15. A few confused international visitors aside, Califans knew that 13:20 would be optimistic, and to the astute reader it may have already become apparent why meetings never happen on time there. As 13:15 came to pass with a soft
ding emanating from the stage, it began to appear as if the sociable and celebratory mood that had overtaken the impromptu food court was evaporating as attendees reached the lecture hall. Delegate Mayor shook hands with the oncoming Delegate French from the Kern County Educational Access Committee, who would silently take over as the representative of official order once he finished speaking.
Fixated on the grim faces in the crowd, themselves slightly shaken by the occasion to remember the awful tragedy that befell the U-15 Federal Team, the two delegates were a bit taken by surprise at 13:17 with the entrance of a silent Security Delegate from the county and all four of the book's editors onto the stage in single file. After the buzz and chatter waxed as the room filled up, and waned as
de facto order began to take form, Delegate Mayor called the panel to order at 13:23. Clearing his throat, he began in short order to obnoxiously read straight from his notes. Saying more than a few noncommittal words about the topic at hand before calling for the panel to elect a facilitator was a little unusual for a delegate in his position, but then, it occurred to him, the matter at hand seemed to call for a special approach. He paused, put down his notes, took a step back from the podium, and started speaking extemporaneously:
"A lot of you have had the same awful thought I have had, but we must immediately put it to rest. Nobody could have predicted this. We never could have known this would happen to our children and we can't keep beating ourselves up about it..."