Vavae Malepeai did not have time to pack a bag. He waved down a family friend in the neighborhood and asked for a ride to the airport in Honolulu. Funny, the only other times he had left the island had been to attend Oregon Ducks football games with his family, and now that he was taking his first solo flight, it was to Los Angeles for a visit to USC.
Malepeai had been praying on his decision for months. On one side, there was family, and family was everything. His uncles — Silila, Tasi and Pulou Malepeai — all played for Oregon.