Chapter 17
Stephen
This weekend I’ve had a glimpse of what it’s like for Donovan when I’m away for training.
I used to love having the room to myself, enjoying my own space, but now I hate it.
I miss him not being there when I glance over at his bed, either lost in a book or asleep with it resting against his chest. I miss the scent of his shower gel after he gets ready in the morning, being able to kiss him whenever I want. I need him home, and soon.
More than anything I want to message him to find out how it’s going with his mom and stepdad. He told me he’d update me as soon as he could, and I know he’ll have gotten there a couple of hours ago. My phone is on loud, but annoyingly quiet; no calls or messages from him at all.
I return to the books I’m studying from; we’re looking at marketing strategy in my business class, but neither my heart nor my head is in it.
All I can think about is Donovan. When my phone eventually rings I pounce on it, hoping it’s him, but instead it’s Ted’s number flashing on the screen.
It’s not like him to call, we usually wait until I’m there for training to catch up.
“Hey, Ted,” I say, trying to sound confident and hiding my nerves, what if this is a call to tell me they’ve made a mistake…
“Stephen, how’s your weekend?”
“Fine, thanks. Quiet I guess, I miss training with you guys.”
“You’re missed here too,” he says. “Listen, I know it’s strange for me to be calling you out of the blue, so I’m gonna get straight to the point. Now, nothing is official yet, but you’re going to get an invite to attend a virtual meeting tomorrow with Coach Matthews—”
“No!” I interrupt, not able to help myself. “Am I off the team? I haven’t even shown you what I can do yet.” I know I’m panicking, but there’s no point trying to hide it, this is terrifying.
“No, Stephen, calm down,” he says, “you’re not off the team. There was an accident at practice yesterday, and Isaac was injured. He’s spent the last twenty-four hours with medical, and it’s not looking good. It’s likely that he’ll be out for the rest of the season.”
“Shit, that sounds bad, how is he?”
Injuries are part of the package when you’re a professional athlete, but it’s still a shock to hear that one of your teammates will be unable to play.
“He’s putting on a brave face, but it will be a long recovery. That’s why I’m calling you. I’ve put you forward as my recommendation to replace him, and I’m ninety-nine percent sure Coach is gonna go with it.”
I hear him, and I hear the words, logically I know the meaning of all of them… but I don’t understand.
“Stephen? Are you still there?”
“Wait…” I say, “what?”
“Stephen, unless something drastic happens to change the coach’s mind, you’re going to be the starting receiver who replaces Isaac.”
“You mean… no… really?”
“Yes. You’ve impressed me at training, and you work well with Marcus and Jordan, you’re ready.”
“I’ll be starting…” My mind is buzzing; thoughts are flying but they’re jumbled… “But wait, what about Joel? He’s been a reserve for longer.”
“Well, it’s my job to put forward the best team, and right now that means you and Jordan. You can’t be worrying about Joel, if he’s got a problem, he can come to me.”
“Ted…” Tears well up in my eyes as it really dawns on me what’s happening. “Thank you. Thank you so much.”
“You’re welcome,” he says. “Now, like I said, Coach will confirm it all tomorrow so look out for the invite. And free up your day, there’s going to be a lot of admin considering you’re not full-time with us yet, which will no doubt have to change.”
“Uh… yeah, tomorrow is free.”
“Alright, try and take it easy today, and get a good night’s sleep, because tomorrow, your life is going to change.”
“Yeah,” I chuckle, “I guess it is.”
We hang up and I’m left staring at my desk. This is it; I’ll be playing in the NFL, a starting player for the Tynerston Warriors. Not watching from the sidelines, or from the bench, actually playing. Holy shit… I’ve done it.
My first thought is that I want to tell Donovan, but he needs to focus on his own stuff today, so instead I call my parents, knowing how excited they’re going to be after being on this journey with me for so long.
The video call appears on my laptop and I quickly answer. Once everything loads, I’m met with the view of Coach Matthews, Rick Winters, and Ted, all sitting in one of the briefing rooms.
“Morning, Stephen,” Coach Matthews says, grinning at me through the screen.
I wave awkwardly into the camera. “Morning Coach, Mr. Winters, Ted.”
“Please, Stephen, call me Rick, there’s no need for that Mr. Winters nonsense,” he chuckles.
“Thank you, Rick.”
“I won’t actually be on the call for long,” he adds, “I’m just here because I wanted to give you the good news myself, well, officially at least, I know Ted gave you a heads up.” I nod in response. “Well, Stephen, it’s official, you’re the new starting wide receiver for the Tynerston Warriors!”
“Thank you,” I say, letting my grin cross my face, the confirmation making this a tiny bit more real. “Thank you so much, you have no idea how much this means to me.”
“You’re welcome,” Rick says. “Ted made a compelling case, says you’ve been doing great in training and you’re working well with Marcus Grant, so hopefully we can expect some spectacular touchdowns from you.”
I laugh, “I’ll certainly try my best.”
“Alright. You’ll be getting contracts and all the official documents through tomorrow once the legal team is back in the office; they’ll confirm salaries and everything we discussed before you signed.
Today, I’ll leave you with Coach Matthews so you can start planning, and then later we’ve arranged for some media training for you, once we announce this you’ll be doing lots of interviews and press. ”
“I’m ready,” I nod. The thought of talking to the media terrifies me, but it’s part of the job, and something I’m going to have to get used to.
“Great,” Rick says, standing and moving away from the table. “I’ll catch up with you when you’re here, which will hopefully be soon.”
“See you then.” I give another awkward wave to the camera, and I’m left with Coach Matthews and Ted.
“How’s Isaac doing?” I ask. “I didn’t have his number to message him, and I’ve been worried.”
“He’s doing fine,” Ted says. “He’s going into surgery tomorrow, it might take a couple, they’re not sure yet, but then it will be rest and healing, before rehab.”
“All signs point to him coming back next year,” Coach says, “and of course we’re worried about him, but he’s with the right people now. It’s our job to focus on the team, and with pre-season games starting in five weeks, we need to get you to Tynerston and training full-time.”
“Yes, Coach,” I say, knowing that he needs me to get down to business. “I’ve already spoken to my parents and they’re on board; Coach Jenkins here will be supportive too.”
They bring up the training schedule for the next month onto the screen and talk me through it.
I’m going to be eating, sleeping, and breathing Tynerston Warriors football.
Everything is meticulously planned around training, conditioning, rest, and game prep.
I need to arrange for a place to live, organize transport, and work with the nutrition team to plan all my food. It’s going to be full out.
Once we’ve talked through the schedule and I’ve made a list of things I need to organize, the media liaison officer joins the call and Ted and Coach leave us to it.
“Stephen, hi, I’m Mindy Patel.”
“Hey,” I say, smiling through the camera.
“Well you’re already winning with that smile,” she chuckles. “If in doubt, flash that at any reporter and you’re golden.”
It makes me laugh and puts me at ease. “That’s good, I’ll be honest, I’m nervous about talking to the press.”
“And that’s why I’m here. I’ll send you through a document with everything we talk about today, so don’t worry too much about making notes. Let’s use this time together to practice and you can ask me questions as they come up. Sound good?”
I nod.
“So firstly, I’m a big believer in K.I.S.S. I know it’s a bit of a cliché, but it works. Keep It Simple, Stupid. This isn’t rocket science, it’s football. The press are always looking for angles and ways to misquote you, so if you keep your answers simple, and on point, you’re good.”
“Keep it simple, got it.”
“Okay,” she says, “how do you feel about diving into a mock interview now, and I can coach you as we go?”
“Sure… this is off the record though, right?” I chuckle and she laughs.
“Good, you’ve got the hang of this already, although, when it comes to the press, nothing is ever off the record. Everything you say can, and will, be used against you.”
“Understood,” I nod, “let’s do this.”
She clears her throat and looks at the notes in front of her.
“So, Stephen, how does it feel to be the first Asian player to be signed to the Warriors?” she asks.
“Um… really? You think they’ll ask something like that? Bring my race into it?”
“When it comes to reporters, nothing is off limits to them, like I said, they’re looking for the angle. They’re going to ask about your race, your father, romantic relationships—”
“Romantic relationships?” I ask, my heart starts to pound.
“Yes, you’re young, attractive… female fans are going to want to know about your relationship status.”
“What if I don’t feel comfortable sharing that stuff? I can talk about football all they want, but I don’t want to go into all that personal stuff.”
“Okay, you can say no comment, but some reporters will interpret that how they want. In my experience, it’s better if you control the narrative from the start, rather than have the press make up the story and you then being asked to confirm or deny.”
“I just want to play football…”
She sighs and lowers her notes, clasping her hands under her face.