38. Chapter 35
Jax
I’m not taking advantage of the day, and haven’t left my couch in hours. Sloan is working today, so I’m just here, pacing, eating like shit, and wishing I had something to distract me.
I also find myself wishing Horner would give us a heads up before he posts so we’re not all getting the results right along with the rest of the world, but he’s right.
That would defeat the purpose. It’s supposed to be a big reveal so fans feel a part of it.
I keep telling myself that next year will be less stressful, but right now, I’m not so sure.
“Fuck this,” I say to myself as I stand up off the couch and grab my keys.
I’ll go absolutely crazy if I stay home all day. So I decide to head to the most comforting place I can think of: Ruby’s. I’ll grab something to eat and then head to the gym to workout.
When I get out of the car, my phone vibrates in my pocket, and when I pull it out, the preview on the screen makes me smile.
My Brilliant Girl: Go get some food and distract yourself today. Don’t sit at home.
The next thing that comes though is a picture of her in my jersey, and my mouth goes dry, desire replacing the anxiety.
She knows me better than I thought she did, and it makes my chest tighten in the best way.
Sometimes the love I feel for her shows up in the smallest moments.
But I guess that’s what real love is. The tiny moments that catch you off guard.
The moments that seem boring and have no reason to stand out—only they do, because you feel a level of contentment that you can’t explain.
Me: Love you. I’m going to have Ruby deliver some food to you here in a bit. Jersey is HOT!
My Brilliant Girl: Aw, thanks. You’re a life saver. I thought it would be a good soft launch of our relationship for the fans.
Me: There is nothing soft about this launch for me.
I punctuate my text with an eggplant emoji, and just get an eye roll emoji in return.
It doesn’t take me long to drive to Ruby’s and honestly, it would probably be faster if I just walked, but I’m lazy.
“Hey Ruby.” I sit down on the bar stool closest to the door and she’s swift with the menu.
“Are you excited for the draft announcement this afternoon?” she asks, placing water down on the counter.
“Kind of. But I think I’m more nervous than anything,” I admit for the first time aloud to anyone other than Sloan.
“What’s there to be nervous about, Doll?
” she asks with a warm smile. “What’s honestly the worst case scenario?
You get to see a new place and make new friends on a new team?
You’re guaranteed a contract, so you won’t be out of a job, and that pretty love of yours could work from anywhere.
And something tells me, she’s in it for the long haul. ”
I consider her take on it for a second before responding, “I know, it’s just scary you know… how everything is changing so fast.”
“Nothing’s supposed to stay the same. If it was, what would be the point?”
She smiles at me, and hands me a Coke. “I’ll put in for a Club sandwich and some wet fries. You could use a little comfort food without a heavy aftermath,” she says. “You might want to blow off some of that tension in your shoulders when you leave here.”
Her words sound like a soft suggestion, but the motherly look in her eyes tells me I better listen to her.
I won’t tell her that was my plan all along.
“Can you also put in an order for Sloan and send it out for delivery to her place?”
“You got it,” she says as she writes out the ticket.
I sit and sip on my drink until my food comes. Then I go back and forth between bites of my food and blank stares at myself in the mirror behind the bar.
When I finish eating, I thank Ruby with a big hug and make my way to the facility.
This time of year is usually my favorite. The locker room is empty, the facility is quiet, and I have the place virtually to myself with the usual exception of Ozzie, Horner, and various staff working on repairs here and there.
The sound of “Imma Be” by Black Eyed Peas catches me off guard.
There isn’t usually music playing on the field, but when I walk around the corner, I quickly realize Horner is filming the results video.
I don’t know why I assumed he’d already have it done.
I watch for a few minutes as he and all the mascots dance on the field.
Marcus, our choreographer, has them doing an array of tricks the fans have come to know and love as they dance in a circle, almost like you’d see at a club, with Horner in the middle.
It’s a sight the fans are going to eat up.
It just makes my stomach turn in knots.
I make a quick exit for the gym and hop right on the treadmill when I walk in.
I set the incline to 12 and the speed to 7, starting at a steady run.
When my body is covered in sweat and my shirt is stuck to my skin, I bring the incline down and ramp the speed up a notch to a sprint. I welcome the burn in my lungs, the stink on my skin, and the way I feel nothing else.
This is what I love the most about working out. Not because it’s easy, but because of the way it gives back.
Every time I step into the gym and lace up my shoes, press play on my favorite playlist, the world outside starts to fade. The stress, the expectations all lose their volume, and my attention can narrow to something so simple and honest.
Before I know it, two hours have passed and I’m covered in sweat, and starving again.
On my way back to the locker room to shower, my phone delivers an update from the Mango Land official page, and my stomach drops.
I’m stuck in between two fates and I’m not sure which one I’m hoping for. To be one of the ones granted immunity or to be traded and have it over with.
A few hours ago, I would have picked the former hands down, and while that’s still my obvious preference, I don’t know. I’d rather either option happen than have to repeat this feeling again next week.
When I get into the locker room, I immediately sit on the bench and open the livestream on my phone.
Sloan’s face appears on the split screen and for some reason it brings me instant relief. She was covering this from home, and was the one who was responsible for splicing all the footage Horner sent her together.
“Welcome to the Sloan Barrett Show. Today’s show is a little different.
I’ll be covering not only the live coverage of the Mango Land Draft on my channel, but also here.
I have Horner Banks, the founder of Mango Ball here to give us all the details, but first let’s see what the mascots have to say. ”
The shot flips to the video Horner was filming a few hours ago, and I was right the fans are eating it up.
Comment after comment fills the screen as each mascot dances on the field, making a great show of their signature moves.
Orbit does a quick back flip and a trick on the rings Mare had brought in for him for one of her first games.
Benni the Bagel starts breakdancing, and then Florence the Flamingo starts running the bases and slides into home.
Flamingofan111: This is the best entrance to the announcement. I can’t wait to see who is announced today.
Mangobay22: This is amazing
I watch the comments flutter across the screen, it becomes hard to keep up as the amount of comments posted gets larger. They become almost impossible to read as the video cuts back to Sloan, now sharing a screen with Horner in his office.
I can hear movement from the other side of Horner’s office door behind me, and for a moment I wonder if I should go somewhere else but my body won’t move as the video steals my attention back.
“I thought of all the ways this could go,” Horner begins, “and decided the best way to share the news with fans would be to let the mascots share it themselves. Round 1 is where three players are granted immunity to stay on their team. While there are six Mango Ball teams, only three players get immunity from fans. All of the players were placed in an online poll, and the three with the most votes are cast immunity. This was the tightest vote I’ve ever seen. ”
With that the video flips back to the field. All six mascots are standing in a line and one by one they flip over a large sign in their hands as a loud drumroll sounds.
Trochee flips his card and it’s blank, and same with Benni. Then Florence and it reads Mila Ashford. Next up is Orbit, and his card is blank. It makes my stomach roll.
How was not one player from our team saved by fans? Not. One.
Then it dawns on me. If anyone on the team has a big enough following to be saved, it was Ozzie, only he requested to be moved, and I’m not sure when Horner is going to announce that.
I’m too consumed with my own thoughts to watch the rest. I’ll find out who else was saved later. I’m in for another week of stress.
I pull out my phone and text Rikki.
Me: You ok man?
I know he’s been stressed too, even though we haven’t talked about it much. I also know the idea that Mila is not only a new player on the Flamingos but also became enough of a fan favorite during tryouts to gain immunity is likely driving him crazy.
Rik: Drinks at Ruby’s. I can’t do this another week. There can’t be a world where I go to the Flamingos.
Me: 7:00?
Rik: Sure.
I watch Sloan end the video, but I’m frozen in my seat when Horner appears.
He looks at me, and I can’t read the expression on his face.
“I know you’re doing this for the fans, but this is torture for your players,” I say, throwing my sweat rag on the bench and walking to the shower.
He doesn’t answer me, and I don’t expect him to.
I just need to go home.