Junior Year Box Set

“No, last night after you’d gone up to your apartment.”

“I just kept to the script Frank gave me.”

“Yes, Frank was impressed with that. From what he said, it sounded like his other clients don’t seem to listen as well. He said that he’d set up some more interviews. I guess they wanted to see how you did before the media blitz starts,” she explained.

“Keep an eye on how much he wants me to do. My first priority is the release of Star Academy and then to act in The Secret Circle. I’m not afraid of work, but I also want to have some fun while I’m in LA,” I said.

“Speaking of fun, I want to warn you that the TV show has access to your dating app account. Saul and Frank also can see your messages.”

“Please tell me that my mom didn’t say anything to get me into trouble.”

“No, she did fine. She found you four dates. I really liked one of them,” Caryn said.

“Let me guess. It wouldn’t be the one you bet on, would it?” I asked.

“Even if it were, I still consider her the best one, but I’ll let you decide.”

“Good plan. The last thing you want is for my mom to find out you’ve influenced me. She’ll get even, believe me.”

“She’s a funny woman.”

I kept my mouth shut. I hoped Caryn never got on the wrong side of my mom. She might not think Mom was so funny then. I could have her talk to Devin Range and see how amusing he thought Mom was.

“Any word on Hannah Minacci and my love scenes?” I asked.

“I thought you wanted her to go to Prom with you,” Caryn said.

“That’s a done deal. All I have to do is convince her boyfriend.”

“I want to witness that conversation. I can only imagine how happy he’ll be when you go into full flirt mode with Hannah, right in front of him.”

Oh, she of little faith. I just shrugged. My plan seemed to be coming together. Hannah Minacci couldn’t withstand my charms. I was a legend in my own mind.

◊◊◊

Halle and I found that in all the classes we had finals in, we were able to spend class time studying. Word must have come down from on high that all our teachers should help us get ready for the tests. Even in our college-test-prep class, we reviewed how to take a test. I made it a point to thank all my teachers, and Halle followed suit. Our teachers were bending over backward to make sure we could take time off to shoot the movie.

Halle told me that she might have to stay in LA a few more weeks than I did because she was in more scenes. The goal was for us to be able to get our parts done quickly. The rest of the actors were scheduled for an additional eight weeks. This was an incredibly tight schedule, but it wasn’t a big-budget film like Star Academy had been. Almost all the scenes would be shot on soundstages.

◊◊◊

After football practice, we skipped the dojo and drove straight to Brook’s house to ride snowmobiles. It had warmed up, so it wasn’t freezing. Everyone had a great time. I helped Ian, Brook’s dad, with the grill. He was a much better grill-master than Beth’s dad was. At least we didn’t have any fires.

While I supervised, I got a call from Todd Davis, the five-star linebacker I’d met at Notre Dame.

“Hey, Bo Harrington gave me the good news. I hear you’re now a member of the Crimson Tide.”

“Yeah, my surgery turned out well. They tell me I should be ready for football come fall. I wanted to thank you for what you did. I truly believe that they might have dropped me if you hadn’t made the call,” he said.

“No, I doubt that. You’re too good a player for them to take a pass on. I think they just wanted to make sure it wasn’t more serious.”

“Well, I disagree, but I wanted to talk to you about something else. I talked to Jack, the cornerback that caused all this. He admitted that he tried to take your knees out. The coaches aren’t happy because we know that if we get a reputation like that, it could come back and haunt us. I wanted to apologize on behalf of King High School. It would be a shame if you were hurt in a high school game,” Todd said.

“Every time we put on our pads, we take that risk. I can’t say I’m happy to learn that he intentionally tried to hurt me. The sad part is that you were caught up in all that, and it almost cost you. High school football is supposed to be fun.”

“I agree,” he said. “Hey, my mom’s calling me to dinner. Keep in touch.”

“Good luck, Todd,” I said and hung up.

◊◊◊ Wednesday November 25

I came down for breakfast and found Mom and Dad reading the paper. The Wednesday paper before Thanksgiving was always huge. It held all the ads for Black Friday, and also announced the All-State Football Team. My picture was in the center above the fold as it announced I was Player of the Year. Jim and Wolf also made first team All-State. Ty was on the second team, and Johan got an honorable mention.

Unity High School had three players on the All-State roster. Their quarterback made the honorable mention list. Take that, Iowa! They had a defensive lineman placed on the first team and a cornerback who earned honorable mention.