Junior Year Box Set

I’d been sent a text that Dakora had started their marketing campaign in which I was featured. It was a tie-in for my movie. The studio had also increased their ad buys. Between the two efforts, my likeness was now in both print and TV ads.

I felt obligated to wear one of my Dakora suits. I picked the most conservative one, found the tie that matched it, and selected a crisp white dress shirt. The sport coat was a dark charcoal gray with a touch of dark red stitching on the breast pocket. The tie was designed so that the knot was the same red as the stitching, and the rest of it was the charcoal color of the suit. Dakora had made the necktie especially for me because the original one was too short. It was a pain in the butt to tie because it required you to do it just right to get the knot to be all red. My belt and shoes were from Louis Vuitton and had an alligator-skin design stamped into the black leather.

When I arrived at the banquet, I looked around the ballroom and found our table. My aunt, uncle, and grandma had joined us tonight. I spotted Rita James and saw she’d drawn a crowd of fans. She’d obviously made a trip back from LA for this so she could see Halle get her cheerleading letter. She must have thought this was a black-tie event because she was in a sleek black gown that must have been custom made to fit her so well. Rita was wearing a diamond necklace and matching earrings. If I didn’t know better, I would guess she was royalty. Then I remembered she really was Hollywood royalty.

I walked up briskly.

“There you are. I need you to meet some people,” I said.

I offered my arm, and she accepted it. Jeff, my favorite reporter, came forward with a photographer.

“Rita James, I would like to introduce Jeff Delahey. Did you want to get a picture of Ms. James?” I asked.

I started to step away, but Rita held onto my arm. Halle saw what was going on and came forward, and Rita insisted that she join us. Halle was similarly decked out, except instead of diamonds, she wore rubies. Rita let them take a few pictures of the three of us, then gracefully stepped away so that Halle and I could share the limelight. I had a moment of clarity and wondered if this was a glimpse into the future when we’d be on the red carpet for our new movie.

“So, do you have anything on Unity you want to share?” Jeff asked.

“Can I make a shameless pitch before we talk about sports?” I asked.

He scratched his head and gave me a lopsided grin.

“Could I stop you?” he asked.

“No, but I was hoping you might pass this along to your entertainment editor.”

“Alright, have at it,” he said, as he turned on the recording app on his phone.

I told him who I was wearing and that the ad campaign for Star Academy

had started. I asked Rita and Halle to give him background about The Secret Circle that we would start shooting in a few days. Then I gave him a few minutes on Unity and our upcoming game.

“Will there be any big announcements tonight?” Jeff asked.

“You know I can’t spoil Mrs. Sullivan or the Booster Club’s big surprise.”

“Can you confirm that Coaches Diamond and Zoon are leaving?”

“On the record?” I asked.

“Yes.”

“Then no, I can’t,” I said.

Jeff turned off the recording app on his phone.

“Did you get the guy from Springfield?” he asked.

“Looks like it. We also have a guy to take Coach Diamond’s place: my quarterback and legendary NFL coach, Bud Mason, is coming out of retirement to run our offense next year.”

“How did you pull that off?”

“I have no idea. I was told during a meeting to discuss all the facility improvements the Booster Club plans to make.”

“Any hints?” Jeff asked.

“No. I want Mrs. Sullivan and the boosters to have their moment. They really have done a lot for us.”

“I understand.”

“We good?” I asked.

“Yes. Thanks, and have fun tonight,” Jeff said, and started to walk away, but turned back. “Beat Unity.”

Mom had absconded with Rita, so I had to settle for Halle. Poor me. Proudly I took her around as I talked to all the parents and told them about how well their sons had done this year. The cheerleaders were all there with their parents. We found Jan with Yuri and his mom and grandma.

“David, you do good. You say encouraging words to families. This good thing,” Yuri’s grandma said.

“Come,” I said, offering her my hand to help her stand. “I want you to meet my grandmother.”

When I made the introductions, they at first sized each other up, and I worried this might not be so good. Both grandmas were strong women.

“Go,” Yuri’s grandma told me and waved her hand to dismiss me.

I looked at Grandma Dawson, and she wore a faint smile. I decided I would rather spend my time with my friends.