Junior Year Box Set

“Sports Illustrated, ESPN, American Football Monthly, and USA Today all want to talk to you about football. Your setting the national record for yards in a game; being selected Elite 11 Co-MVP, Gatorade State Football Player of the Year, and Rivals Junior All-American; being the top-rated player in the junior class; and now selected First Team USA Today All-American team all add up to quite a bit of football buzz,” Frank said.

“I made the USA Today first team?” I asked.

Frank smiled.

“They contacted Coach Hope to let him know. You weren’t named the Offensive Player of the Year; that was awarded to a running back who’s committed to USC. You were one of three juniors who made first team, and you’re the first ever junior quarterback.”

I looked at Caryn, and she smiled. She’d known and hadn’t told me. I was too happy to be mad.

“Damn, David. I didn’t know you were such a good athlete,” Leah’s agent said.

Leah and Caryn laughed. I didn’t understand why, so they explained that there was a kid on YouTube who had created videos where they would exclaim, “Damn, Darryl.” He’d created enough of a sensation that he was asked to be on The Jeri Preston Show.

◊◊◊

Jessup changed the shooting schedule to allow Leah and me to go do Hollywood Central Live. Fritz drove us over with Caryn, and Frank would meet us there. When we came in, one of their people took us to the Green Room. I was disappointed it wasn’t actually green. Frank and Aaron came in so Frank could introduce us. It was evident that Frank and Aaron were friends.

I learned that the show’s name referred to the historic studio zone, an area where all the major studios were located.

Our interview was the usual jovial fun that’s the trademark of the show. The studio had released a short clip from the movie that showed Leah kissing down my stomach. She had a lot of fun teasing about what had happened without admitting it.

Aaron then switched to talk about my football awards that were coming out, and we spent a minute on that. That was when the fun started.

Aaron: “Someone get Jamie.”

Action: Jamie comes on camera looking irritated and then sees David.

David: “I would do you, too.”

Action: Jamie grabs David’s hand and pulls him out of camera range. Another cameraman with a handheld chases them down the hall. David takes his shirt off and throws it at the cameraman. Jamie runs into an office and slams the door once the couple makes their escape. There’s a lot of noise and thumping to imply something is going on.

Frank had called me beforehand to tell me what Aaron and Jamie had cooked up. The expression on Leah’s face sold it. She even said, “Damn, David,” without being prompted. I liked the little tag line and didn’t feel guilty for stealing it from Darryl.

◊◊◊

It was interesting to see how the paparazzi affected different people. Halle and Rita just took them in stride. I think Rita had actually missed them. Fritz and his colleagues seemed to enjoy the cat-and-mouse games. I was sure it was better than sitting and waiting for me to finish work or driving me around. Caryn wanted nothing to do with them, and I believe if she’d been packing, we might have been down a couple of the more aggressive ones.

I wasn’t really sure what to make of it. I did notice that people started to recognize me more. When we arrived at the dojo to work out, I was even asked to sign autographs by a few of the other club members. I realized this was all part of it, so I decided to embrace it for now.

◊◊◊ Friday December 4

I’d done my homework for batting practice, and the sound of the bat on the ball told the story. Instead of a ‘dink’ sound, there was a satisfying ‘crack.’ Coach Revilla wanted to talk to me about my hitting stance.

“I notice that you have your front foot open. Why’s that?” he asked.

“I see the ball better.”

“Hm,” he grunted.

“Why, is that wrong?” I asked.

“I’m just surprised that someone with your skills would need to cheat like that,” he said. “But I’m not here to change your stance. I just want to make sure you have the mechanics down.”

“Coach, I’m not afraid to change my stance if it’ll make me a better hitter.”

“Okay,” he said with a smile. “I like a kid who’s open to being better. Let me walk you through the five steps for hitting.

“The first one is rhythm. That’s where it all begins. You need to get comfortable in the batter’s box. Some guys like to move their hips, and others circle the bat above their head; I don’t care what you do so long as you do it every time and it helps you settle in and begin your motion.

“The other part of rhythm is timing the pitch. I recommend that you begin when a pitcher brings his knee up and has his hand in the glove. That’s the point when you start to time the pitch and focus on the release point.