Junior Year Box Set

When I was done with my scene, Caryn filled me in. Frank had arranged for me to be downtown at LAPD Headquarters at three-thirty. The national nightly news would begin to air on the East Coast at four, our time. He’d written up a statement for me to make. I had Caryn read it because I had to get back on the set. She then handed me an envelope.

“This was delivered while you were on set.”

I opened it. I shook my head and handed it to Caryn to read. It was from an LA law firm representing the three men who attacked me. It was a shakedown letter that threatened they would sue me for all the damage I’d done to their three clients. They would like me to get an attorney, and we might possibly settle before it got ugly. I found the phone number and called them.

“David, I’m glad you’re taking this seriously,” was the greeting I heard when the phone was answered.

“Listen carefully. Have Al Faulkenburg call me by three o’clock. I believe we can settle this if he does. If I don’t hear from him by then, you can go ahead and sue. I’ll make sure I crucify you and your clients in the press, starting with my three-thirty press conference with the police.”

“Hang on …”

That was all he got out before I hung up.

It was a good thing I was supposed to be a brooding, angry teen in my next scene because that’s exactly what I was.

◊◊◊

On the ride to LAPD Headquarters, I received a call from the law firm with Al, his parents, and everyone else on the line.

“David, I’m sorry you’ve taken such a hard line, but we’re willing to work with you on this,” Al’s lawyer said.

“Al, are you on the line?” I asked.

“Yes.”

“I’m about to arrive at the LAPD Headquarters to do a joint press conference about what happened. I have two options: I can go along with your story about this being about surfing, and things got out of hand, or I can tell them the truth. When I say the truth, I mean I will tell them about every little thing,” I said. “Do you understand what I’m talking about? Do you want the world to know?”

“What’s he talking about?” a woman I assumed was his mom asked.

“What did you do this time?” a man asked.

The conversation was muted, and I waited for them to decide. When I was put back into the conversation, it was just the lawyer.

“They’ve decided they’d prefer the first option. We’ll send over a letter of agreement and state that all parties will take no civil action against you concerning this matter. Would that satisfy you?” he asked.

“Please contact my attorney, and I’ll have her review it,” I said.

I gave him Ms. Dixon’s information. I would have Caryn call her while I met with the police.

◊◊◊

After that, I did the dog-and-pony show for the police, who wouldn’t tell anyone much because it was “an ongoing investigation” and “the three attackers were minors.

” When I was asked to talk, I kept it short and admitted I believed them when they said they intended to kill me. I didn’t speculate as to why it happened. I figured if they hadn’t sent over the letter by the time my interviews with national outlets started, I didn’t want to be telling two different stories.

After we were done with the police, we drove over to Frank’s office. He had a room set up for my interviews, with large posters from my two movies placed behind me that featured me in the pictures. I’d no idea where he got them, but they were going home with me.

The rest of the day was a blur as I did one interview after another. By the time I arrived home, I was exhausted.

◊◊◊ Thursday December 17

Caryn woke me up at three-thirty in the morning. She had a suit for me to wear today that had been delivered from Dakora. I was impressed that it was very businesslike with only a touch of their creative flair. Caryn told me they had offered me money to wear it on the morning talk shows. We were back at Frank’s studio so we could be on America Today, Dawn America, and The Outlook.

By now, Ms. Dixon had come to an agreement in principle, and she said it was okay for me to start telling the surfing story. The reason I was okay with telling that version was that it was true—as far as it went. Several people had seen him jump my waves, and it wasn’t uncommon for surfers to fight over that. What made this different was the fight was caught on camera, and they’d used bats, and I’d used my training to protect myself. Added to that, I was a high school football All-American and an up-and-coming movie star.