“They’re pretty cool, though. They’ll probably be okay with it, as long as I do a bunch of work for them before you shave me,” I said.
Kendal left to do her job. Then they switched gears, and Jessup took over the meeting.
“First of all, here’s your initial check,” he said, handing it to Tom.
Tom showed it to Mom and Dad. Even though they didn’t show much, I could tell there had to be a big number on it.
“The Stryker character is a hand-to-hand, sword- and weapons-fighting expert. We only have a couple of months to get you proficient. We have experts in the style of fighting we want you to learn. You also need to learn to make it look real for the camera. We’ll need to schedule time for you to train between now and the start of filming.
“We also want you to learn your lines, and be able to deliver them. We contacted someone from State that’ll be helping you with that. We figure you’ll have to spend a couple of hours a night during the week, a full day on Saturday, and half day on Sunday each week,” Jessup explained.
I could feel my mom’s eyes boring into me. All my free time was suddenly gone. I would have to figure out when I could study.
“Mom, do you think they’d let me drop Art, so I could study during that period?” I asked.
She looked at Dad, and he nodded. We spent another couple of hours going over what was expected, and how they would help. They told me not to worry too much about it because they let wrestlers do movies. How hard could this be? I was given a script, a schedule, and a storyboard. They’d highlighted when I needed to be on set. The shooting schedule was nearly six months long, but I would be involved in only about five weeks of the scheduled time.
When we were done, Mom took me back to school and went to talk to the office about what I was doing, and my need to drop Art. I loved it, but it was an elective and wasn’t required for graduation. I could pick it up later if I wanted.
ON THE WAY BACK TO school we went to the police station and got my Jeep. After school, I made the rounds of all my teachers to find out what I’d missed. It seems the school administration had already informed them as to why I wasn’t in class today. I was surprised at how cooperative everyone was being. It didn’t hurt that almost all of my teachers were my football coaches.
Cassidy caught up to me before I went home to pick up my suit. I hadn’t wanted to leave it in my locker all day, but I also didn’t want to have to go home to change after the game. I would go straight from the game to Peggy’s house. I was also taking Wolf and Cassidy. She hopped into my Jeep. I guess she was going for a car ride. She gave me a look that dared me to kick her out of the car. I just started the engine and pulled out of the parking lot.
“You’re aware that Jim and I broke up?” she asked.
This was heading in a bad direction.
“I guess. Why do you ask?”
“If I decide tonight to make out with Wolf, will you have a problem with that?” she probed.
“Before you throw that grenade into my lap, and I make a stupid comment that destroys one or more of my friendships, can I ask a question? Is there more to this breakup than Jim being honest with you? You know he could have lied, right?”
She gave me a sour look. If I had been anybody else, she might have hurt them. She wasn’t talking, so I continued to ask questions.
“Cassidy, you know you’re one of my best friends. Were you just looking for an excuse to break up with Jim, or was this something else?”
We had made it to my place and went upstairs. She grabbed my hand, pulled me into my bedroom, pushed me back onto my bed, and hugged me. I just took her into my arms and she began to cry. I started to say something, but she told me to be quiet and just hold her.
I GUESS WE WERE BOTH tired because I woke up to my mom shaking me. Cassidy jerked awake and blushed when she saw my mom had found her in my bed.
“Get your butts up. You’re late for the game,” she told me, and then she turned to Cassidy. “I told your dad that you and Brad were having dinner here tonight. David found a diner that has the best fried chicken. We’ll take you to the game, and then I’ll take you home and help you get ready for the dance.”
My mom was an angel sometimes. I think she’d overheard me talk about Cassidy and her makeup efforts. Not having a mom to guide her showed sometimes. My mom had always wanted a daughter. I think that was why she and Tami were so close. Maybe Cassidy could fill that role for now.
I looked at the clock. It was six o’clock. I was supposed to be taped and dressed by now. I jumped up, and Mom handed me a suit bag and my duffle. She also handed me a lunch bag so I could eat something before the game. I gave her a kiss and ran for the Jeep. I opened up the bag. She’d made me a couple of peanut butter sandwiches. I could probably sneak out to the hospitality tent and get a hot dog.
I SNUCK IN, AND PAIGE smiled at me.
“How come you’re late?” she asked.
I guess it was a fair question because I was never late. I also didn’t think it was any of her business.
“I just got jammed up on some stuff.”
She shook her head and taped my ankles. My wrist and ribs were doing better, so we skipped those. When I was done, I got dressed. I was starved, so I snuck out and went to the hospitality tent. It’s one thing to do it in street clothes; it’s another to show up in cleats, game pants and a jersey. I also saw that I had a film crew following me around for the music video.
One upside to having a film crew tailing me was that recruiters all took off. They didn’t want to be seen ‘bumping’ into me. Mrs. Sullivan saw me coming and had a couple of hot dogs for me.
“You’re the best,” I told her, and wolfed them down.
Jeff, our local sports reporter, waved and came over.
“Mind if I get my interview in since I know you’ll duck me after the game to go to the Homecoming Dance?”
“Go right ahead, sir,” I said as I finished my second hot dog.
I was surprised when two more dogs appeared, along with a Mountain Dew. Mrs. Sullivan was outdoing herself tonight. When the other reporters saw I was about to be interviewed, they all crowded around.
“Guys, this is going to have to be short. I have to go do warm-ups with the team in a few minutes,” I said as the kickers started to do their warm-ups. They always came out first. I noticed that we had some of the big-city sports reporters here tonight. It looked like we were starting to be a story.
“If you beat Riverside tonight, and then St. Joe next week, you’ll win the conference championship. Of the remaining conference games, St. Joe looks like the toughest one. Is there any chance you’re looking past Riverside?”
“Wow, Jeff! I was wondering when you’d get to your question,” I said, and the other reporters laughed at him. “To be honest, I haven’t looked at the schedule. I’ve been focused on this game. On paper, we should be a favorite. I also remember that the last time we were favored, we ended up losing that game.” I waved them all closer and took a conspiratorial tone.
“Don’t tell Riverside, but we plan to run them off the field tonight. I plan on winning this early so we don’t have another debacle.”
I grabbed my hot dogs and jogged to go warm up. Jim saw me with food and took one away from me. I guess he could do that if he was going to be protecting my back. Coach yelled at us to get our heads in the game.
WE WON THE COIN TOSS and decided to defer to the second half, so Riverside took the ball. I can tell you that when you get several hundred cowbells ringing, it makes a lot of noise. I was visualizing them running a dive right at me. I shucked the fullback, stepped into the hole, and crushed the tailback. I was getting my head right to do some damage tonight. Tim smacked my helmet and we ran onto the field.