Chapter 21: the spotlight

After driving for several hours Zach and Natasha arrive at the hotel and check in.

This is such a nice room! I love my little apartment, but I have missed relaxing in a bath.

You have all the time in the world to do that mom, you deserve it after that long drive.

Don't mind if I do.

When Natasha returns from soaking in the tub Zach is on the couch watching football.

Who's playing?

It's Marcus's first game with the Marauders.

That's exciting, how is he doing?

Not bad, he's caught two passes so far... also dropped one.

Probably nerves.

That's very likely, the couple hundred people that attended the games at ECU are nothing compared to a fully packed NFL stadium I imagine.

It most certainly isn't. When I went to go watch your dad play the noise was almost deafening at times. After a while I was lucky enough to get a seat in one of the boxes with the other players wives.

Sounds overwhelming...

Your dad definitely was at first, his second year it started bothering him less and less.

I'm so lucky that you've been through all of this before.

Natasha pulls Zach against her.

And now I'm going through it again with you, you're growing up so fast... I'm getting old.

Now you're just being dramatic.

You're all I have, soon you'll move to a different city and play in the NFL.

And you'll move there with me, Rebecca too. After that we'll get married and if we end up having kids, and you'll be there to babysit them.

Natasha is surprised at first but a smile quickly appears on her face.

Seems like you have though about that a lot.

It just makes sense to me. I love Rebecca more than I can explain so marriage seems like a logical progression for us.

I have no doubt that you two are going to work together, the part about kids is what surprised me the most.

We haven't talked about it, but if she wants to have kids then I'm up for it. With her studies she's going to have to decide when it would happen though.

You still have plenty of time to figure it all out.

Exactly, no need to rush it.

The Marauders manage to win the game. Marcus has a solid debut performance and Zach decides to send him a text to congratulate him.

- Congrats on you first game, you did great!

- Thanks! No touchdown yet though.

- It's only a matter of time. You contributed in a win, that's the most important thing.

- True, still fifteen games to go after all. How are you doing? Sam told me about the "incident".

- Josh paid me a visit with some hired muscle. I managed to get Rebecca out of there before things got ugly.

- I never thought he would go that far... how did you escape?

- I didn't. Rebecca managed to get me some help. Fred and a new receiver Lars came to my rescue just as I was losing consciousness, shortly after her dad came to arrest them.

- That's crazy! Wish I could have been there for you, thank God for Fred and Lars.

- I'm going on the Devin Bullward show tomorrow to talk about the incident and clear the air. Also to make sure that scouts don't get the wrong idea, they take off the field stuff very seriously. That way I can praise Fred and Lars in the process and hopefully get them drafted.

- I'll tell Sam about them too, it would be nice to see some familiar faces here in Vegas.

- Wouldn't it be great if we could play together again?

- Totally! But if you're going to be picked number one in the draft, we can't win too many games or we won't be able to get you.

- You're jumping the gun man, who says I'm going number one?

- I am, you have to be confident.

- I'll do my best, give my regards to Nika.

- I will, say hello to everybody for me. Good luck tomorrow!

- Thanks, hope to see you soon.

The next day they arrive at the studio for Zach's interview. Natasha notices that Zach is fidgeting a lot as they're waiting.

Nervous?

A bit...

Just be yourself. You're a nice guy, people will see that.

I'll try my best.

A girl knocks on the door.

Are you ready Zach?

Yes, I'll be right out.

He gets ushered to his seat and Devin gives him a nod.

Hello everyone and welcome to the Devin Bullward show. I'm joined by ECU quarterback Zachary Gray, nice to meet you Zach.

Thank you for having me Devin.

My pleasure. If you don't mind, I'm going to address the elephant in the room. Tell me about the incident a couple days ago.

A former student that had sexually assaulted another female student, I had a hand in him getting arrested. He came back to take revenge.

That's crazy, looks you made it out alright though.

Some stitches on the back of my head, besides that I'm fine.

Good, could have been much worse.

Definitely, I managed to get my girlfriend out before things got violent. Luckily I have great teammates, my center Fred and one of my receivers Lars didn't hesitate to come to my rescue.

True friends.

Absolutely, great guys all around. Whatever teams pick them up in the upcoming draft will be very happy to have them. They managed to buy time until my father in law Ryan arrived to arrest them. Afterwards my girlfriend Rebecca stitched me up, she's studying to become a doctor.

Happy to hear that it all worked out. Let me switch to ECU, what can you tell me about the new players?

We gained some valuable members on defense. On offense Lars Hendriksen has proven himself a dependable short yardage weapon. Coach turner did a good job considering it was her first time recruiting. Apart from that everybody is a year of experience richer and that is going to serve us well.

Speaking of coach Turner, tell me about her. There are still a lot of doubts out there about a female coach.

Lauren Turner is the daughter of a former football coach, she's been around the sport her entire life. She's good with the players and came up with an entire offensive scheme that plays to our strengths. She managed to take ECU from several years without any wins to seven wins in only one season. It has nothing to do with her gender, she's simply smart and talented.

She most certainly succeeded in putting ECU on the map.

Her dedication to football combined with our new dean Miss Meyers, who is an impressive lady in her own way have turned the entire school around. I would recommend ECU to anybody.

Success always starts from the top.

Couldn't agree more.

Now I want to talk about you for a bit. It's funny actually, you were the highest rated quarterback out of highschool and you end up going to ECU. People were acting like you were overrated immediately, but then you go and light up the stat sheets. It's almost as if you're no longer six foot four with a cannon for an arm. Did that bother you?

At first it was tough to hear people talk about me like that on tv, I'm lucky to have an amazing mother who already has experience with that because of my father's career. She thought that the best way to shut those people up was to simply prove them wrong, and that's what I aspire to do every day.

That's good advice. If you don't mind, I would like to talk about you father?

Sure, go ahead.

For our viewers who don't know, Zach is the son of former Las Vegas Marauders quarterback Jeremy Gray who sadly left us too soon. You have a similar playstyle, only you are more athletic I would say. Did you learn a lot from him?

He taught me to throw when I was still very little, but besides that I was too young to really benefit from his experience. I of course have spent a lot of time watching his games from back in the day. I would say that he was a bit more reckless than me, he was more of a gun slinger than I am. I take pride in not turning the ball over to the opposing defense.

Would you like to play for the Marauders? Are you planning to enter the draft?

Unless something crazy happens, I do intend to enter the draft. And of course, I would like to play for the Marauders. But it's not up to me. I will go to whatever team picks me, that's how it works.

With your arm, athleticism and vision I expect you to get selected early, teams are going to end up fighting over you.

I take no responsibility for that.

It will definitely be interesting to watch, that's for sure. Thank you all for joining us and see you tomorrow for another episode of the Devin Bullward show.

Devin gets up from behind his desk and shakes Zach's hand as they cut to a commercial break.

It was nice to have you on the show.

How did I do? I didn't really know how to prepare myself for this.

There were some nerves, I could tell. But you did fine. You're going to have to get used to it once you're the face of an NFL franchise.

I still have some time left to learn.

That's true. Once you're drafted... do I get the first interview?

Absolutely, thanks again for having me on the show even though most people probably don't know who I am.

You have everything it takes to become a star, to me it was a bit like an investment.

Thank you for the confidence boost, I hope we get a chance to do this again in the future.

Zach wastes no time to call Rebecca as son as they get back to the hotel room.

How did I do?

You were great, I'm proud of you. My dad texted me during the interview, he was beside himself that you mentioned him.

He deserves credit for saving me.

It was so nice of you to talk about everyone, hopefully it gives ECU a nice boost.

How have things been back home?

Mostly back to normal, the police took down the "crime scene" earlier today.

Good, we can finally move on. We should be back tomorrow around lunch, maybe a bit after.

Ok, see you then. Love you!

Love you too.

The day after Zach returns home from L.A. he invites Fred and Lars over for dinner.

Come in guys, make yourselves at home.

Fred enthusiastically rubs his belly.

I have a large appetite, just letting you know.

With your physique I assumed as much.

You mean my Adonis like figure that is clearly built for speed?

Yes Fred, that's exactly what I meant.

Meanwhile Lars is looking around the living room.

This house is insane, how did you afford this?

It was a "gift" from Miss Meyers for helping her get rid of the guy that attacked me and his uncle.

Ruby and Lisa walk down the stairs.

Hey guys, I'm going to see how Elle and Rebecca are doing in the kitchen.

Ruby shyly waves at them.

Hi, I'm Ruby... nice to meet you. I'm going to the kitchen too.

Lars nudges Zach.

Dude, do you live with four women?

Yup. Three of them are cheerleaders, so you should know them.

You do realize that's pretty much the dream of every guy our age, right?

You're acting as if I have a harem. One of these girls is my gay best friend and another is my long term girlfriend.

Then you have the self-restraint of a god, respect.

Fred and Zach laugh at Lars for a bit and head for the dining room where Elle is putting down the plates and silverware.

Hello boys, are you hungry?

Fred smiles from ear to ear.

I sure am!

Good, take a seat the food should be ready shortly.

Lars slaps Zach's arm as soon as she's left the room.

That's the captain of the cheerleaders!

I know. Her name is Elle, she's also the student council president.

My god, she looks like a victoria's secret model and she's smart...

Don't be intimidated, she's really nice.

Fred puts his arm around Lars.

I think we found Lars's kryptonite. Women.

Very funny guys.

The girls walk into the dining room and put the food down.

Dig in guys.

Shortly after putting food on their plates Rebecca raises her glass.

A toast for Lars and Fred. You bravely put yourselves in danger for Zach, to true friends!

Both of them try to play it off nonchalantly.

Don't be modest guys, you really saved me. I'm very grateful, I'll do what I can to make sure that you guys get drafted.

Fred nods.

I appreciate that. It's my job to protect you, I wouldnt be much of an offensive lineman otherwise.

Lars shrugs and still tries to play it cool.

You were so nice and welcomed me with open arms, I had to do something.

I won't ever forget it, and neither will Rebecca.

Absolutely. If you guys ever need anything, Zach and I will be there for you.