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Alex watched as people parted like the Red Sea, all eager for a closer look at the new golden boy. Jace lifted a hand in a casual wave, a confident grin tugging at his lips while a few of his teammates—some she recognized from campus tours and social media—whooped and clapped. The DJ tapped his mic one more time before speaking up again, "Oi Jace, you going to get us that chip?"
Jace paused as the spotlight—and what felt like the entire room's gaze—fell squarely on him. He flashed a grin in their direction, shrugging his shoulder as if to say the answer was obvious. "That's the plan," he called back, earning another round of cheers and whistles from the crowd.
On the makeshift dance floor, a group of football players clapped him on the shoulder, draping an arm around him as they pulled him farther into the throng of people. Someone shoved a red cup into his hand, and the DJ dropped the beat again, reigniting the pulsing music. The room surged with excitement; everyone wanted a piece of the new five-star recruit.
To them, he was the second coming of MJ when he spun back from retirement to save the league; only in his case, he was meant to reinvigorate the football programme. The school earns around £60M each year through media rights in the Big Ten alone, and that's not even mentioning all the endorsements and off-season broadcasting revenue they potentially receive if they make a late run towards a bowl game.
So, despite the college rebuilding the sports department after past corruption, the focus of all was the football team. Just like any good professional team needs that key superstar to build around, for D1 colleges, it's the football programme. They receive a chunk of the funding as schools know how much money the programme generates throughout the season.
If the basketball leagues had more nationally broadcasted games that heated up with drama and acting, they could achieve a similar standing. But as of now, the only time they drew the nation's attention was during March Madness. Considering all these facts, it was no wonder that Jace was being treated like a celebrity despite not having achieved anything at the school yet.
Alex, still standing with the soccer girls, couldn't help but roll her eyes. She sipped her soda, wishing she could melt into the wallpaper. Beside her, Riley elbowed her lightly. "That's him?" Riley asked again, her eyes darting between Alex and Jace. Alex nodded. "Yep. The same person who kicked me out of our room and called me an idiot for landing in this situation."
"Dang," Mia murmured, glancing at Jace's confident stride. "He's definitely got star vibes." Mia shook her head with a half-smile. "Well, at least now you know your roommate is basically campus royalty. Good luck topping that introduction."
Alex rolled her eyes. "The last thing I want is to be near all that testosterone and ego for too long, I feel like I would suffocate."
Sasha, leaning against the wall with her cup of vodka in hand, gave a teasing grin. "But come on, Alex. You gotta admit, he's easy on the eyes. I'd endure a few harsh words if it meant having that view all year." She wiggled her eyebrows, making Mia and Riley burst into laughter.
"Stop it," Alex groaned, cheeks flushing. "Let's just drop this and focus on having fun before torture week,"
Mia huffed, taking another sip of her soda before placing the cup on a nearby table. "Torture week is right," she muttered, thinking about the intense practices they do each year before the start of the season. "Two-a-days in this heat? My muscles ache just thinking about it."
Riley nudged her with a conspiratorial grin. "Well, in the meantime, at least get a burger. Looks like the linemen are about to devour everything at the grill."
~~~
"Yo you finally made any longer and these cats would have accused me of ditching my rookie," Isaiah Windfield now dressed in shorts, a white tank top and a pair of sliders all topped up with a diamond-encrusted chain exclaimed as he saw Rakim walk out of the house and into the backyard. Dapping him up he pulled him into a shot half hug. "Isaiah a lot of things but he not a bad senior."
"Boy if you don't stop talking about yourself in the third person, we all disowning you," A shorter guy with an agile build said from the side. "Don't mind him, if he leads you astray you can find me, rents called me Bennet, but I go by Ben10,"
"N***a stop it, Jace ain't calling you Bent10," Isaiah exclaimed from the side in annoyance, "You ain't ever getting that corny ass nickname of the ground, just call him Benny. Yeah, like the dude from Grand Auto Robbery,"
This instantly set off an argument between the two all this while Jace wasn't even able to respond to either of them. "Ignore them, they been like that since freshman year competing with each other the tiniest yardage," A big white dude with long flowing hair said as he held his hand out for a fist bump to which Jace reciprocated. "They call me JJ, if you looking to party or just hang out to have a good time, I am your guy,"
Jace returned the first bump with a nod of appreciation. He liked the energy of this group—loud, confident, and maybe a little cocky, but that was how football teams usually rolled. He glanced around the backyard, noting the haze of smoke rising from a row of grills on the far side.
For some reason behind each grill, the figures of well-built guys stood with their tops off and an apron around their necks. They all had a chef's hat as they hovered over the piping hot grills grilling up a storm of meat, sausages, sweet corn and other vegetables. A big, muscular figure caught his eye, flipping burgers with the ease of a seasoned pro as his dark chocolate muscles glistened under the evening sun.
"Is that Devonte?" Jace asked, raising his voice to be heard over the music.
Isaiah followed his gaze mid-argument over who had the best touchdown celebrations before answering Jace. "Yeah, the second is a beast with the spatula." Jace chuckled, shaking his head as he watched Devonte flip another burger with expert precision, barely sparing them a glance.
"Man's got a backup plan if the league doesn't work out," Jace mused, taking a sip from his cup. The smoky aroma of grilled meat filled the air, mixing with the sweat, cologne of the crowd and the strong scent of the whiskey in his cup.
"Man don't even worry about him, he's got the league on lock if he performs the way he's been balling," JJ said with a smile, "You should go grab a bite, his cooking gets snatched up quick,"
Jace took a moment to drink in the scene before moving toward the grills. He could still hear Isaiah and Benny bickering about something behind him, but the smell of sizzling burgers was calling his name. Pushing through a small crowd, he finally approached the large figure flipping patties with a spatula in hand.
"What's good Devonte, you gone feed or what?" He asked the man as he dapped the larger man up now fully smelling the tantalizing scent of the grilled meat now clearly travelling up his nostrils.
"Boy, you just got here and already asking for a plate from the best?" Devonte said with a proud look as he opened up a tub before proceeding to place a freshly seasoned and marinated stack of ribs. "All good, let me bless you with a plate still,"
"Cheers my guy I ain't eaten in a minute, don't know why I skipped breaky," Jace responded with a wry smile as he proceeded to pick up a paper plate. Reaching into his wallet he took out a $10 bill and put it into the donation jar before placing a short stack of BBQ ribs, a burger, some roasted greens and potatoes. "This better be as good as advertised I don't part with my money easily you know,"
"Don't even trip none of these chumps can match me on the grill, and we raising money to build courts for kids in the neighbourhood so money well spent," Devonte responded with a light smile seemingly trying to ease Jace's mind by letting him know he was doing a good deed.
"Man, I don't care about no kids, I got enough of my own problems I ain't got the spirit for the worlds as well," Jace responded causing Devonte to almost fall onto his grill, Jace didn't care though as he took a bite of one of his ribs. The explosion of flavour as he took a bite instantly sated his hunger as he wolfed the meat off the bone. "If you cook on the field half as good as you grill, we going places Dacon Devonte,"
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To Be Continued...