Junior Year Box Set

Yuri, my little Russian thug, had also improved. I guess I shouldn’t call him that because he was scared of Pam. You couldn’t be a tough guy and be afraid of a girl, even if she carried a Taser. Yuri would be a beast when it came to coverage from the linebacker slot. In most cases, he would either be matched up with a running back or tight end. He more than held his own against Phil and Roc. If he didn’t have hands of stone, I would have begged to have him play offense. Phil and Roc couldn’t outmuscle or outjump him. And on top of that, Yuri was almost as fast as they were.

The reason I loved to have them practice against him was that they couldn’t cheat. They had to run precise routes and trust that I would get them the ball where it was supposed to be. Otherwise, Yuri would either swat it away or knock it loose as they came down with it. It was good that they were friends, or we might have had some problems. When they went head-to-head, tempers would flare because they were competitive.

As we practiced, I felt the rust coming off my football skills. While I’d been good enough to beat out the guys who’d participated in Elite 11 at the Michigan camp, I never thought I was at my best. That was something they’d taught us at Elite 11: the competition wasn’t against the other campers, it was against yourself.

Yes, my inner Alpha Male wanted to take on all challengers and show dominance. I was self-aware enough to admit that. But once the Alpha Male in me was satisfied, I tended to ignore the competition and focus on myself. I was a little afraid to think about what it would be like when I picked a college and stepped onto the field for the first practice. All I could think was that it would be interesting until I proved I was the best.

The part of me that loved contact couldn’t wait until it was time to put my pads on and hit somebody.

◊◊◊

When I got back to the hotel, I checked my phone and found there was a message from Saul to call him back.

“Saul Gessler’s office. How may I direct your call?” a woman’s voice answered.

“I’d like to speak to Saul, please. This is David A. Dawson, returning his call.”

“One moment.”

I was put on hold and had to listen to classical music. Maybe Saul thought this would make him seem more upper-crust.

“David! I have some news that will make your panties wet,” Saul said by way of a greeting.

When he talked like this, I knew he was about to unload a bunch of BS on me.

“I’m all atingle with anticipation,” I said in my fake ten-year-old excited voice.

“As you should be. I just got off the phone with Chubby Feldman about the James Bond movie. They aren’t waiting for Daniel Craig. It looks like they’ll end up signing him for a two-movie deal, but it won’t be for this one. They’ve hired Stewart Thatcher to play Bond,” Saul revealed.

Stewart had played Callum Ascot in The Royal Palm with me. When I first saw him, I thought he could play James Bond. He already had a British accent and had the looks to pull it off. Stewart was also ten years younger than Daniel Craig, who was pushing 50.

“They’ve changed who plays James Bond before, but I have to wonder, wouldn’t it be better if Daniel Craig was the lead?” I asked.

“I talked to Chubby, and he was fine with who they’ve cast. They planned to pay Craig $50 million. Without him, they can spend more on production and on other talent. Chubby hired Rita James to play your mother, and Mia Hilliard to be your Bond girl.”

Mia was the new Megan Fox, who’d been the love interest in the first two Transformer movies. Mia had been in three straight action movies that had made money at the box office.

I knew that Rita had been contacted, but I thought everything was still up in the air. I’d signed a placeholder contract because they weren’t sure if they were going to shoot the film. Daniel Craig had balked at signing because he currently had more money than God and wanted to spend time with his family. He had a son in grade school that he didn’t want to be apart from for the time it took to film one of these.

“Chubby sent over a contract to firm everything up. He asked that you remain at the same salary, but take two points on the back end. If it does anything like the last couple, that will double if not triple what you’re getting paid,” Saul said.

“What does Caryn say?” I asked.

Saul made a rude noise.

“You’re 18 now. You don’t need Caryn or her lackey Kent getting in the middle of this,” Saul said.

I’d forgotten that Kent was now my manager for everything associated with movies. Even so, I paid for a manager for a reason.

“Send it to Kent, and when I get his approval, we’ll sign the deal,” I told Saul, to throw him a bone.

“Fine. I just don’t need them sticking their noses into matters they don’t understand,” Saul said to show his displeasure.