Page 76 of Faking Ties

I nod in agreement.

“All right, everyone,” Mia says. “The best hack in overcoming our fear of public speaking is to reframe the nervousness you feel and trick your brain into thinking it’s excitement.”

“Is that a line from a self-help book?” Trey asks.

“Yeah,” Marcus says, “I didn’t sign up to be burning incense and cleansing our spirit.”

“You two.” Mia points to Trey and Marcus. “Sinceyou have so much to say, why don’t you come up here and be my first victims… Oh, did I say victims? I meantparticipants.”

“Victims?” Marcus whispers, shooting a worried look at the rest of us as he stands next to Trey.

“I want you to think of a topic you can talk about for two minutes,” Mia says. “The only catch is that it can’t be about football. I’ll time you and raise my hand when the two minutes are over. Now who wants to go first?”

Marcus and Trey look anywhere but at her, and Mia grins. “How about we start with you?” She nods to Marcus, and he sighs.

“Hmm, let’s see. A topic I can speak two minutes about?” He rocks on his heels. “Okay. I’m going to talk about eating well and working out.”

He gives his spiel, really getting into it. Marcus isn’t shy by any means, but I’ve never heard him speak so confidently about something like he is now. I have a feeling if he had a whiteboard marker, he’d write down formulas about how the body burns energy. It’s impressive and I might need to go to him for some pointers. Mia raises her hand when the timer goes off and says, “Thank you for sharing. How did that feel?”

“Good,” he says. “It wasn’t so hard once I got started.”

“Exactly. And you were talking about something you’re clearly passionate about. If you regularlypractice a speech, it can help build up confidence since once you start, you’ll be able to speak the rest on autopilot.”

A few of the guys nod and Mia says, “All right, your turn.” She indicates to Trey. “Oh, and just to note. No one else can use either of those topics for the rest of the day.”

I groan. Shit, that was going to be my topic.

“Knitting,” Trey starts, “is the best form of relaxation I’ve found. It quiets my mind and is a fun way to express myself.”

I glance around the room in shock. Trey, over three hundred pounds and six-six, is into knitting? He continues going on about his favorite things to make—stuffed animals for his cousins—and I’m gagged. Mia doesn’t raise her hand when the timer goes off. Instead, we all listen in fascination.

“Thank you for sharing,” Mia says once Trey finishes talking. “You’re clearly passionate about this topic.”

“I’ve got a question.” D-Rock raises his hand. “Trey, are you secretly a grandma?”

“Probably.” Trey shrugs. “But at least I’m not still a child carrying around a worn teddy bear.”

“That wasonetime,” D-Rock says defensively.

“One time meaning all the time,” Quincy chimes in.

I snort. “We can get you a collection to bring along to our games. Maybe we should buy one from each city we play in?”

“I like your thinking,” Marcus says.

“Fuck off,” D-Rock grumbles, and Mia says, “Why don’t you come up to the front and speak next?”

“Yeah, why not tell us about your teddy bear?” Jake asks.

D-Rock strides to the front of the room, and we all laugh as he crosses his arms. “It’s the only thing I have from my mom. She died when I was six.”

The laughter and jesting come to a screeching halt with his words.

“I bring it to every game,” he continues, “because it’s like she’s at the game with me, watching from heaven.” He continues to talk about her, about what he remembers about her. My nose stings, and I refuse to fucking cry in front of the team. Shit, D-Rock hasn’t had an easy life, and I didn’t know.

When the timer rings, I ask, “What was her name? Your mom?”

“Yolanda.”

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