Page 15 of The Tip-Off
“I have some options.”
It takes five painful minutes where I want to take his phone and do it for him, before Zeke has uploaded a profile picture, copied the text his agent suggested for his bio, and selected a photo for his first post.
“Let me,” I demand when he’s hovering over the keys trying to figure out what to write below the posed photo of him in his Valley jersey. It’s a promo shot I’ve seen before. Zeke looks big and intimidating, muscular arms crossed over his broad chest, and mouth pulled into a determined line.
He hands over the phone without protest, but he eagle-eyes my every tap.
“See you at tip-off. #ballislife, #focused, #thetip-off, #valleyu, #firstpost.”
“Wow,” he finally says when I’m done. He takes his phone and stares at the still un-published post. “You came up with all of that in like five seconds?”
“Not my first time, big guy.”
I hear the sound the app makes when he publishes the post and he actually lets out a sigh like it’s been an exhausting effort.
“So that was your agent?”
“Yeah.”
“That’s cool. I expected her to be in a suit and to scream out things like ‘Show Me the Money!’ Does she have a mission statement?”
He chuckles. “Jerry Maguire.”
“Ooh right. Blair mentioned how much you like Tom Cruise. So, what kinds of things does a sports agent do for you? Isn’t the draft still a few months away?”
“Gets me practices with teams, interviews, social media shit.”
“So, it’s not just an Instagram-specific hatred?” I ask, amused.
“I’ve never used any of them before today. Don’t see the point.”
“You’re kidding, right?”
He lifts a shoulder and lets it drop.
“Social media is huge and growing every day. The big NBA guys have followings the size of some countries! I read somewhere the market value for a single Lebron James tweet is over one hundred and twenty-five thousand dollars.”
“I know, I got practically the same spiel from Sara. I just wanna play ball, not post cheesy photos of myself.”
“The NBA is a business, like anything else. Think of Instagram as an extension of the interviews. Plus, it’s a cool way to promote yourself and let people know a little about you. A behind the scenes look, if you will.”
He holds his phone out toward me so I can see the screen and the notifications of new followers and likes.
“My work here is done.” I stand, pocket my phone, and the check holder with the signed receipt for their meal. “Next time, I’ll show you the apps you can download to automatically curate the best hashtags.”
“Now you tell me,” he mumbles to my back. I’m a few steps away when he says my name. His low voice caresses each syllable. I take a deep breath before I turn to face him. His eyes are sincere and apologetic. “Thank you for this, and I’m really sorry about the other night. I had fun shooting hoops with you.”
“Yeah, me too.”
7
Gabby
Since I movedto Valley before the end of the semester, I’m currently living alone. The plan is for Blair and Vanessa to move in over the summer, but in the meantime, my apartment is pretty bare and lonely.
And, I hate to say it, but living alone isn’t as much fun as I thought it’d be. From the safety of my parents’ house, it seemed so grown up and awesome. Bills, coming home when and if I wanted, leaving messes with no one to bug me about dirty dishes in the sink or laundry sitting in a clothes basket were just a few bullet items that somehow represented a life I’d been missing out on.
Turns out, what I’d been missing out on is a lot of sleepless nights. Every noise, and there are plenty living in an apartment, makes me jump, but even worse is the eerie quiet. Too much time alone with my own thoughts and insecurities leads to a lot of late-night TV watching to drown out the silence. I’m going to be a walking zombie before Blair and Vanessa move in at the end of the semester.
