The Guy Named Harrison: Book One

4

Carrie followed him through the facility to the locker room. "See? Nice and quiet."

"A lot better than outside."

Harrison let Carrie sit in his nice comfy chair while he brought in another one from one of the offices across the hallway. He found a clipboard for her as well.

"So how'd you make it big?" He asked as he sat down across from her.

She shrugged. "I don't know. I guess it just happened. They like my writing maybe."

"Don't you do something like a reporter too?"

"Yeah sometimes, although very rarely, I'll make an appearance on tv. Sometimes I'll be the one interviewed, or I'll interview someone on tv. And sometimes I'll go on ESPN radio."

"You should interview me on tv," he boasted.

"Are you serious?"

Harrison nodded with a smile. "Okay. I'll see if I can get it arranged."

She crossed her right leg over her left and rested the clipboard with her notebook against it. "You ready?"

"Yes."

Carrie pulled a few pieces of paper out from behind the notebook and got herself set. Before she could turn on the small grey thing she held in her left hand, he asked what it was.

"It's a recorder," she answered. "Since I'm going to write about quite a few of the things you say, I can go back and listen to the interview to make sure I cover everything."

"That's cool."

For some reason he was nervous. And it wasn't even a major interview. It was just him and her. All she was going to do was record it.

"You look nervous."

"Nah, I'm fine."

She didn't seem to buy it. What am I thinking? He asked himself. She does this for a living. She knows I'm nervous.

Then he asked himself, why am I nervous? I've done this before hundreds of times. It then occurred to him he was nervous because of her. Harrison had feelings for her. He couldn't figure out why, but he knew he liked her and was afraid of screwing up in front of her. Relax, you have plenty of interview experience, he told himself. You'll be fine.

"I'm that intimidating?"

He looked up at her to see her smiling. "Yeah, you are."

Harrison threw that one right back in her face. Instead of using it as a joke to loosen him up about the interview, he turned it into one of his flirty comments, the second one she caught on to.

"Are you ready?"

He nodded and she started her recorder. "So Harrison, last season the Panthers were one of the worst teams in the NFL, coming off a Super Bowl appearance the previous year. How do you think you and the guys are going to rebound from it and put the team in contention this year?"

Surprisingly, the answer was already at the tip of his tongue. "Last year was one of the worst seasons the Panthers organization has had in a long time. We fought a lot of injuries, myself included. But the guys and I weren't pleased about it at all. This season, I think we have to stay healthy. We can't have our starters going down again. I also think we have to play more as a team. A few games last year, we had a few guys trying to do everything themselves. That results in turnovers. So we have to trust our teammates."

She nodded. "Last year, you set the record for most tackles in a single season while missing three games. How does it feel to be in the record books now?"

Harrison smiled. "Even though I missed three games, it feels so good. My name is in NFL history now."

Carrie wrote a few things down on her notebook. "What's your thoughts going into this season?"

"I think we're going to make another trip to the Super Bowl. Last year was a rebound year for us. We picked up a couple of great rookies from the draft this year. That's definitely going to help us win the NFC South this season."

"Harrison, this is something you've talked about quite often, your on field mentality. What do you think about when you're out on the field?"

"Well, during the play, I think about doing my part on defense. Am I supposed to cover somebody, am I supposed to blitz, or are we in man to man coverage. I also study hours of film on the teams we're playing. It's part of my practice. On the field, I use what I've learned to spot a weakness in the offense and exploit it."

Carrie gave him a smile. "Thank you Harrison."

She shut off the recorder. "See, it wasn't that bad."

He stood up and stretched. It really wasn't that bad. She didn't overwhelm him with questions like most reporters would. The interview felt like it lasted it a while, but it took less than five minutes.

Carrie stood up and gathered her things. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Yes."

Harrison smiled his proudest smile. "Want to go to dinner sometime?"

She then smiled as well. "Are you asking me on a date?"

"I sure am."

"Where and when?"

"Tonight at seven at Olive Garden. Does that work?"

"I'll be there."