My Life Would Suck Without You

A Normal Day

Something that slipped my mind: who caught the HSM references in the second chapter?😉 I grew up with that movie franchise and it was a huge part of my childhood - hell, it's still a big part of my life.

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Jai walked into the 3rd Avenue offices of ESPN at his normal hour: 9:30 a.m., wearing his normal clothes: blue jeans and t-shirt, and carrying his normal $1 cup of coffee in a large Styrofoam cup from the vendor on the corner. He'd be darned if he'd pay $7.50 for a cup of liquid caffeine, even if it did come in a bio-degradable green and white paper cup made from 10% post-consumer recycled fiber. Nope, Jai would stick to good old Rajeev and his percolator on the corner of 3rd and 40th.

To someone studying his career from the outside, it looked like Jai's dream had shattered along with his knee. However, that was as far as one could get from the truth. True, he wasn't a professional basketball player anymore; however, with the exception of such legends as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, he knew from the beginning that professional sports had a very limited shelf-life. He actually looked at his career-ending knee injury as a blessing in disguise. Now he co-hosted the most popular sports show on television. "The Best Darn It All To Heck Sports Show, Exclamation Point" aired nightly on ESPN and Jai and a great bunch of guys sat around, shot the bull about their favorite teams... and got paid to do it.

Jai said good morning to the security guard at the desk and stepped onto the elevator, just like every other morning of his life. Of course, all of this routine normalcy was external. Inside, he felt like he was about to explode. His head was pounding and even though the caffeine seemed to be making it worse, there was no way he was giving up on his morning coffee. This day, above all else, needed routine. His stomach felt like he'd drank an entire keg of beer and perhaps he had. His mouth tasted like the inside of a garbage disposal and no matter how many times he'd brushed his teeth and gargled, it was still the same - disgusting.

And on top of all that, he felt extremely guilty about Ariana. He shouldn't have snuck out like he did. He felt horrible about that and had actually picked up the phone to call her and apologize before he remembered that he didn't have her number. He could always go back to her apartment or send flowers or something, but he was too afraid to do the former and the latter sounded cheesy. Fear ... damn straight ... Jai Brooks was definitely afraid of Ariana Grande and what she'd do to him the next she saw him.

So here he sat, leaning precariously back in his desk chair, pondering these thoughts, instead of writing the interview questions he'd need in an hour when the phone rang, catching him off guard and causing him to almost tumble backwards out of his seat. Luckily, even though Jai wasn't a competitive athlete anymore, he still had excellent reflexes and he was up and answering the phone without too much damage to himself ... or to his office furniture.

"Yeah, I'm here, I'm here."

"Man, that's a very professional way to answer the phone, Jai. What if I'd been the President of the NBA, ready to give you the interview of a lifetime?"

"Morning, Luke", Jai deadpanned into the phone.

Ignoring his brothers apathy, Luke marched forward. "So... tell me all about last night."

Unbidden, a smile came to Jai's lips.

"Wasn't I right about jumping right back on that horse that bucked you off? I bet she really surprised you, didn't she? Not that I'd be interested myself, of course, but you got to admit, she's really hot ... and once you get a few drinks in her ... well, after all she's a Wildcat too, right?"

Jai sat up straight in his chair and stopped fiddling with his collection of Hot Wheels cars which he'd been lazily rolling across his desk. Suddenly he had his full attention trained on Luke.. How'd Luke know about Ariana?, thought Jai.