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Kendall
The waymy phone was going off first thing in the morning could only mean one of two things.
Either they’d announced who the Skyhawks starting quarterback would be this season, or my name was once again caught up in some internet nonsense.
Honestly, I wouldn’t have been surprised if the latter was true since some folks still hadn’t let that Shakira shit go, and I’d only given more fuel to the situation by kicking it with her this past weekend. But I was hoping for the former, my heart pounding as I tapped my screen to open a text from my agent that read,“Turn your TV to ESPN.”
Since I was in my home gym, it took me a second to get to a television and then find the remote that would actually power it on. But once I did, I turned to ESPN just as she’d requested, watching as the bottom scroll eventually popped up with breaking news that read,“Houston Skyhawks have named Kendall Dogwood starting quarterback for the season.”
Oh shit.
Going back to my phone, I quickly typed out a response.
“It’s official?” - Snoop
“Like a referee with a whistle! So proud of you, KD. Let’s go!” - Agent B
“Appreciate it, Bryn.” - Snoop
As if they’d just received the news themselves, one of the morning sports show hosts said,“So it looks like the Skyhawks have officially named Snoop Dogwood their starter, which we all expected to be the case. But do we think he actually has what it takes to lead them to a Super Bowl? We’ll discuss it next on…”
Cutting the TV off before he could even finish his statement,and before they could ruin my vibe, I took a second to sit with the news.
I,Kendall “Snoop” Dogwood, was the starting quarterback for the Houston Skyhawks.
Not just a backup coming in to replace somebody who got hurt midseason or the starter of a game late in the season when the real starters were resting for the playoffs. But anactualQB1 in the league I’d worked my ass off to be a part of.
All my efforts had finally paid off.
When my eyes began to water with tears of joy and gratitude, I didn’t swipe them away until I heard my sister, Anastasia, ask, “So does this news about you being named the starter mean we’re going back to Franklin’s tonight to celebrate,or…?”
Chuckling, I responded, “Damn. I can’t even get a congratulations first? Or at least a good morning?”
“Sorry,” she sang, grinning as she made her way towards where I was sitting and very sweetly said, “Good morning, Snoop. And congratulations. I’m very, very proud of you officially getting the job the Skyhawks would’ve been stupid to give to anyone else.”
“Thank you, Ana.”
“Now about Franklin’s…”
“It’s gonna have to wait,” I told her, looking down at my phone as I shared, “Bryn has already sent me at least a dozen media requests, which means this week is probably about to be crazy.”
“Fine. But I still don’t think we should let this moment pass without celebrating somehow,” Anastasia said, giving the idea some thought before suggesting, “Maybe we could have a little get-together or something. You could even invite your new girlfriend.”
With my eyes still on my phone, I corrected, “She’s not my girlfriend.”
“Then how’d you know who I was talking about?”
The question made me look up. And when I found Anastasia wearing a knowing smirk, I realized my only way out of this was to change the subject by asking, “What are you even doin’ up this early?Wait a minute. Are you just now getting home?”
“No,” she rushed out, tightening the jacket she was wearing over her tank top and shorts as she lied, “I’ve been here all night. Why are you asking so many questions?”
“I asked two.”
“Two too many,” my sister grumbled before announcing, “I’m going to sleep.Back to sleep. Because I was already asleep before I came in here.From my room.”
I waited until she was at the staircase to respond, “Just don’t bring any of that bullshit back to my doorstep again, Anastasia.”
She was grown, so it wasn’t my place to scold her for whatever late-night decisions she was making. But as the one who’d had to step in and handle the last reckless situation Anastasia found herself in, I still wanted to make it clear where I stood on the matter; though I worried she might not have learned her lesson when she only replied with a groaned, “Heard youuu.”
