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Before I could comment, Vin jumped in.
“Hollis is still in high school and will not be made available to any media outlet until he graduates in May. He’s now eighteen, and we had permission from his parents to hold this event. But after today, Hollis will be off-limits until graduation. His agent, Corey Hampron, is already scheduling media access for the summer. You can reach out to Corey to arrange something.”
I smiled and took a sip of water before the questions continued. I believed people would have kept asking questions had Vin not guided us to the next segment, which was photos.
“Alright, you’re welcome to stay in here or adjourn to the atrium where there will be a chance to get some photos of Hollis and Team Dragon.” Vin put the mic back in the stand and came over to me as I stood. “Doing okay? Do you need a break?”
“I’m doing great! This is a lot of fun.”
As I walked into the atrium with the team, I overheard some people saying great things about me and how I was going to change the face of the sport. Yes, I would.
All the professional photos would be taken in the naturally lit atrium. There was a white curtain backdrop set up, and splashed all over it was the TCF logo, Team Dragon, and Hollis Ward. I posed for tons of pictures solo and with members of Team Dragon. I was grateful that when it came time for the team photos, Corey ushered Patrick forward.
As soon as photos were done, I was shown to a changing area to get ready for the cage segment. I quickly got out of my suit, and Corey stood by with hangers and took my clothes as I handed them to him. I pulled on my sea-green shorts and listened to Marty talk to me while my two conditioning trainers, Herb and Frank, put some lotion on my chest, back, arms, and legs. They said it would be good for the lights and would help highlight my lines. For the cage preview, my grappling coach, jiu-jitsu coach, and striking coach would each do a three-to-four-minute demo round with me. Their goals were to highlight my moves.
“Remember, it’s meant to show off your skills. This isn’t a time to be modest, Hollis. Fletch, Leo, and Harry aren’t going to throw in any surprises or tricks. Everything will be as you guys have trained and practiced.”
I nodded.
“All of this is to give the media a peek at how well and quickly you move, as well as your range.”
“Got it.”
I remembered everything and would make sure the media would get to see what they wanted. I stepped into some laceless sneakers and walked beside Marty to the cage. TCF’s demo cage was full size, and surrounding the cage were three rows of seats. I saw my parents in the front row next to Vin, and Corey and Patrick stood at the bottom of the steps. I fist bumped Patrick as I toed off my shoes.
“You got this, Hollis,” he said quietly.
I smiled and nodded at him. I climbed up the steps where Marty was now waiting for me. He handed me my mouth guard and helped me into my gloves.
“Concentrate. Focus on your trainer. Have fun, Hollis. Show these folks and those other fighters in your weight class what you’ve got,” Marty said and patted the side of my face before I stepped into the cage.
Mere seconds ticked off the clock before I completely relaxed and got into it. Fletcher, Harry, and Leo all pushed me, and I countered everything. There wasn’t but a few seconds between camera flashes, and at the end of the three rounds some of the loudest voices I heard cheering me on were current TCF fighters. The fighters were out of their seats near the cage, oohing and ahhing.
“Vin! Where did you find this kid?” Franco Aguilar hollered from the edge of the cage.
“He’s not a kid… he’s a monster,” Rob Richards said as he stood beside Franco.
“He’s The Dragon. Fierce and quick.” Brendan Rowe clapped and gave me a thumbs-up. He looked at some of the other fighters who were in my weight class. “This kid is going to dominate one day.”
“Good, Hollis! That was great!” Marty boasted as I stepped out of the cage and onto the top of the stairs. He handed me a towel to wipe the sweat off my face, and as I descended the steps, Patrick handed me a bottle of water.
While Vin addressed the crowd and explained lunch was ready in the banquet room, I followed Corey and Patrick to the back room to clean up a little. The trainers were all in the changing room with me and were talking about some moves and which fighters would be weakened by certain ones. Corey and Marty helped wipe down my back and chest while I tried to drink more water. I ended up changing into dry boxer briefs and a new pair of combat shorts before tossing on a black Team Dragon t-shirt. I stepped into my sneakers and looked around for my next instruction.
“It’s lunchtime, Hollis. I want you to sit with your family and eat something,” Corey said. “I’ll walk around to the tables and make sure the media has my card.” Corey bumped Patrick’s arm to get his attention. “Make sure he eats. It’s buffet style, so go crazy… but not too crazy,” Corey said as we walked back to the banquet room. “I’ll catch up with you guys in a bit. Eat.” Corey left Patrick and me at the dwindling food line.
“Do you want me to get your food and bring it over to the table?” Patrick asked.
“No, I’ll wait here with you. We’ll get our lunch and go sit with my parents… wherever they are.”
Lunch went really fast, and as soon as I finished eating, people started to come over and talk to me. It was awesome to be so popular, but also tiring. Mom and Dad were chatty at lunch and talked about the amazing event TCF had put on for me. There was a lull in between people coming over to the table to talk to me, so I leaned back in my chair and glanced at Patrick.
“Can I get you anything? Another bottle of water?” he asked.
“No, I’m good.” I dramatically patted the t-shirt over my washboard abs. “I’m glad I’m no longer wearing the suit. I feel like I’d pop the button on my pants.”
“Good thing you have elastic shorts on now. I think you know how to relieve that pressure,” Patrick murmured.
He made me laugh out loud. I looked down and shook my head as I moved my chair to sit closer to the table. I’d hoped no one was looking and wondering what I was laughing about. But as Corey told me multiple times before, someone was always looking.
