AllFreeNovel
Share Us
But in the meantime, it was a stream of revenue I couldn’t ignore, especially after making a point to not depend on my parents anymore and to make it on my own. It hadn’t always been easy, but I’d learned a lot about budgeting and stretching a euro until my unicorn job appeared.
“Yeah. Angelica has called and texted me daily, asking if I had anything new.”
“You’re so in demand, and you don’t even care. I love it.” She giggled, shaking the hammock as she smacked my leg.
My phone rang, and my brother’s photo popped up on the screen before I could reply to her.
“Ooh, is that Brycey-boo?” Emory hummed, waggling her eyebrows like a loon as she stared at the photo that had popped up.
They’d met when Bryce had visited in the off-season. I wasn’t certain, but it seemed like something had happened between them, but neither of them would admit to anything. It was one of those things where it felt better not to ask. Not to mention that since her mom and our aunt were married, it made us some weird form of cousins. Cousin-adjacent?
Tapping the accept button, I lifted the phone to my ear and gave Emory a look to be quiet.
“Hey, Bry. How’s it going?”
“Prepare to be blown away, Sis.” I swallowed, nerves swirling in my stomach. It was the end of March, the time of year when everyone tried to convince me to return home before baseball season started. Except Ohio wasn’t really my home anymore. But I knew I couldn’t stay here forever. If anything, I was a nomad looking for my Hobbit hut.
“Hmm, that’s a big promise, Bro.” I could almost feel him smile as he prepared to launch into his PowerPoint presentation.
“Oh, but it is. I found your unicorn job.”
My breath hitched, and I sat up, almost rolling Emory out of the hammock. She squeaked and laughed as she righted herself, and I mouthed “sorry” to her.
“Is that Emory?” Bryce asked, his voice sounding higher.
“Yep. She’s in the hammock with me.”
“Oh. Cool. Cool. Cool.”
Never had I heard my calm and collected brother so flustered. Interesting.
“So, unicorn?” I asked, reminding my brother what he had called about.
“Right. So, I don’t know if you’ve been watching the different sports teams blow up on LiveIt or not over there, but their social media followers have tripled as they’ve been interacting with the fans and pulling in Book-It.”
“Book-It,” I said, but it came out as more of a question, wondering if he was making shit up. LiveIt wasn’t a thing here.
“Yes, exactly,” he responded excitedly, missing that I hadn’t known what he was talking about. “And then the Banana Pajamas launched into the stratosphere on there. Sports teams are changing how they interact with fans and bringing a new crowd to the games. It’s not just arrival photos and press conferences anymore. It’s so much more,” he gushed, his excitement building as he spoke.
I had to admit; it did sound interesting and fun.
“What does this have to do with me and my unicorn job?” I asked, too nervous to hope yet.
“I convinced Dad that the Yellowjackets needed that. We need to boost our team image, get more fans in the stands, and get our players’ names out there. It’s easier for the pro guys, but in the Minors, you’re almost forgotten.”
He didn’t outright say it, but I could hear the genuine sadness in his voice, the fear and hurt he felt at being stuck on the Yellowjackets for the past three years. His window of playing in the Majors was closing, and he wanted to boost his chance of getting noticed.
“What did he say?” I asked, curious as to where I fit in this. I knew they already had a social media person, a team photographer, and a videographer, so it wasn’t like it was something open he could offer me.
“He was all for it. Especially when I said that you should be the one to do it.”
“Wait. Me?”
“Yes, you, Blanket. It’s time you came home.” His smile was there again in his voice, hitting a wave of homesickness I hadn’t felt in years. Could it be that easy? Just go home?
“But… I thought those roles were filled,” I stuttered, unwilling to believe it was that simple.
“Technically, yes. But Rachel is going on maternity leave, and Sanders broke his pelvis. Larry will still be doing the videography of the games, but the other two spots have a temporary vacancy. I pitched the idea that you could fill in for both, and if it worked, we could create a position primarily for TikTok, someone who would focus only on content for it. I know it sounds like a lot right now. You’d be traveling with the team and spending most of your days with them… with me.”
