“Look at Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson. He was a football player at the University of Miami who then went into professional wrestling. Saul said he made over sixty million this year. He’s in his mid-40s. If I get the James Bond or
“Don’t let Saul fill your head with you being a star. This might just be your fifteen minutes of fame, and then it fades,” Mom said.
“I’m well aware of that. There’re examples all over Hollywood. I’m just telling you what the potential is.”
“Do you like it?” Mom asked.
“That’s just it: I do. There’s so much more to it than I ever realized. I was lucky I modeled first. Spatial awareness and how to present yourself in the best light are important.”
“What about modeling? Are you done with that?” Mom asked.
“Modeling is the one business where women make much more money doing it. My deals with Range Sports, Dakora, and Jade put me towards the top of what a male model can make in a year. I made almost as much doing that one commercial for sunglasses. If I go the acting route, I would cut way back on modeling.”
“Anything else going on?” Mom asked.
“Baseball. My hitting coach plans to recommend me for the Under-18 USA baseball team. From what he says, I have the potential to make a go of it, if I put the time in.”
“You’ve always loved baseball. Do you muddy the waters even more and push for it? It might change how you feel about the game.”
“I know. It was something I did just for fun,” I admitted.
“But …” Mom prodded.
“It has always been the dream.”
“So, what are you going to do?”
“I’m going to go for it and see what happens,” I said and sighed. “So much is up in the air right now. In football, I need to decide where to go to school, and with that comes the responsibility for the other guys. Wolf and Tim want to go where I go.”
“I hope you don’t make your decision based on someone else,” Mom said to interrupt me.
“In an ideal world, that would be true, but I’m starting to see that in my situation, finding real friends is going to be hard. I tried to make a new friend here in LA and ended up being hit with a bat for my trouble. Uncle John warned me that I’d need to be careful because my fame would color how new people would perceive me. Many would seek to take advantage of me.
“It’s not just new people, either. Remember how Cal came after me. If I’d been anyone else, that would have been handled differently. Would he have been mad? Hell, yes, but he wouldn’t have tried to ruin me on a bogus rape charge.
“Then there’s Brandon, who worked for me. He goes out and begins to blog about what a terrible guy I am.
“Let’s not forget Mike. All through grade and middle school, he was always the top guy in our class. Freshman year he steps in as the starting freshman quarterback with a clear path to playing varsity, maybe as soon as his sophomore year. At the time we didn’t know Brad Hope would transfer in, so when Magic graduated, Mike was at the very least in the mix. Suddenly he finds me stepping into his shoes. That’s all fine until I rocket up the summer before junior year starts. He’s firmly in my shadow, and the only way he’ll ever play quarterback is if I get hit by a bus. So he lashed out and took advantage of Mona.
“So, if Wolf and Tim want to go to college with me, I’ll try to make it happen,” I said.
“I hate to tell you this, but very few high school friendships survive. People go off to college. They get married and start families or a million other things. One day you wake up and realize that you have a completely new set of friends. When I was your age, I was going to marry Brad Grace. We didn’t even make it to my senior year. The only real friend I still have from those days is Mrs. A,” Mom shared.
I had to chuckle. I started calling her Mrs. A when I was three or four because I couldn’t say Anderson. Now it was her nickname, and everyone called her that, even my mom.
“Personally, I can’t imagine not having my same friends.”
Mom laughed at me.
“You poor ‘stupid boy.’ Take my word for it. High school can be a wonderful time in your life, but in the grand scheme of things, it’s but a moment. Your dad and I worry that you’re growing up too fast. What teenager has to have a talk with his mom about starting a new business? Even fewer would be here, thousands of miles from home, working over their Christmas break. I want you to still be a kid.”
“I think Brook has that covered,” I smirked.
“If I thought I could get away with it, you and Brook would not be allowed to play with each other. The two of you, with plenty of money to do what you want, worry me.”
“She and Cassidy are becoming friends,” I said as if that would help.
“There are times I’d rather watch you swim with sharks than let you loose with those two. If Brook doesn’t kill you jumping out of a plane, Cassidy will kill you with some ninja move.”
