The Freshman (College Years 1)

I got this.

“What’s going on with the record deal?” Diego asks Jackson out of nowhere.

Jackson was the one who talked to the talent scout, not Bat’s Cave. It was a woman, and she fell hard and fast for Jackson’s performance, saying much of the same stuff that Hayden said about him that night. She got him a meeting with the record execs, and he flew down to Los Angeles and listened to their spiel. They took him to lunch, they gave him a tour of the office, they flexed on the bands and singers they’ve turned into household names, and at the end of the four-hour meeting, they made him an offer.

He turned it down.

They called him back, offering more money.

He turned down that deal too.

“They’re going to make another offer,” Jackson says, his lips curling into a sideways smirk. “My dad’s lawyer is fully prepared to tell them no.”

“Dude, why would you turn down all these deals if music is your passion?” Eli asks, shaking his head. “If that was my dream, I’d be all over that shit.”

“When they know it’s your dream, that’s when they take advantage of you. I refuse to get caught up in some shit deal where I end up making mere pennies for every record sold,” Jackson explains, sounding perfectly logical. His father is some big business mogul and full of good advice, though I still have no clue what he does exactly. “This offer isn’t my ticket out of nowhere. I love making music. I love performing, but I refuse to cave to the first deal offered.”

“This isn’t the first deal,” Eli reminds him. “It’s your third.”

“If the money is right, I’ll accept it,” Jackson says. “My father always said, if the terms aren’t to your liking, walk away. If they want you bad enough, they’ll chase after you.”

“You might end up having a bunch of teenaged girls chasing you every night and that’s it,” Caleb says, making us all laugh.

“If that’s the case, so be it. The right offer will eventually come along,” Jackson says with a faint smile. “I know it.”

I wish I had half his confidence when it comes to life. I feel like I’m winging it most of the time.

“I can’t even believe you were sneaking around and performing on the down low,” Diego says. “You had us all fooled.”

“Why tell you when you’d all give me shit?” Jackson looks at every one of us, and we all duck our heads, save for Caleb. “Except for you, my number one fan.”

Caleb grins. “If you hit number one on the charts and sing a duet with Ariana Grande, I will gladly suck your dick after you introduce me to her.”

We all throw chips in his direction and he holds up his hands, batting them away. “You know she’d jump on this.” He points at himself.

“Like I’d let that happen if I was singing with her. She’d be jumping on me,” Jackson says, tapping his chest with his thumb.

We all can’t help but agree with that.

The server comes and takes our orders. Caleb tries to get a beer, but she asks to see his ID and he says never mind. Once she’s gone, we all start talking about Jackson again, and his potential record deal. Something about it fills us all with possibilities, and it’s kind of fun to dream along with him.

“You could tour with The Weeknd,” Diego suggests.

“We don’t make the same kind of music,” Jackson says.

“He’s just saying that because of the Super Bowl.” I point at Jackson. “You could end up performing there someday.”

“That would be cool,” Jackson says with a nod.

“And I’ll be playing in it. Leading my team to the win!” Eli throws his hands up in the air and makes a crowd roaring noise.

We all roll our eyes, but secretly wish for that too.

Well, not me. I’m practical. I know college will be the end of my football career. And I think Caleb feels the same way. He doesn’t put a ton of effort into it. And Jackson? He has bigger things to accomplish, like his music career.

“Why didn’t you ever tell me you were performing at Strummers?” I ask Jackson when the other three start talking about video games.

We became closer in the summer. We both come from rich fathers with high expectations. Mine was rarely in my life, while Jackson lives with his dad, but he’s never around. And because he’s never around, he’s constantly giving Jackson money, alcohol and weed to make up for his absence.