Vance came over, giving me a nod. “It’s time,” he said.
I nodded back at him.
Brody glanced over at me, a little confused. “What was that about?”
“Come with me!” Vance said, his deep voice booming.
Brody’s eyes narrowed, but he was smiling. “What the hell are you two up to?”
“Let’s just follow him into the main room,” I said.
Vance set out on gathering everyone into the big, main room of the frat house. I didn’t even know if it could be called a “living room,” because it was grand and gigantic, like an old school meeting hall. There were a bunch of sofas that had been moved to the edges of the walls to allow for more room to dance, and the walls were covered with more framed photos of past fraternity members. I could imagine that this room must be gorgeous in the daytime, with windows that vaulted up to the high ceiling, ornate and surrounded by wood paneling. The floors were hardwood that was probably very nice when it wasn’t covered in footprints, beer spills, and the occasional cup.
Somebody had turned the music down slightly, and I heard Vance’s commanding voice going around every room of the house.
“Into the main hall! Now! Let’s go, people!” he shouted, and as Brody and I stood next to the front of the room, more and more people started to filter in.
“Damn, this really is a big party,” Dani said. “I thought it would mostly just be the members of the Wolves.”
“It’s the members of the Wolves, all of their friends, and anybody else,” I said.
It really was an impressive turnout. By the time Vance had gathered everybody from downstairs and upstairs, the place was packed.
“I don’t know what the hell is going on, but I’m intrigued,” Brody said.
“We all here?” Vance asked as he emerged through the huge double doors back into the room. “Beautiful. Thank you all!”
He turned to me, giving me a nod. He had a big bag with him, and I knew the notebook was inside.
A sudden panic filled my veins as I looked out onto the massive crowd, all gathered in one place.
Shit. I hadn’t really thought about this part.
“The floor is yours,” Vance told me, smiling and happy like a Golden retriever, and clearly having no idea how nervous that must have made me.
I cleared my throat. “Right. Um, thank you all again—so much—”
“Louder!” somebody in the back yelled, and I felt another wave of panic-adrenaline course through my body.
Suddenly I realized that I was public speaking.
One of my worst fears in the entire world. I couldn’t believe I hadn’t considered it earlier—that of course, Vance wasn’t going to be the one to present the notebook to Brody. It had been my idea, after all. Vance probably thought he was being nice by letting me be the one to present it to him.
The only thing I was ever comfortable talking about was history. It was the only reason I knew I’d be able to get through public speaking later in life, as a professor.
But other than class presentations, I’d never had to do anything like this in my life.
I was shaking a little as I cleared my throat.
Fuck it. Fake it ‘til you make it. Speak up like Vance does. Cool, calm, confident and happy.
“Is everybody out there having a good night?” I called out, loud as I could.
And, astonishingly, everybody broke out into cheers. I felt like I was watching some version of myself do this, rather than me actually doing any of it.
“I’m glad to hear it!” I called out. I glanced over at Brody, whose mouth was hanging open, half-smiling. He couldn’t believe I was doing this, either. “I’m going to keep it short and sweet, here, I promise.”
“Because you have more people to slay in beer pong?” one of the frat brothers, Timothy, called out, a sweet smile on his face.
I laughed. “Tonight was the last night on the field for many of these players,” I said, gesturing over at the group of football players at the side of the room. “And I know it’s been a long, incredible journey for all of them, one that they will never, ever forget. And I know firsthand that it’s true for Brody Bryant, the star tight end for the past few years.”
People whooped and cheered.
I cleared my throat, trying to keep composed. “Now, usually I’m a bit of a history nerd. So when I thought about what I could give to Brody tonight, of course, my mind turned to history. A history all his own. I wanted him to have a history of his years on the Wolves.”
I reached into the bag and pulled out the leather-bound notebook.
I was shocked to see that the cover was barely recognizable. The team had clearly had their way with it, painting it green, white, and gold, putting a bunch of Wolves stickers on it, and making it their own.