Chapter 5
It was 6:45 PM, on the first day of fall semester at DSU, and Kennedi Kincaid was sitting in a secret room, of a secret basement, in Braxton Hall, full of nervous energy. The more Kennedi thought about the interview she was about to have with Dante’ Douglas, the more she realized that the stars might have actually aligned in her favor. True, she had a different idea in mind for how her first interaction with him might go, but she learned a long time ago to roll with the punches as they landed and she was becoming quite adept in the process.
Knowing that she had about 15 minutes to orient herself and get prepared for a lively discussion, Kennedi spread her notebook, tape recorder, and a set of pens out across the table. She could feel her heart beating in her chest as she played out, in her mind, how the meeting would go.
Still in full-on prep mode and thinking that she had time to spare, Kennedi was nearly dumbfounded when the door opened and Dante’ burst through it.
“Look at this!” he said squarely addressing a seated, speechless Kennedi, “I was trying to get here ahead of schedule but it looks like you beat me to it.”
As he walked toward her, Kennedi mentally rescinded all of the thoughts she had earlier about how normal she thought he looked as she observed him on the practice field. Clearly, the silhouetted form she thought she saw, apparently seated much too far away, did no justice to the three-dimensional man standing in front of her.
Taken by surprise but excited to get started, Kennedi stood to make Dante’ acquaintance. “Nice to meet you,” she said extending her hand, “Kennedi Kincaid, the Douglas Weekly.”
“Dante’ Douglas,” he replied, reaching out to reciprocate her handshake. As their hands met, her fingers wrapped around his and squeezed tightly. Kennedi was struck by the firmness and warmth in Dante’s grip. So far, nothing was as she had expected it to be. Considering how much he relied on his hands as the quarterback of his team, Kennedi expected them to be hard, perhaps even callused. Instead, the soft texture of his skin matched what she perceived – at least from the way he started the meeting – to be the tenderness of his character. Both were a welcome detour from her the scenario she expected.
After the handshake, both Dante’ and Kennedi nervously took their seats, actively avoiding eye contact with one another. From the outside looking in, it appeared that both were anticipating an intense discussion and were taking a last-minute opportunity to steal a moment or two for themselves before the interview officially began.
“Thanks for arranging this,” Kennedi said, smiling at Dante’. “I really appreciate you for taking the time to meet with me,” she continued, “you have an impressive past, an exciting future ahead of you, and you’re one of DSU’s most prized assets. My goal here is to document all of that in the most authentic way possible.”
As she spoke, Dante’ looked into Kennedi’s eyes and nodded along intermittently. Though she managed to speak coherently, Kennedi nerves were secretly on the fritz. In addition to contending with the gravity of the moment she also had a much unexpected battle on her hands. Dante’s almond shaped, hazel eyes were mesmerizing, breath-taking structures that, upon initial interaction, seemed to be like two-way mirrors. Not only did Kennedi feel like she was looking into his soul, she got the eerie feeling that he was peering right back into hers. Though she tried her best to engage him on a strictly professional level, Kennedi could feel herself getting lost in Dante’s eyes. Considering that they had just met and hadn’t even scratched the surface of their discussion, she tried to reel herself in – but the prospects weren’t looking good.
“I want to apologize for what happened earlier on the field,” Dante’ said, very sincerely with his head slightly lowered. “I’m not sure how it came off for you or how you saw it,” he continued, “but at the time, I had just been told about your project – I’m talking about…not even a full minute before. I felt blind-sided…like everybody knew about this, but me…”
“…and I’ll have to apologize for that,” Kennedi conceded. She wasn’t sure if Dante’ had completely finished his thought, but she felt compelled to interject and broaden his perspective. “That was my fault,” she added, wanting to be up-front about her role at the very beginning and hoping to absolve Coach Bailey of any wrongdoing. “I decided, when I first started thinking about how to cover the story, that it might be better to see you in your element before springing this idea on you. I know, now, that I should’ve planned differently and I’m glad that I have an opportunity to say so – and apologize – right at this moment. I can see how unnerving that experience might’ve been for you and I’m glad that you still decided to give this project a chance.”
Dante’ nodded but, unlike before, offered little show of emotion by way of his facial expression.
Happy that they were able to address the huge elephant in the room early-on and ready to move the discussion along, Kennedi reached for her tape recorder. “Do you mind if I turn this on----?” she asked, getting a hold of the somewhat archaic contraption and pulling it closer to her.
“Before you do that,” Dante’ said, sinking lower into his seat and crossing his arms, “I want to hear it directly from you. What are your motives here?”
Kennedi was stopped in her tracks; immediately. All over again, she felt like she would need to go into pitch-mode. Earlier, after her impromptu talk with Coach Bailey, she’d hoped to be done with this particular exercise for good. But suddenly, it sunk in; throughout the day, she had pitched to everyone except the actual subject of the series. “That’s a fair question,” Kennedi said, sitting back in her chair, and taking a moment to think.
As she prepared to answer Dante’ thoughtfully, Kennedi felt sheepish. She’d thought about how to sell her idea from just about every angle, but she never really put Dante’s needs at the center in any of them. In fact, the reasons that motivated her to do the series had less to do with Dante’ and more to do with what the coverage could do for DSU, the Weekly, and herself. All of the reasons she’d previously pitched were only helpful to Dante’ on the periphery. She knew she had to think fast.
“I want to tell your story,” she began. “I want people to have a multi-dimensional view of who you are and to understand what an asset your presence here on campus is – to all of us. I’m thinking across the gamut – from administrators, faculty, staff, and students to sports fans and sports agnostics alike. I see this series as a way for you to actively shape your legacy, in real-time. As a bonus, I think an engaging, profile-boosting profile about you can significantly buttress the future impact and reputation of the University. I think that’s just how powerful your story is and how important telling it can be. Not capturing this opportunity would be a significant misstep for everyone involved.”
“OK,” Dante’ said, staring off pensively. “I understand everything you just said but I want you to understand something as well...”
Kennedi suddenly realized that her frame had gotten tense; she relaxed her shoulders and titled her head toward Dante’. “I’m listening,” she said, giving him her full attention.
“It’s just that, everywhere I turn, it feels like everybody wants a piece of me. That people are out to help themselves and, if they’ve got to use me in the process, they’re perfectly fine with that. In order to preserve my own soul, I’ve got to put my foot down. Understanding how and when to do that…gracefully…is new to me. I just need to make sure this isn’t a bad look.”
Appreciating his candor, but wishing that she was catching it all on tape, Kennedi realized that she needed to tread lightly. “How about this?” she said, hoping to address Dante’s concern constructively. “What do you want this project – the articles I write, the pictures that I paint, and the perspectives that I present – to ultimately say about you?”
Dante’ exhaled and slowly drew his breath. He rolled his eyes up to the ceiling and then back down to Kennedi. “The main thing I want to come out of this is that I am a good dude, who works his tail off, and doesn’t take any of this for granted.”
Kennedi nodded, “Then that’s what we’ll do! Throughout the series, I’ll make sure that narrative shines through.”
“Sounds good,” Dante’ started, “just not tonight, though.”
Kennedi looked confused.
“You want to get this story on me?” Dante’ asked rhetorically. “Meet me back at the practice field – tomorrow morning – 5:00 AM sharp!”
Kennedi’s eyes grew wide, she couldn’t remember the last time she had been up that early. “5:00 AM?” She asked, hoping he’d say he was joking.
“Absolutely,” he confirmed. “Tonight was my way of getting warmed up to you. Seeing if I felt comfortable talking to you and being around you. Now that I know that I do, let’s get to business. 5:00 AM!” Dante’ rose from his chair, and unceremoniously made his exit, closing the door behind himself.
Kennedi stood up abruptly and started gathering her journalistic artifacts. In the midst of wrangling her tape recorder, notebook, and pens, she kept repeating over and again, “5:00 AM?!” She couldn’t believe how everything was turning out and wondered if she was actually trapped in some kind of surreal nightmare.
Just then, Dante’ peeked back into the room, causing Kennedi to stop in her tracks. It wasn’t April, or anywhere close to it, but Kennedi totally expected him to yell, “April Fool!” But no, that’s not what happened at all – in fact, what actually happened was far from it. Instead of pulling back, Dante’ pushed forward. “I almost forgot,” he said with a smirk, “make sure you wear something comfortable.”
Before she could ask a question to clarify his directive, Dante’ had closed the door and disappeared all over again.