A Twist of Fate (Complete)

Ch. 27 - Media Troubles

"Because the reporter and I were talking and she asked who you were. I told her that you're my best friend and the reason why I'm so good at baseball, so she wants to talk to you too."

"You think I'M the reason you're so good at baseball?" she asked, scrunching her face up in confusion, but he was already walking away back towards the reporter and she ran to catch up. She was glad she looked really nice and had fixed herself up today because now apparently she was going to be in a TV interview. It felt a little awkward to be asked to do an interview with him since she wasn't his girlfriend anymore.

She reluctantly followed him down onto the field and over to the interviewer who was a middle aged brunette woman in a conservative black business suit. She shook Brad and Everly's hands and said "I'm Candace Daly, host of Wake Up New York. Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too," they both said.

"So I have a few questions for the two of you and we're going to start rolling now. Don't be scared. It's not live so if you make a mistake, we'll just start over and edit it out in post-production."

"Ok" Everly said nervously, letting out a breath and her heart started beating faster. She hated being interviewed about as much as she hated giving speeches.

"3 .... 2 ..... 1 ...... Hi, Candace Daly here. I'm down at Yankee Stadium this afternoon with a very special guest named Brad Lancaster. He's currently the number one ranked college baseball player in the country. He was invited here to Yankee stadium today to practice with the team and his dream is to play for the Yankees one day, just like his hero Babe Ruth did. He's already drawing a lot of comparisons to the baseball legend and he's earned the nickname 'The Home Run King.'  We just witnessed Brad hit thirty home runs in a row!" she said excitedly. "What makes Brad really unique is that he's also a phenomenal pitcher. He actually made history here today at Yankee Stadium by tying the fastest pitch ever recorded at a hundred and five miles per hour. Brad, why do you think you're so good at baseball? What's your secret?" she asked, holding the microphone out in front of his mouth.

"Well," he said, looking down and rubbing the back of his neck before lifting his head and looking at Candace. "I would say I owe a lot of it to this woman right here beside me. This is my best friend Everly. We used to date all through high school, and we'd spend our date nights at the batting cages or on the pitcher's mound instead of going to movies or restaurants or parties like other high school couples. She never complained about that, like I think most women would. Instead, she was on the sideline cheering me on every time I hit a home run or threw a fast pitch and that just made me want to do it again, because seeing her so excited about it made me happy. She came to all my games and was always in the stands screaming for me, and that support made all the difference. I wouldn't be half the player I am today if it wasn't for her."

Hearing Brad say that made her eyes start to water.

Candace turned to Everly and said, "Well you two are just adorable. Brad said you USED to date. Is there any chance you two might become a couple again?"

Everly's face flushed red because she was caught off guard by that question. "Oh, ummmm. I'm actually already dating someone else, but Brad's a great friend and I'm really proud of him. It's nice to see all his years of hard work paying off," she said, smiling over at Brad. "He's amazing."

Candace turned to the camera and said, "Yes he is amazing. We'll definitely be keeping an eye on him as his career progresses. Brad actually just transferred to the NYU baseball team, so if you haven't gotten the chance to watch the phenom in person yet, don't wait to get your tickets. They're selling out fast. Brad, Everly thank you both so much for your time today. This has been Candace Daly reporting from Yankee Stadium for Wake Up New York. Back to you in the studio, Gary."