Page 233 of Vegas Heat

I basically lock myself in the library to work diligently on my plan for the next forty-eight hours—barring the two final exams I have to go take. Cooper texts me with encouragement, and I pop by his place for a quick kiss before heading home to call it a night. I don’t want to tell him or my father what I’m working on because I want to win this on my own ideas.

And when Wednesday morning arrives, I find out where Chase’s mind went when she saidHeat Wave.

“We’ll call in theGuinness Book of World Recordsduring one of the hot summer months to do the biggest fan wave in a stadium ever recorded.” He looks so proud of his idea, and while it’s cute, and I suppose it does build community, it’s not exactly a winner.

Mackenzie’s pitch is about a contest where fans create artwork and posters to hang around the stadium, and Justin pitches multiple giveaways at the gate from a variety of sponsors. Chloe suggests a family fun day, and Ben’s idea is to have abring your pet to the stadiumday. Dylan pitches a player and fam community service day, which is actually a pretty awesome idea.

I pitch last, and I’m nervous as I stand to present my idea. I feel like it’s good. I feel like the hard work I put into it will shine through.

But I also feel like Mackenzie will assume I got input from my father when that couldn’t be further from the truth.

“Close your eyes with me for a moment and picture this.”

I glance at the other interns, and only Justin and Chloe have actually closed their eyes. Joanie’s eyes are closed, too, and Zelda’s and Mike’s—our three judges for this competition.

“It’s a Saturday,” I continue, “and we’re in town but don’t have a game. The stadium is full of fans who bought a ticket to access a stadium tour, a pitching clinic with a Heat player, live press conferences, the chance to interact with players and coaches, bounce houses on the field, arts and crafts stations, and more. Our vendors are here selling their products and we invite others in the community to set up booths. Think spin the wheel to win, contests and games, whatever anybody wants to do to get people to their booths. We mark all the open seats still available for season tickets with their price structure and sell those out mid-season. We have a garage sale to clean out the swag closet of the previous year’s items. We discount merch, or we offer special merch only available for that one day. We call it Fan Fest, and it’s the Heat’s way of waving to other businesses in our community as well as opening our home to our fans while promoting everything we can about our brand.”

The room is silent when I finish speaking, and I wait nervously for someone to tell me it’s a silly idea that will never work.

Instead, Mike starts clapping.

The general-freaking-manager of the Vegas Heatclapsfor my idea.

I draw in a deep breath, and Joanie and Zelda join him. Justin does, too, and he stands, and Chloe is next, standing besidehim. Brian and Chase join in as well. Dylan seems reluctant, but eventually he joins, and Mackenzie stands but never claps.

It feels like a victory.

It feels like a win.

I keep waiting for someone to tell me what’s wrong with my idea.

I keep waiting for someone to explain why it’s really second best…because it seems like I’ve always been second best—or at least my mother has made me believe that.

Instead, Mike stands and reaches out a hand to shake mine. “I don’t think we need to vote, Gabriella. This idea is outstanding, and regardless of who wins the chance to interview for the social media position, we will be implementing this fan fest idea in our inaugural season. I see it becoming an annual event, and I could not be prouder of what you’ve come up with here today.”

Tears spring to my eyes as one of the most important people heading up this organization compliments my idea. Other teams do fan fests, too. This isn’t a new idea, but it’s new to the Vegas Heat, and as we establish our team and our place in this community, it’ll hopefully become an exciting annual event both for locals and for tourists.

And the longer I intern here, the more I hope it’s me who gets to document it all as the social media manager.

CHAPTER 17: GABBY

Final exams come and go, and I ace all my classes.

Our internship comes to a close with a big party at our favorite bar. Chase and Brian aren’t able to return after winter break since they both have fully loaded spring semester schedules, but Chloe, Mackenzie, Dylan, Justin, and I will all be back. The StrongFitKids section at the stadium finishes construction, and it’s beyond amazing.

I’m spending more and more time with my dad and Joanie and less and less time with Cooper, but text messages throughout the day let me know he’s thinking about me as much as I’m thinking about him. He comes over for lunch or dinner a few times a week to fill my dad in on the latest from the Heat, but overall, my dad has been well-behaved when it comes to his recovery.

Classes are over and I’m in the thick of Christmas shopping as I try to figure out what to get for the men in my life—two men who have virtually everything.

Two men who are both intent on living life to the fullest given that they’ve received different but still very real warnings about how preciously short life can be.

And that’s when it hits: the winter bug that seems to come for me every December. Classes are over, and my body finally has a second to relax as the front office of the Heat goes on hiatus for a couple weeks as well.

It infiltrates me and knocks me down to the point that I don’t even want to get out of bed.

Mia calls me, but I don’t answer.

I stay in my room since the last thing I want to do is get Joanie or my dad sick. Joanie’s family comes into town to visit prior to the holidays, and my dad and Joanie stay with them in their rental place to keep away from my germs. Cooper comes over as soon as the coast is clear to take care of me.

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