Zyatt King was not terrified at all.
"Zyatt, sit right here until we call you out. The media can be overwhelming, I know. Just stay calm, there are no questions you have to answer." Andy Ried called Zyatt out of his thoughts. Zyatt nodded and walked to the chair, settling down to wait.
A media intern poked his head in. "Coach, Mr. Hunt and Mr. Veach are waiting for you," He said. Andy patted Zyatt on the shoulder before walking onto the stage for the press conference.
"Thank you all for joining us on such short notice," Mr. Clark Hunt announced, starting the press conference. "As you all know, football is a sport that people of almost all ages play, and even more people watch. The NFL's age rules have been a hot topic for years. Although they are generally pretty strictly followed, we have gotten permission to switch things up. North Kansas City High School is producing what we believe can be one of the greatest athletes of all time. Zyatt King, please come out here."
Zyatt stood up, straightening his tie. His friends had been thrilled to be able to dress him up in a suit and tie, even though they didn't know what for.
Palms sweating slightly, Zyatt stepped out onto the stage, smiling nervously beneath his mask. He walked to Brett Veach's side, joining in on what is basically the most important Zoom call of his life. He totally wasn't terrified.
"This is Zyatt King. He is fifteen and will be joining the Kansas City Chiefs for this 2020 season. He's a Wide Reciever and Defensive Back, and one of the best Kansas City has produced. We will now be taking questions."
Reporters immediately started talking, and everyone was muted except for one.
"Do you think it is smart to have someone so young on this team? A fifteen-year-old counting against the salary cap and roster count doesn't seem to be the brightest thing."
Brett Veach cleared his throat. "Zyatt will not count against the salary cap and roster count for this year. If we decide after this season to make him a permanent member of our team, he will."
"Zyatt's a great player. I think he'll bring some energy to our locker room. He'll learn, he's clearly very young and has plenty of time to learn," Andy added in.
"King is in school, I'm guessing? How do you think he'll be able to handle the life of an NFL player and also keep up with school. That's a lot of pressure on one kid."
"He'll take online classes. I'm sure he'll be able to keep up with his school work. He's a bright kid."
"Don't you think this will put a lot of pressure on the locker room? He's young, he's going to make a lot of mistakes while growing up. We know nothing about this kid. Are you sure this is a good idea?"
Andy cleared his throat. "Listen everyone, Zyatt is a part of this team now. I'm sure he'll be well-loved by the end of this season. He's a brilliant kid with a bright future ahead of him. He'll be fine."
•••
The press conference mostly continued like that. There were a lot of questions asking about how Zyatt will fit in with the team, and Zyatt got a few questions about himself. It was clear a lot of people did not approve of having a child on the team.
Whatever. Zyatt always loved an underdog story.
•••
"Zyatt! Come here!"
They were practicing without pads today. This was the section that was open to the media, and everyone had their eyes on Zyatt.
The fifteen-year-old jogged to where Coach Lewis was waiting for him. Tyreek and Sammy were also waiting for him, the rest of the wide receivers a few feet away.
Coach Lewis clapped his hands, gesturing for the rest of the wide receivers to come over. "We're going to be testing your speed today. If anyone outruns Tyreek, I'll buy them lunch. Get on the far line!" He said.
Zyatt followed the group to the starting point. Someone yelled "Yo! The wide receivers are racing!" and the field was quickly cleared, players crowding close to the sidelines.
"Alright, boys! Three! Two! One! Go!"
Zyatt took off. It was only 100 yards, so he knew that pacing himself wouldn't be the best idea. He needed to get going. And fast.
Mecole, Tyreek, and Zyatt were quick to leave the rest of the wide receiver core in the dust.
'Turns out that being a track star will help you keep up with two of the fastest people in the league,' Zyatt thought to himself, silently thanking his mother for forcing him to participate in track. His father had been a track star, and seeing as that man was paying for his sibling's education, Zyatt was willing to do it to make the man happy.
Zyatt cursed his asthma, knowing that once this was over with, he was going to die.
He tried to regulate his breathing, remembering what his track coach had told him.
"In and out Zyatt, and you'll be fine."
Zyatt overtook Mecole when the young player stumbled. Mecole laughed, regaining his balance and taking off after the two.
Zyatt was on Tyreek's heels, determined to overtake him.
However, a few seconds later, they were at the end line.
"Mr. Hill-" Zyatt said in between gasping breaths, "next time... I'm gonna win."
Tyreek laughed. "Kid, please never call me Mr. Hill again. We bros now, " He slapped Zyatt on the back, making him cough.
Mecole, who had reached the endzone a moment later, laughed. "Zyatt, you fast as hell."
"Thanks." Zyatt looked up. "Bro, I'm just running as hard as I can and I'm like 'why we going so fast?'" He laughed, finally catching his breath.
The rest of the team jogged over to the group, laughing and slapping shoulders.
"Dude, with that speed, you're gonna be a weapon," Mahomes said, making his way over to the high schooler. Every thought in Zyatt's mind disappeared, shocked that Patrick freaking Mahomes was talking to him.
He mumbled out some "oh thanks", shyness immediately hitting him. He finally realized that these dudes are Super Bowl champions and were taking the time out of their day to talk to him?
•••
When practice was over and he was in the locker room after a shower, he checked Twitter.
And had gained over twenty-five thousand followers during that day. He already had almost five thousand, and now was at thirty thousand.
Suppressing what totally would not have been an excited squeal, he texted his friend wildly.
the B in LGBT: NZURI
Queen shit: ZYATT
the B in LGBT: DUDE I HAVE 30K ON TWITTER
Queen shit: DUDE I KNOW. YOU'RE A WHOLE ASS NFL PLAYER KING.
the B in LGBT: KDHAYLHALGSLAHA
Queen shit: BCNGSAGLAALAGAK
Queen shit: that was an ugly keyboard smash omg
Zyatt King 👑
@Zyatt
guys please ignore this spam
Zyatt King 👑
@Zyatt
IM FUCKING FOLLOWED BY THE NFL
Zyatt King 👑
@Zyatt
HOW ARE THERE SO MANY OF Y'ALL GODDAMN
Zyatt King 👑
@Zyatt
totally not silently freaking out in a locker room filled with the best in the NFL
Zyatt King 👑
@Zyatt
DUDE PATRICK MAHOMES TALKED TO ME I FUCKING WIN
•••
Zyatt was having a pretty good day. He drove home from practice, excited to see his dog. Quietly opening the door, he walked in, surprised at how quiet it was. Then, as he walked into the living room, he dropped all his stuff, face morphing with shock.
"What the fuck are you doing here!?"
•••
GUYS I UPDATED A STORY IN LESS THAN A MONTH BE PROUD
YOU ARE READING
Things In A Teenage NFL Player's Closet
General Fiction**Story Description, Story Title, and Story Cover May Change** *****NEW STORY TITLE!!!***** *****NEW STORY COVER***** When you're fifteen and in the NFL, you collect a lot of strange things. Zyatt King is your stereotypical member of Gen Z. He posts...
