FRAT LINE|Year 2&3-KNJ✔️

++26++

++MALIA++

To say that I'm nervous is an understatement. I know what I'm here for and I know what I'm capable of doing. But I've never done anything like this before.

My first sponsor offer and it's from Nike? That's crazy. I could barely talk to people a few years ago and now I'm standing in a building to meet with a sponsorship team.

"Malia, are you ready?" Coach Tammy's voice sounds out.

I look over and see her standing with my mom and dad. They're all dressed in jeans and jackets instead of their usual cold weather attire of sweatpants.

My parents drove out here last night and got a good night's rest so that they'd be able to get up to be here this morning. It's 8eight o'clock so I'm really happy that they were able to come.

I trust Coach Tammy's judgement about whether or not I'd be being given a bad deal with the sponsorship. But nobody's more educated about money, negotiating and logistics than my mother.

Namjoon's mother asked me to call her after and I told her that I would. She wants to be kept in the loop. She said that regardless if if Joon and I are together or not, she still cares about me.

A part of me feels kind of weird about it though. Because aren't you supposed to stop talking to your ex's family when you break up? Aren't you supposed to cut all of them off?

"Yeah I'm ready." I say as I stand up.

I walk over to them and my mother holds my hand as we walk down the hall. We get to the meeting room and my father rubs my shoulder, forcing the tension out of them. Coach Tammy opens the doors for us and we all step inside.

Waiting at a oval table are two people. One black women and one white man. They smile kindly and stand up when we come in, holding their hands out ready to greet.

"Good morning, Miss Ward. I'm Sadia Nix." The woman looks at me and I shake her hand nervously.

"Just Malia is fine."

She nods in acknowledgment. "Just Malia then."

Her voice is soft yet she speaks with so much confidence. It's the type of voice that you'd find comfort in and enjoy hearing but you know that she can become stern if she wants to.

The man holds his hand out to me as Sadia introduces herself to my coach and parents.

"I'm Johnny Beltrow. It's nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you." I shake his hand and then sit in one of the chairs in front of them. My people shake his hand as well before sitting down.

"Okay. Well, let's get started then." Johnny starts the meeting. "We know that today is a class day for you so we'll try to get done as quickly as possible so you don't miss too much. But we do need to cover all our bases and points today."

"Oh, it's fine." I tell them. "As long as I don't miss my fifth block, I'll be able to catch up."

"Is fifth a hard one for you?"

"Yeah." I mumble and roll my eyes just thinking about it. "It's math."

The pair laugh quietly and Sadia nods. "I wasn't much of a math person either. Alright, let's get started." She looks at her watch.

"So we saw you on Twitter initially. You and some of your teammates went viral. We were being tagged in all sorts of things. Both the Nike and Nike Women accounts. So we did some looking through the thread and then on the school's dance account and saw that you'd be the perfect candidate for us to sponsor."