At this current moment, student athletes were restricted from earning any money whilst competing in College. In fact, if a student was found to be receiving any goods or income from brands or otherwise, they would be sanctioned heavily by the NCAA.
The NIL deal brought in on 1st of July 2021 was revolutionary. Players could now use their name, image and likeness to profit from their personal brand. Endorsements, product promotion, and even monetizing social media were all allowed after this was implemented.
'Is this why the system made me create a social media account?' Ken thought in wonder.
"Earth to Ken…" Steve crooned, buzzing around Ken like an annoying fly. He tapped the side of his friend's head, as if to check if he was still in there.
Ken waved his hand as if he was shooing away an insect. "Has anyone ever told you how annoying you are?"
"Only once a day." Steve replied with a grin.
Letting out a sigh, Ken continued on the way to the cafeteria. After all the commotion he was hungrier than ever.
"I'll ask Tara if she can manage your Social Media accounts. But you'll probably have to change your handle…" Ken stated as they sat back down at the table.
"Nah man, I just realized I don't care about that kind of stuff." Steve replied nonchalantly. "I mean, it's not like I can make money out of it or anything."
"…"
Ken would have agreed with his statement, if he didn't remember about the NIL deal. In fact, getting a head start and building one's personal brand in the first year of college was ideal.
"I can't tell you the reason, but you need to build a proper social media presence." Ken said gravely. From his expression, it was as if it was a life and death scenario.
"What? It can't be that serious right?"
But upon closer inspection, Steve realized that Ken was truly serious. It wasn't often that the guy in front of him talked like this, so he was inclined to listen.
After a few moments, he finally agreed, letting out a sigh. "I don't understand why… But I guess it couldn't hurt to trust you this time."
"Good. You'll be thanking me in the future." Ken quipped, "Now let's eat, I'm starving."
Ken kept his word and asked Tara to manage Steve's social media accounts as well. It took some convincing, but he eventually got the woman to agree after giving some consolations.
Tara was a wily woman and knew how to manage favors. Ken already had a headache after thinking about how much he would be extorted in the future by this person.
Like this, Ken and Steve's days were filled with monotony. Eat, sleep, class, training and practice, only to spend their nights studying in their dorm room. Ken was such a stickler for studying that Steve was forced to join him or risk falling behind.
Thanks to his insistence, by the time his final exams arrived in December, he had confidently completed everything with time to spare.
Once winter break came, Ai, Steve and Ken returned to Texas. Rather than spending her time alone for Christmas, Yuki had invited Ai to stay for a couple of weeks over the break since she was far from home.
The Takagi household became lively once more, having many visitors at once.
It was just after Christmas that another 2 unexpected guests arrived.
"Hey Steph… Long time no see." Steve said, answering the door. However, his face changed when he saw that she was holding the hand of another woman.
"Hey… I brought my girlfriend, I hope you don't mind." She said, wearing a rather smug expression.
Steve paled, but he nodded and motioned for them to come inside. "Just take your shoes off before you come in." He added.
"Oh, we have more guests? Excellent." Yuki was beaming as she saw Steph and another woman enter the house. She had been told about Steph coming over, but not the mystery woman.
"Hi Yuki, thank you for inviting us." Steph said sweetly, taking a seat at the table.
"It's no problem at all. Aren't you going to introduce your friend?" She asked.
"Oh, sorry I thought you guys knew each other."
Ken's eyes narrowed as he evaluated the woman Steph had brought in. She had blond frizzy hair and sparkling white teeth. Her slender neck was exposed and only a small amount of makeup was applied to her pretty face, enhancing her features.
"This is Sarah, she was Ken's junior prom date." Steph said smilingly.
"PSHHHHH"
Chris who had been sipping silently on his tea suddenly sent a geyser towards the unfortunate Steve who was standing nearby, drenching him.
It wasn't just Chris, both Ken and Yuki looked completely shocked. Ai on the other hand, wore a passive smile, but Ken could already feel her murderous intent threatening to swallow him whole.
'WHAT THE F—'
Sarah seemed a little self conscious, but she smiled sweetly. "It's good to see you all."
While she had lost weight throughout their Senior year, it had not been as drastic as this. "Y—You too." Ken replied, trying to regulate his emotions. He could already feel he would have a lot to answer for after this all concluded.
"How…?" Steve asked, not even able to complete his question.
Sarah sent him a look, but decided to answer anyway. "Once I left for college, I was able to control my diet more. My parents are 'feeders' as I like to call them." She answered with a chuckle.
"Right… and you guy are dating?" Ken asked. His eyes flickered towards Steve who seemed to be crestfallen. He had never probed the guy any further about his relationship with Steph, but it seemed that things were a lot worse than he thought.
"Mmm, thanks to you." Sarah said to Ken with a brilliant smile.
Ken froze, feeling another pair of eyes burning into him. He didn't even need to turn to understand that it was Steve.
'Crap, why would she say that…'
With both Steve and Ai wanting to rip him apart with their eyes, Ken could only try to make the best out of the situation. "Ahem. I didn't do anything apart from giving you the exercise plan, you did the rest."
However, despite trying to clarify, Steve looked as if he wanted to punch Ken in the face. Thus began one of the most awkward dinners of his life.