"What's next?" Jack asked, all serious, "What’s the plan now?"
Annie gave Luke's arm a little smack and hissed, "Why bring this up now? The game just ended yesterday, and we haven't even finished celebrating. Plus, Luke hasn't even had breakfast yet. You're just killing his vibe."
Jack coughed awkwardly, looking anywhere but at them, and mumbled, "I'm just worried about Luke. Once brunch is over, we gotta hit the road. It's a long drive back to San Francisco. We should leave early, or we'll miss dinner."
"I wanna enter the draft." Luke was chill about it; he’d already made up his mind. He flashed a big smile at his parents and said, "Mom, it's cool. Even if Dad hadn't brought it up, I wanted to talk about it. I'm graduating this year. This is a big crossroads for me. Sooner or later, I gotta make a choice."
Honestly, Luke had already decided before the Rose Bowl.
If he ditched the pro sports dream and went for journalism, he’d need to start hunting for internships now. The NCAA season was over, and without the daily grind, he could throw all his time into work. Missing out on February and March opportunities would leave him trailing behind other grads.
February and March are prime time for rookie training camps.
So, he had to choose. Go for the pro athlete dream or settle for a regular gig. Deep down, Luke knew he wanted to chase his dream, to stand on that field and become a top football star. The system in his head had given him this golden chance, and he wasn’t about to blow it.
"I wanna enter the draft. I wanna go pro," Luke said, dead serious.
Jack and Annie exchanged a look. Annie dropped her eyes, hiding her mixed feelings. Jack squeezed Annie's hand and locked eyes with Luke, "You know what this means, right?"
Luke didn’t rush to declare his resolve; he just looked calmly at his dad.
College football is tough, but the pro league? It's a whole different beast. The physical battles, the mental grind, the pressure from media, fans, and the internet—it’s no walk in the park. Not to mention the injuries and the endless hours of training. Pro sports are brutal.
As a dad, Jack naturally worried about Luke. But last night, he’d seen the magic of the Rose Bowl and Luke’s shining moment. He knew this wasn’t just a dream for Luke; it was his life, in his blood. Maybe Luke was born for the big stage.
All the worries Jack had were on the tip of his tongue but he swallowed them back. He looked at Luke with focus and sincerity. If Luke showed even a hint of doubt, Jack would, as a father, tell him to drop this crazy idea. But he didn’t.
"As long as you know. Once you start down the pro athlete path, there’s no turning back. All the hardships you’ve faced so far might seem like nothing. Give it your best shot!" Jack said, his words simple but full of heart.
Luke was a bit stunned. He thought he’d have to argue with his parents, considering this was a life decision. Even without the Football Superstar System, he’d still chase his dream, but maybe not as confidently. But things went smoother than he expected. In Jack’s simple words, Luke felt the deep care.
"Luke, pro athletes get injured a lot. You gotta take care of yourself. Avoiding injuries is the most important thing," Annie said, looking at Luke with concern.
The emotion that had just surged in Luke turned into a smile. Annie’s focus was indeed unique. "Mom, don’t worry about me. I’ll take care of myself," Luke said with a smile, reassuring her.
Annie chuckled softly, glanced at Jack, as if to say, "Luke is comforting me now," and both parents smiled. Then Annie looked back at Luke and said gently, "Worrying about you is my job. It started the day you were born and won’t stop."
A warm feeling surged in Luke’s heart, and he couldn’t help but laugh, "Mom, are you sure you haven’t watched 'The Oprah Winfrey Show' too much?"
Jack quietly chimed in, "I think so too."
Annie looked at Jack, then at Luke. She was about to say something serious but switched gears, "You know, on the way back, I get to pick the radio station, right? 'Cause on the way here, you got to choose."
Jack blinked, then just turned to Luke, like, "You're on your own, buddy."
But Luke, totally unexpected, looked at Annie and said, "Mom, I think you have awesome taste. Letting you pick the station for the whole trip is definitely the smart move."
Jack's eyes widened in disbelief, staring at Luke: Traitor!
Then Annie chimed in, "I think so too. What do you say?" That "you" was clearly aimed at Jack. He put on a serious face and nodded, "I agree."
The three of them chilled, enjoying a laid-back brunch. But Jack and Annie had a long drive ahead, and Luke didn’t want them rushing to get back. So, after some casual chat, Luke walked his parents to the car, hugged them goodbye, and watched them drive off.
After last night's celebration, Luke had planned to take a chill day, skipping his daily training and the basic points from task rewards. But after getting back to his apartment, he found himself with too much free time. After five months of non-stop training, his body was used to the grind, and suddenly slowing down felt weird.
Thinking it over, if he was gonna hit the rookie training camp in February and the league draft in March, he had no time to waste. Even though he’d won two games and felt confident, Luke wasn’t getting cocky. The reason was simple: these weren’t full games. Shining in one quarter and being consistent throughout a game are two different beasts.
More importantly, he’d given his all in those short bursts, barely winning. He knew his weaknesses were too obvious to ignore. His skill list was a sea of red, showing he was just an average college quarterback, maybe even below average.
So, if he wanted to make it to the rookie training camp, join the pro league, and actually play in games, he couldn’t skip training today. Daily training had to go on.
But before diving into training, he needed to check his personal panel. He remembered he hadn’t checked his task completion status after last night’s game. More strictly speaking, he didn’t even know what tasks he’d accepted during the Rose Bowl.
Luke summoned the system panel in his mind, and a series of sounds played, like a symphony. The joy of victory washed over him again. Everyone loves winning, right?
Opening the unread messages, Luke carefully read all the task options. There were six tasks in total, with detailed requirements like pass completion rates and interception counts. This was progress and also a bigger challenge. But the good news was, he’d completed all six tasks!
First pass, done, one basic point; first touchdown, done, one basic point; fifty-yard pass, done, one basic point; sixty-five percent pass completion rate, done, one basic point; zero interceptions, done, one basic point; win the Rose Bowl, done, five basic points.
Looking back, that second-to-last pass, where Logan made a tough catch among three defenders, avoided Luke’s first career interception, completed the task, and kept the game alive. This was crucial. It seems that having great teammates is key in football.
Future game tasks will only get tougher, and he won’t always be able to complete all tasks smoothly. For now, it’s okay; there’s no penalty for failing a task. But if there are penalties for future task failures, that would suck. Luke couldn’t predict what the penalties would be, but he was sure he didn’t want to find out.
To complete the tasks, sticking to daily training is step one. Great, he found another reason to keep training today. To complete the tasks, he had to keep improving himself.
Now, he had a total of ten basic points! This was a big deal. Luke realized that winning the Rose Bowl had given him five basic points, more than any previous game. Maybe the more important and challenging the game, the bigger the reward.
So, with ten basic points, how should he spend them this time?