Randy was sitting at the small kitchen table in the new apartment, flipping through his notebook — the same one he used to plan Raider Nation practices back home.
Gainesville felt different.
Bigger.
Louder.
But tonight, the apartment was quiet.
Steph was in the bedroom unpacking her cheer bag when Randy’s phone lit up.
Unknown number.
Out‑of‑state area code.
He frowned and picked it up.
“Hello?”
A woman’s voice came through, confident and professional.
“Good evening. Is this Randy Nevbanks?”
Randy straightened in his chair.
“Yes ma’am, this is Randy.”
There was a pause — the kind reporters take when they’re about to drop something big.
“Randy, my name is Melissa Carter. I’m a senior reporter with National Sports Network. We’ve been following the rise of ’19 – Raider Nation’ for months now. And today… we received confirmation that the two main founders — you and Steph Johnson — have officially enrolled at the University of Florida.”
Randy’s heart kicked.
He glanced toward the bedroom.
“Yes ma’am… that’s true.”
Melissa continued:
“We want to do a long‑form interview. Not a quick segment. A full feature. Your story, Steph’s story, how long you’ve known each other, how Raider Nation started, how it grew, and what it means now that you’re both here at UF.”
Randy swallowed.
This wasn’t local news.
This wasn’t a high school spotlight.
This was national.
“I… wow. I didn’t know y’all were watching us like that.”
Melissa laughed softly.
“Randy, the entire country has been watching. You two built something rare. Something real. And we want to tell it right.”
Randy rubbed the back of his neck, nerves and pride mixing together.
“What do you need from me?”
“We’d like to schedule the interview for this weekend. Both you and Steph. Together. We want to capture your dynamic — the leadership, the loyalty, the history.”
Randy looked toward the bedroom again.
Steph stepped out, holding one of her UF cheer shirts, smiling at him.
“Yes ma’am. We’ll do it.”
Melissa’s voice warmed.
“Thank you, Randy. I’ll send the details. And congratulations… you’re about to step into a whole new chapter.”
The call ended.
Randy sat there for a moment, phone still in his hand, heart still racing.
Steph walked over, curious.
“Who was that?”
Randy looked up at her, eyes bright.
“Steph… the media found out about us. About Raider Nation. They want a full interview. About everything. About us.”
Her smile froze — then widened slowly, beautifully.
“Randy… are you serious?”
He nodded.
“They want to know how long we’ve known each other. How we built Raider Nation. Why we came to UF. All of it.”
Steph covered her mouth, overwhelmed.
“Randy… this is huge.”
He stood, walked to her, and took her hand.
“Welcome to our next chapter.”