Hugo Read This! - Hardcover

Swarrow, Brandon

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1440142742 ISBN 13: 9781440142741

Publisher: iUniverse, 2009

Synopsis

Groomed by his father, former National Football League quarterback Sebastian Brody, Hugo Brody is a natural athlete with a cannon for an arm and a wealth of raw talent. When Hugo joins the San Diego Chargers, he delivers-manifesting win after win for his team. His performance on the field exceeds expectations. His performance off the field becomes more legendary by the day.

With his flashy persona and good looks, Hugo pursues a luxurious lifestyle of drinking and partying that offends his father, who warns him that his sin and betrayal could ignite some bad karma. Hugo is unnerved when strange events occur at his mansion. He relies on his behemoth bodyguard to protect him from everything, including the most obsessive fans.

As society incessantly fuels his arrogance, stardom consumes him. Hugo turns to a cast of characters who inevitably steer him downward. Someone is seeking to destroy not only his career but him as well. Hugo soon learns that the higher one rises the further and faster one falls.

About this title

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Hugo Read This!

By Brandon Swarrow

iUniverse, Inc.

Copyright © 2009 Brandon Swarrow
All right reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4401-4274-1

Chapter One

When number six ran out onto the football field on that humid Monday night in San Diego, every person in the crowd stood up and screamed. Some fans rubbed their eyes in disbelief. They have eagerly anticipated this moment for a very long time. The passionate fans were shocked and excited as they pumped their fists into the air for the first time all evening. After a first half filled with mistakes, the crafty veteran quarterback put a towel on the back of his neck and took a seat near end of the bench with his team facing a 31-7 deficit. The impatient crowd would have been ecstatic to see any change at the quarterback position at this point. But this wasn't just any ordinary signal caller entering the game.

His name was Hugo Brody and he was born and raised in the sunshine state. He was groomed to be a great quarterback by his father, former NFL quarterback, Sebastian Brody. Hugo shattered many records throughout his high school and college careers, and the San Diego Chargers rewarded his efforts by making him the first player selected in this past year's professional football draft. He signed the largest contract ever given to an NFL player despite never competing in a single game, thus further enhancing his celebrity status. Hugo Brody's name was a common topic of discussion throughout our proud country. Men and women in California, as well as the rest of the United States, talked mostly about his natural skills and ability, his cannon arm, his raw talent, and when the Chargers will hand him the reigns. However, he was also making a name for himself off the field with his flashy persona, male model looks, and luxurious lifestyle.

He wore the number six to remind all of his fans of the prediction he made live on national television just seconds after being selected number one at the professional football draft. Hugo quietly walked up to the microphone stand after he was selected, held up a Charger jersey and said, "I will bring the city of San Diego six Super Bowl rings while I'm here." The replay of his incredibly bold comments aired continuously on sports channels for several weeks. Some sports analysts laughed at his notion and publicly called him out, while other reporters and advanced scouts said that he was one of the most talented players they've ever seen come out of college, and that they wouldn't bet against him.

The media circus that followed Hugo Brody, and all of the hype that had been built up since the beginning of the season, had made the moment when he took the field even more extravagant. Even though the score was 31 - 7 at halftime, and Hugo was basically coming into the game for "mop up duty," it was the first real action the Chargers young star quarterback had seen. He hadn't taken a single snap and this was already San Diego's seventh game of the season.

He trotted out to greet his teammates in the huddle like a proud trophy whitetail buck who knew his antlers were the most spectacular. His long dark hair poured out from the back of his helmet and waved to and fro as he jogged. The linemen welcomed Hugo into the huddle and the semicircle closed around him. One of the announcers broadcasting live on national television said, "You could just feel the electricity in the stadium." The young, confident quarterback flapped his arms in a downward motion as he broke from the huddle to silence the roaring crowd. Hugo placed his hands under center to receive the snap and calmly scanned the left and right sides of his line. His voice echoed powerfully, "Twenty-one, twenty-one, hut, go!" The center snapped the ball with fury and within seconds, Hugo Brody fired a bullet ten yards to his tall, speedy wide receiver. He completed his first professional football pass and from that point on Hugo never viewed another game from the sidelines.

He orchestrated one of the National Football League's most memorable comebacks that night in his inaugural game. He looked masterful completing pass after pass. Confidence and determination dripped from his chin strap in the form of perspiration. His wide receivers continuously glanced at their hands after making catches to see that they now resembled swollen plums. The team celebrated the incredible win by hoisting the young quarterback onto their shoulders, but even as they enjoyed that invigorating moment, the team was already anticipating moving forward with this unearthly talent.

Hugo smiled and celebrated with his teammates. However, as he sat upon their broad shoulders, it seemed almost as if he had foreseen the very moment. He did not seem over zealous. Hugo just sat above his teammates relishing the victory with a deliberate grin on his face. The crowd continued at a constant roar even until well after the game was over. Hugo Brody began his professional football career just the way he knew he would; victorious. The television broadcast crew pronounced the game "The Monday Night Miracle," and from that day on the Chargers knew that they had found their guy.

Chapter Two

Hugo and the Chargers played exceptionally well for the remainder of the season and made the playoff s for the first time in quite a long time. Hugo never cooled off . He was unstoppable, breaking rookie records set by some of the all-time greats. He quickly became the face of the franchise, and in many ways the face of the National Football League. Although the Chargers did not make it to the Super Bowl in the young quarterback's first season, the team won its final ten games and gained valuable playoff experience that they could hopefully build upon. Football fans across the country eagerly anticipated Hugo's first full season as the starting quarterback. They saw what he was capable of in the small ten game sample season and were salivating for more Hugo Brody.

The 23-year-old athlete won his first ten consecutive games in his second season as a starter and made good on the first Super Bowl promise. In an extremely close title game, Hugo threw his fourth touchdown pass in overtime to win the championship in dramatic fashion. He was voted the Most Valuable Player of the Super Bowl, and in that same season the phenom went on to receive various honors such as league MVP. He was even awarded a trip to Hawaii to represent the AFC as their starting QB on the All Pro team. He was sitting on top of the world with his feet dangling just out of the reach of the other professional quarterbacks of his time. To the Hispanic population in San Diego he quickly became known as "Hugo El Milagro," which translates into Hugo "The Miracle" Brody.

Expectations for Hugo's second full season as a starter could not be any higher. Anyone who follows the game of football was interested in his every move. Six Super Bowl titles didn't look all that unrealistic anymore. His performance on the field continued to exceed everyone's expectations. His performance off the field was becoming more and more legendary by the day.

His celebrity status exploded, and ascended higher than some of the most elite movie stars. His handsome face was exploited heavily by advertisement agencies, and was highly sought for endorsements. He was a young, fearless, sophisticate who was mysteriously new to the entertainment scene. Women began to form a rabble hoping to catch a glimpse of their future husband hours before and after his games. He received hundreds of letters and emails per day, most of them containing phone numbers or wedding proposals. Beautiful women would even go as far as to send him sensual portraits and explicit pictures. He couldn't go anywhere without being recognized, and if he did try to get into a club or restaurant, scantily dressed women and paparazzi suffocated him. Despite the numerous distractions, Hugo Brody kept piling up the victories on the field for the Chargers.

He led San Diego to their second consecutive Super Bowl Championship and once again was named Super Bowl MVP. The improbable was happening right in front of the eyes of the sports fans. Hugo's immaculate story was blossoming into herculean fairy tale. He had taken the league and the world by storm. Hugo has had just two full years in the league as a starter, and already had compiled two unbelievable Super Bowl Championships. Once again the young superstar took his seat upon the throne that his teammates created with their shoulders. However, being so famous began to take its toll.

The off-field frenzy was getting so out of control that the superstar decided to preemptively hire a bodyguard. He was able to locate a mammoth of a man that was just known to the public as SWAT. SWAT was a mysteriously enormous specimen who made Hugo's linemen on the Chargers look like horseracing jockeys. He stood close to seven feet tall and weighed about 450 pounds. He was quiet most of the time, but when he did speak, his voice was ferociously deafening. Hugo was never spotted in public without SWAT firmly attached to his hip. Much of the general population had never seen or heard of SWAT, they just continually made assumptions based on his name and demeanor. One reporter for People Magazine wrote that the giant bodyguard was given his nickname by the public based on what he does to reporters and photographers who create obstacles in his associate's path. He simply just "swats" them away like miniature merciless mosquitoes. Another columnist of an established San Diego newspaper suggested that SWAT received his name based on his years of service as captain in the SWAT Special Forces unit. Nobody has ever confirmed or denied such reports; however, it is undoubtedly clear that Mr. Brody had become so immensely popular that even his enigmatic protector became a prominent fixture in the daily headlines.

Chapter Three

Hugo grew increasingly more comfortable with his new bodyguard. He seemed less tense when it was time to deal with the media. The constant hounding was one result of stardom that Hugo had difficulty adjusting to. He did not want to devote his precious time continually answering questions or posing for pictures, and SWAT made an immediate impact when it came to controlling the press. SWAT also believed that as a bodyguard he must also focus a great deal of attention to two certain types of fans. He categorized the two groups simply as either "jealous" or "obsessed." Since the quarterback began receiving hate mail and threats on a daily basis, SWAT thought that it would be in his client's best interest to monitor these particular situations closely. The bulk of the hate mail was mostly from men who were jealous, or upset, that their team was just thrashed by Hugo and the boys. The obsessive variety was almost always from female fans who'd had sports enthusiasts for husbands. In a sick and demented way, the giant bodyguard found amusement in reading the piles of obsessive mail that continuously poured in from the ladies. SWAT recorded the total number and frequency of each repeat sender and often times became absorbed in his sifting.

Although many of the fiendishly obsessive messages were unique in their own way, some were extremely strange and bizarre. These fanciful messages were SWAT's favorite and sometimes the big guy would even laugh out loud while reading them. His laugh began to stir quietly in the depths of his stomach and then erupted so loudly that it was sort of awkward to hear the large fellow. He would share, "Yo' Bro' listen to what dis' chick says she'd do for ya." Then directly after reading the message, he would burst into his deep, sinister howl. Hugo even flashed a roguish smile once in a while when reading what some of the girls would do for him or do to him.

One particular female fan tried exceptionally hard to get noticed. She caught the attention of both men with her infinite number of email and text messages, as well as her ability to track his every move. The men also couldn't help but to notice the overall amount of effort and diligence she had put into her personalized messages. She even had the audacity to call his cell phone once in a while. How she managed to get his phone number perplexed the two men regularly for his number was ever-changing. Hugo never did listen to what she had to say. He would simply hang up the phone as soon as she introduced herself, and then promptly proceeded to change his phone number. Even though he reportedly had been seen with a multitude of various beautiful women, rarely did he ever spend enough time with any particular one of them. Rather, he deprives his dates of any knowledge that may go beyond the physical realm, or the surface layer. It baffled the quarterback how this one particular girl had known auricular little secrets about Hugo Brody that very few people could have known, and that's what made her such an anomaly. SWAT showed concern; and often times referred to her as the most dangerous type, yet remained astonished by her persistence.

She went by the name Monica Resser, and Hugo affirmed to his giant buddy that he had never met her. SWAT facetiously suggested that it may be possible he had forgotten her name due to the sheer volume of women who have passed in and out of the superstar's life. Hugo did not deny the fact that he had always been quite the gigolo, but also said the chances are highly unlikely that the two had ever crossed paths. The young quarterback did give quite a bit of thought to the name Monica Resser, only because SWAT made such a huge deal of it. The truth was; he did not remember any girls named Monica. Going back year by year, Hugo revisited faces of girls whom he had had relations, but failed to match a face to Monica. Together, the star and bodyguard concluded that this most obsessed fan (MOF) probably goes by an alias. The only way they would ever truly know who Monica Resser was, would be to meet her in person. Neither Hugo nor SWAT had a desire to meet this loser, psycho-stalker.

During the off season they devoted an evening to examining some of the clues left by the MOF. All of Monica's email messages and letters were very well written grammatically with an advanced and at times elevated vocabulary. The correct grammar separated itself as a clue mostly because ninety-nine percent of the other messages were dreadfully mistake laden. Obviously this MOF was an intelligent woman. Another clue was the actual content. She never sounded way too incredibly obsessed in her messages like other fans. She never did say that she loved him, wanted him to be the father of her child, or would do anything to be with him. She mostly just wanted to meet Hugo in person. She attempted numerous times to set up meeting places such as upscale restaurants, or clubs. The last curiosity that was deemed a clue was the fact that Monica had said numerous times she was hurt, or upset by the fact that Hugo did not remember her. Her approach was clever.

Chapter Four

Hugo resembles his father in more ways than one, especially when it comes to the ladies. Both were blessed with refined princely appearances as well as magnificent charm, fine taste, and a celestial presence that only encompasses the most natural superstars. They shared the uncanny gift to be able to communicate profoundly as if everything they said were the climax to a wonderful story, and it was effective in winning over any type of audience. Both father and son usually left the listener wanting more, whether it was desired initially or not. They also had in common the same love em' and leave em' type of attitude. Sebastian Brody was married three times and tried capaciously to instill in his son's brain that most of the women he will meet are concerned only with money. He advised Hugo to be very cautious in choosing his close relationships.

Sebastian gained full custody of Hugo when he and his third wife were divorced. Hugo doesn't remember his birth mother, nor has he ever even seen a picture of her. He was only two years old at the time, and Sebastian's explanation for the separation was always simple. He said that his mom became a money worshiper, and a "powda nose" or in other words, drug addict. Hugo has asked him questions several times about his mother and Sebastian always replied in a similar manner, "Don't worry about it; your mother was a zombie."

Sebastian Brody had always been a very honorable and righteous man. If there was one thing he couldn't bare witness to, it would be another human being throwing the gift of life away by using or abusing drugs. He was bewildered by the stupidity of addiction, and he just flat out loathed those weak individuals who allowed themselves to become fiends. Sebastian admittedly loved Hugo's mother very much and always believed that he could've dealt with a materialistic money addict, but he just could not envision himself trying to handle a junkie dissipating their existence on a daily basis.

(Continues...)

Excerpted from Hugo Read This!by Brandon Swarrow Copyright © 2009 by Brandon Swarrow. Excerpted by permission.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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Edition details

• Publisher: iUniverse
• Publication date: 2009
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1440142742
• ISBN 13: 9781440142741
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 160