“Good,” he says. “Get that finished. Lakeview Titans are prepared to offer you a place in our development system next season.”
The words land - but it doesn’t feel real.
“We’d bring you in after graduation,” he continues. “Training camp first. If that goes the way we expect, you’re lookingat a contract.”
My heart is hammering now.
Another scout leans forward. “We don’t make offers like this lightly.”
“Or frequently,” the third one adds. But you’ve got something,” he says. “Leadership and vision. You make players around you better.”
Henry closes the folder.
“We’ll send everything through your coach and your agent - if you have one.”
“I don’t,” I say.
“Then you’ll want one,” he replies, almost amused.
“Thank you,” I say.
I stand. Shake hands.
It all feels… strange. Slightly unreal. Like I’ve stepped into someone else’s life.
When I leave the room, the corridor feels louder. Brighter.
Like everything’s shifted half an inch.
This is it. This is what I’ve been working for.
And then - completely uninvited -I can’t wait to tell Leonora.
ZANE
By the time I finish with the Scouts, the building is almost empty. The only sounds left are the cleaning crews and the distant hum of the scoreboard powering down. The championship banner would have been hung here - if the conference hadn’t removed our win
I text her to meet me outside after the game ended.
I’m standing outside the main entrance, hood up against thecold, watching the doors. I hope she waited for me.
The doors open.
She steps out - blonde hair loose around her shoulders, a Blackwood hoodie that’s two sizes too big, her hands shoved deep in the pockets. Willow and Katie are with her, looking protective. They exchange a look and then Leonora steps forward.
“We’ll see you later,” Willow says. “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”
“Willow,” Leonora warns.
“Which leaves plenty of options.” Willow grins, then tugs Katie away, leaving us alone in the cold.
The parking lot is quiet now - just us standing under the streetlights. The frost is creeping across the pavements.
Leonora doesn’t move closer. Neither do I.
“You should be celebrating. You won your game.”
I cross the space between us before I can talk myself out of it. Close enough that I can see the faint bruise still coloring her jaw, the cut on her lip that hasn’t fully healed, the dark circles under her eyes that tell me she hasn’t slept.
