I didn’t even want to look.
But I did.
Headline-style article.
Not official journalism.
Worse.
Student media.
“NYC ATHLETE’S ‘DISTRACTION’ COMMENT SPARKS INTERNAL TEAM TENSION”
My stomach tightened.
Mia shook her head. “They’re running with it.”
“It’s not even accurate,” I said.
“I know.”
“That’s not the point anymore,” she added quietly.
That sentence again.
Not the point anymore.
MASON
Coach called me in again after practice.
This time he looked tired.
That was new.
“You need to fix this,” he said.
“I didn’t do anything.”
Coach exhaled slowly.
“That’s the problem.”
I frowned.
He pointed at the court behind us.
“You said one word,” he continued. “And now it’s a storyline.”
“I didn’t mean it like that.”
“I know.”
Pause.
“But meaning doesn’t matter once it leaves your mouth.”
That stuck longer than I wanted it to.
