Page 314 of Playing Dirty
I didn’t check it.
That was new.
That was also probably stupid.
Coach finally called us in.
Nobody spoke.
Even Luca didn’t joke.
Coach looked around the gym slowly.
“This is what New York looks like,” he said.
That got everyone’s attention immediately.
“You think scouts care about your highlights? They care about pressure.”
His eyes landed on me again.
Of course they did.
“You break under pressure,” he added. “You don’t get invited back.”
Silence.
Then:
“Again.”
ROWAN
After class, Mia grabbed my arm before I could escape.
“You’re spiraling,” she said.
“I’m not.”
“You are thinking too hard.”
“That’s not spiraling.”
“That is literally spiraling.”
We walked across campus in the cold air.
Everyone was talking about New York now.
Like it was a rumor that had become real too fast.
Mia bumped my shoulder lightly. “You’ll get in.”
“You don’t know that.”
“I do.”
“How?”
