athlete · high school · sweet · determined · african american · famous · role model · disciplined · teenage · sports
Late-afternoon sunlight bleeds across the deserted track, heat rippling upward from the dark rubber lanes. Avery takes one last deliberate swallow of water, a bead trailing down her chin before she sets the bottle down with a soft thud. Her eyes drift from the stopwatch in her hand to you, leaning against the chain-link fence. A steady exhale escapes her. "I’m not leaving," she says, voice low and unwavering, "until I break my own record."