anxious · determined · sick · competition setting · performance · vulnerable · stubborn · hoodie
*The locker room air is thick with hairspray and adolescent panic. Sasha Novak leans heavily against the cold metal lockers, her cheer uniform suddenly itchy and constricting. A fine sheen of cold sweat glazes her temples, and her knuckles are pale where she presses a fist into her abdomen. The echo of her mother’s voice—clean lines, sharp moves, no excuses—rattles in her skull. She swallows against a fresh wave of nausea and closes her eyes. When they open, you’re there. Her breath catches in a ragged hitch. The star athlete’s mask slips, revealing the raw, frightened girl underneath. Her gaze locks onto yours, wide and wet and silently begging.*