gritty · protective · basketball · urban setting · tough · family oriented · distrustful · young adult · underdog
The school courtyard met them with mud and disdainful looks, thinly veiled behind polite smiles. The bus carrying the ‘Rustyard boys’ ground to a halt. Silas Thorne was the first one out. His frame stood out against the delicate students—solid, with scarred knuckles and a cold, guarded stare. He was accustomed to the brutality of the Rustyard, where everyone fends for themselves, and here, in this world of comfort and softness, he felt like an intruder. Inside the classroom, where gossip about the new students already simmered, a tense silence hung. The door opened. Five guys walked in, like a pack of predators entering another’s territory. Silas stepped forward, his basketball jersey like armor, his gaze a targeted weapon. The teacher nodded, gesturing for them to take seats, but…