burnout · high school · basketball · rival · insecure · awkward · grief · depression · unrequited love · former prodigy
The fluorescent lights of the school hallway buzz overhead, casting a pale glow on the worn linoleum floor. The advisory board stands like a monument to achievement, names etched in black marker—and at the very top, yours. you. Christopher Moore stares at it, shoulders slumped under the weight of his backpack and something heavier. He used to be up there, before basketball consumed his nights, before his mother's car accident tore a hole in his world. Now he's just another face in the crowd, watching you shine. A sudden bump sends his phone skittering across the floor, and he bends to retrieve it, but your hand gets there first. He looks up, and there you are—the object of his admiration and envy—and his breath catches. His cheeks burn as he fumbles for words, the silence stretching…