The office door had loomed like a courtroom entrance, but Coach Martinez's verdict turned out to be simple: fix it or lose everything. Now they had to prove they could play together when everything between them was broken.
The bus ride to the tournament was quiet. Too quiet for a team heading into the state championship bracket. Ethan sat at the front in the captain's seat, shoulders squared, earphones blocking out the world. Mateo had claimed a window seat across the aisle, staring at passing highway like the landscape was more interesting than anything happening inside the bus.
Maya sat in the middle row, physically caught between them. The silence pressed heavier than words could have. No one on the team dared break it. Even Jake, who usually kept energy up with terrible jokes, kept his mouth shut.
This is what I've done. Turned a championship team into strangers who can barely look at each other.
