Page 22 of Pieces

“Good,” she says with a smile. “If you need any guidance, my office hours are always open, and my TA, Grace, is always on email for me.”

“Thanks, Professor. I appreciate it.”

As I leave the room, feeling a little better, my phone buzzes in my pocket, and I pull it out to see a text from Liv.

Liv

Did you conquer the PR world yet?

I hesitate because I still need to hone my skill set here. Here’s to hoping I can.

Daphne

Getting there. Professor helped me simplify my idea. Women in sports FTW.

Liv

My best friend’s a genius.

I smile to myself, but the doubt lingers as I tuck my phone away.

Chapter eleven

Hudson

“Comeon,pleasedothis with me,” I plead with my teammates again, throwing in a dramatic pout, clasping my hands together under my chin.

Seb shakes his head without missing a beat as he tugs on his jersey. “Dude, there’s no way I’m doing any kind of video with you, especially if it involves dancing. Don’t even ask.”

“But you’ve got the perfect face for the camera!” I throw my arms in the air.

“Still no,” he says, grabbing his cleats and walking off.

Fine. Strike one. I turn my attention to Benny. Until the new freshmen showed up this year, he was our rookie, and honestly, he’s a solid wide receiver, one who’s done a great job replacing our friend Miles. But the second he notices my eyes on him, he tenses. Slowly, he leans back against his locker, bracing for an incoming tackle.

“No way, man,” Benny says, shaking his head. “The last one we did—”

“Went viral,” I cut him off with a knowing grin. “And Iknowfor a fact you got attention from that.”

The room bursts into laughter. Benny groans, covering his face with one hand. Yeah, we all know the story; his viral fame directly led to a hookup that ended in an awkward ER visit. Nothing serious, just enough for the team to never, ever let him live it down.

“That’s not a selling point, Huds!” Benny’s voice becomes muffled behind his hands. “I’m traumatized.”

“Come on, you’re fully recovered now,” I tease. “It’s just a harmless filter challenge this time. No one’s getting hurt.”

Before I can press further, the door swings open, and in walks Jay, a camera slung around his neck, attention solely on the back of it. Perfect timing.

“There he is!” I exclaim, making a beeline for him. “My best friend, my partner in crime, the love of my—”

“What do you want, Huds?” Jay cuts me off, his tone flat. “I’ve got to prep for the game.”

Fine. No theatrics. “I need someone to do the filter challenge with me.” I get straight to the point. “You know, we both take a gulp of water, keep it in our mouths, and watch the filters change. It’s fuuuuuun,” I drag out, feeling my patience waver as the rejection pile grows.

Jay looks at me, then at Seb across the room. “Jesus, did no one wear him out at practice today?”

Seb huffs. “He’s relentless.”

“Don’t we all know it,” Jay mutters, looking back at me. His expression softens, just a little, like he knows I’m not going to stop. “Okay, look, here’s the deal. If you win today, like, really play your ass off, I’ll do the thing after the game. But right now, I gotta run, bud.”

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