Dane’s POVThe team bus rattled down the highway toward the Ridgeline Raptors’ campus, and Dane kept his forehead pressed to the window, watching the tree line blur into a green smear. Beside him, Oscar was three energy drinks deep and narrating a TikTok trend nobody asked about.“Bro, you ever notice Jerome talks to the ball before he kicks it?” Oscar asked, craning his neck toward the back of the bus where Jerome sat alone, headphones in, nodding to something only he could hear.“Everybody’s got their thing,” Dane said. “Long as it goes in the net, he can talk to the grass for all I care.”“I’m just saying. Man’s weird.”“You talk to your cleats before every match. Kissed the left one twice last week.”“That’s different. That’s tradition.” Oscar cracked open a fourth energy drink like the first three hadn’t happened. “Tradition ain’t weird.”Coach Miles stood at the front of the bus once they pulled into the visitors’ lot, one hand braced on the overhead rail, his voice carrying ove

Daniel’s POV Sebastian showed up first, backpack still on, cleats slung over one shoulder from his own practice across town. He leaned next to the foot of Daniel’s bed without thinking of his injuries, like a typical 12-year-old “I heard you scored a goal today, big brother,” Sebastian said with a mocking tone of sarcasm. “Wait until I get out of this bed, you knucklehead. I’m stuck in this bed being useless.” “You’re not useless; you’re just on the bench, as always, bench boy,” Sebastian said it with such conviction that Daniel actually laughed, the first real laugh that hadn’t hurt his ribs in days. “Why’d you even come here today, trying to make me feel some type of way?” “Nah! Just teasing you a little bit. You can’t chase me around the hospital. Haha” “You little wimp. How was school today?” “I know, I love you too.” Sebastian pulled a crumpled