Letterman Jacket

7 / sixty-two days before

FAUST CARTER:

NORTHVALE'S BASKETBALL HERO

Written by Thea Simmons

Faust Carter has had his head in the game since he was twelve years old. Today, he's known as one of Northvale City's most valuable players, and he leads the Northvale Nighthawks team together with co-captain Theo Simmons.

Basketball has always been Carter's first love, and his drive to sweat and push his muscles to work harder than ever came from his inspiration: his father, Francis Carter, who was also one of the greatest basketball athletes in Northvale history. With his amazing skills to shoot three pointers and score, it was also no surprise when he made varsity team when he was just a freshman.

"I think that the most important thing about the sport is to try—whether it means succeeding or failing," Carter said during his interview. "And working on yourself for improvement is the most crucial requirement as an athlete."

Carter clearly dominates the basketball court with his discipline, focus, and leadership among his teammates. He will be playing for the Northvale Nighthawks this season until the state championships.

*

Sutton was reading an article on her laptop when I entered the staff room, carefully not placing any pressure on my right ankle, and laid down the printed piece of paper in front of her. "It's short, but I think I got everything written down."

She glanced up momentarily, and her lips quirked up in a smile as she read the title out loud. "I think you did, too. I'll read this over when I get home before submitting it to our layout artist."

Letting out a sigh of relief, I settled on the chair beside hers on the oval table. "Theo is going to kill me when he reads that. Just like when he finds out about the letterman jacket. And the date."

There was no one that I trusted more than Sutton, so when the reality that Faust Carter had asked me out slapped me in the face, I had to tell someone.

Naturally, her first reaction was to squeal.

The editor-in-chief shut her laptop closed and leaned forward, placing her hand on top of mine. "Thea. You have got to stop worrying about what Theo thinks. He doesn't control you."

"No, I know that, but he's my brother—"

"I will not listen to you guilt-trip yourself into saying yes to Faust," Sutton said firmly, dark blue eyes narrowing. "You like him. He likes you. Done deal."

If only it were that easy.

Faust had agreed to push back our date until I was fully healed—which was by Wednesday, according to the nurse, and I was feeling more jittery than usual. I could blame it on the fact that I had a dyad anatomy test tomorrow with Nico, and that I was possibly going to fail that subject, but I would be lying.

It was more on the fact that I was going on a date with Faust Carter, and I couldn't be more excited about it.