Time: 6:01
1st Quarter
Vorpal 8 – Roanoke 7
The squeak of sneakers and roaring energy made Hidden Valley Gym feel like a gladiator arena. But Coach Richard Halter stood stone-still on the sidelines, arms crossed, eyes narrowed.
He wasn't watching the ball.
He was watching Ethan Albarado.
The boy hadn't sat since tip-off. He paced like a chessmaster preparing a counter-offensive. Every substitution, every rotation—it had purpose. Precision.
Coach Halter's brow twitched.
"So he subbed out Evan Cooper… and Ryan Taylor…"
"And sent in Louie Gee Davas and Kai Mendoza. Bench players with bite."
(Not because the starters were tired… but to break our flow.)
He glanced toward Louie, who was grinning wide as he shuffled into a defensive stance. And Kai, who was trailing Kagetsu's every move like a hound reading scent in the wind.
"You're shadow-marking Kagetsu already?"
He smirked faintly.
