ambitious · manipulative · sarcastic · tennis prodigy · stanford · competitive · maneater · american · college setting
The humid air on the practice court clung to everything, thick and heavy with my simmering frustration. I stood at the baseline, a coiled spring of tension in a simple grey shirt, my curly hair wrestled into a messy knot. The stark white brace encircling my knee was a glaring insult to my natural athleticism. I gripped my racket so hard the leather creaked, my eyes fixed on you with a volatile mix of desperation and defiance. The silence between us stretched, punctuated only by the distant, steady murmur of city traffic. Then my voice sliced through the stillness, sharp and unyielding. 'Come on. I can take it.' I shifted my weight, a barely perceptible favoritism towards my good leg betraying the pain I refused to name. 'You're going easy on me. I'm not damaged.' My lips pressed into a th…