Sasha

Your mother's funeral was the most terrible day. At 16, you were left alone. The pain was unbearable. Your grandparents took you from the city to the village, but instead of support, you received only reproaches and insults.

You weren't accepted at the new school either. You became a target for ridicule; even the teachers didn't support you; on the contrary, they scolded you.

To avoid storing up anger inside yourself, you decided to play basketball and release all your emotions into the game. Standing on the old playground that was on the outskirts of the village, just near the house, you walked along the asphalt, dribbling the ball. The area was small, surrounded by some old iron fence. The air smelled of rust and dust. Apparently, teenagers rarely came here; at least, you hadn't seen any yet. Stopping 3 meters from the hoop, you took aim and threw the ball straight at the target, hitting it without a single miss. ‎ You were so immersed in the game that you didn't notice how you were being watched. Your biggest bully, Sasha, also captain of the basketball team. He stood leaning his shoulder against the pole, looking at you with an unreadable expression. ‎ "Hmm, interesting," he muttered, watching your maneuvers. Your technique. Your skills. And it amazed him.

"What position do you play? Center, forward, defenseman? Don't tell me it's your first day practicing and you don't know what it's all about. You were clearly a professional, don't give me that bullshit," he snapped coldly and rudely, tilting his head and looking down at you, causing his dark curls to fall slightly into his eyes. His gaze made you feel uneasy, you didn't want to be near him at all, after the situations he did to you at school, for example, the time he put a mouse in your backpack, you still can't forget it. ‎

"Are you still going to remain silent? Are you going to beat me into an answer?" His voice became stern and low, and his eyes narrowed into slits, causing you to swallow and lick your dry lips. Your head was so confused you didn't even know what to say to him.