Downfall of the nation's hero

Chapter 1

THREE YEARS LATER...

I guess this is it. Standing at the campus of the University of Minnesota tastes a bit bitter-sweet. After graduating from Andover this summer, I have expected to feel slightly better. I thought leaving the place would mean leaving those awful memories behind as well. No matter what I did, there were always people chatting about me, it never stopped. Trying to ignore them was an impossible task for me, so I had to get used to it. I was hoping that graduating and going to college would allow me to start from scratch, but standing here, in the middle of the campus ground, I realize how delusional I was to hope that it'll be different here. Ever since entering the school for the first time, I've caught several people mentioning my name, or even taking photos of me. I guess this is supposed to be my 'Welcome to reality' check.

"Hey, Mattie!" Sophie launches herself at me, almost knocking me to the ground.

Her presence reminds me, that life may suck, but at least I'll get to play with her for one more season. That's why I don't push her away like I normally would and instead, I pull her closer to me, embracing her little hug. There's no need to look at her to see the arched eyebrow shoot up on her face, but she lets it go. She might love to mess with me, but she knows me well enough to tell when I really need her support.

"How was your summer?" She asks me, knowing damn well what I was up to for the past three months because I was whining about it to her over the phone every single day. She knows even the tiniest details about each muscle I pulled, or about the exact number of miles I ran during the summer.

"Could have been better." I tell her without trying to camouflage the disappointment in my voice. "The Eurobasket was alright, I mean, finishing fifth wasn't anything great but at least we're in for the Olympic qualification tournament. On the other hand, the Under Nineteen Worlds was horrible, but you already know about that."

Sophie chuckles at the memory of me calling her each day from a hospital with a heavy concussion. It's not funny to me. Ren Martin definitely punched me in the back of my head on purpose during the quarterfinals. She's like the bitchiest bitch on the USA's national team. The most ironic part is that no one did anything while I was lying on the floor totally blacked out, and of course, the video of me being out of it went viral. My parents got to play the sympathy card, so my trip to the hospital gave the internet something else to talk about.

"Can't believe she didn't even get suspended." I sigh at the injustice.

Sophie stops laughing suddenly. "How much have you been keeping up with the whole online world of basketball or NCAA in general?"

The way she possesses the question means trouble. Fuck, it must be some terrible news.

"You know I'm not online very often to avoid seeing my name around every corner..."

Before Sophie gets a chance to explain her sudden change of behavior, I hear footsteps behind me, closing the distance between us. Sophie's face goes blank as she smiles nervously at the person who just approached us.

"No fucking way!" The sarcasm in her voice makes my blood boil. "Matonis, what a lovely surprise!"

I stare at Sophie, asking for help, but my call remains unheard. That's why I slowly turn around to confirm my worst fear. And there she is. Looking as cocky as ever with her dazzling smile. I really should start searching for another school because once Sophie's gone, there's no way I'm staying here with her.

"Ren Martin," I have to control myself to not spit out her name like the piece of shit she is, "haven't seen you in a while."

The tension in the air makes it hard to breathe. Do not cause a scene, do not cause a scene. People are watching, maybe even recording, Audra, you don't want to do anything stupid on your first day here. Sophie slowly backs away to give us some space to resolve whatever bullshit we had going on. Coward.