Ethan
The interview gets scheduled fast, a respected sports journalist named Rachel Kim who's covered college athletics for years and has a reputation for fairness Coach Whitmore trusts. She agrees to come to campus the following week, and the days leading up to it stretch tense and anticipatory, both of us aware how much weight this single conversation might carry.
"You nervous?" I ask, the morning of, watching Noah adjust his collar in the bathroom mirror for the third time.
"Terrified." He meets my eyes in the reflection, managing a small, wry smile despite the nerves clearly humming under his skin. "This is basically the biggest moment of my career, and it's not even about football."
"You've got this. You've been handling worse than a friendly interview all semester."
"Doesn't fee
