Stale, musky air met Jacob when he pushed through the doors to the locker room. He was early, as usual, having bolted from class as soon as the bell rang. Most of the rest of the team would take a break before heading for the locker rooms, but not Jacob. Calm washed over him as he breathed the familiar scent. He felt at home. So much had happened in the last twenty-four hours. So much had changed. He had missed this room, this smell, this familiarity. He found his locker and dialed in the combination. His uniform was still there. He pulled his shirt over his head and slipped the jersey on. Number 33. Kobe’s number in high school. Small details seemed to matter more when you realized how short life could be. Jacob was tying his shoes when the rest of the team rolled into the locker room, echoing chatter off the walls. Jacob looked up, but they

The gym was cacophonous as the team trotted to the court for the first huddle. The announcer called the names for the starting line-up for Preston over the noise of the crowd, while James gave last moment notes to the team.“Remember, Jacob will be on the weak side. I will dribble for a pick and roll. Charlie, I want you under the strong-side basket. If Jacob is blocked, I’ll pass to you for a jump shot. If I can’t get it to either of you, Bret will be in the paint, and we’ll relay the ball to one of you.” With a shout of “Forge!” the team broke off and lined up for the announcer’s call. On the court, Charlie stood in the center facing Preston’s number fourteen, a seven foot tall slender kid, named Chet Harper. The referee blew the whistle, and both C

Jacob rolled over and fumbled with his phone to stop the blaring alarm. It was in the wrong place. The table beside his bed was too low. As the fog of sleep faded, he remembered why. This wasn’t his room, or side table, or bed. This was Seth’s room. Jacob grabbed Seth’s pillow and pulled it over his face, inhaling Seth’s familiar and calming scent. He ached to be able to roll over and bury his face in Seth’s curls. It was Saturday, but he was up early because it was game day two of the state championships. They had not gone out to celebrate their win versus Preston last night. One win was pointless if they couldn’t win them all. They had agreed as a team to save their celebrations for when they won the final game.Today, they were playing the Century Diamondbacks from Pocatello. They were a good team. They even had one player scouted to the University of Kentucky a couple of years back. Jacob heard that that player was already being courted by the NBA. Century didn’t have that playe

Jacob couldn’t believe it. He grasped Seth’s hand as the nurses checked his vitals and wrote things on charts. Seth’s gaze darted around wildly, but always came back to Jacob. The feeding tube down his throat prevented him from speaking, but he occasionally made scared sounds that sounded to Jacob almost like a whimper. “It’s okay,” Jacob kept saying. “You’re okay now.” He was overwhelmed with joy that Seth was awake, but his heart ached that there was nothing he could do to make this easier for Seth. Nurses ran in and out of the room, bringing new equipment. The instruments on the cart beside Seth’s bed had calmed down to a steady rhythm of beeps. Seth’s doctor came in. He checked the monitors, then turned to Seth. “It’s good to see you finally with us, son,” he said. “I’m going to take the tube from your throat now, if that’s alright.” He gently lifted the mask from Seth’s face. Seth squeezed Jacob’s hand. “I need you to continue to breathe slowly and evenly. Breath with the