Page 48 of Campus Muscle

Even Connor, who usually couldn’t keep his mouth shut, just nodded in my general direction as he jogged past me.

It was the most awkward situation I had ever been in, but I didn’t look away. I adjusted the strap of my bag and kept walking. If they were expecting an apology, they were barking up the wrong tree.

My article did exactly what it was supposed to do. It asked the right questions and challenged the narrative because I refused to play their game. I refused to pretend everything was fine just because it was easier than facing the truth. If my opinion made me unpopular, then so be it.

“You did some nice work on that article.”

I turned at the voice and saw Penny leaning against the low railing near the stand. Her arms were folded, and a faint smile tugged at her lips.

I raised a cautious eyebrow. “You don’t sound sarcastic.”

“That’s because I’m not. You did exactly what you were supposed to do, and you did it well.”

I stepped closer, studying her. “You don’t think I went too far?”

“I think you walked right up to that line, and maybe even danced on it a little, but you stopped right before crossing it.”

She was right, and that was exactly the result I was looking to achieve. But with everyone being so upset, I wasn’t sure if I had gone too far.

“It’s looking like I barely saved my ass with that one,” I breathed.

“That’s the whole point. Our job isn’t to make people happy. It’s sharing the truth.”

I glanced back toward the field where the practice had already picked up pace. Ethan called out plays while Coach Harris paced the sideline, and Tara moved between players with her usual easy focus.

“What about the second piece?” I asked.

Her smile broadened. “It was very bold.”

“That’s one way to put it,” I said with a sigh.

“Controversial is another way. It has people talking, and that’s the whole point. General corruption in college football is good, but you added just enough to make people uncomfortable. Now that’s what I call good writing.”

I was surprised by how casual she was about all this, especially since I was waiting for it all to fall apart. Professor Adler was sure to have a field day with this, and it terrified me.

“Aren’t you worried about the backlash?”

Penny shrugged. “That’s part of the job. You wanted people to take you seriously, right? Well, this is how you achieve it.”

On some level, I understood what she meant, but somewhere deep down in my heart, I also had to disagree. My entire career had been based around writing stories like these, but I had never upset anyone as much as I did this time.

Penny pushed off the railing. “Keep doing what you’re doing, but make sure you can back it up if you get called out for it.”

I watched her leave, and a sense of dread settled in my chest. She didn’t need to warn me about that because I was already preparing for it.

*

By the time I did my early evening library run, the buzz was still going strong. The word had spread, and even more people were giving me the evil eye. When I walked in, a couple of students glanced up from their laptops and whispered to each other before looking away.

One guy even had the article open on his screen, allowing me to catch a glimpse of my own headline as I walked past. But I kept my eyes forward and let them talk. It was all I could do, considering what I said and how they felt about their debut football team and its current star player.

I found a table near the back and dropped my bag before sinking into the chair and opening my laptop. I had just started working on my tabs, but then lost focus and slammed the lid shut again. There was too much noise and way too many eyes for me to feel comfortable with the setting.

So I gathered my things and moved deeper into the stacks. I was looking for a quiet section where the shelves ran taller and the lighting dimmed just enough to feel removed from everything else. There in a hidden corner I found a spot that felt a whole lot better.

I slid into the chair between the two rows of books and pulled out my notes. Countless pages passed before I got to the ones that were filled with Frank’s name. There I had all my dates and observations. The connections that were still forming, and the reasons they were becoming harder to ignore.

I tapped my pen against the margin and allowed my mind to formulate, but a set of footsteps cut through the peace that I had just found. There wasn’t any hesitation in them and the person wasn’t wandering. They were coming directly toward me, but I didn’t look up because I knew exactly who was coming my way.