Phei headed toward the cafeteria with a spring in his step that had nothing to do with aching muscles and everything to do with the future unspooling in his head like a hostile takeover plan.
Basketball skills.
Cool Aura.
Fifteen Charm Points.
Nice prizes. Flashy ones.
But it wasn't the rewards themselves that had him buzzing—it was what they meant.
A ladder.
A real one. Solid rungs. Not a metaphor, not a fantasy, not another inspirational lie whispered to kids like him to keep them compliant. An actual, climbable ladder out of the pit he'd been rotting in for four years.
Ashford Elite Academy respected exactly two things.
Legacy blood.
Irreplaceable value.
If you had the first, you were royalty by birthright. The rules bent around you like apologetic servants.
If you had the second, you were allowed to stand in the same room as royalty without being publicly dismembered.
