StoryTree
you are here

The Substitute Season

drama◐ Teen
5 contributors · 3 paragraphs deep

Theo typed exactly what Marcus asked for: grit, football, never giving up. He read it back and it sounded fake, like a hundred other essays. But it was Marcus's essay, not his. So he kept going, putting his brother's voice on the page even though every line felt stiff and borrowed.

Theo paused before the last paragraph. He could write the football version AND a second, truer one, then let Marcus pick when he woke up. He opened a new document and started typing fast, the real story pouring out of him.

↔ version 1 of 3 of this paragraph — hover its sides to flip. The card below is what happens next.

What happens next?

2 ways forward
Vote share across the top 2 branches
A possible continuation

In the morning Theo set both versions side by side on the laptop. Marcus read them slowly with his good hand on the trackpad. He stopped at the true one, the one about quitting the team and being scared to tell anyone. "This is the one," he whispered.

MV
Maris Vale
7 votes · future 1 of 2