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Just aware.
Aware of me.
Aware of everything happening in the room.
The interviewer turned toward me.
“Rowan, any observations so far?”
My stomach tightened slightly.
I could feel Mason watching now too.
So I kept it professional.
“He’s consistent under pressure,” I said.
True.
Pause.
“And… self-aware.”
That one felt safer.
Less loaded.
The interviewer nodded.
Mason didn’t react.
But I saw it.
Just slightly.
A small exhale.
Like he recognized I didn’t push too far.
MASON
She was careful.
Too careful.
That bothered me more than anything.
Because it meant she understood the weight of this room.
I didn’t like that she understood it.
The interviewer leaned back.
“Final question,” he said. “What drives you heading into NYC?”
That one should’ve been easy.
Basketball.
