Chapter 10: The Setup

The next morning, Tom walked into school knowing exactly what was happening.

The rumor was spreading fast.

Whispers in the hallway.

Side glances from teammates.

A few players who had cheered for him just last night were now keeping their distance.

"No way he got that good that fast."

"Coach is making him take a drug test."

"If it's true, he's done."

Tom clenched his fists, but his face remained calm.

He'd seen this before.

The doubt. The jealousy. The media twisting things.

Hell, the NFL had accused him of cheating too.

Deflategate. Spygate. All the damn gates.

But he always came out on top.

And this time?

It wasn't going to be any different.

The Drug Test – Proving the GOAT is Clean

Tom walked into the nurse's office, where a school administrator stood next to a testing kit.

Coach Donahue leaned against the wall, arms crossed.

"Standard procedure," the administrator said. "We check for PEDs, stimulants, anything that could give you an edge."

Tom grabbed the cup.

"Let's get this over with."

Minutes later, it was done.

Now all that was left was to wait.

Donahue eyed him as he left.

"You better be clean, Bradfield."

Tom just smirked.

"I am. And when those results come back, I expect an apology."

He walked out without another word.

Now, he just had to deal with the real problem.

Keller's Next Play – The Trap is Set

Meanwhile, in a dark corner of the school cafeteria, Keller was already working on his next move.

"That didn't work," his friend, Trey, muttered. "The test is gonna come back clean."

Keller smirked, leaning forward.

"Doesn't matter. We don't need a real scandal—we just need people to believe in one."

Trey raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

Keller pulled out his phone and showed a photo.

It was a fake screenshot of text messages.

Messages that made it look like Tom was buying illegal performance enhancers.

Trey's eyes widened. "Dude… where'd you get this?"

Keller grinned.

"AI is a beautiful thing, man. All I had to do was generate some fake texts, and now? It's over for him."

He hit SEND.

And within minutes…

The entire school had seen them.

The Explosion – Social Media War

By the time Tom made it to lunch, the damage had already spread.

His phone buzzed constantly. Notifications flooded his screen.

• @JeffersonHSFootball: "Tommy Bradfield caught using PEDs?!?"

• @SportsTalkDaily: "New QB might not be so clean after all…"

• @QBKing_Keller: "Cheaters never win, bro. Hope you enjoyed your 15 minutes of fame."

Tom stopped walking.

A group of players turned toward him, staring at their phones.

"You see this?" one muttered.

"Damn, those texts look real…"

"I knew something was off!"

The cafeteria was dead silent.

Tom scanned the crowd.

Then his eyes landed on Keller.

The bastard was sitting with his feet kicked up, grinning like he'd already won.

Tom took a slow, deep breath.

He had two choices.

1. Lose his temper. Confront Keller. Cause a scene.

2. Stay calm. Fight back the right way.

There was only one answer.

Tom smiled.

Laughed, even.

And kept walking.

The entire cafeteria watched as he sat down at his usual table, completely unbothered.

Because he knew something they didn't.

The truth always comes out.

And when it did?

Keller was going to regret this.

End of Chapter 10