The holding room buzzed with distant noise from the arena outside, muffled cheers, engines revving somewhere far off, the kind of restless energy that seeped through walls and settled under the skin. Timothy sat on the narrow bench with a tablet in his hand, eyes scanning the team list for the third time even though he had already memorized every name on it. His jaw tightened.
"Purple team?" he scoffed under his breath. "The group is already bullshit."
He tossed the tablet onto the metal table beside him, the sound echoing sharply in the small room. His fingers drummed against his thigh as he leaned back, staring at the ceiling for a second before exhaling through his nose.
"But having to go against Bulldozer and Spike…" he murmured, voice lower now, more thoughtful. "That's going to be a challenge."
