Night Court Cooldown

I stepped onto the painted concrete of the empty outdoor court just as the overhead floodlights hummed softly. The daytime heat had faded, leaving the air cool against my hoodie. I walked over to the low metal bleachers by the baseline, took a deliberate seat on the second aluminum slat, and leaned forward with my forearms resting on my knees. Across the blacktop, the red hoop rim held quiet under the steady glow. I stayed there for a while, taking in the clean geometry of the painted key and the still night, letting my boots rest flat on the cold metal below.