Total pages in book: 131
Estimated words: 145402 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 727(@200wpm)___ 582(@250wpm)___ 485(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 145402 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 727(@200wpm)___ 582(@250wpm)___ 485(@300wpm)
Neil glanced out the window, but the rain was so thick on the glass he could barely make out the wing of the plane. The lights were a blurry mess. Neil closed the shade as the attendants did a final walk-through of the cabin. Takeoff had never seemed a complicated process before, but Neil imagined how drawn-out it would feel to someone who didn't want to be airborne. Finally they were rolling down the runway, and Neil risked another look at Andrew.
Andrew's expression didn't change when the tires left the ground, but Andrew's pen went still for the entire ascent and he went tense. He was back at it as soon as they reached cruising altitude. He had to notice the looks Neil sent him, but he kept his heavy-lidded stare on the seat back in front of him.
They had time to kill in Atlanta, so as soon as Wymack confirmed their gate hadn't changed he let them wander the airport for an hour. Andrew's lot spent most of that time wandering from one store to another. Aaron picked up a book while Nicky loaded up on junk food. Andrew disappeared, but Neil finally spotted him near a glass case of figurines. It was an odd thing for Andrew to be distracted by, but Neil didn't have long to think about it. Kevin and Nicky were two seconds away from getting into it because Kevin was trying to put Nicky's snacks back on the shelf.
"It's not all for me," Nicky insisted, trying to wrestle out of Kevin's grip without dropping anything. "There's enough to go around."
"No one needs to eat this before a game," Kevin said. "Eat some granola or protein if you're that hungry."
"Hello, there's protein in the peanut butter," Nicky said. "Let go of me before I tell Andrew you're outlawing chocolate. I said let go. You're not the boss of me. Ouch! Did you seriously just hit me?"
"I'm walking away and pretending I don't know you," Aaron said.
"Traitor," Nicky called after him.
"Kevin, just let him go," Neil said. "It's not worth fighting over."
"When our defense is sluggish we all suffer," Kevin said.
"You aren't serious," Nicky said. "We've got how many hours until serve? This will all be out of my system by then. You can watch me take a shit if you don't believe me. I didn't think you were into that kind of thing but—ha," he crowed when Kevin stomped off. He flashed Neil a triumphant grin, oblivious to the way the store clerks were staring at them. "I am a master at persuasion."
"Or self-delusion," Neil said.
Nicky's eyebrows shot up. "Oh my god, did you try to make a joke? Did it hurt a little? No, really," he said when Neil turned as if to leave him. "What put you in such a good mood?"
Turning put Andrew in Neil's line of sight again. Light flashed off the crystal figurine in Andrew's hand as he passed it to one of the cashiers. Neil was too far away to see what shape he'd settled on, but he didn't need to know. His thoughts were on a shelf of sparkling animals all set equidistant to each other. Surprise warred with relief and gave way to a hum of self-satisfaction. Neil didn't understand what Andrew saw in Betsy but he didn't care anymore. He was right to put his faith in her. She was going to patch the brothers up and the team would finally be whole. The Ravens wouldn't know what to make of them the next time they met on-court.
"Hey, Neil," Nicky said. "You ignoring me?"
"Just thinking about tonight," Neil lied. "I'll wait here while you check out."
Nicky shrugged and headed for the next open register. Andrew collected Kevin on his way back to Neil's side, and Aaron drifted back to them when Nicky called him. They headed back to the gate and settled down until boarding time. The skies over Atlanta were cloudy but dry. A quick board and all heads accounted for meant they got to leave a couple minutes early. Neil kept a discreet eye on Andrew until the plane leveled out, then turned his gaze out the window and thought of UT.
Neil had never dealt with baggage claim before, as he and his mother tossed out whatever wouldn't fit in a carry-on. It was an eye-opening and unpleasant experience. The same suitcases went around the conveyer belt so many times Neil started thinking the team's gear had been lost. The Foxes looked bored, not worried, so he kept that bit of panic to himself. He was rewarded a few minutes later when Allison's bag finally dropped down a chute and onto the belt. The rest of the bags weren't far behind hers.
"Load 'em up and line it up," Wymack said as he and Abby grabbed their own bags.
The Foxes trailed him to Ground Transportation, where Wymack had reserved a 12-seat passenger van. Their bags took up the entire trunk and then most of the foot room, but they managed to get the door closed and that was all that mattered. Wymack smoothed out a crumpled paper of handwritten directions, spared his notes the briefest of glances, and got them on their way. They stopped briefly at an Italian restaurant to wolf down chicken and pasta. Wymack grumbled about the bill, but his team knew better than to take him seriously.
The stadium was crawling with cops and fans when they arrived. Security guards helped Wymack find a place to park and the team was escorted to the locker room. They were early, so Wymack flicked on every TV he could find and went to check the crowd. The closest TV to Neil was playing highlights of last night's Class I games. Unsurprisingly, half of the moves worth rehashing were from the Ravens' fifteen-eight victory. Neil had watched their match between practices last night.
Thirty minutes out from serve they split up into the locker rooms to change. Neil was no longer surprised to find a complete lack of privacy in the men's changing room, but his teammates stayed out of the bathroom long enough for him to struggle into his gear. He left his helmet and gloves off since they still had plenty of time before serve and rejoined his teammates in the main room.