Total pages in book: 99
Estimated words: 109903 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 550(@200wpm)___ 440(@250wpm)___ 366(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 109903 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 550(@200wpm)___ 440(@250wpm)___ 366(@300wpm)
Starting line-ups were called to the door shortly afterward. Neil stayed near the bench with Matt and Renee and watched his teammates file onto the court. He wasn't ready to talk about Allison with either of them, so he focused on the other unsteady player on their team.
"Why does Andrew do this?" Neil asked, unable to stay quiet any longer. "If he doesn't care about Exy, what's the point of going through this every Friday?"
"Would you want to be crazy high every day of your life?" Matt asked.
"He spends the entire time winding down and getting sick," Neil said. "Is it worth it?"
"Maybe it is," Renee said with a smile. "You'll see."
The Terrapins served as soon as the buzzer sounded, and the court became a whirlwind of movement. Belmonte's starting dealer got the half going with an aggressive move: he fired straight up the court at the goal. Allison could have stopped it, but she casually sidestepped like it wasn't worth her time. Andrew reacted with the same calm arrogance and just watched as the ball missed his goal by a scant inch. The crowd's reaction was instant and loud: they weren't going to be mocked by a ragtag team like the Foxes.
Andrew gave the ball a small pop on the rebound to bounce it off the ground and smacked it right back the way it'd come. Allison watched it pass her again, let the dealer catch it uncontested, and then smashed into him. He didn't lose his feet, but he lost the ball when he stumbled, and Allison was quick to take it from him. She passed it up the court and pushed forward after it.
The Foxes were notorious for their shoddy teamwork, so most people forgot they were a Class I school. Wymack culled his broken players from the same pool as any other Class I coach: the best athletes high schools had to offer nationwide. If the Foxes could get over their differences and learn to compromise once in a while, they would be a formidable force. Neil had warned Riko that at Kathy Ferdinand's talk show, and Dan thought the team had a better chance now that Seth was gone. Neil watched his teammates for any sign she was right.
Because he was watching so closely, he could see it, but it came only in flashes. Nicky was the team's weakest backliner, but Aaron knew how to compensate for it. Allison and Dan had never played together like this, but they'd been roommates and friends for three years. Dan was too far up to watch the court like she normally did but she could gauge the situation in a glance and adjust her play accordingly.
Neil wanted to get Matt out there and see what a difference it made. Matt was their best player. He could unite the court with his presence and control the game through his unapologetic aggression. Neil wanted to go out there himself and find out if he really deserved to play Class I. He wanted to be part of this evolution. He wanted to feel the team click into perfect synchrony, even if it only lasted for a moment.
By the time Wymack finally let him on the court, Neil was buzzing with equal parts impatience and need. He knew he clacked sticks with Dan as they passed each other at the door but he didn't hear it. He heard only his heartbeat, thumping in his veins.
The buzzer sounded to get them moving. The Terrapins came as hard as they could, but the Foxes shoved back with a ferocity the home team wasn't expecting. They were exhausted, but Matt rallied the defense around him and Neil had permission to run himself ragged on the offense. Neil was the least experienced person on their team, but he was the fastest and the most desperate. Every minute on the court brought him one minute closer to saying goodbye to Exy forever. He didn't want to regret a single second.
Neil kept his eyes off the scoreboard but he knew when the Foxes pulled ahead by the reaction from the crowd. The Terrapins almost scored a few minutes later, but Matt threw his striker into the wall. A second later they were fighting. Renee was closest, so she ran to break it up. Matt threw his hands up and retreated the second he realized she was there, but the Terrapin striker was too fired up to care. He went after Matt again and got in a couple good hits. Matt struggled with him a bit and managed to shove him away.
Renee took the opening. She caught the back of the striker's jersey and drove her foot into the back of his knee. He fell to his knees, and Renee put all her weight on his calf to keep him from getting up again.
The referees separated them with angry words and exaggerated gestures. All three of them were given yellow cards for fighting. Neil thought it a stupid call, since Renee hadn't technically been fighting anyone, but the crowd screamed approval. Because the striker initiated the fight, the Foxes were given possession of the ball near where the Terrapins lost it. Matt knocked sticks with Renee as they found their new starting places.
Kevin put them in the lead with one minute left on the clock. The last sixty seconds were a desperate push from both sides. A point from the Terrapins would put them in overtime, and none of the Foxes had enough energy left to play another fifteen-minute period. Eight seconds from the end a Terrapin striker got the ball. Aaron ran after him, but he was too exhausted to close the gap. The striker's ten steps took him all the way to the foul line for his shot.
Disappointment was a sick lurch in Neil's chest. The goal was too wide and Andrew too small; there was no way Andrew could stop a shot this close-range. The striker aimed for a spot as far from Andrew as he could and fired the ball at the bottom left corner. Even if Andrew could get there fast enough, the ball was too low to the ground for him to swing his massive racquet.