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)
"Andrew will take care of it," Nicky said.
"That's not comforting," Dan said, but she let it drop.
Somehow Nicky and Kevin ended up eating dinner with them. It was the first time since the upperclassmen moved to campus in June that Neil had seen any of Andrew's lot socialize with the rest of the team. Neil attributed it to the twins' absence. He'd heard Nicky complain to Aaron about the cousins' isolationist stance, but Aaron hadn't been swayed by Nicky's unhappiness. Now, without Aaron to distract him or Andrew to shepherd him out of the way, Nicky was free to do as he liked.
They ordered delivery so they wouldn't have to leave again, and Dan put in a movie to avoid another unpleasant conversation. The film was over before any of their teammates made it back, but that was as far as Nicky cared to press his luck.
"Good night," he said after he'd helped clear away the dinner trash.
"See you in the morning," Dan said, and closed the door behind him and Kevin. When she let go of the knob, she turned a strange look on Matt. "That was weird."
"Yeah," Matt agreed. "Chances of it happening again?"
"Matt," Dan said, but hesitated. She glanced at the far wall where Seth's desk had been as if she wasn't sure she dared say her next words aloud. "What could this mean for our season?"
Because Wymack purposefully recruited troubled individuals, the Foxes had been a fractured mess from day one. They were a team with no concept of teamwork and they determined their hierarchy through force. But when summer practices started, ninety percent of conflict on the court began with Seth. Seth was always ready for a fight with Kevin and the cousins. He wouldn't work with them on the court and refused to deal with them off it. It constantly forced the Foxes to take sides.
Matt's expression was guarded, like he wasn't sure they could have this conversation so soon after Seth's death, but he answered. "Don't get your hopes up. They don't care about Seth. They won't rally behind him like this."
"But," Dan said, because she and Neil heard it in Matt's tone.
"But," Matt agreed, and looked at Neil. "We finally have an in."
Neil looked from one to the other. "I don't understand."
"We saw this once before, with Kevin," Matt said. "They staked a claim on you. They're going to drag you down their rabbit hole."
Dan put her hands on Neil's shoulders and fixed him with an intent look. "Don't go so deep you forget about us, okay? Put one foot in their hole and keep the other up here with us. You've got to be the piece that finally brings this team together. We can't make it to championships without them. Promise me you'll try."
"I'm not exactly a uniting force," Neil said.
"You've obviously got something Andrew wants," Matt said. "Where Andrew goes, they all go. You just have to pull him harder than he pulls you."
They made it sound easy when Neil knew it wasn't. "I'll try."
"Good," Dan said, squeezing his shoulders once before letting go. "That's all we ask."
Dan sat on the couch and pulled Matt down beside her. Neil sat at his desk and attempted to catch up on his homework. It was only the second week of school and he was already behind. He tried to read his chemistry notes, but a few paragraphs in he started zoning out. He made it three more pages before he gave up and pushed his textbook off his desk.
"Neil?" Dan asked.
"Why is chemistry so awful?" Neil asked, reaching for the next assignment.
"If I figure it out, you'll be the first to know," Dan said. "You could always ask Aaron for help. He's majoring in biological sciences."
Neil would rather fail than spend more time with Aaron. His Spanish homework was easier to get through, but his history was too boring to stand. Neil dropped that book on top of his chemistry one and stared blankly at his English assignment. He gave the paper a half-hearted effort, then dug around in his backpack for his math book. As he did he realized Matt and Dan were watching him.
"How many classes are you taking?" Dan asked, frowning at him.
"Six," Neil said.
"You aren't serious," Dan said. "Why?"
Neil looked from her to Matt. "That's what the catalogue suggested."
Dan grimaced at him, but Matt answered. "That schedule is for people graduating in four years. Your contract's five for a reason. Everyone knows you can't take a full course load and play on a team."
"Four classes," Dan said, holding up her fingers at him. "That's all it takes to be considered a full-time student. That's the most I want you taking this semester, okay? Figure out which two are going to make your life the most difficult and get rid of them. You're not doing us or yourself any favors by burning out this early."
"Can I drop classes?" Neil asked, surprised.
"In your first two weeks, yes," Matt said. "Where's your schedule? Let me see."
Neil dug it out of a binder and brought it over. Dan motioned for Neil to sit on her free side. She held the schedule where they could all see it.
"See this?" she asked, pointing out Neil's Monday-Wednesday-Friday classes. "This can't stay. If you don't leave yourself any breathing room you're going to snap. When I was in high school I worked an overnight job, went to school, and captained my high school Exy team. It made me hate everything about my life. I don't want the same thing happening to you. Matt said you and Kevin have night practices on top of all of this. Tell me: when do you actually sleep?"
"During class," Neil admitted.
She thunked Neil on the forehead. "Wrong answer. You've got a GPA to maintain."
"Dan's had a couple years to perfect this speech," Matt said over Dan's head. "If Court is your end goal, you're never going to need these classes. School is just a means to an end and an excuse to play Exy, so don't kill yourself over it. Here, I'll get my computer so we can log you into the school portal."