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)
"Good," Jean said. "Now put it back. You won't need it until afternoon practice."
Neil stripped it all off and put it back. He'd just fastened the last button on his coat when the door opened. Neil had his back to it, but he didn't miss the way Jean blanched. Neil looked back to see Tetsuji and Riko in the doorway. Tetsuji had brought an ornate walking cane with him. Neil had never seen him with it before and hoped that meant Tetsuji was suffering some sort of injury or illness.
Riko let his uncle enter the room first and locked the door behind them. Neil spared a moment to wonder who installed locks on a changing room door, but he pushed that thought away as quick as he could. He couldn't afford to be distracted when facing this man.
Tetsuji crossed the room to stand before him. "Nathaniel Wesninski," he said, like he found every syllable wanting. "Kneel."
Neil hid his hands in his pockets so he could clench them into fists. "No."
He thought Jean said his name, but it was barely louder than a breath of air. Neil didn't look back at him. He didn't think it was his imagination that Riko took a half-step back to put more space between himself and his uncle. A man who could keep even Riko in line wasn't a man to challenge so carelessly, but Neil had no choice.
"You will kneel," Tetsuji said.
Neil had a feeling he was going to regret this for the rest of his very short life, but he smiled and said, "Make me."
He saw the cane come up, but it was too fast for him to dodge. It caught him in the face across his cheek and the side of his mouth. Neil stumbled under the force of the blow and crashed into the lockers. He didn't feel it; he couldn't feel anything but the fire eating through his skull. A sour flash across his tongue might have been blood but Neil's mouth was too numb for him to be sure. He brought a hand up instinctively to check his skull for fractures, but Tetsuji's cane caught him in the ribs next. Then his shoulder, and his arm, until Neil had no choice but to ball up and protect himself.
Tetsuji didn't stop beating him until he finally passed out.
-
The Ravens' afternoon practice ran for four hours, and Neil was in no shape for any of it. He'd been unconscious through the two hours the Ravens took for lunch; he only woke when Jean dumped a pitcher of icy water over his head. Neil was too delirious and sore to get changed out, so Jean had to force most of the gear onto him. Neil struggled, but Jean dug cruel fingers into Neil's fresh bruises to stop him. Jean had to haul Neil up to the court. It wasn't until Jean shoved a racquet into his hands that Neil truly realized that yes, he was expected to play.
They put him on as a backliner, and Neil failed spectacularly. He hadn't played defense in almost nine years and he was in too bad of shape to keep up with Riko. Every time Riko made it past him, Riko hit Neil with his racquet. Exy armor was meant to guard against fast-moving balls and body-checks, not malicious blows from heavy racquets. By an hour into practice Neil was stumbling over his own feet.
Every time Neil fell, though, Jean was there to pull him off the ground. Jean had nothing to say to Neil about his poor performance, neither encouragement nor harsh words. Maybe he didn't have the breath for it anymore. They were in this together, just like Jean warned Neil. Every time the other team scored they were both punished.
The rest of the Ravens were completely unsympathetic, even toward one of their own. This was how the team worked, and they accepted it unquestioningly. These five years might be a vicious nightmare, but world fame and seven-digit salaries waited for them on the other side of the graduation stage. They'd be set for the rest of their lives. As far as the Ravens were concerned, it was a worthwhile trade.
Because of their pathetic performance, Jean and Neil were tasked with shutting the court down afterward. That meant sweeping and polishing the court floor, then straightening up the mess the Ravens made of the locker room. By the time they were finally able to shower Neil could barely move. He didn't even care that the Ravens' shower room lacked stalls. He knelt on the tiled floor under the spray and let the heat ease some of the pain from his shattered body. Neil flexed his swollen fingers to make sure they were in working order. They moved, but he couldn't feel them.
"You should have run," Jean said, too exhausted and sore to be hateful anymore.
"I grew up on pain," Neil said. "Two weeks of this won't mean a thing."
"Three," Jean said.
Neil looked at him. "I only agreed to two. I'm leaving on New Year's Eve."
Jean closed his eyes and tilted his head further under the spray. "You ignorant child. This is the Ravens' Nest. We go by our time, not yours. We run on sixteen-hour days. You'll see."
Neil was too tired to deal with his dramatics, so he focused on washing up. He dressed in the loosest clothes he'd packed and trailed Jean to the kitchen. He barely tasted any of the food he put in his mouth, but he needed his strength. Jean put their plates in the dishwasher and brought Neil to Black Hall.
Riko was waiting for them in their bedroom. Neil didn't see him until he was already inside, and by then it was too late. Jean locked the door behind him and leaned against it. Neil considered fighting him, but he didn't have the energy and there was nowhere to go. He went to his bed like he didn't care he was trapped in here with them and sat on the edge of the mattress. He looked at the books and thought of Kayleigh's letter, thought of Jean and Kevin putting up with this day after day, year after year.