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)
Neil had seen Andrew go through withdrawal before, but not like this. It'd always been late at night when exhaustion had set in or down in Columbia with drugs and alcohol to soften the edge. In those sorts of backdrops Neil couldn't really appreciate the dead stage Andrew went through.
Everyone warned Neil that Andrew didn't care about Exy, but some part of Neil refused to believe that. The pieces didn't add up right, especially when Andrew willingly came off his euphoric drugs for games. The fight with Kevin this morning proved something strange was going on. But Andrew stood a silent stone in their midst, looking a thousand miles away from all of this. He was a vacuum his teammates' rowdy cheer couldn't touch.
"Stop it."
He didn't mean to say it. He didn't even realize he'd spoken until his teammates' conversations petered off. Dan and Matt sent him curious looks. Renee glanced between Neil and Andrew, whereas Aaron didn't look up at all. Kevin put it together faster than anyone, since he felt the same nauseous anger toward Andrew's apathy. The look he flicked Andrew was accusatory.
Andrew slid a bored look Neil's way. "I'm not doing anything."
"Exactly," Neil wanted to say, but he knew it was a senseless argument. He didn't have the right words for that gnawing feeling in his stomach and it was his fault for being so naïve. He gave a frustrated shake of his head and let it drop.
Nicky opened his mouth, hesitated as he reconsidered his words, and then clapped a hand on Neil's shoulder in either comfort or encouragement. He left his hand there but directed his too-cheerful words at the rest of the team.
"Hey, so we're actually doing much better than I thought we would."
Wymack chose that moment to walk in and he scowled at Nicky's words. "This is horrible. This kind of game isn't going to work for us, and today is the last time I'll tolerate it. You have got to start creating point gaps in the first half. You need that cushion when it's your second wind against their fresh line-up."
"He's right," Dan said. "We need to push harder earlier. We hold back because we're trying to pace ourselves for a long night, but playing catch-up is a killer. We need to play smarter and balance this out somehow."
Wymack nodded and looked across the room. "Andrew?"
"Present," Andrew said.
Wymack interpreted that unhelpful response however he wanted to and snapped his fingers at his team. "Come on, stretch it out." He walked a couple steps away and called down the hall, "Abby?"
"Coming," Abby said from out of sight, and showed up carrying two jugs. One had water, the other a sports drink. She poured some of each for the Foxes and made rounds to pass them out. She came to Neil last and stayed with him, feeling the line of his shoulder armor through his jersey. "How are you doing?"
Neil drained both cups before answering. "I'm fine."
Nicky fist-pumped in triumph. "Thank you for being so predictable, Neil. You just scored me ten bucks with two words."
Matt looked up. "Are you serious? Who the hell bet against you?"
Nicky jerked a thumb at Kevin. "There's a sucker born every minute."
Kevin looked furious, but that anger was directed at Neil. "You are an idiot. Do you see this?" He brandished his left hand at Neil. Neil couldn't see his scars from across the room but he knew what Kevin was referring to. "Injuries are not a joke. They are not something to gloss over. If you get hurt out there, you do something about it. You take it easy, you have Coach pull you, you ask Abby for help—I don't care. If you ever say 'I'm fine' about your health again I will make you rue the day you were born. Are we clear?"
Neil opened his mouth, thought better of arguing, and said, "We're clear."
"I did warn you," Dan said, unsympathetic. "I think Kevin's threats are more effective though."
Abby eyed Neil. "I'll ask again, then. Are you okay?"
"I'm—" It was too automatic a response; Neil bit it off when Kevin took a threatening step forward. He huffed in annoyance and dug for a better answer. "It's just sore. So long as I can keep my mark off my right side I'll be—okay."
Matt laughed at the near-miss. "I don't see this experiment ending well, Neil."
"Some people are just hardwired to be stupid," Wymack said. "Now stop yapping and listen up. We have a lot to get through."
Wymack started with the backliners and worked his way forward, pointing out missed opportunities and highlighting their scattered successes. He had a list of the second half's starting line-up, so he spent the second half of the break going over their opponents.
The Foxes gave him their undivided attention, but they didn't stop moving. Matt stopped stretching in favor of pacing the length of the wall. The others shifted, stretched, and jogged in place as Wymack spoke. Abby collected empty cups, tossed them in the trash, and handed out refills. Neil drank his so fast he barely tasted it. He was starting to get his second wind back, but he was glad to sit out part of the next half. He wanted to be fully recharged before he joined Kevin on the court.
A buzzer sounded overhead. They were due in the inner court in one minute, and Allison was still missing. Abby nodded at the look Wymack sent her and went in search of the missing dealer.
"Let's get ready to move," Wymack said.
Wymack shooed them into line and grabbed his clipboard off the floor. Neil looked down the hall to where Abby stood outside the bathroom door. She motioned at Wymack to go ahead, so Wymack opened the door and led the Foxes back into the stadium.
Neil wouldn't need his gloves or helmet for a while, so he set them on the bench and helped Nicky situate the stick rack. By the time he straightened Allison was already on her way out. She was dressed to go and came straight for her racquet. Neil tried scooting out of her way without being too obvious about it. If she noticed, she didn't comment. The dead look on her face said she'd narrowed all of her attention down to the task at hand.