Total pages in book: 78
Estimated words: 87395 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 437(@200wpm)___ 350(@250wpm)___ 291(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 87395 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 437(@200wpm)___ 350(@250wpm)___ 291(@300wpm)
"Don't waste their time tonight," Kevin said at his ear. "They came to see you play, so give them something to believe in."
"They're not here for me," Neil said. "They're here to see the famous Kevin Day."
Kevin put a hand to Neil's shoulder blade and gave him a small push. "Change out."
Neil took one last peek up at the stands before heading back to the locker room.
Wymack called them to the foyer when they had all their gear on and passed around the Breckenridge Jackals' roster. Matt took one look at the starting line-up and made a face.
"Hey, Seth. Looks like Gorilla's back."
"Shit." Seth held out his hand in a demand for the paper.
"At least they're taking us seriously from the start," Aaron said.
"Easy for defense to say." Allison took the roster from Matt and gave it to Seth.
"Gorilla?" Neil asked.
"Number 16, Hawking," Nicky said. "AKA Gorilla. Six and a half feet tall and three hundred pounds of pure douchebaggery. You'll know him when you see him, trust me. He looks like a football player that got lost on his way to the field."
"He's also dumb as a brick, so he sat out of championships last year on academic probation," Matt said. "It's kind of a yearly ritual for him."
"He's defense," Dan said, looking at Neil, "and he loves bodychecks. Don't get between him and the wall, Neil. He'll break every bone in your body if you give him the chance."
"Don't worry, though," Matt said. "He'll probably be too busy killing Kevin and Seth to notice you."
"This is my reassured face," Neil said, pointing up at his blank expression.
"Are you done wasting my oxygen yet?" Wymack asked. "Let's get moving. We're on home court for warm-up. We're doing simple relay shots first, Andrew and Renee twice through each. Andrew, keep them on our side. You hit a single practice shot onto the Jackals' side of the court when they're warming up and I won't start you until second half."
Neil looked at Andrew at that. Andrew looked fine so far, but maybe they were still too far out from first serve for him to be feeling any withdrawal.
Wymack kept going. "Starters down the line: Seth, Kevin, Dan, Matt, Aaron, Andrew. I've got three subs each half, so you'll all get a swap except the goalies. Kevin, you're out if your hand so much as itches. Don't be stupid tonight."
"It's been eight months," Kevin said.
"Don't risk it your first game back," Abby said.
Kevin grimaced but gave up arguing. That was good enough for Wymack and Abby, so they sent the Foxes scrambling for their helmets and racquets. They lined up at the door in order of playing position, with Dan out of place at the front as their captain. Wymack had an earpiece in that linked him to the announcer's booth. When he heard the okay, he led his team out to the benches. Neil's helmet muffled some of the crowd's screaming, but his ears were still ringing when he followed the Foxes onto the court.
Neil knew the Fox team was the smallest in the NCAA and Breckenridge one of the largest, but he hadn't expected the difference to feel so vast. The tan-and-black Jackals seemed crowded on their half, making the Foxes look pathetic and small on theirs. Neil tried not to feel intimidated. When that failed, he put everything he had into warm-up drills instead. The twenty minutes flew by faster than he thought they would and they were shepherded off the court by the referees: the Jackals out the north door, the Foxes out the south.
The announcer's voice just barely carried over the crowd's racket, but as it got closer to game time someone thought to turn up his volume. By the time he called the team's rosters his voice was echoing off the court walls. As their names were called, the Foxes lifted their racquets in silent salute. The crowd roared in response to each one, and Orange Notes' drumline pounded away on whatever their sticks could reach.
"For the Breckenridge Jackals," the announcer said, and went through the list of players slotted to play tonight. The Jackals' names were greeted with mixed boos and polite applause from the Foxes' side, but there were large sections of Jackal fans in attendance on the north side of the stadium. Their pep band played the fight song as soon as the last name was called, but Orange Notes promptly drowned them out with Palmetto's song.
The six referees for the game opened the doors on either side of the court and entered. At their beckon, Dan and the opposing captain joined them at half-court for an obligatory handshake and the coin toss. The head referee signaled first serve for the Jackals and home court for the Foxes. Three referees followed each captain off and arranged themselves along the wall near the court lines.
Wymack made shooing motions at his starting line. "Get out there and make them sorry they showed up tonight. I want my subs at the wall cheering them on, but if you trip up a referee I will cut you. Let's go."
Dan led her players to the door and thumped the wall when they were ready. The announcer called off the Foxes' starting line-up from offense to defense. Kevin was the first onto the court, and the entire stadium had a fit at the sight of him. It didn't matter what school the fans were here to support; Kevin was in uniform after an eightmonth absence. All predictions said he'd never play again, but he carried a racquet with him to halfcourt like he'd always known he would return.
Seth followed Kevin on and joined him at the half-court line. Dan was the Foxes' offensive dealer and stood halfway between halfcourt and first-fourth. Matt and Aaron spaced themselves out on first-fourth, and Andrew was the last one in place in their goal.
Breckenridge filed on next. Nicky pointed to Gorilla as soon as the player made his entrance, but Neil didn't need any help spotting him. "Remember to thank Seth and Kevin later for getting crushed in your stead."