Total pages in book: 131
Estimated words: 145402 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 727(@200wpm)___ 582(@250wpm)___ 485(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 145402 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 727(@200wpm)___ 582(@250wpm)___ 485(@300wpm)
Allison and Nicky returned together. Allison's cheeks were dry and her eyes fierce with determination as she took her seat. Renee's smile was encouraging and Dan grinned in approval. Allison drummed impatient fingernails on the arms of her chair and fixed Wymack with an expectant look.
"Who are we eliminating first?"
"Round one: southeast versus southwest." Wymack picked up his clipboard and skimmed the top page. "Odd-ranked teams play on Thursdays this year, so we've got Fridays. January 12th we're away against University of Texas. Good news is that Austin's just outside the thousand-mile range, which means the board's going to let us fly there.
"The 19th we're home for a rematch against Belmonte. January 26th we're away against Arkansas. It's two out of three to proceed to death matches. Belmonte is fourth-ranked, but you remember what they were like last fall. SUA is also fourth-ranked. UT is second-ranked, and they have been second in their region for the past five years.
"All three of these teams have been in spring championships before with varying results. They know what they're doing. They know what it takes to qualify. We are the weak link. That doesn't mean we're going to break. It just means we have to work twice as hard to keep up. If you're willing to do that, we have a fighting chance."
He unhooked a stack of papers and waggled them at Matt. Matt got up and passed them out. Wymack had put together round-one packets for them. The first page was UT's fall schedule, complete with results. Notes at the bottom detailed UT's last seven attempts at spring championships. For three years they'd made it as far as the third round before getting knocked out. Neil flipped the page and skimmed the team roster. The next four pages followed the same pattern for Belmonte and SUA.
"Monday we'll break down their playing style in depth and pin down strategies," Wymack said. "By then I'll also have copies of all of their fall games burned onto discs. Watch them in your free time if you're curious. With one exception, I'm not taking time out of practices to show you more than a couple highlights.
"There's a week break between round one and the first set of death matches," Wymack continued. "Bad news is we won't know who we're up against until February. Good news: this year the Big Three are all in the odds bracket. They have to face each other in the third round. For the first time in six years one of them is getting knocked out before semifinals."
"Oh, damn," Dan said, startled. "That's lucky."
"My money's on Penn dropping," Nicky said.
"Don't," Kevin said before the others could place their bets. "It doesn't matter which one is eliminated; we are nowhere near ready to face any of them. How long is Neil benched?"
"A week," Neil said, a little resentfully. "Abby won't reconsider until next Tuesday."
"Generous," Dan said. "I'd have benched you for the entire first round."
"I'm fine to play," Neil said.
Kevin reached behind Andrew to smack the back of Neil's head. Every awkward ounce of empathy he'd managed yesterday was gone; he returned Neil's annoyed look with a fierce glower and a scathing, "I warned you once already not to lie about your health. We need you on the court, but not if you're not going to drag us down with you. In the shape you're in now you'd be a complete waste of our time."
"I would not," Neil said. "Put me on the court and I'll prove it."
"Shut up," Wymack said. "When you're sporting fewer than fifty stitches I'll consider letting you on my court again. If I catch you so much as looking at your gear before then I will bench you another week out of spite. Do you understand?"
"But—"
"Give me a 'Yes, Coach'."
"Coach—"
Neil forgot the rest of his argument when Andrew pinched his wrist. A bolt of fire popped through his fingers and he snatched his hand away as fast as he could. Neil flicked Andrew an irritated look, but Andrew didn't even look at him. Neil wrapped his arm around his stomach to get his hand out of Andrew's reach and sullenly turned his attention back on Wymack.
"Appreciate it, I think," Wymack said. "Andrew, how behind are you? I didn't see a fitness center listed with Easthaven's amenities."
"There wasn't one," Andrew said. "I improvised."
"Do I want to know?" Wymack asked, then answered his own question. "No, I don't, unless there's an impending lawsuit I should know about.
"Morning practices are at the gym again. Neil, until you're back on the court, you'll be meeting me here instead. I'll put you to work watching tapes and researching UT's defense. Tomorrow afternoon we're doing semester meet-and-greets with Betsy. You know the routine: you can't go with someone who plays the same position. Dan'll figure out the pairs and give you an allotted time during morning practice. Right?"
"On it," Dan said.
"Last order of official business from me is damage control," Wymack said. "We've got everyone's attention. A fierce season and ample tragedies mean we're the talk of the town, and this year people might actually root for the underdog. The board wants us to encourage that fever with more publicity. Expect more cameras at games, more interviews, and more nosiness in general. If I could ban some of you from ever opening your mouth in public, I would, but this is out of my hands. Attempt to behave yourselves without sacrificing your confident image. Think you can do that?"
"You're no fun, Coach," Nicky said.
"I will be a lot less fun if you make us look like fools," Wymack said. "But I'm not as worried about you as I am about our resident punching bag and his smart mouth. Anyone have ideas on how to make Neil look a bit less like a battered wife?"
"It's under control," Allison said, and looked to Neil. "You'll come to our room after the meeting."
"I was going to buy my textbooks today," Neil said.
"I wasn't asking," Allison said. "You can go when I'm done with you, unless you want to go out looking like that."