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)
It was a threat, not friendly advice, but Kevin said, "One is enough to start with."
"Thanks for nothing and good night," Dan said. "We're out of here."
The Foxes filed off the court to the shouts of a still-riled crowd. Wymack was speaking to a couple reporters, but he excused himself at their arrival. Renee and Andrew weren't waiting for him to catch up. Renee had an arm around Andrew's shoulder still and she propelled him toward the locker room as quickly as she could without being obvious about it.
The rest of the Foxes stayed behind, waving at the cameras and crowds. They'd lost, but they were buoyed by Kevin's assessment and their fans' unflagging support. Finally Wymack got them all into the locker room. Renee was waiting in the foyer, but Andrew was nowhere in sight. Neil assumed he was puking in the bathroom.
Wymack locked the door behind them, buying them a minute or two before the press came looking for comments, and faced them. "When I told you this June you'd be facing Edgar Allan on your court you said there was no way you could do it. But you faced them tonight and you didn't let them push you around. You took six points from the first-ranked team in the nation. You should be pretty fucking proud of yourselves right now."
"Proud of that mess?" Aaron asked, tired and annoyed. "We were destroyed."
"I'm just glad it's over," Nicky said. "They're terrifying."
"I'm proud," Allison said, earning a startled look from Nicky and a half-smile from Wymack. She turned a condescending sneer on Aaron, looking more like herself than she had since Seth died. "This is only your second season with us. I wouldn't expect you to understand what a game like this means."
Dan nodded. "Allison's right. Losing hurts, but it's not a total loss. Last year we wouldn't have managed a single point against them. This is the strongest we've ever been, and we can only get better from here. Kevin already said it: when we meet the Ravens in semifinals we're going to knock them down a peg or two."
"Well said," Wymack said. "Kevin, Neil?"
"Twenty-six miles?" Neil guessed.
"I've got something better in mind. Starting next week everyone's finally back in their proper spots. If you two can run a full game against Edgar Allan, you're ready to take on the rest of the season alone. Everyone else: thank you for your patience and cooperation while Kevin and Neil adjusted. Renee especially—you've been a damned good sport this year. Welcome back to goal."
Dan's wild whoop drowned out Renee's more modest response. Matt gave Renee a triumphant hug, and Allison clapped a hand on Renee's shoulder in a quiet but fierce show of support. Neil wasn't sure he and Kevin wouldn't let the others down in the upcoming weeks, but he couldn't lean on his teammates forever. They'd spent half the season with a screwed-up lineup. He and Kevin had been playing longer stretches each week in preparation for tonight's game. Now it was time for them to take the offense line back and run with it.
"We'll go over details of tonight's game on Monday morning," Wymack said. "Meet here instead of at the gym. Dan and Kevin, you're on press duty. The rest of you stop yapping and wash up so we can drink. Make sure you take everything important home with you tonight. I have a cleaning crew coming in tomorrow to wash the Raven stench off our court. Let's get the hell out of here and get wasted."
They were exhausted, sore, and more than a little disappointed by their loss, but the Foxes left the stadium feeling like champions.
CHAPTER NINE
The Foxes cleared out of Abby's house before noon the next day, but Andrew's group didn't head back to the dormitory. Instead they went out for an early lunch. Aaron, Nicky, and Kevin were too hungover to eat much and settled for pushing their food around their plates. Andrew was oblivious to and unsympathetic of their plight. By the time they left the three were looking a little steadier, so Nicky drove them to a party store fifteen minutes out from campus.
Halloween fell on a Tuesday this year, which mean Eden's Twilight was having an event the Friday before. Neil knew only because Nicky had been talking about it nonstop for over a week, but he hadn't really expected they would go. For one, they had a game that Friday. For another, they were all too old to celebrate such a childish holiday. Andrew and Aaron were nineteen for another month, Kevin was twenty, and Nicky was twenty-three. Apparently Neil overestimated their maturity level.
"We're a little old for costumes, don't you think?" Neil asked as he climbed out of the car.
"It's bad form to go to a Halloween party without a costume, Neil," Nicky said. "Besides, the bartenders give out a free round to anyone who comes dressed up."
"I don't drink," Neil said.
"Then give your shot to me, you stingy child," Nicky said. "I know you said you'd never come shopping with us again, but we're doing you a huge favor dragging you along. You wouldn't trust me to pick out your costume, would you? I'd probably make you a French maid or something. Come on."
The front of the store was packed with decorations, everything from packs of spider webs to skull-shaped shot glasses and ghost window clings. An animatronics raven flapped its wings and cawed at Neil as he approached. He pushed it to the back of the shelf and moved a glittery Styrofoam skull in front of it. It cawed once more at the rough handling, but the sound was muffled.
Neil passed rows of wigs, masks, and an entire shelf of face paint and gaudy makeup. The entire back half of the store was devoted to costumes. The five men spread out between the racks to search. Neil doubted he'd find anything, but he was curious enough to look. He couldn't believe how many options there were, even if some of them bordered on the ridiculous.