Total pages in book: 127
Estimated words: 117363 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 587(@200wpm)___ 469(@250wpm)___ 391(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 117363 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 587(@200wpm)___ 469(@250wpm)___ 391(@300wpm)
“We did not want outsiders at Evermore.”
“Except Neil,” Cat said.
“Neil was a special case,” Jean allowed.
“Unsurprising the Ravens would try to recruit a gangster’s son,” Lucas said.
“That news came out a couple months after Neil went to Edgar Allan,” Cody reminded him as they painstakingly removed every piercing from their face. “I doubt the Ravens would have taken him on if they’d known, especially when they spent so much time and money playing up a potential showdown between Riko and Kevin. It was a hell of a distraction from their pissing contest.”
Lucas had to concede with a grumbled, “I guess.”
In no world would Jean correct them, so he focused on gearing up. Xavier was by shortly with a black mesh vest that marked him as hands-off for today’s practice. Jean tugged it on over his jersey and glanced over to see Cody studying him with a slight frown. Cody took that look as permission to speak and asked,
“You’re not still injured, are you? It’s almost July.”
“I’m cleared,” Jean said. “This is a precaution.”
Cody looked unconvinced but didn’t push it, and the group finished dressing in silence. Lisinski had rolled their racquet racks down to the inner court while they were changing, and all four coaches were on hand to wrangle the oversized team into shape.
It wasn’t quite an even split between offense and defense, as the strikers and dealers made thirteen against the backline’s twelve, but it was close enough. The coaches paired them off, giving Cody the task of taking on the extra dealer. Jeremy was at Jean’s side before Rhemann even reached his name. They were all ushered onto the court and divvied up between halves, with two goalkeepers assigned to each side.
They spent hours on drills. Jean knew all of them, though one or two by a different name. Some had been modified, and he wasn’t sure if it was the Trojans’ doing or the Ravens’. Jeremy looked fascinated every time Jean tried to execute it differently than expected, but all Jean felt was impatience. The no-touch jersey felt like a short leash dragging him down. He wanted to throw Jeremy into a wall just to prove he could; he wanted Jeremy to crash into him so he could tell Lisinski it didn’t hurt.
He managed to keep it together until they finally started on short scrimmages, and then instinct interfered with common sense. The first time Jeremy started to get past him Jean stuck a foot around his and sent him stumbling. Jeremy wasn’t expecting it, and Jean was able to yank his stick out of his hands with a practiced twist. He stole the ball and flicked it up court, but Jeremy caught his sleeve before he could follow.
“Away,” Jeremy warned him. “You have to hook away from me, not toward.”
Away was how most players did it, in part for safety and mostly because it was easier to steal a racquet that way. Toward was harder to pull off but worth it, as it forced the other player’s wrists to bend in at an unnatural angle. It went without saying that Ravens always defaulted to what would cause the most injuries. Jean grimaced his annoyance but nodded understanding, and then still forgot again six passes later.
Jeremy rubbed his wrists and insisted, “Away.”
“Away,” Jean agreed.
The third time he did it, Jeremy grabbed his racquet to haul him to a stop. “Away, Jean. You’re hurting me.”
“It has been toward for five years,” Jean said, looking past Jean at the scrimmage that was still going on without them. “It is not that easy to undo.”
Jeremy frowned at him and echoed, “Five? You were only with the Ravens for three.”
“I moved into Evermore two years before I enrolled,” Jean said, and hauled Jeremy to one side. The stray ball that had been coming for them ricocheted off his chest instead of Jeremy’s back, and Jean scooped it up on the rebound with a quick snap of his wrist. He hurled it across the court toward Cody one-handed before finally letting go of Jeremy. “I will try harder.”
The next time he remembered. The time after that he remembered a half-second too late and saved them both by slamming into Jeremy instead. Jeremy wasn’t expecting a check, but he braced against it instinctively and pushed back. They fought each other for a moment with the ball caught between their nets. Their teammates were yelling encouragement and positions for whoever won and passed. Jeremy executed a nimble duck and weave that got him the upper hand, and Jean stole his racquet as soon as he threw the ball.
“Away,” he agreed, and heaved Jeremy’s racquet as far down the court as he could.
Jeremy laughed as he took off after it, and Jean went to apply pressure where he could.
They played two scrimmages, shuffling the teams for the second go. Jean and Xavier were pulled to be subs this time around so Lisinski could check on them. Xavier reassured her with a breezy familiarity that made Jean’s shoulders tighten in warning, but if Lisinski was offended by his casual approach, she gave no sign of it. No Raven would have dared be so bold unless he was desperate to be punished.