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)
"Interesting" was too tame a word for the look in Kevin's eyes. The smile that finally slipped free and curved his lips was hungry.
Wymack nodded and turned on his team. "USC just gave us an open door to finals. Don't be fooled and don't waste it. They'll still put up a hell of a fight and they're going to take first half away from us. You have to control the point gap so you can make a comeback in second. Understand?"
"Are we really going to beat USC?" Dan asked, staring at Matt.
"And go on to beat Edgar Allan in a few weeks? Hell yeah we are."
"I might be sick."
"Puke later," Wymack said. "Right now take these lazy mongrels on some laps."
They warmed up nice and slow, though how Dan kept the pace so conservative when the Foxes' hearts were pounding a mile a minute Neil didn't know. Neil stared at the court as he ran, hoping to hell and back this wasn't a cruel dream. Every lap helped drive it home until Neil thought anticipation would kill him. The Trojans entered the inner ring on the Foxes' fourth lap; Neil saw the first flash of red and gold as he passed their benches but didn't see the entire line-up until the Foxes came around again. The Trojans' mascot passed them running the other direction and the stands' cheers followed.
They stretched in the locker room and changed out into court gear. Neil assumed Dan hadn't puked because she kissed Matt before bringing her team to the court for drills. Only nine Trojans would be playing tonight but all twenty-eight came on for passing and shots. Eventually referees shooed everyone off the court save the captains. Neil swigged water at the bench as the announcer finally explained USC's challenge. The response from the crowd was deafening and outraged: the fans were not as pleased by the trick as the Trojans themselves were.
"Hear that?" Wymack said. "Their own school knows they're dead. Let's line it up and win this thing."
It was easier said than done. The first forty-five minutes were a fierce struggle as the nation's second-best and the tiny southern team went head-to-head. No matter how hard the Foxes fought, USC stayed several steps ahead of them. Frustration and helplessness put a sick heat in Neil's veins, pushing him harder and faster against the Trojan defense line, but nothing he did seemed to make a difference. They were the little kids playing in the big kids' park and it was painfully obvious they were out of their league.
Allison and Dan fell back time and time again, more interested in helping guard Renee and clear the ball than passing forward for goals. Despite their collective best efforts, the Trojans bagged seven goals against the Foxes' four. The defense line hit half-time break so exhausted they could barely breathe. Neil couldn't remember the last time Matt looked so worn out.
"Fuck," Matt said weakly. "What just happened?"
"I'm sorry," Renee said.
"No, no," Nicky was quick to say. "That's on us, not you. They're just so good."
"They're brilliant," Wymack said, "but they're doomed. They don't know how to pace themselves for a full game. Don't know if you could see it out there, but they were starting to slow down by the thirty-minute mark. Second half is going to kill them."
"I hope so," Dan said, with a grim look at Kevin and Neil. "It's a bigger point gap than we wanted. Can you close it?"
"We are not the problem here," Kevin said, gesturing between Neil and himself. Nicky was too tired to bristle at that accusation, but Aaron sent Kevin a sour look and Matt scowled. Kevin didn't care who he offended and kept his eyes on Dan. "If you'll actually get the ball to us, we can do something with it."
Matt looked at Andrew. "One of these days you have to let me hit him."
Andrew gazed back at him in unimpressed silence.
A bell summoned them back to the inner court, and the teams were called on for second half. Neil knew it was coming, but it was still jarring to see the same faces staring back at him. The only new players to the court were the goalkeepers, Andrew in for the Foxes and Laila Dermott for the Trojans. Behind that bolt of surprise was a sudden thrill, because the Trojans looked tired.
They'd had fifteen minutes to catch their breaths, so the half started on even footing. It didn't stay there long. The Foxes operated best on their second wind. No matter how hard they fought in first half, their subconscious instinct was to reserve their strength for the last push. Now there was no reason to hold back, and each successive minute tapped deeper into their desperation and grit.
At twenty-five minutes, the Foxes finally closed the gap. Laila was a nightmare in goal, but Kevin and Neil had an advantage few teams who faced the Trojans had: they had a nightmare in their own goal who they had to practice against daily. They'd spent all year trying to outsmart the best goalkeeper in the south. They didn't have that much time to figure Laila out, but they didn't need it. Laila's defense was quickly falling apart in front of her and she couldn't hold her goal alone. Kevin and Neil combined Fox and Raven footwork to break past the stumbling backliners and slammed goals home one after the other.
USC could have taken control of the game in a heartbeat if only they'd rethink their strategy. If they pulled their three subs from the sidelined players the Foxes' night was over. But the Trojans had made up their mind and they weren't backing down. Instead of interfering, the rest of the line-up stood shoulder-to-shoulder at the wall and watched their teammates' slow collapse. Their four coaches stood behind them, taking notes and talking amongst themselves. Neil could hear the crowd losing its mind through the court walls, but the Trojans seemed oblivious to that chorus of betrayal.