Total pages in book: 177
Estimated words: 163209 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 816(@200wpm)___ 653(@250wpm)___ 544(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 163209 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 816(@200wpm)___ 653(@250wpm)___ 544(@300wpm)
“It’s a good thing Josten’s so short,” Cody said, with an attempt at humor that fell flat. “If he was any taller, Lane’s racquet would’ve caught him right in the kidneys. Looked to me like his armor caught most of her swing.”
“Armor didn’t save Jean,” Lucas said. “It won’t have saved Josten, not entirely.”
Jeremy was lost until he remembered how adamantly Jean attributed his grievous injuries to a rough scrimmage. Cat and Laila were the only other two here who knew who’d really cracked Jean’s ribs last spring. Jeremy imagined Riko taking a swing at Jean the way Jasmine Lane swung at Neil, and it pulled his chest so tight he thought he’d tear something.
“Getting word from tonight’s officials,” one of the sportscasters said, and the broadcast moved to where she and her colleague were sitting at a desk. She was scribbling notes as she wrote, but she used her free hand to track her progress down the page as she read aloud. “The game has been postponed, but no date and time has been determined yet. The following penalties have been assessed for tonight’s misconduct. For the Foxes: yellow cards to backliners Matthew Boyd and Aaron Minyard. Red card to captain Danielle Wilds. Red card and a five-game suspension to goalkeeper Andrew Minyard. For the Ravens: red cards to the entire starting lineup.”
She started down the list of Raven names, but Jeremy barely heard her over the new chaos in the locker room.
“A suspension?” Sebastian echoed. “You can’t be serious.”
“Excessive force,” Shawn said, watching the TV with a morose look. “You can’t choke someone out without repercussions.”
“He could have broken her neck taking her down like that,” Shane added. “He should have let the referees handle it and focused on his teammate.”
“She started it!” Dillon said, flailing in disbelief. “Why wasn’t she suspended? Why weren’t the ones that went after Minyard? Why only him?”
“When have the Ravens ever been held accountable?” Laila asked.
“Have faith,” Rhemann said, with steadying calm. “Tonight’s officials will likely escalate the matter to the ERC, and Coach Moriyama is no longer in their ranks to protect his team.” He glanced at Jean at that, but Jean didn’t seem to hear him over the TV. Rhemann didn’t press the matter but checked the time on his watch and looked to Jeremy. “We’re a bit early to head in, but standing around here speculating isn’t going to solve anything. Take them on some laps. Slow and easy; it’s been a long day.”
Jeremy opened his mouth to protest and thought better of it. “Yes, Coach.”
“Moreau, stay a moment,” Rhemann said as Jeremy motioned for the Trojans to follow him to the changing room.
The TV was showing replays again as Jeremy turned away. It didn’t matter how many laps he ran with his team; every time he blinked, he saw Neil broken and still on the court floor.
CHAPTER TWENTY
Jeremy
The Utes were a raucous team that hadn’t been a real threat in years, which provided a rare and golden opportunity for the Trojans’ third line. That lineup was predominantly sophomores who’d been benched all last year, with a few upperclassmen mixed in to provide support as needed. Jeremy was excited to see what they could do—or he had been, until the Ravens’ horrific violence ruined his mood.
Normally Nabil would be promoted to starting lineup for such a match, but with Ramadan underway he would be fasting until October. He could still practice and play, but he felt more comfortable and effective as backup. Ananya would start, and Nabil would come in for Timothy as needed in second half. Jeremy was off the lineup entirely, as was Jean. Jeremy wasn’t sure if it was a blessing or a curse: he wasn’t sure he could give a game his full attention, but he had nothing solid to distract him from the Foxes.
On the Trojans’ third lap, the Utes’ captain Micky Telsey and vice-captain Bruno Winslow were waiting at the Home bench. Jeremy assumed the Utes’ assistants flagged them down, so he and Xavier peeled off to pay their respects.
Telsey skipped a greeting to say, “You saw the Ravens’ match?”
“Yeah,” Jeremy said, trading easy handshakes with the two. “Hoping we get some updates before the match starts.”
“It doesn’t make sense,” Telsey said. “People were rooting for them, you know? Don’t get me wrong, it was super satisfying to watch them get humbled last spring, but their crash and burn this summer’s been kind of scary. I really thought they were going to get it together before the season started.”
“How could they?” Winslow asked. “People have been making a spectacle of their tragedies this summer. This whole thing is on the Foxes,” he added. When Xavier frowned at him, he insisted, “You saw their interviews same as I did, I bet. They were looking for a fight; they can’t cry the victim when one found them.”