An hour later, we pile back into a series of taxis to head to our next destination. I’m enjoying myself more than I expected to. It may have taken six weeks, but there’s a bit of the comradery I’m accustomed to amongst players I’ve played with extensively. Maybe it’s leftover goodwill from the water balloon fight. Maybe it’s because we’re so close to the end. Whatever the reason, it was a relief to be plied with questions about playing in the States rather than beamed by glares at dinner.

Taxi assignments remain the same, so Alexis, Ellie, Alice, and I are all crammed together, heading to our next destination.

“Why did Coach bring up Erika Beck?” Ellie asks.

I sigh. Was I hoping she was too drunk and distracted to remember? Abso-fucking-lutely. “I’m helping out at a youth camp on Sunday because she invited me to participate.”

“A youth camp?” Alexis asks. “You?”

I should probably be offended, but I’m not. As Beck kindly informed me weeks ago, I have no idea what to do with children. “I’m hoping mine will end up being an observational role.”

“Wait—how did you even meet Erika Beck?” Ellie questions.

“Well, when I said I was meeting a guy for brunch, I was. It just happened to be Adler Beck. And his parents. The camp came up.”

Ellie opens and closes her mouth a couple of times, but no sound comes out. She looks like a fish seeking oxygen only to discover it’s not in the liquid form it can absorb.

“Wow.” Alexis sounds impressed. “You met Hans Beck, too? He’s supposed to be super intimidating.”

“Uh, yeah, I did,” I reply.

The cab pulls up outside our destination before either she or Ellie can say anything else. It’s a club called Submarine that sits right along the canal. Unlike my outing with Natalie and London, the bouncer waves us right inside the packed space.

The inspiration for the name is evident as soon as we enter. The entire far wall is made from glass, and the dancing lights of the club reflect off the calm water. It’s more brightly lit inside than I expect, with Edison bulbs hanging overhead that complement the industrial building.

Since I’m in the front of the group, I turn automatically toward the bar. When I push through the crowd of people to get to the long counter, I’m met by familiar blue eyes.