Allison took Seth from Dan at the doorway and held him still long enough for Abby to get his helmet off. Allison helped Seth over to the bench, and Dan gestured to Neil to step through the door onto the court. Overhead the announcer called out the swap: "Going on for Seth Gordon is freshman Neil Josten, number ten, of Millport, Arizona."

Neil wondered if casket lids sounded like court doors slamming shut.

"Ready?" Dan asked.

"Ready to try," Neil said.

"Let's do this," she said, clacking sticks with him.

They jogged across the court together. By the time Seth finally called out, both teams were up inside first-fourth again. Dan took a spot by her mark. Because Neil was a mid-play substitute, his starting spot was up against the home court wall.

"Is it true?" the Jackal dealer called over to him. "Coach says you're a one-year rookie."

"Are you kidding me?" a girl demanded, and Neil stared in surprise. The backliner Kevin had been fighting with all game was a woman. "A national champion and an amateur? South Carolina's gotten even crazier than usual."

"An amateur and a cripple, you mean," the dealer said.

Andrew slammed his racquet against the goal, making several athletes jump and drawing more than a few wary looks his way. Neil couldn't see Andrew's expression from where he was standing, but he hoped Andrew was faking a smile. Their opponents would announce Andrew's sobriety in a heartbeat if it got him out of the Foxes' goal. Neil waited, expecting the worst, but Andrew only took two steps back into his goalkeeper's territory and waited. A buzzer sounded overhead when everyone was settled and still. Andrew lifted the ball in his gloved hand.

"Hey, Pinocchio," he said without looking at Neil. The cheer in his voice was too mocking to be real, but Neil doubted anyone but the Foxes noticed. "Time to run. This one's for you."

Andrew bounced the ball off the ground and swung with everything he had. Neil didn't wait to see him hit it. He threw himself away from the wall and flew down the court as fast as he could, vanishing past the backliners and strikers who were just starting to move. Kevin's mark cut across the court toward him, meaning to cut him off, but Neil was faster than she expected and he led her all the way down the court.