"Blatant favoritism, Coach," Andrew said.

"If you ever went to the court of your own volition, maybe I'd give you a set too," Wymack said. "Since I don't see that happening anytime this lifetime or next, you can shut up and share with Kevin."

"Oh, joy, joy," Andrew said. "My excited face begins now. Can we go?"

"Get out," Wymack said, and Andrew vanished. Kevin and Aaron followed. When Nicky reached the office doorway, Wymack put a hand in his path to stop him. "Don't you dare traumatize him his first day here."

Nicky looked from Wymack to Neil. "Neil's not traumatized, right?"

"Not yet," Neil said.

After a moment's debate, he shrugged his bag off his shoulder. The thought of leaving it behind made his skin crawl, considering what was hidden inside it, but he didn't trust Andrew's intentions. Neil didn't know why Andrew was sober or why he'd picked Neil up from the airport when it now seemed Wymack had tasked Nicky with that responsibility, but he didn't think Andrew was done playing yet. Neil trusted Wymack more than he did Andrew right now and hoped he wasn't making a mistake.

"Do you have someplace safe I can hide this?" he asked.

"There's space in the living room," Wymack said.

Neil glanced at Nicky, wondering how he could elaborate without making them curious enough to pry. He never walked away from his bag unless it was locked up somewhere, usually in his locker at Millport's stadium.

Before he could say anything, Wymack gave Nicky an impatient look. "Why are you still here? Get out."

"Rude," Nicky said, but he slipped past Wymack and disappeared down the hall.

Wymack looked at Neil again. "How safe is safe?"

Neil had never been an easy read before, but then, he'd never let the situation get so completely out of hand, either. On the run his mother had always stayed in control, weaving the perfect stories and choosing ideal marks to help them. Neil had fumbled his way through his transition to Millport, but he could have cut and run at any time if he didn't like the way things were going. This, he desperately wanted to make work, for however long he could hold onto it.

"It's all I have," Neil said at length.

Wymack motioned for Neil to get out of his way. Neil watched as he unlocked the bottom drawer on his desk. It was full of hanging files, but Wymack pulled them all out and stacked them on the floor nearby. The pile tilted over as soon as he let go, papers and folders sliding every which way. Wymack didn't even seem to notice, too busy digging a tiny key off his key ring.

"This is only a temporary fix," Wymack said. "When you move into the dorms, you're going to have to figure something else out."

He held the key out to Neil. Neil looked from him to the desk to the pile of papers and back again. He opened his mouth, closed it, and tried again. He'd only managed "Why" before Wymack got tired of waiting on him and pushed the key into his palm.