"Keep count," Kevin said before going after the ball.

Neil scrambled for his stick and hurried after him, but Kevin's head-start was too much. Nicky tried to fend Kevin off, but Kevin faked him out and scored a few seconds later. Andrew, who should have been guarding their goal, was using his oversized racquet as a prop. He looked over his shoulder as the goal lines lit up red but didn't react otherwise.

"You could at least try," Kevin said.

Andrew thought about it, then said, "I could, couldn't I? Maybe next time!"

Nicky caught the ball and tossed it to Andrew, who caught it with his goalie glove. The four set up to go again, and Andrew started them off with another vicious serve. This time Kevin jogged to meet Nicky, leaving Neil to get past Aaron. Neil ran for the ball and Aaron fell in alongside him on his way by. As soon as Neil was close enough to catching the ball that body-checking was a legal move, Aaron slammed into him full-force. Neil stumbled, off-balance, and ground his racquet into the floor to stop himself from tripping over his own feet. Aaron caught the ball and threw it right over his head to Kevin. Andrew watched as Kevin scored again.

"What's Andrew doing?" Neil asked.

"Nothing," Aaron said, as simple as it was obvious, and they set up for another serve.

At the twenty-minute mark, Kevin checked Neil into the wall and pinned him there with a gloved hand to his chest long enough to demand, "Are you even trying?"

Neil shoved him, but Kevin was already leaving, off to grab the ball and score again.

The court seemed so much larger when he only had one teammate to rely on, and the rules that only let them carry a ball for ten steps made them rely heavily on the court's walls. Neil wasn't used to playing like this. He didn't like it and his unfamiliarity with this style only made it easier for Aaron and Kevin to completely dominate the court.

Each set forced Neil to try harder and go faster, but this wasn't Millport. His childhood experience and his speed weren't enough when facing athletes of this caliber. Neil was frustrated, then amazed, then frustrated all over again as the scrimmage wore on. He scored a couple times during the scrimmage, but his goals felt worthless when he didn't have a goalkeeper to contend with.

After forty minutes, Kevin called them to an abrupt halt and swept his racquet at the backliners. "Get out. Both of you get out right now."

"Thank God," Nicky said, and ran for the door.

Kevin waited until Aaron pulled the door closed behind them, then grabbed the grated front of Neil's helmet and dragged him toward Andrew's goal. Andrew finally took an interest in the proceedings and stood up straight. Kevin let go when Neil reached the fox paw marking the foul line.

"Ball," he said, and Andrew tossed it over. Kevin pushed it against Neil's chest until Neil took it. "You stay here and fire on Andrew until he's tired. Maybe you'll score once."