Neil thought the racquets unwieldy just holding them. Taking shots with them was worse. The racquets were four to five times heavier than the ones Wymack gave him. They sat different in his hands and dragged on their swings. Despite that, the sound the balls made as they ricocheted off the wall sent a dark curl of power through his veins. Every rebound was a small boom. Neil could only imagine what it'd sound like when he could put real speed behind his swings again. His shots would be missiles aimed at the goal, and he'd leave goalkeepers startled in his wake.

He cycled through the racquets a few times, giving himself a couple rounds to adjust and then figuring out which one felt best. They were all awkward for now, but the more he used them, the more he could guess at which ones to reject. One was just too big; he'd never get used to the feel of it. Two he scratched off after the third round. The last two he couldn't decide between, so he brought them out to Kevin. Kevin inspected them from head to butt, turning them this way and that and eyeing the slight curve of the heads.

Finally he showed one to the cashier. "We'll take this model."

Neil hung the gear up, collected balls and racquets, and waited for the girl to lock the court. They went back downstairs, and she had them stack the rejected racquets on a rack. She slid an order form across the counter to Neil. They needed to order the racquets in Palmetto colors. Exites would handle that and deliver them. Neil thought it was as easy as ticking a box and moving on, but the brand he'd gotten offered four different designs. Neil hesitated, then marked the simplest one and filled out the Foxhole Court's address.

"Do you have any in stock today?" Kevin asked while Neil wrote. "We need a plain practice stick in size three."

"We should," she said. She typed a couple commands into her computer, eyed the screen, and disappeared to the storage room. Neil was done before she returned. She scanned the racquet, then typed in the finalized numbers from Neil's form. Neil finally got a look at how much his racquets cost and almost choked on his next breath. He could get a ticket to England for the same amount.

"That can't be right," he said in French.

"If you want the best, you pay for the best," Kevin said, completely unconcerned.

"I don't need three, then," Neil said. "Tell her to put this one back."

"The colored racquets will take a week," Kevin said. "We don't have that long to waste. If Coach has a problem with the number he can take it up with me, but he should know how expensive I am by now. I will take you to the court tonight so you can warm up before tomorrow's practices."