Terrapins and Foxes broke formation at the same time, racing across the court toward each other. The Terrapin goalkeeper let out a wild war cry and banged his racquet against the floor to urge his teammates forward. Neil listened for a serve that didn't come. For a second he was afraid Allison would lock up and refuse to move. He was halfway to Herrera before he heard the distinctive thump of a ball against Andrew's oversized racquet. Allison had served it back to him, and Andrew smashed it up the court toward the strikers.

The game started rough and didn't get easier. Neil tried to follow Kevin's advice but it was frustrating holding himself in check. How Dan and Allison could stand being dealers and playing middleman all the time was beyond him. Neil liked outrunning and outsmarting the defense. He liked the rush of a perfect score. He liked the pressure and the triumph. The rest of his life was a frightening mess; Neil needed the power and control of a fierce game.

The only bright point was realizing his lessons with Kevin were paying off. Since June Neil spent four nights a week learning precision drills from Kevin. Passing wasn't what Neil wanted to do in this game, but he could already see how he was improving. His shots were harder and more accurate, and it took him less time to figure out where to throw.

It didn't take Herrera long to realize Neil wasn't going to score, but Herrera attributed it to incompetence. He kept making snide remarks about Neil's inexperience and spinelessness. Neil wanted to shove Herrera to the floor and charge the goal to prove him wrong. If he missed, Herrera would remind him the rest of the game. If he scored, Kevin would take advantage of the reset to scold him. It was a lose-lose situation and the rest of the game wasn't going much better. The Terrapins were leading three to one until Kevin scored at the twenty-three minute mark.

Wymack used the possession to send out his substitutions. Neil wasn't between Kevin and the door, but Kevin detoured past him anyway on his way out.

"Destroy him," he said.

Neil felt like he'd been waiting for this all his life. "Yeah."

Kevin, Allison, and Aaron filed off the court to let their teammates on. Nicky and Dan came first and jogged to their places. Renee gave Allison a hug at the door before taking her place on the court. She looked strange and small without her usual goalkeeper armor on. Neil hoped she knew what she was doing.

Coach Harrison took advantage of the lull to rotate his Terrapins. He didn't replace either of the backliners, likely because the Terrapin defense hadn't had much work to do so far, but put on two new strikers.

The referees locked the doors behind them. When everyone stopped moving, the buzzer sounded to restart the game. Renee was acting dealer, but she didn't serve forward. She turned and heaved the ball at Andrew like Allison had. Andrew smashed it with a mighty swing that sent it all the way to the home court wall.