Dead Girl Walking ― Aaron Minyard

64. my ego dies at the end

i lost the girl i was over a winter
i tried to cry for it
i could not cry for it
― jensen mcrae

♦

BECAUSE USC LOST BOTH SEMIFINAL GAMES back-to-back, the ERC canceled the third semifinals match. There was no point in pitting the Foxes and Ravens against each other when they had both already qualified for finals. Instead, the two schools were given a week off to rest, recharge, and fend off a story-hungry press. 

The Foxes sounded confident whenever they had a microphone in or camera their faces, and it wasn't always an act. Their all-consuming hatred of Riko helped smooth out the jittery edges of their nerves. The Ravens had little to say about the Foxes, but that was probably because they were dealing with fallout from Jean's abrupt transfer. Jean was the most sought-after athlete in NCAA news these days, but he refused to announce his current whereabouts or speak to the press. His silence did the Ravens no favors so soon after Kevin and Mara's bold interview, and the speculations and rumors were starting to get a little wild.

On Monday afternoon, Wymack told his team the final game would be hosted at Castle Evermore. Mara felt more than a little sick at the thought of going back there, but they didn't have much of a choice. Because it doubled as the national team's court, Edgar Allan's stadium was half-again as large as Palmetto State's, They needed every seat they could get. Wymack still didn't think it'd be big enough for a showdown like this, but there definitely wasn't room in South Carolina to accommodate a championship finals crowd. 

On the tail-end of that announcement, Wymack passed around a clipboard. Edgar Allan was going to reserve a "friends and family" section right behind the Away bench. They were given eighteen seats to divvy up between the nine of them, and Wymack needed a list of names so he could get those seats reserved as soon as possible and start working on travel arrangements from the airport to Edgar Allan. 

Eighteen didn't sound like very many, but the Foxes couldn't fill them. No one in Andrew's group needed any, and Allison passed the clipboard on without hesitation. Renee needed one for her foster mother and donated the second to Matt so his father could bring his current mistress. Dan went last so she knew how many spare seats she could steal. Several of her stage sisters had moved on from their old club to quieter jobs, but the few who were still there were unlikely to get approved for a Friday night off.

That night, Mara, Nicky, and Aaron went to evening practice. Mara half-expected Kevin to send them packing with a "too little, too late" speech, but he put them to work immediately. Mara was barred from the more intense drills, but she bullied Kevin into at least letting her practice the drills that didn't require physical violence.

It was boring, but Mara would take what she could get. 

On Wednesday, the upperclassmen tagged along too. A week and a half wasn't enough time to make anyone an expert on Raven drills and scrimmages, but Kevin tried his best. His caustic attitude and rude dismissal of his teammates' abilities didn't earn him any favors in the daylight, but when the sun went down, the Foxes submitted with a silent and grim determination. 

Matt was the first one to realize Kevin played left-handed at night, since he was the one getting in Kevin's face to block him. Having a secret weapon against the Ravens buoyed their spirits. 

The following week was significantly harder to get through, in part because it was the last week of classes. Friday night the Foxes would face the Ravens in NCAA Exy finals; Monday they'd start academic finals. 

In the meager time Mara had between classes and studying and practice, she found herself in Abby's office, fighting a never-ending battle to be cleared for the game.