The Foxhole Court (All for the Game Book 1)

Classes were scheduled to start on Thursday, August 24th, so Wednesday’s practice was a bit of a convoluted mess. Neil had forgotten the Foxes were supposed to meet with the psychiatrist Betsy Dobson before the semester began. Wymack scheduled them to go in pairs throughout the morning and tried to set them up in a way that didn’t leave holes in his scrimmage lines. Matt and Dan went first, then Aaron and Kevin, Seth and Allison, and Nicky and Andrew. Neil and Renee were the last to go.

When Andrew and Nicky returned to the court Wymack called Neil and Renee off. Andrew waited for them in the inner ring long enough to hand Renee his keys.

‘Thank you,’ Renee said, smiling. ‘I’ll take care of her.’
‘Kevin’s not allowed to drive your car but Renee is?’ Neil asked.
‘It’s fun telling Kevin no,’ Andrew said with a wicked grin.
‘Andrew only lets me and Renee drive,’ Nicky said. His smile didn’t reach his eyes as he watched Renee turn the keys over in her hand. Nicky only had nice things to say about Renee, but Neil had noticed early on that no one, Nicky included, wanted Renee and Andrew to be friends. Nicky likely sided with the upperclassmen in thinking Andrew was an awful influence on someone as sweettempered as Renee.
‘Not Aaron?’ Neil asked.
‘Don’t keep Bee waiting,’ Andrew said, and headed onto the court.
Nicky only shrugged and followed him. Neil glanced between Renee and Wymack, but neither had an answer for him. Renee only smiled warmly and said, ‘Shall we go?’
Neil and Renee split up in the locker room long enough to change out and freshen up. There was no point in showering when they’d be coming back to a lunch break and more drills, but neither wanted to show up at Betsy’s office a sweaty mess. Neil took his armor off, toweled dry, and changed into the lighter uniform they’d need that afternoon for cardio. He beat Renee to the lounge and they left the stadium together.
After successfully avoiding being alone with Renee all summer, Neil was stuck with her for the drive across campus to Reddin Medical Center. He wanted to ask her why she and Andrew got along so well, but he didn’t want to open up a conversation, so he stared hard out the window and hoped she got the hint. Somehow she did, and she filled the silence between them with the radio.
There were more cars at Reddin than Neil expected, but he knew he shouldn’t be surprised. The school year was just around the corner. Fox Tower was full now and he’d seen traffic around campus as the rest of the student body moved into the other dormitories. Long practices and nights spent in his room meant he’d avoided most everyone so far, but people kept showing up at his dorm looking for Matt or Seth. Neil did his best to stay out of sight anytime someone knocked, since Wymack still hadn’t released his name or face to the ERC. Neil wanted to protect his anonymity as long as he could.
Reddin was split in half, with psychiatrics down a hall out of sight and an array of doctors’ offices closer to the front. Renee signed them both in at the desk and went down the hall in search of Betsy’s office. Neil settled on one of the pale blue couches in the waiting room and tried not to stare at the clock. Every minute that went by wound him tenser until he thought every breath would break him open, but he couldn’t make himself relax. The thought of being locked up with a psychiatrist for half an hour was too awful.
What felt like an eternity later, Renee returned with a woman on her heels. Dr. Betsy Dobson had pale brown hair to her chin and a few extra curves. Years of smiles were etched into her face the way only genuine warmth could scar. She looked friendly, but she wasn’t harmless. The brown eyes looking out at him through narrow-rimmed glasses were bright and intelligent. Neil took an instant disliking to her, borne of nerves and serious distrust of her profession.
‘You must be Neil,’ she said. ‘Good morning.’
Neil made himself get up and cross the room to her. She held out her hand at his approach and Neil gave it a firm shake. Renee smiled a little, maybe in encouragement, and sidled past him to find a seat. Neil resisted the urge to wipe his hand off on his pants and preceded Betsy down the hall.
There was only one door open, and Betsy’s name was on a plaque beside it. Neil invited himself in and looked around. A chair and a couch faced each other with a short coffee table between them. A small potted plant was in the dead center of the table, and pillows were painstakingly arranged on both the couch and the chair. The desk in the corner was clear of everything but a hot plate and kettle. A short bookshelf was against the wall, but only the bottom three shelves had books on them. The top one was covered in glass knickknacks, but even in their clutter they looked clean, as they were all set equidistant to each other.
‘You’re obsessive-compulsive,’ Neil said when Betsy stepped into the doorway behind him.
‘Guilty as charged,’ Betsy said cheerfully. ‘My name is Betsy Dobson. You can call me whatever you like; I’ll answer to just about anything from Betsy to Doc to Hey You. Shall I call you Neil, or would you prefer Mr. Josten?’
‘Either one is fine,’ Neil said.
‘Then for the time being, I will call you Neil. If you’re ever offended or feel this makes our relationship too personal, just warn me and I will edit it to something more appropriate to our needs. Sound fair?’ She gave him a moment, then said, ‘Why don’t you get comfortable and I’ll make us some hot cocoa.’
Neil sat on the edge of the couch and said, ‘But it’s August.’
‘Chocolate is good any time of the year, don’t you think?’ Betsy said.
‘I don’t like sweets,’ Neil said.
Betsy took a mug and container of cocoa out of one of her desk drawers. ‘As you know, today is a casual appointment so we can get to know one another. This isn’t a formal session where I’ll be analyzing everything you say for feedback and advice, so don’t stress too much about it. Have you seen a counselor before?’
‘No,’ Neil said. ‘I don’t know why I have to be here today.’
‘Palmetto State made it policy a few years ago,’ Betsy said. ‘The board expects a lot from all of their students, and more from their athletic representatives. This way they’re allowing you a way to vent some of the pressure and stress they’re leveling on you.’
‘They’re keeping an eye on their investment, you mean,’ Neil said.
‘That is a way of looking at it.’ Betsy finished stirring her drink and brought her mug to the chair across from his. ‘Tell me a little about yourself, Neil.’
‘What do you want me to say?’
‘Where are you from?’
‘Millport, Arizona.’
‘I haven’t heard of it.’
‘It’s a small place,’ Neil said. ‘The only people who live there are either too old to move out or too young to escape. There’s nothing to do except play sports or bingo. We only moved there because it’s halfway between Tucson and Phoenix. My mother worked in one and my father the other.’
‘What do they do?’
Neil hadn’t talked about his family much in Millport, but he’d arrived in Arizona already knowing who the Jostens were and what their problems were like. The answers he’d kept from his high school classmates and coach would have to be good enough for Betsy.
‘Mom is an engineer,’ Neil said. ‘Dad’s halfway through CDL training.’
‘Will they come out to watch your first match?’
Neil affected surprise. ‘No. Why would they? They don’t like sports.’
‘But Exy is obviously very important to you, and you are their child,’ Betsy said. ‘What you’ve accomplished here is nothing short of amazing. I wondered if they might come out to support you.’
‘No. They don’t really—’ Neil gestured as if searching for words. ‘We’re not close like that. They made sure I got to school and got my checkups and kept my grades up, that kind of thing, but they didn’t know my teachers’ names or watch any of my games. It’s not going to change now that I’m in college. They live their lives; I live mine. It works for us.’
‘Does it?’
‘I said it does,’ Neil said. ‘I don’t want to talk about my parents with you.’
Betsy accepted that and moved on without missing a beat. ‘How are you getting along with your teammates?’
‘I’m pretty sure the majority of them are clinically insane.’
‘When you say you think they are insane, do you mean you feel threatened by them?’
‘I mean they have issues,’ Neil said. ‘You know more than I do. Friday’s game will probably be a disaster, but I don’t think anyone will be surprised.’
‘Are you ready for the match?’
‘Yes and no,’ Neil said. ‘I know I’m not good enough to play with a Class I team, but I want to try. I watch a lot of games on TV, but I’ve never been in a real stadium on game night. We used a soccer field in Arizona that barely sat two thousand people. Coach said we’ve already sold out opening night. I want to see what the Foxhole Court looks like when it’s full. I bet it’s insane.’
‘And Friday doubles as your debut,’ Betsy added. ‘The ERC has been generous, letting David keep quiet on you this long. I can only imagine the fallout when the cat’s out of the bag.’
It took Neil a moment to recognize the name, because only Abby used Wymack’s first name. That Betsy called him David so easily hinted at a closer relationship than he expected a psychiatrist and coach to have. Maybe it was because she spent so much time with Wymack’s team, but Neil wasn’t convinced. Dimly Neil remembered his first dinner in South Carolina, when Abby said she’d invited Betsy over to dinner with them. The three were friends of a sort, which didn’t bode well for Neil. How much did they talk about the Foxes?
‘You’re friends with Coach,’ Neil said.
‘Abby and I went to school together in Charleston and stayed in touch after graduation. I met David through her,’ Betsy said. ‘I am their friend, but I respect the sanctity of our relationship as doctor and patient. What you and I say in here is meant for us alone. They will never ask, and I will never tell. Do you believe me?’
‘How can I?’ Neil asked. ‘I just met you.’
‘I respect that,’ Betsy said. ‘Hopefully I can earn your trust over time.’
Neil wasn’t planning on seeing her ever again, no matter all his promises of a next time, so he went with a neutral, ‘Hopefully.’
He glanced at the clock, calculated how much time was left, and swallowed a sigh. If Betsy noticed his distraction, she didn’t comment on it. Instead she filled the rest of the session with idle chitchat about the season and the upcoming semester. Neil continued feeding her easy answers that wouldn’t raise any flags and counted minutes in his head. When his time was finally up, he got up and preceded her from the room.
Betsy followed him down the hall but stopped in the doorway to the waiting room to clasp his hand. ‘It was nice to meet you.’
‘You, too,’ Neil lied.
Renee stood, bid Betsy another farewell, and went with Neil out to the car. As she unlocked the doors she looked over the roof at Neil and said, ‘That wasn’t so bad, was it? Andrew was convinced it would be a disaster. He put money on you hating Betsy.’
‘Did you bet against him?’
‘Yes,’ Renee said. ‘It was a private bet between the two of us.’
Neil spent the summer blurring the truth with his teammates, but a half-hour talking to Betsy left him too worn out to care right now. It helped a bit that honesty in this case put Renee at a disadvantage. Andrew might be trouble, but he was easier to understand than Renee’s polite smiles.
‘I hope you didn’t lose much,’ Neil said. ‘Why does Andrew tolerate you, anyway? You two should hate each other on principle.’
‘Either you think too highly of me or not highly enough of Andrew,’ Renee said, getting into the car. Neil slid into the passenger seat. Renee waited until they were buckled before turning the key in the ignition. ‘My faith keeps me and Andrew from always seeing eye-toeye, but he and I understand each other.’
There had to be more to Renee than her cross jewelry and pretty smiles if she’d qualified for a spot on Wymack’s broken team, Neil knew, but he hadn’t thought he’d misjudged her this badly. He mulled over everything that could be wrong with her from split personalities to clinical insanity. None of his theories sounded plausible, but it kept him busy for the ride back to the stadium.
Their return signaled the midday break for lunch, which they ate in scattered groups in the stands. They had the better part of an hour to digest afterward and ended the day with two hours of exhausting cardio. Normal practices would have kept going until dinnertime, but with classes starting tomorrow, Wymack was willing to give them a one-time break.
Neil was the last one out of the showers and he found everyone waiting for him in the lounge. Wymack gestured for him to sit. Neil went to his usual chair and glanced around the room, wondering what was going on. None of the others looked bothered by this unexpected meeting. Andrew’s group was more distracted by Andrew, who was already fast asleep. He’d been wide awake a few minutes ago, but he’d spent this week tweaking his medication schedule in preparation for the school year. His body wasn’t used to it and he was crashing at odd times. Wymack worked around it when he could.
‘All right, maggots,’ Wymack said, snapping his fingers to get all eyes on him. ‘School starts tomorrow, which means we’re switching our practice times. Mornings are going to start at six o’clock at the gym. Afternoon practices are here at three. I’ve seen your schedules. I know you can get here on time, so don’t any one of you be late, you hear me?’
‘Yes, Coach,’ they said.
‘This isn’t our campus anymore,’ Wymack said. ‘Everyone’s checked in and ready to go, which means a lot of people to contend with. Campus police doubled their numbers this summer but they can’t cover everything or everyone. Be smart, be careful. If someone’s looking for trouble, get help. If the press slips past and wants answers, you tell them we’re not saying anything until Kathy’s show on Saturday.’
‘Kathy?’ Dan asked.
‘Kathy Ferdinand.’ Wymack took one look at her confused face and scowled at Kevin. ‘Didn’t you tell them?’
‘There wasn’t a need to,’ Kevin said.
‘Like, morning show host Kathy Ferdinand?’ Matt asked.
‘That’s the one,’ Wymack said. ‘We have to do some publicity at some point. It was part of our agreement with Chuck and the ERC. Kevin chose Kathy because she agreed to wait until after our first game. Saturday morning we’re heading up to Raleigh to give her an exclusive first interview.’
‘She must have fainted when you said yes,’ Matt said. ‘When’s the last time you made an official public appearance?’
‘December fourth,’ Kevin said.
‘Why didn’t you tell us earlier?’ Dan asked. ‘I’ll wake up early to watch it.’
‘Or you could come to the studio with us,’ Wymack said, ignoring the look Kevin sent him for that. ‘Kathy invited the entire team to the broadcast. If we show, we get front row seats. We’ve got to take the bus up anyway to fit all these yahoos, so there’s plenty of room.’
‘Did you want us to sit out?’ Renee asked Kevin.
‘It doesn’t really matter,’ Kevin said.
Nicky grinned and reached over Andrew to pat Kevin’s shoulder. ‘He just knows he has to play nice for her show. He doesn’t want you to see his civilized side. Can you imagine how his fans would react if they saw the real Kevin Day?’
‘Do you even remember how to smile?’ Matt asked. Kevin glared at him, but Matt only laughed. ‘Well, that’s worth going for. I’m in.’
‘I’ll buy us doughnuts for the ride,’ Dan said. ‘Renee? Neil?’
‘No thank you,’ Neil said.
‘I vetoed your choice on the matter,’ Wymack said. ‘The ERC is outing you Friday morning. I don’t want you out of my sight until the initial hubbub dies down.’
‘I can take care of myself,’ Neil said.
‘Watch me beam with pride. It’s not your job to take care of yourself anymore. It’s your job to play, and mine and Abby’s job to look after you. Get your priorities straight.’ Wymack gave him a second to argue, then gave a satisfied nod and looked around at his team. ‘Questions, comments, concerns? No? Then get out of here and get some sleep. Kevin, wake that dingbat up without getting punched in the face. I don’t need you starting the school year with a shiner.’
‘I got it.’ Nicky grimaced and gave Andrew a hard shake.
Their talking hadn’t been enough to rouse Andrew, but Nicky’s touch got Andrew up in an instant. Andrew was moving before he was fully awake, slamming his fist so hard into Nicky’s chest Neil’s entire body ached in sympathy pain. Nicky gave a sick wheeze as Andrew knocked the breath out of him and sagged back against the arm of the couch. Andrew twisted on his cushion to stare at Nicky. Neil hadn’t expected Andrew to look guilty over his reaction, but he certainly didn’t expect Andrew’s blank-faced surprise, either.
‘Nicky, are you dying?’ Andrew asked.
‘I’m good,’ Nicky rasped.
‘We’re done here,’ Kevin said. ‘Let’s go.’
Andrew looked around the room, taking everyone and everything in. ‘I missed the powwow.’
‘Kevin can summarize it for you later,’ Wymack said. ‘Clear out of here before I decide you’re all better off doing more laps.’
The locker room emptied in seconds.
Morning practice ended at eight the next morning so the Foxes could get to their first class on time. It was close enough Neil finally accepted Matt’s offer for a lift back to the dorm room. He changed out of his morning sweats into something more appropriate for class, grabbed his messenger bag, and was out the door in time to join the small wave of athletes heading down Fox Tower’s hill. Most of the others were wearing their jerseys as a first-day celebration, so the sidewalk by the crosswalk was an eyesore of orange and white. Neil’s intention was to blend in as long as he could, so he opted to skip the tradition. He wouldn’t have a choice tomorrow; the entire team was expected to be in colors on game day.
He made it to his English class with time to spare, so he managed to snag a desk in the back corner. The teacher didn’t show until the bell rang, and then she came bouncing in with curls flying. She was a perky teaching assistant who acted like freshman composition was the greatest thing they’d ever study at Palmetto State. Neil followed along with her as she went through the syllabus and decided she was mental. Instead of midterms, they’d have reports of varying lengths due. Neil was suddenly grateful for the tutor hours he had to slot into his days. It’d made scheduling and registration a headache, but at least he could get some help with this. He was an average writer at best, and this lady made it clear average wouldn’t cut it.
The only things she wanted to cover today were the syllabus and short self-introductions. As soon as that was finished, she dismissed them with a cheery farewell until the following Tuesday. From there it was off to chemistry, which was a large enough class it was held in an auditorium. Neil took a spot in the top row. It was impossible to see the board from where he was, but at least he had a wall at his back.
Unlike his English class, the chemistry professor only spent a few minutes reviewing the syllabus before starting on an overview of introductory chemistry. His voice was an unwavering monotone that could put any living creature to sleep. Neil resorted to stabbing himself with a pen every time he started drifting off. He probably should have taken last night’s practices with Kevin off in preparation for today, but he didn’t think Kevin would have allowed it. Neil was doomed to spend the school year exhausted.
After seventy-five mind-numbing minutes of science, Neil finally escaped back into the sunlight. The campus had come alive in his absence. The late sleepers and early risers were finally meshed on campus, which meant elbow-toelbow people on the sidewalks between classes. More than half of the students were sporting school colors, and Neil saw a few headbands with fox ears.
The amphitheater in the middle of campus was packed with booths representing various student organizations. Volunteers were ready to hand out paraphernalia and point out buildings for lost freshmen. The clumps around the tables were buzzing with enough energy to power a small town, with most of the talk centered on either Friday’s Exy or Saturday’s football games. Neil got a small stack of magnets pressed into his hand as he passed. He sorted through them as he walked. There was one for every fall team with schedules printed on each. Neil kept the Exy one, tossed the rest into the trash, and buried his magnet deep in his pocket where he didn’t have to look at the dates. Wymack had gotten the finalized fall schedule a few weeks ago. Palmetto State was facing Edgar Allen on Friday, October 13th. It felt close enough to choke Neil.
He detoured around students toward one of Palmetto State’s three dining halls. Two were for the general student body. The third was for athletes only, justified to the general populace because of teams’ training schedules and nutritional needs. All three halls were set up as buffets, but the athletes only ever had one unhealthy thing available a day whereas the regular dining halls’ menus frequently boasted pizzas and a wide selection of desserts. The meal plan included in Neil’s contract gave him limitless access to any of the halls, but Wymack strongly recommended he stick to his own.
The dining hall was busy when Neil arrived, though it might have just looked busy because it only sat a hundred people. He swiped his meal card at the front register, collected a tray, and tried to pack in enough food to fuel him through the end of practice at eight o’clock that night. Afterward he was free to return to the dorm, since he’d scheduled most of his classes on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.
His room was empty when he showed up, so Neil settled at his desk with his syllabi. It was only the first day of school and he already had three assignments: a short paper, a fifty-page chapter to read, and a page of questions about said chapter. Neil debated for a minute as to which one sounded least painful. Five minutes later he was still uninspired, so he put his head down on his desk.
He didn’t realize he’d fallen asleep until a gunshot jarred him awake. Neil bolted upright so fast he sent his pile of textbooks crashing to the ground. Too late he realized the crack he’d heard wasn’t a gun but the lock snapping undone on the suite door. A bemused Matt stood in the doorway.
‘Hard at work already, I see,’ Matt said dryly.
‘Something like that.’
‘I’d say it gets easier, but.’ Matt shrugged. ‘You should probably cut back on your late practices now that classes are in session.’
‘I’m fine,’ Neil said. He knew he’d never give up those practices. If he had to choose between class work and Exy, the answer was obvious. Neil was only here for a couple more months. He wasn’t going to give up a single second of his time on the court no matter what else it cost him.
‘You say that an awful lot,’ Matt said. ‘I’m starting to think you don’t know what it means.’
There wasn’t really a good way to answer that, so Neil let it slide. Luckily Matt didn’t push it but crossed the room to his computer. Neil spent the last half-hour until practice thinking about October and the Ravens.