The Foxhole Court

Chapter 7

By Neil's third day on the court, he had no idea how the Foxes made it to championships last spring. His guess that the team was made up of four groups was partially accurate, but the lines he'd drawn were flexible. Whenever Allison and Seth were fighting, Allison ended up with the girls and Seth retreated to Matt.

It seemed Allison and Seth didn't believe in middle ground: either they were slinging vile insults at each other or they were making out in the locker room regardless of whoever might be around. Neil didn't know what triggered the abrupt and constant change in emotions. He hoped he never understood.
The entire first week of summer practices was eaten up by in-fighting as the court hierarchy fell into place again. When Dan was acting as their captain, she ruled them with the same angry spine Neil saw that first day. She didn't hesitate to push people into line and the Foxes let her have the final say in everything.

Even Andrew followed her orders, though Neil guessed it was because he was amused by her supposed fearlessness.

Kevin knew more about the sport than any of them ever would and he had some lingering authority from his stint as their assistant coach, but his cold personality was a turn-off and his approach made it hard for the others to listen to him without snapping back.

He caused the majority of the arguments that week, and most of those fights were between him and Seth. Kevin and Seth hated each other with a loathing second only to what Seth and Nicky felt for each other.

It took only one wrong word to turn their arguments into physical brawls. The fighting hit a peak on Wednesday afternoon when Andrew left practice early for his weekly therapy session. The second he vanished, Seth went for Kevin with fists flying.

Matt was the brute force that kept them in line when Dan's words weren't enough. Because of Kevin's injury and Andrew's apathy, Matt was also the best player the Foxes had. Neil privately thought Matt should have been named captain because of the solidarity he could bring the team.

Whatever happened between him and Andrew last year, he seemed to have an understanding with the cousins, which meant the Foxes had a solid defense line. His relationship with Kevin was harder for Neil to figure out.

His skill and commitment meant Kevin was willing to work with and listen to him, but the two of them went from perfect understanding to outright antagonism constantly. It reminded Neil a little of Allison and Seth, except without the desperate sexual undertones.

Renee was next in line and the eye of the storm. She doled out friendly advice, encouraged her teammates' efforts, and played mediator occasionally.

She didn't get involved in the others' fights, either to take sides or preach peace, and no one argued with a word she said. Even Andrew seemed quite taken with her.

Neil saw them talking off to the side several times throughout the week. It was obvious no one else approved of their odd friendship, but neither goalkeeper paid any mind to the unhappy looks sent their way. Neil wasn't sure what to make of it. He was less sure what to think about Renee, so he avoided her whenever he could.

The rest of the Foxes fell in under them in an ever-shifting order. Seth's position on the team varied the most. He was the team's only fifth-year, since everyone else from his starting line had quit or flunked out by now, but he was too much of an isolationist to make much of a difference on the court.

His mood was so volatile Neil was sure he had to be on something. Why Abby and Wymack hadn't put an end to it, Neil didn't know. Allison carried weight because of her seniority and her aggressive attitude on the court, but she absolutely loathed the cousins and didn't like working with them.

Aaron was a better player than Nicky was, but he kept a clinical distance from it all. Nicky gave it everything he had, but he liked dramatic plays and liked picking fights with Allison and Seth even more. Andrew's position was hard to figure out. His influence over Kevin and his skill made him useful, but he put in as little effort as Wymack let him get away with.