Chapter Text
Despite the fact that every single part of her body ached, and her legs felt numb, Lavinia felt more energized than ever. Not energized enough that she could get up and get off of the hard floor of the exy court, but energized enough that she could definitely play another game. After she took a few minutes to breathe, of course.
As soon as the buzzer that signaled the end of the game sounded, she’d fallen to her knees, panting and sweating, her hands gripping her racquet with an iron grip. The game had been a close one, but her team won by one point, ending that year’s season in first place, as well as her time playing on the Leopards.
Lavinia took a minute to gaze at the court and the tan and white jerseys of her team congratulating each other before pushing herself up, swinging her racquet over her shoulder as she left the court to join the rest of her teammates in the lounge. She didn’t bother socializing with them but listened for a few minutes while she untied her shoes so she could change into normal clothes.
As she was untying her right shoe, the sound of footsteps told her someone was approaching. There was no one else this close around her, so she knew they were coming to her. She sat back up, turning her head to see Coach Wright. She didn’t bother to question him, knowing he didn’t expect her to say much anyway.
Lavinia wasn’t shy—not at all—she just wasn’t a very talkative person. She’d been told her emotions normally showed on her face anyway, but she’d been trying for a while now to keep her expression neutral, although it didn’t always work. Even now, she felt her slight curiosity show on her face as she met his gaze.
His expression didn’t tell her whether whatever he was about to say was good or bad, and neither did his neutral tone when he spoke.
“I’d like to speak to you, after you get changed and everything.”
The words provoked her curiousity, and she nodded and continued to tie her shoes, listening to the sound of his footsteps grow faint as he walked off. As she showered and changed, she wondered what it could be about. It could be some sort of goodbye speech, but he hadn’t approached any of the other seniors.
The chances of it being good outweighed the chances of it being bad, considering they’d won, but she couldn’t imagine what he had to say that he wasn’t saying to the others.
By the time she’d finished changing and grabbed her bag from the locker and texted her mom that she’d be out in a few minutes, the lounge was empty; her teammates had already started to leave. She didn’t see Coach Wright either, but once she was a few steps into the lounge, she heard him call out for her: “In my office.”
As she walked into his office, one of the first things she noticed was the other man there. A man who looked vaguely familiar, but who she knew wasn’t a staff at her school. She was almost instantly on guard. She didn’t trust strangers, not when she knew nothing about him. He was a large man, wearing a white wife beater—she hated the name, but had no idea what else to call it—that revealed his tribal flame tattoos and jeans that looked like they’d been worn a few times. The look in his brown eyes was assessing, and she had no doubt that hers were the same.
Before she could ask who he was, Coach Wright spoke up.
“This is David Wymack—”
The words were barely out before Lavinia blurted, “The coach of the Palmetto State Foxes?”
She kept up with a lot of exy teams. At first, it was purely to get an idea of how to play, so that she’d have a reason to be in her house less, but then she grew to be actually interested in it. The foxes weren’t the best team, but they weren’t the worst, either. Not anymore, at least. A few years ago, they’d managed to beat the once-best team, the Edgar Allen Ravens; she had no idea how they went from dead-last to first in the span of a year or so, but it was magnificent. Their greatness had lasted up until Andrew Minyard, Kevin Day, and Neil Josten graduated. Neil had graduated a year after the two—last year, actually—but once Andrew had graduated, Robin Cross, #13 on the Foxes, if she remembered correctly, had taken over as the starting goalkeeper. She was good, just not as good as he was, and neither were most of the others. Not bad, but not great, but she didn’t have that much of a negative opinion on them.
Coach Wymack being here of all places felt strange. Unnerving. Lavinia knew it could only be one thing, and she didn’t doubt her talent, but she doubted she was the best pick. Her, over the backliners they’d played tonight? Even though the other team had lost, they were still a talented team.
She was distracted from her thoughts by Wymack speaking.
“I contacted your Coach a couple of weeks ago, and he showed me your file. Don’t bother with the whole ‘I don’t deserve it’ bullshit. If that were true, I wouldn’t have come here to watch you play.”
Lavinia rolled her eyes. Sure, she’d been thinking it, but she wasn’t planning on voicing those thoughts. Exy had become the equivalent of freedom for her; she wouldn’t risk it by denying the offer. However, as much as she hated the thought, she would have to discuss it with her parents.
She held back a sarcastic comment, but just barely.
“Do I get a few days? Like, to discuss this with my parents, or something?”
“Well, I wouldn’t expect you to immediately agree. Just before the end of the school year would be great.”
Lavinia nodded, making a mental note of that. There were still three weeks left of school, despite sports being done by the end of this week. She still had finals throughout next week and the week after, and after that she’d be done with school, leaving her at home more.
“How early does practice start?” she asked, thinking about how she’d be home more often now, since she didn’t have exy practice or a job yet. No answer would be a dealbreaker, since she was definitely going to say yes, but the earlier practice started, the more beneficial it’d be.
“Officially, not until late July, but some of the Foxes like to start early.”
Wymack was quiet, thinking for a second, before continuing.
“But if you need a place to stay until then, the team nurse, Abby Winfield, has a guest room in her house that she doesn’t mind offering. You’d be alone, since the others, for the most part, have their own houses.”
He was searching her expression while he spoke. Why, she didn’t know, but she didn’t give him the satisfaction by commenting on it.
“I’ll consider it.”
Lavinia turned to Coach Wright.
“Can I go now? I’m sure my mother is getting impatient.”
She internally winced, imagining her mother droning on about how late she was and making her wait when she could be doing important things (read: smoking in the backyard and getting high as a kite).
He and Wymack shared a glance before Coach Wright did his half-shrug thing, which she took as a yes. She took the form Wymack handed to her and left, heading out into the parking lot. Her mother’s car was the only one still there, which meant her mother would be in a foul mood. At least, for once, her stepfather was off working so he wouldn’t be here to make it worse.
The look in her mother’s eyes made her lean closer to the car door as soon as she was in the passenger seat. Her mother didn’t commonly hit her—or worse—in the car, but that didn’t mean she never did or would. Lavinia didn’t think she’d done anything to provoke her mother’s more violent anger, but then again, she normally didn’t have to; her mother could be pissed off at something unrelated and still hit her.
“Next time you take this long, I’ll make you walk,” she spat.
Considering the fact that this was her last game with her school, Lavinia took it as an empty threat and replied, “Lucky for you, this is my last game here.” Under her breath, she added, “which you’d know, if you listened to anything I said.”
She’d mentioned at least five times that this was the final game of the school year, and therefore, her final game on the team. It probably would’ve been her final game period had Wymack not come tonight.
“And if you don’t learn how to talk to me, it’ll be your last game forever.”
As if she could ban Lavinia from playing when she was 18 and would be playing college. To play it safe, though, she kept her mouth shut and nodded. Her mother could still deny her the right to play with the Foxes in the upcoming year, and she had to ask soon, since she didn’t have a house or the money for it. Another reason to get a job this summer.
Her mother’s gaze stayed on her, as if expecting her to say more. When she didn’t, she went on.
“You should learn to talk to adults in general. Your stepfather tells me how disrespectful you are to him when I’m not home. Children like you should learn to stop talking, it’ll only get you hurt. You’re lucky I don’t—“
Whatever else she was going to say, Lavinia blocked out, focusing instead on remembering certain formulas and facts she’d need for her finals, a strategy she’d developed a few years ago—whenever her mother went on one of her rants, it was better to drown it out with thoughts of things actually important to her, like school.
Hopefully she could find a job fast and be out of this household within a year; although with her luck, it’d probably be after college.