Page 57 of Thunderstruck
“That was a hardloss, boys,” Coach says, “but we can learn from tonight’s performance and do better in Portland in two weeks. We’re going to spend this week focusing on…”
I tune him out. I don’t think anyone is actually listening to him as he prattles on. We just want to hit the showers and check on Moxie. He refused to leave the pitch until the game was over, but as soon as it was—Warriors up by seven—Mel took him to the clinic. I don’t know how long it’ll be before we hear what the damage is, but Carissa seemed pretty sure it was a torn ACL.
If that’s true, Moxie will be out the rest of the season, which means…
“And we need a new captain with Auxier injured,” Coach says,echoing my fears.
The room grows silent as the guys finally turn their attention to the coach.
“He can still be captain even if he’s injured,” Tink says, not bothering to hide his outrage.
Coach scoffs. “We need a captainonthe pitch.”
“Moxie will be back to playing in a few weeks,” Scratch argues.
“Not from what I hear,” Coach says.
I swallow when his eyes meet mine. I’m in my usual corner, ignored by the team for now. But that won’t last long.Don’t do it, I silently beg, shaking my head at him.
But Coach smiles and points at me as he says, “Evanson will take Auxier’s spot as captain for the rest of the season.”
I’ve never heard the locker room this quiet. I swear the guys can hear my pounding heart and churning gut as their heads slowly swivel in my direction. “That’s a bad idea,” I say, flinching at the sound of my own voice in the eerie silence.
Coach narrows his eyes. “Are you questioning me, son?”
Whydid he have to call me that in front of everyone? Rising stiffly to my feet, I shake my head. “Perlman is right. Auxier can still captain from the sidelines, and it’s not like we’re an international team, so it doesn’t matter if—” I cut myself off when a buzz starts filtering through the room, accompanied by glares and glowers.
Got it. Don’t minimize the value of our team. But I was trying to defend Moxie and keep myself out of this mess, so I thought they would be on my side.
“What about Henderson?” Sharkie says, pointing at Bean. “He could be captain.”
Bean splutters in horror as Coach laughs. “Don’t be ridiculous,” Coach says.
“Or the Aussie,” Tink says, pointing at Gary. “He’s played pro for years!”
Coach snarls. “This isn’t a debate! My decision is made. We need someone with a talent for leadership, and Evanson is the only one who can hack it.”
Thirty pairs of eyes turn to me again, and I want to shrink into my locker and disappear. There were sixty guys on the Badgers’ roster, and they never once intimidated me like this, so what’s my problem? Stupid question. The Badgers actually liked me.
“Sir,” I say weakly. “Can we talk about this?”
“Wealreadytalked about this,” Coach argues. “You knew this was coming.”
I curse as several players jump to their feet and start spouting off questions to both of us even though Coach starts inching his way to the door.
“What do you mean, he knew?”
“Did you purposefully get Moxie injured so you could take his place?”
“Were you planning to replace him before he got injured?”
“What makes you so special, Rihanna?”
“That’s enough!” I shout, loud enough that the men nearest to me flinch. “Of course I didn’t get him injured. He’s our best player and my friend!” Coach slips out the door as I talk, which doesn’t help my frustration.Coward.“And yes, I knew, but I hate the idea as much as you do. No, I’m not special, something you all have made very clear over the last two years.” I run a hand through my sweat-soaked hair, desperate for a shower after that second half. It’s a miracle we didn’t lose by more because none of us were really in the game, too worried about Moxie.
“Look,” I say, completely exhausted. “I don’t deserve to be your captain. I don’twantto be your captain. But there’s going to be no changing his mind, and there will be hell to pay for all of us if we fight him on this.”
If it were any other team in the league, it probably wouldn’t be a big deal, but Coach is so rarely at practice, and his assistants are crap at keeping things organized. Someone has to lead this team.
