After the last three days, she was more prepared to face the games coming up than she had been in months.

And not just on the literal, practice, level, either. Walking in to the competition venue, Emma felt genuinely excited to be playing.

She kept her mask on to help with privacy, of course, but though that wasn’t the norm at the moment she also wasn’t the only one. Jonah did the same and, as she looked around, so did Quince. Doug was talking with most of the others, leaving Greg and Quince to stand awkwardly apart, not talking.

Well, she was assuming it was Quince. He was the only black guy that she had any reason to suspect would be in the team’s staging area, listening to the chatter.

“Hey, you’re Quince, right?” She watched him turn, and say his eyes change shape to a smile.

“Yeah, I am,” she could hear it in his voice, too. He stuck out his hand, and she shook it. “And that means you’re Emma. Glad to finally see you in person.”

She nodded quickly. She hadn’t really had a plan, but she wanted to thank him somewhat, at least. Probably in a way that wasn’t direct.

“You’ve made this team a lot better over just a few days,” she said. That should be suitably circumspect. True enough that Doug wouldn’t think about it if he heard, and referencing some of what she’d been able to figure out about Quince. He wasn’t quiet, exactly, but he was one of those people who’d developed a talent for saying a lot about the world around them without saying too much about themselves.

It was annoying.

“I’d like to think so. We might even come out of round one with a win.”

She made a hand motion to augment her awkward expression. “Team we’re against, we’d come out with a win if you were anything but a dead weight,” he looked stricken, so she took a moment to clarify. “Team after that should be tougher, but we aren’t exactly seeded against the best of the best here. Third versus sixth, cause CalTwelve and never figure out how to balance their roster.”

“So you think we’re gonna get to tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow, probably? But probably just one set.”

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

Today would be four best of threes, which would take up the whole day with two games going on at once, though somewhat exacerbated by the partial staggering that they threw in. They were playing in the second game to start, though it was still significantly before the first one had ended. After their set, though, they’d be free to watch the other teams and scope out the competition.

Which would be more useful than usual. She thought that they actually had a shot at this.

“Okay, team, pile in.” That would be Doug, calling them to the just-before-heading-out meeting.

She wasn’t much a fan of the way that he wanted them to touch each other, wrapping arms, but it wasn’t exactly new, either.

She made an effort to be between Quince and Jonah. She managed Quince, but Greg was on her left side, instead.

Better than being next to Doug’s possessive grabbing or near Jacob’s wandering hands. She didn’t know if it was intentional, but it was still discomfiting.

Honestly, she even preferred Doug to Jacob. At least the grabbing was done to everyone, not just her.

“Alright, y’all, we’ve got a better team than before, and I think we’ve got a serious chance at winning here.” He paused for effect, “Thanks to Quince and Emma for kicking it up a notch. Better than I expected from you guys, you just need to keep it up.”

He turned, facing Jacob. “You’ve got your wards down. We might need something different against our next peeps, but for now? Just the standards.

“Jonah. I know you’ve got some issues fighting back up there.” She felt him squirm slightly over Greg’s back. “But that’s not gonna be important versus these guys. Their Ranger ain’t got nothin’ on you. Kick her ass.

“Greg, for this matchup we don’t want you to let up the pressure. Harry’s a good player but he can’t land his shots under pressure. Keep him on the back foot and he doesn’t stand a chance.

“As for me, I’m just gonna do what I always do– carry the shit out of the game from south lane. Anyone got anything to add?”

Quince cut in. He wasn’t supposed to, and Emma could see a glint in his eye for a moment before he suppressed it. He wouldn’t be yelling in public. “Emma should be mostly about north and mid this game, and Jonah should too if he can spare the time. South’s even, maybe slightly in our favor, but we won’t get much out of slapping them down. If we can keep their North and Mid out of your hair, we should win this game easy.”

He was right, at least in her estimation. There wouldn’t be much that they could do to come back from the kinds of deficits that they would be able to build up with–

“No, She’ll focus on South with a bit in Mid. It’s enough to shut that guy down and their North is a chump anyways.”

Quince nodded, though she could see, from the corner of her eye, his cheek quirk up slightly. “Of course.”

Emma didn’t agree. Nova was a strong player, and she’d easily wiped the floor with Greg a few times in the past. She had massive consistency issues and was a big momentum player, but if she got to a good place she was one of the best players in their local league. CalTwelve subbed her out pretty regularly for that inconsistency, but they didn’t have any player better at tearing victory from the jaws of defeat in games where she was the only one ahead.

“Alright, then team name on three. One, two, three–”

“Selicae!”