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Someone had put a chair down at the bottom of the stadium. It had her name on it, written directly on the chair with black marker.
Sandy’s Chair – Do NOT remove.
She stared at it, surprised. The handwriting wasn’t familiar to her, but she had never actually seen Rane write anything. But who else but him would have brought a chair for her to sit in while the team practiced?
She was still following him to all practices. Trying to keep an eye on him and make sure that everyone saw them together as much as possible. And, really, she just liked being with him. He made everything so much more fun. How could she not enjoy being with him?
But she hadn’t expected him to get her a chair. It was in the exact spot she usually sat on the ground. He hadn’t even made a big deal of it. He was so sweet.
Chuckling to herself, she turned and sat. It was comfy too. It even inclined back so she could look up at the bottom of the stadium sphere and watch the guys without needing to strain her neck. He made sure she had everything she needed. He’s the one, she’d found out, that told Drevor he wasn’t feeding her enough. He was constantly looking out for her.
“How could anyone ever think you’re a bad guy…” she said softly to herself.
Practice tended to take longer than the games. It wasn’t as high intensity as games were, but the longer time meant they were gaining stamina for the games. It also involved a lot of drills – passing and defense and offense. Strength training and communication training. And repetition. Even when they did something perfectly, they did it again and again. Locking it into their muscle memory so that it would still be perfect during game day.
It was kind of soothing to watch. Which was so completely different to game days, which were nothing but extreme excitement and high energy. Practice, however, was focused, fixed, determined. They weren’t playing for the crowd, or even to win. They weren’t even really playing. This was the monotony, the grind, the ‘boring’ part of sports.
And that’s what made it soothing. Kind of hypnotic. Just sitting back, watching them repeat drills and practice calls and throwing the ball between each other.
All the while, just occasionally, Rane would look down.
He was checking on her, she knew. Making sure she was still there, that she was okay.
When she caught him looking, she’d wave. He didn’t wave back, he was still focused mostly on practice, but she did it every time. Letting him know she was okay. That she was still there. That she was waiting.
That was where Drevor, towards the end of practice, found her. He walked into the bottom of the stadium and headed right towards her.
“Hey,” she smiled, looking at him.
“I was let go yesterday.”
It took a second for his immediate announcement to register. She leapt up, surprised.
“Let go? She fired you?!”
“I suppose I have been rather unreliable in regard to her wishes recently,” he said calmly. “So, it shouldn’t be that much of a surprise.”
“Yeah, but…” Sandy frowned, guilt welling up. “I’m sorry. I didn’t want you to suffer for us.”
“Well, you can repay me in a bigger bonus later. I’ll make sure to document the unpaid hours I work for you now so you can compensate me appropriately later.”
She laughed, the sound sad but relieved. “I’m still sorry. Thank you for everything.”
“Don’t say goodbye to me yet.” He crossed his arms. “I’m still here. I’ve just lost some of my usefulness. Forget it for now. We’ve got other things to worry about. Have you given any thought to my suggestion?”
“Hm?” It took a moment for her to switch topics so suddenly in her head to remember what he was talking about. “You mean… getting pregnant?”
“Exactly.”
“I talked to Rane about it. He doesn’t really think it’s a good idea.” She crossed her arms, checking his expression carefully. “But I’m guessing you had a reason to suggest it?”
“It would, most likely, be our best bet to keep you from Elffa’s control. But we have a limited period of time to work.”
“Rane seems to think that it would be foolish because she could just obtain guardianship.”
“And she would. If you two are mated.”
Sandy cocked her head. “But we’re not.”
