26
The sun burned off the last of the clouds as the morning stretched toward its end and Everest and Sara returned to the group, dusty, scratched and in much better moods than the crew who awaited them on the bench.
Sara’s teammates looked sour and bored, though her escapade had drawn out the prospect of their entire team’s success much longer than any of them had managed. Everest’s two partners appeared impatient and far less appreciative than she thought he deserved. He had ended the game in their favor, after all.
They all regrouped, commingling with their recent enemies, lines between them dissolving almost immediately, though no one seemed eager to chat with their opponents. No one seemed terribly chatty with their own group, either.
She wondered if there had been a way for her te
