“Niceto meet you,” she replied with a smile. “Officially, I mean.” Because it wasn’tlike she didn’t know who he was. She might not have met most of the team, butIsadora did know the Exy players… by their last names at least. She didn’t knowmuch else about them other than that. She was intrigued by the Foxes. Part ofher wondered how a team like that could even function. Then again, her highschool cheerleading squad had functioned despite their intent on being completeand utter assholes to her. Isadora wondered what she could do for the Foxes, ifanything. Because it wasn’t like she knew anything about Exy at all. She wonderedwhy it felt like there was such a terrible connection between the win and theFoxes’ moods. They’d won, but even Isadora could tell that it hadn’t been aneasy win, especially towards the end.
She probably needed to learn a little more about the Foxes and Exybefore she started talking about the games and whatnot. Isadora doubted thatshe would ever truly become passionate about it, though that didn’t mean she wasn’tgoing to learn. “I guess I’m still learning about Exy,” she admitted. The game didn’tmake much sense to her, but she was not going to admit that. To her it didn’t matterwhat she was cheering for, as long as she was cheering. She was there forherself because she loved it and not for anyone else. Her parents had watchedthe game to see if they showed her cheering. It sucked that they were so faraway and couldn’t come see any of the games. “Still, I’d think that even thoughthe game was rough, in the end you still won and that’s important to remember. Suresometimes it’s about the journey, but sometimes it has to just be about theend.”
Isadora didn’t like giving out advice to people because she normally didn’ttake it herself – which was hypocritical. She was wondering if there was going to be any sort of celebrationtonight. She doubted it with the way everyone was acting. “Well fromexperience, you can’t always choose what happens, you can onlychoose how to look at it before, during, and after. By the looks of it, some of your teammatesneed to learn that.” She knew that wasn’t the easiest advice to take, but itwas something. And honestly, something she needed to learn herself all things considered. “I don’t know much about Exy, but I’d be willing to listen ifyou ever need someone to talk to. Or if you just want to vent or something. This can’t be easy,” she said, gesturing all around.
“Sure,” Grant agreed easily, because of course it was about the end, about winning against the odds. Grant was nothing if not determined, and he’d been focused on the endgame for years. Dreaming of the future was what got him by on rough days, and buoyed him on his good ones. But this game? This wasn’t the end. It wasn’t even close. Regardless of the outcome, this was simply one step. It was only the second game of the year, after all. They had the rest of the season to get through—and for Grant, the draft loomed at the end of the year, a target he’d been working towards for most of his life.
Of course, even that wasn’t the finish line. The draft was just another hurdle, and getting onto a pro team was just another step. In the end, he’d only be satisfied once he stood alongside the US Court, and he knew it. This wasn’t about just playing Exy for the rest of his life. It was about pushing himself to play Exy at his best possible level, and proving to both himself and the rest of the world that he could do it.
In Grant’s mind, it was completely unnecessary for her to turn around and attempt to console him at the end of a game, especially one they’d won. It wasn’t like he needed it, and it didn’t help that he didn’t agree with everything she’d said. Grant had to believe that he could and would have an active hand in his future. Otherwise, what was the point? And maybe they couldn’t choose everything that happened to them, but when it came to Exy, they had every chance to control the outcome. It was about skill: not fate, not luck.
Even if he’d wanted to vent though, he had no intention of doing it here, with some woman he’d only just met. That was what Dr. Dobson was for. He knew the therapist, and trusted her. He didn’t know Isadora. Besides, he was fine. Less than perfect game notwithstanding, he’d played well, and they’d been victorious. It was enough, for now.
So: “I’m fine, thank you,” he said, automatically. His tone, as always with strangers, was more businesslike than social. By now, it was Grant’s default setting outside of the Foxes. Hell, with the Foxes too, when he felt they needed a Captain more than a teammate. “I’m happy we won, and my team played well, for the most part. I was just acknowledging that tonight could’ve gone better.” He cleared his throat, looking to change the subject. “If you don’t know much about Exy, why did you choose the Vixens then?”