SOL - Worst case scenario

It’s all kinds of bad.

Riley is more shocked than hurt, but she’ll be hurt when she comes to her senses. The whole day is knocked off course by this. Tiff has to go to the producers to explain what happened and get a replacement for Lara. And what did happen? Riley numbly tells the team that Lara said that she has important business somewhere else, and that she’s sorry.

But sorry? Lara is half the team’s offense, especially if you’re stuck filling other roles.

Riley doesn’t eat at breakfast. You were able to see what was going on in her relationship with Lara. It’s not that Lara doesn’t like Riley, she does. But Lara is a bit more interested in Riley’s body, and Riley is a bit more interested in having a girlfriend. It’s unbalanced.

And the loss of a player in addition to the recent change to the system is so much pressure for Riley. She’s afraid that everyone’s coming for her spot as captain, and now she’s down what might be her best player.

At breakfast, she’s just sitting there, but you feel like you’re watching her unravel. She just can’t believe that Lara would do this to her, but that’s the problem. Lara doesn’t think this is a big deal. She’ll be sorry when she realizes how insensitive this was, but that won’t help the team in the meantime.

Tiff can see how bad it is. With two hours before whatever Tuesday’s humiliating event will be, you find yourself in Tiff’s personal cabin with her, Elena, and Sheva. Tiff switched some names around to make it Riley’s turn for a massage, so she’s at the spa.

“Timing couldn’t be worse,” Tiff says, pacing. “Does anyone understand what happened here?”

“Riley’s in love with her,” Elena says with a shrug.

“Be sensitive,” Sheva chides her.

“Fuck. I knew this was going to happen.” Tiff groans. “Sheva. Go.”

“Move Adella up. Get us a new defender,” Sheva says briskly.

“Elena?” Tiff asks.

“Move Adella to mid, put me on attack,” Elena says confidently.

“Adella?”

You consider it. “Riley, Aki, and Lara had good offensive synergy.”

Tiff nods. “I was afraid of that. We’ll need her on her game, and Aki couldn’t be a worse match for you, Adella. You’ve got the energy to replace Lara, but Lara and Aki were synced up well. Can you adjust to interference plays and setting shots?”

“I can,” you reply. It’s just not your first choice.

“I mean it, Adella. I don’t want you going rogue and trying to steal the captain’s seat,” Tiff says firmly. “We’d be trusting you to lead this team.”

“Are you trying to be insulting?”

“Adella, you have years of social media posts that show what your priorities are,” Tiff says frankly. “I think you understand.”

The hard part is that you do.

“We are going to have a plan. And you’re going to execute it. So help me, I don’t care if you score a hundred goals. If you mess this up, I’ll never let you off the bench again,” Tiff warns.