Leah hooted derisively. “We did not win, we did not even get through the semifinals because someone caused a minor riot and got us banned from one of the few venues that had a working Galaga machine.”

“I’m sure they’d let us in now.” Nina sounded confident.

“No, I tried last week.”

Nina changed the subject. “So, anyway, the point of this meeting is to introduce ourselves to Laura, learn a bit about her, her strengths, trivia-wise . . .” Her voice trailed off. “What?”

The other women all looked at her, wide-eyed.

“This is a meeting?” asked Lauren. “I brought beer.”

“I brought cupcakes,” said Leah.

“Is there going to be a test?” asked Laura. “I have not prepared for a test.”

Nina started laughing. “Alright, it’s not a meeting. It’s a new team member party, with beer and cake.” She explained, “Leah’s ex-boyfriend, Carter, got a new girlfriend who was jealous of him spending one evening a week with his ex-girlfriend . . . but Carter wasn’t any better than any of us at sports or science, two areas I’m hoping you can crush in.” She paused to take a breath, having not taken one for quite some time.

Laura was impressed by her aerobic capacity. She grinned at Nina. “No pressure.” Lauren handed over a cold beer and Laura took it. “When’s the first competition?”

“Next week,” said Nina. “Next Friday.” She reached for a cupcake and started peeling the paper liner using the pinch and pull method. “We have seven days to practice.”

Laura nearly spilled her beer. “Practice? How do you practice?”

“By asking a lot of questions in rapid succession, of course.” Nina raised her eyebrows. “It’s not like American Ninja Warrior or anything, but you do need to warm up your brain.” She paused. “And potentially your buzzer finger. You never know how tech savvy the organizers will be.”

“What if it turns out I know nothing?” Laura was starting to feel anxious.

Nina shrugged. “Then I guess we’ll see who’s more embarrassed about it, you or me.”

Laura was surprised. “It’s going to be me, you don’t seem to get embarrassed.”

Nina made a face. “Oh, don’t be fooled. I’m completely mortified seventy-two percent of the time.” She tugged down a sock and scratched a bug bite. “Honestly.”

Leah nodded. “It’s true, she’s deeply awkward on the inside.”

“I’m doing better,” said Nina, “but, you know, we’ve all got something, right?”

The three women gazed at her expectantly.

Laura smiled back at them and held her tongue. Suddenly, Nina pounced.

“So, what’s the deal with Impossibly Handsome Bob?”

Laura felt herself getting red. “Nothing, there’s no deal. I just got out of a relationship, I’m not interested in dating.”

“You don’t have to date him,” said Leah. “You could . . . you know . . .”