Delilah got high every weekend they didn’t have a game. If Princeton knew that, surely they wouldn’t let her in. If the prize committee knew . . .

But they didn’t. Delilah had never gotten caught.

What was the difference, really? If Delilah broke the rules to get what she wanted, why shouldn’t Maria?

That was what made up her mind.

She opened her purse. Austin had been all out of the usual pills, so he’d given Lily two little red-and-yellow capsules. Same trip, different form. Lily had explained it all to Maria. The oxy pills had already been crushed up, and the powder was inside the capsules. All Maria had to do was open the capsules and pour the powder out on the counter so Delilah could snort it. Or, if Delilah said no, she’d just open a capsule over Delilah’s drink and dump the powder in really fast when the bartender wasn’t looking. But hopefully it wouldn’t come to that.

“All right.” Maria swallowed again. “All right. I love you.”

“Love you too. Come straight back when you’re done. I’ll wait up.”

A bell jingled out front. Maria said good-bye and turned off her phone, ignoring a bunch of texts from Brandon, then tucked it back into her purse.

To make extra sure she couldn’t back down, Maria showed the capsules to Delilah as soon as she got back to the bar. “Want some?” she whispered. “It’s oxy.”

Delilah’s eyes widened. “Since when do you do oxy?”

Maria shrugged. “I’ve always wanted to try it. It’s supposed to be awesome.”

Delilah seemed to accept this explanation. She peered down at the capsules. “I thought oxy only came in pills.”

“It’s inside the capsules, already crushed up.” Maria hoped she sounded like she knew what she was talking about. “It’s a new kind.”

Delilah sighed. “Let’s try it this weekend. Practice is tomorrow, and . . .”

Maria closed her eyes. She must’ve looked as devastated as she felt, because Delilah quickly added, “After the game! Definitely. We can hang out somewhere, just the two of us. You don’t want your first time to be on a school night, do you?”

Maria slid the capsules back into the front pocket of her purse. She should’ve known it would happen this way. “All right.”

“Awesome. It’s a date. Now I have to pee or else I’m going to pop.” Delilah stood up. “See you in a sec.”

Maria watched her go. Her hands shook, but she didn’t hesitate. As soon as Delilah was safely in the bathroom, Maria grabbed her drink and pulled out a capsule. She tugged on the ends, but the capsule didn’t come apart. She put Delilah’s drink between her knees to hold it steady while she pulled, holding it directly over the glass so all the powder would go inside.