“I’m not some nag because I want you to study and get better and be with me next year,” Skyla went on.

“What? I never said you were—” Marianne whispered across the way.

Skyla could speak as loudly as she wanted, but Marianne didn’t want to get caught.

“Look, I’m really sorry,” Skyla interrupted her, leaning so far over her railing Marianne thought she might fall. She pressed her lips together and looked up, tears welling. “I shouldn’t have liked a comment like that.”

Marianne, feeling her own tears return, wiped her cheeks with the edge of her sleeve. “I just don’t get it.”

“Marianne, not that it’s an excuse, but I thought we were in a fight? You were giving me the silent treatment? I was mad.”

“Huh?”

“Yeah,” Skyla explained, like it was so evident, like she was shocked that Marianne didn’t know what she was talking about. “It was after you told me you weren’t gonna try! Don’t you remember? You basically said you were going to sink the Quiz Quest team to save yourself.”

Marianne didn’t know what to say. “But—but I did try! I’ve been showing up! I’ve been doing it! I mean, haven’t you seen it? I-I figured you knew that.” She scanned the windows to see if her mom was looking. The coast was clear. “But it’s not because I’m a good person, that’s for sure,” she added.

“What do you mean?” Skyla asked her.

“I only get the extra credit if we win. Vi told me. It’s the only way to show Mr. Garcia I’m not faking it. He heard me making fun of Quiz Quest, so he doesn’t trust me, which I get, but—it’s a lot. It’s a lot.” She teared up again. “So I had to go for it, to try.”

A neighbor walked by with her bulldog and Marianne waved.

“That doesn’t seem fair,” Skyla acknowledged. “And you’re not a bad person. It just bothered me that you’d do that.”

“I know! It was bad!” Marianne interrupted, crying again.

“And I didn’t know what’s been going on!” Skyla continued. “It’s not like you said anything to me…” Skyla’s tears stopped, and she immediately seemed drained of energy. Just … sad.

“You still thought I was sabotaging the team? This whole time?” As Marianne asked her, she realized she hadn’t exactly explained to Skyla how much had changed between her and her teammates. And a lot had.

“You’ve hardly spoken to me recently,” Skyla said in a sad, low tone.

“Because I’ve been busy finally studying and working at—”

But before Marianne could finish, Skyla burst out, “You’ve been talking nonstop to the kids on Quiz Quest, though. Instead of me.” Skyla shook her head. “And I get it!”

“What?!” Marianne couldn’t help but raise her voice a little. “I haven’t talked to you much because you were spending all your time with Zara and Julie and—”

“Julie?” Skyla’s dark eyebrows scrunched up in confusion. “Ha. If we’d been talking more maybe you’d know that Julie kind of bothers me.”