But now Vi stood before her as if she had something she’d been aching to say.

“I lied,” Vi confessed in a rush.

“Okay…” Marianne gripped her backpack straps, waiting for a bombshell.

“You didn’t have to win in order to get the extra credit.” Vi paused.

“What?” Marianne leaned forward, as if she hadn’t heard her properly.

“Okay,” Vi sighed. “At first, I really thought Mr. Garcia meant he needed you to win to prove you earned the credit. But then it got pretty obvious that he just meant he had to see proof you were trying, and you were obviously trying.” Vi gripped her stack of books with both hands.

Marianne started to say something, but Vi interrupted her.

“I mean, he’d have to be a total villain to make you have to win a frickin’ championship to get the credit if you were working that hard, right?” Vi said.

“This…” Marianne paused, struggling for the right thing to say. “Wasn’t obvious to me? You were the boss, so I figured you were, like, interpreting him for me?”

“He’s not a monster!” Vi shook her head at the thought. “He’s mostly just awkward, right?” Vi tapped her toe on repeat. “I’m sorry.”

“Whoa,” Marianne said. “You really wanted to win.”

“Yes,” Vi said, her tone clipped, her tapping ceasing. She adjusted her glasses and her ponytail. “I made a mistake.”

“Eh, that’s okay,” Marianne said with a shrug.

“Really?” Vi asked.

“Yeah! You had to motivate me!” Marianne said, waving at Kylie Chen as she flitted by. What was the point of getting angry? It had all worked out in the end … Sort of.

“I feel pretty bad for judging Mr. Garcia so harshly, though…” Marianne made a “yikes” face.

Vi didn’t say anything.

“Didn’t Skyla do great?” Marianne beamed, changing the subject, ready to let the whole year and all its mistakes go.

“She’s got real potential,” Vi answered.

Marianne giggled at Vi’s version of trying to be nice.

“But we’ve all got our strengths and weaknesses,” Vi added. She paused and added almost inaudibly, “Including Addison.”

“True,” Marianne agreed.

“I talked to Mr. Garcia. I insisted he give you the extra credit despite not performing at States,” Vi said with a heavy dose of passion as the hallways thinned out.

“Well, thanks,” Marianne said. There was no point in discussing it. Mr. Garcia didn’t fudge points and he didn’t break the rules. She didn’t compete, so she wouldn’t get the credit. In a way, it was a relief just to know what to expect.

“Hey, Horse!” Tripp hollered as he walked by and high-fived her. “Have a great summer, you hear?”

“Hey!” she called out as he moved on down the hallway. “I’m putting a moratorium on the ‘Horse’ thing. That means don’t call me that, ’kay?”

“Moratorium?” Vi repeated, impressed.

“It’s a Mom word,” Marianne said. “She uses it a lot.”

“I love your mom,” Vi said.

They stood together, Vi still swaying slightly.