They asked each other which kids the other one knew until they got back to the classroom.

Inside, Vi and Dan were squabbling.

“She is trying!” Dan spat out.

“She’s not. And she’s going to be the reason we lose,” Vi shot back.

Vi was right.

“Um, hello?” Nina widened her eyes as a signal for them to shut it down.

For several seconds, no one spoke. Nina scurried back to her chair. Dan and Vi stayed frozen in their positions on opposite sides of the room.

“I thought maybe when Addison left…” Vi ran her fingertips from her hairline to her hair tie a few times.

Marianne thought she may have heard Vi’s voice crack a little. Should she rub her back? Tell her it would be alright?

“I thought maybe we could manage without her. But we can’t.” Vi shook her head. Her gaze hardened. “And…” Shifting to sharpness again, she rage-sighed through her teeth. It reminded Marianne of a big cat. “And I can tell that you didn’t study a single thing I sent! I actually put a lot of thought into those materials, too, I didn’t just send you”—she threw her hands in the air like she was searching for a word—“whatever! Like. I noticed you asked that question about X the other day? About why they chose X? That’s actually an interesting question, one I didn’t know the answer to. So … that told me maybe you’re an ideas person. You know?”

Marianne didn’t know. She had no idea what Vi was talking about.

“She is trying! What else do you expect from a person? Geez!” Dan nearly yelled. But Vi ignored him and went on.

“So I thought, Okay, maybe her specialty can be science concepts, theories. I want to give you a chance. I have to give you a chance…” Vi was clearly just talking to herself now, forgetting anyone was in the room. “Even if Dan gives up, even if Marianne holds us down, we’re not going to quit. So what’s the answer?”

People always said that talking to yourself was “crazy.” Maybe it was just a sign of being really stressed out.

Marianne couldn’t fix her own brain, but maybe she could fix some of Vi’s stress.

She would share her plan. So be it. Maybe they could make it work together. As a team.

“Vi, no, listen to me.” Marianne took a few steps toward her and gave her an optimistic smile. “I actually did look at them … Some of them. I skimmed.”

Vi cursed.

“Yeah, I’m here for the extra credit. I admit it. I need that, right? And you guys need a team. But here’s the thing: I have to answer ten percent of the questions. But do they have to be correct? So what if I get them wrong? You all are so good that you can win without me acing it. I’m sure of it. You got this! Just let me hang out here, and show up to the game, and we’ll all get what we want!” She smiled her perkiest, sweetest smile and waited for Vi to take a breath.