“Well, can’t get a better recommendation than that. Send her my way.”

The night had left Delia without words. All she had left were emotions. So many that after parting with her parents and Cassie, on her walk back to the dorms, she had to fight the ballooning in her throat. And then, a text came through, and she gave up the battle.

Eric and Marty had won ValleyStart.

Her heart exploded. She couldn’t have been happier than if her team had won. And maybe, maybe not even as happy. Because this meant Eric was staying in the Valley. Just like she was.

She’d miss her family, but she was starting to have one here too.

She wouldn’t be going back to Littlewood.

(Good riddance, parkas.)

THIRTY–EIGHT

IN THE WILD • When a new product is finally out in the real world

FOUR.

Still.

Four ValleyStart teams commanded the balcony at the end of the hall. Lucy had been pacing in front of the door, waiting for them to leave for the past twenty minutes. She’d poked (jammed) her head in twice (okay, four times), her arms full of the comforter from her bed and the bag of junk food (fine, kale chips and wasabi peas and free-trade organic chocolate) she’d picked up (looted) from the ValleyStart snack center after her mom had dropped her off. She’d already texted Maddie and Delia to meet her outside after saying goodbye to their families for the night.

The Demo Day party must have ended early. And now four teams were on the balcony that was supposed to be theirs. She’d been subtle. (Subtle-ish.) No more.

She dropped her blanket and tote and pulled out her phone, determined to find the longest, most graphic YouTube video on menstruation she could when someone said, “Hey, Luce.”

Not someone.

Freaking Gavin Cox.

“Missed you at the party,” he said.

“Uh-huh.” Lucy kept swiping.

“Saw your mom came. That’s cool. Mine, well, you know. If we’d won, that’d be different, but—”

“What do you want, Gavin?”

He pushed a loose curl behind his ear. “Can’t we just talk? Like we used to?”

“No, we can’t.”

“Fair enough.”

Lucy lowered her phone. “Huh.”

“What?”

“Wasn’t sure that word was in your vocabulary.”

“Which?”

“Fair.”

“I deserve that.”

“And a hell of a lot more,” she muttered. But the torrent of anger she expected to be swirling inside her wasn’t. All she felt was sad. “What made you do it?”

Gavin couldn’t look at her. “He promised me the win. You’d have done the same.”

“Probably. Which sucks. I don’t want to be that person.”

“No, trust me, you don’t.” When his eyes again met hers, they were awash in regret. “But, hey, the new app? Even cooler. So in a way you have me to thank.”

“In a twisted, disturbing way, but, yeah, I guess.”