I grab the map back from him and stare at it again. “Uh, my birthday? It was fine. I didn’t really do anything.”

That’s my way of trying to tell them that it’s not like I didn’t invite them to my party. I just didn’t have one. I know a long time ago they used to get jealous that I only invited Quinn to come with my family to Pete’s. But things with Quinn were different. She wasn’t a school friend. She was—

Well, it doesn’t matter. Things are different in a different way now.

“Man, I love my birthday,” Owen says.

“Me too,” Mia adds. “Especially the cake.”

“The presents and the cake are great, obviously, but the best part is it’s the one day of the year that Mom and Dad pay more attention to me than Erika.”

“Oh, please, I’m sure it’s not the only day of the year,” I say.

Owen’s face is serious. “You don’t even know. They SPOIL Erika. She gets away with everything.”

Erika is Owen’s adorable younger sister. She’s in third grade, wears polka-dot everything, and everyone loves her.

“That’s because she’s the youngest,” Mia says. “My two brothers get away with everything, too. But, hey, I’m going over to the eighth-grade table for a second. It looks like Peter has an updated list of practice questions.”

Owen and I share a smile. Only Mia would be that thirsty to see new practice questions. We watch as she quietly tiptoes toward Peter. Technically, we’re all one team, but since we’re younger, we all are still definitely intimidated by the eighth graders. Even if we won’t admit it aloud.

“For what it’s worth, I don’t get the impression that your parents like Erika better. Look, the bulletin board in your parents’ office is full of your schoolwork, not Erika’s.”

Owen’s mom, Dr. Tanaka, is my dentist. His dad is also a dentist. They run a practice together. I think it’s really cute that his parents are so proud of his perfect quizzes that they hang them up. I always look at them while I wait to get called for my teeth cleaning.

“That’s because I get better grades!”

I give him a look. “I think it’s because you’re the oldest.”

“You don’t understand how much they spoil Erika Sakura.”

Both Owen and Erika have their first names, and then what they call their Japanese names, which are also their middle names. They use their middle names at home and when they visit their family in Japan. Owen’s is Daisuke. He shared that with me in third grade. It made me feel special to know it.

“Okay, kids,” Coach Pearlman says, standing up from behind his desk. Coach Pearlman is white and tall and broad-shouldered and has a completely bald head except for two wisps of gray hair. He looks like someone who might be the football coach instead of the Quiz Bowl one. “I know today was more of a free-for-all practice, but on Thursday, we’re going to do a scrimmage. Once I see how you all perform in the scrimmage, I’ll get a better sense of a good game plan for our next meet. Sound good?”