Page 79 of The Beta Test

31415: When you have the stomach bug? Then if you puked it up, you’d associate the beautiful taste of chocolate with something nasty and terrible. That’s a big risk.

80085 [Me]: Gross. But point taken.

80085 [Me]: Anyway, I gave someone a chocolate cake today, and now I think they like me. Or at least no longer hate me.

31415: That’s my girl. See? This is why you inspire me.

Warmth fills me. Mr. Pi was totally right when he encouraged me to own my confessions, even if he was working with sparse details given our anonymous connection. Without his push, I might still be living with fractured relationships. Between that and all the funny conversations we’ve had since… I can’t help but want to meet him. Even if he’s not who I expect, there’s no doubt in my mind we could be great friends. It would be a waste to not meet in person before the beta test is over. One of us has to ask first. It might as well be me.

80085 [Me]: Do you think we should… meet irl?

31415: Definitely. But first… I have a project that needs a little tweaking.

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Dozens of swimmers churn the water as warmups begin, sound ricocheting off the cement walls until the whole basement pool hums with it. I tug my parka on and scan the lanes, already cataloguing: which JVers look jittery, who needs a pep talk, who is pretending they're fine.

Kim approaches with her clipboard. “Hey, you two. Thanks again for stepping up as captains and for organizing the pasta dinner last night. It was a huge help.”

I give Kim a quick nod and subtly look over my shoulder to confirm what I hadn’t yet seen—Analiese had pulled up right behind me while I was lost in my thoughts.

“No problem,” she says. Her tone is confident and cool. “Just let us know what else you need.”

My skin prickles at the us, so I step in. Sharing one chocolate cake didn’t entitle Analiese to speak for me. “Absolutely, I’m here to help. The team looks strong today. I have a good feeling about this meet.”

Kim gives us a satisfied look, then turns to tell everyone to get out of the pool so the other team can have a turn to warm up.

I swing back towards Analiese and take a quick, steadying breath. Burning down the bridge I just rebuilt with her would be self-sabotage, but I also won’t let Analiese act like I’m her subordinate captain either.

“Analiese, can you check in with Zoe before the meet starts? She was nervous about swimming fly during the IM.”

Her brow crinkles, accentuated even more by the cap that’s still on her head. “But you do fly, not me. At least, not normally. Shouldn’t you talk to her?”

“Yes, that would usually make sense, but Kim asked me to check in with the JV team today.”

She gives me a dubious look and glances briefly in Kim’s direction. “She did?”

Nope, she definitely did not. But Analiese doesn’t need to know that.

Am I being devious right now? Sure. But while Analiese and I may have given each other a ‘white flag’ and found some common ground over gorging on chocolate, we definitely aren’t best friends and guardrails are needed. Analiese may get valedictorian and I may have to co-captain with her, but I don’t want Kim thinking she was the go-to captain over me.

Besides, I’d overheard nervous jitters in the locker room earlier among the younger swimmers. Kim would appreciate it, and frankly, the credit would be nice. A win is a win.

Analiese is quiet for a moment while she assesses me. Her height advantage grates on me too—it gives her an upper hand in swimming and in dominating a situation. I tilt my chin higher as if that will give me a height boost.

Eventually she shrugs. “Ok, sure.” Then she walks away.

Regret seizes me. Why was my gut instinct to make everything with Analiese a competition? The fact that she didn’t fight back makes me think she doesn’t see everything with me as a competition, and that… shakes me. Maybe I’ve misread her all this time in multiple ways.

Over the next couple of hours, the arena is filled with the sounds of starting whistles, bodies flying off starting blocks, and cheers from our small audience. In truth, it’s a tiny space in our basement facility—there are only three rows in the stands and it’s not far from the pool. The ceilings aren’t that high so it wouldn’t be possible to fit more in there even if the school wanted to.

In between checking in with swimmers and asking everyone if they’re staying hydrated, the time flies. My heart soars the entire meet. Analiese and I operate smoothly together—there’s no return of the earlier friction, and we both fill in any coaching gaps for Kim.

I’m still in the pool after my solo butterfly event, giving the opposing team’s swimmer a handshake in the lane next to me, when I glance into the stands. My mom couldn’t make it today because of a shift, but my dad and Hunter are in the stands. I wave at them. My dad stands and whistles loudly.

Something sparkly just to the side of them catches my eye. I push my goggles up to get a better view.

It’s Jake—in a large white t-shirt with “AVERY JAMES” bedazzled in a rainbow assortment of large, tacky rhinestones. He catches my eye with a huge grin, then turns so I can see the back. It says “MY #1 GIRL” on it, and I can’t stop the laugh that explodes out of me.