Solving for Ex

Chapter 29

Chapter Twenty-nine

varnish and gilding hide many stains

 

The Mathletes State competition was completely packed, with twice as many adults as high school students present. The crush of bodies into classrooms designated for teams, crowded hallways where vendors set up sales counters for everything from cheesy T-shirts to DVDs of their kids doing the board problems, and the actual auditorium, where parents spread jackets and handbags across seats to save them for later. I couldn’t even retreat to the classroom assigned to our team, since I’d walked in on Vincent and Britt making out in one of the desk chairs, her perched on his lap and him sticking his tongue down her throat and his hands up her shirt. Whatever was sexy about two handfuls of boob in a public-school classroom, I couldn’t begin to understand.

Why had I agreed to come to this hellhole where three out of six people traveling with me were the guy I loved, his girlfriend, and my ex?

Oh, right. Brendan. Even though being around him almost hurt, he and his whole stupid Mathletes team needed me around. At least Brendan had told me that I could put “Mathletes official coach” or some other nonsense on my college scholarship applications, and get his full backing.

We hunkered down in our classroom, and got to work running paper drills. As much as he loved the Mathletes, I thought Brendan hadn’t been quite tough enough on these kids.

After a stretch, a walk for some fresh air, and lunch, we were ready for the writtens.

Part of me was dying inside. Even though on the practice tests in that classroom, Sofia had totally dominated, it was seriously freaky how little work she actually had to write down. Less than I did, even.

But the writtens went perfectly. Our team was so fast, with Sofia and Mohinder setting pencils down minutes before time was up. I finally took a deep breath. Brendan sat there too, holding his pencil till the very end, though I knew that it was only because he was double and triple checking his work right until the buzzer sounded.

Everyone gathered out in the hall, waiting for scores to be posted. Only the top ten teams from all of us in the state would go on to the boards round. Brendan pushed his way through the crush of the crowd gathered around the corkboard where they were posting the sheets with scores. A few tense moments passed while we waited for him to catch a glimpse of the results, and then I saw him. Brendan, striding toward us, with fists raised in the air in victory. When he reached the team, he threw his arms around all of us, even me. Even though when his hand squeezed my shoulder, I stiffened and drew back, I still celebrated with the rest of the team.

We were so close to winning State I could taste it.

The whole team waited outside the auditorium. Even though they weren’t the best at boards, they were decent, and, I was willing to bet, better under pressure than most. Brendan had wanted to practice, convinced that that was what had won us after the paper round, but I saw the stress and exhaustion in the rest of the team’s eyes. Even Sofia looked a little droopy. I advocated a nap and some relaxation before boards, which would take place in front of an entire audience after dinner. It would even be live broadcast on one of those local programs. This was a big deal.

Half an hour before the boards were to start, the final ten teams assembled in the auditorium. We were only going to hear which team we were up against in the first bracket of boards ten minutes before they started.

These parents were seriously buzzing with energy. It was palpable. They were completely obsessed with math. I knew that even though Brendan was too, it was something his parents didn’t understand. They weren’t even here, as far as I could tell, even though they said they’d try to make it.

The emcee strolled across the stage with one of those big clear balls they used for lottery tickets. Pretty silly, since there were only ten teams. But the parents seemed to really like this show.

“For the first round,” he boomed, “Mansfield Prep versus Central!”

The crowd cheered. Brendan looked half tortured, half relieved. And Sofia quietly slipped out of the auditorium.

With ten minutes till board time.  And in the commotion, no one seemed to have noticed.

And if they hadn’t noticed her, I knew for sure that no one would notice me slipping out after her.

I followed the click of her prissy high heels all the way through the now-empty hallways back to our classroom. She must have forgotten something. I walked past the door as she was crouched over her backpack, rummaging through. It was only when I saw her pressing on the inside of her ear with her pointer finger that I paused.

Then she started talking to no one.