The biggest perk of joining the Math Olympiad team could be summed up in one sentence: it gives you bonus points when applying to college.
Of course, that only kicks in if your school's team actually places well in the year-end competition.
"So, what do you think? Give it some thought—this is a great opportunity for you," Ms. Sharon said after laying out all the benefits, trying to persuade him.
For Mike, it really was a solid opportunity.
The rules had changed this year, allowing juniors to compete, which is exactly why Ms. Sharon had approached him.
Plus, every team now had to have at least one girl—which explained why she'd recruited Katie too.
In a way, both Mike and Katie getting invited had a lot to do with luck.
While Mike weighed the pros and cons, Ms. Sharon went on: "I know you're in the middle of summer football league right now, but I promise the Math Olympiad team won't interfere with your games. You can join us after the league wraps up—it'll be plenty of time."
Practice for the math team was in the afternoons, which overlapped with football training.
Her promise was a pretty big concession for Mike's football schedule.
The league had already narrowed it down to the top ten teams this season. At most, four more games and they'd crown a champion.
Four games—that's just about a month.
It was early September now, so Mike's football season would be over by October at the latest.
The Math Olympiad competition wasn't until late December, right after Christmas.
If he joined, he'd have over two months to prep.
Of course, the team wouldn't fall apart without him. Ms. Sharon was pushing so hard partly because she hated to see talent go to waste.
She might look cold on the outside, but she had a surprisingly warm heart.
With his new [Moonlight] talent, Mike had pretty much lost interest in football anyway. Joining the math team might be a fun way to kill time.
"Alright," he said. "I'm in."
"Great," Ms. Sharon replied, a small smile cracking her usually stern face. Then she turned to Katie: "What about you?"
The answer was obvious. Katie stole a quick glance at Mike before saying, "Yeah, I'll join too."
Ms. Sharon looked a little surprised at how fast Katie agreed.
She'd privately talked to Katie several times before, and every time Katie had said she needed to think about it.
This quick yes caught her off guard.
But after her eyes flicked back and forth between Mike and Katie a few times, she seemed to get it.
Katie's happy little expression wasn't exactly subtle.
Ms. Sharon didn't call out the girl's obvious crush. She just smiled and said, "Wonderful. Welcome aboard, Katie."
Once both were confirmed, Ms. Sharon turned to the team captain nearby. "Kevin, they're all yours now. Show them around the math team study room."
"You got it," Kevin said, thumping his chest like it was a mission. "Leave it to me."
As they left the office, Kevin sidled up to Mike again, all buddy-buddy.
"Dude, Mike—I watched all your games. Especially that one on Monday? You straight-up sent that huge linebacker to the hospital. So freaking cool..."
Pretty soon, though, Kevin's focus shifted to Mike's face. "Man, how do you even get a face like that? It's criminal. If I looked like you, I'd never be single."
You could tell Kevin was super outgoing—the kind of guy who makes friends with everybody in five minutes.
Mike wasn't great with over-the-top enthusiasm. He just nodded along a few times, but that only made Kevin chatter more.
Watching Mike's helpless expression from behind them, Katie thought it was hilarious. A soft smile crept onto her face again.
Luckily, they reached the study room pretty quick, and Kevin toned it down.
He gave the two newbies a rundown of the team's past wins, introduced the other members, and went over practice schedules.
That wrapped up his tour guide duties.
Just as Mike and Katie were about to head out, Kevin suddenly called, "Mike, hang on a sec!"
"What's up?" Mike asked, turning back.
Kevin talked a lot, but he seemed like a genuinely good guy.
Mike didn't mind people like that.
"Uh, it's kinda personal..." Kevin pulled out a photo and stepped closer, looking a little shy. "Could you sign this for me?"
It was a picture of Mike in his number 21 football jersey.
"Sure," Mike said, taking it and glancing at Kevin in surprise. So the guy really was a fan.
Jack must be killing it with the promo stuff—now even guys were buying his photos.
Under Mike's weird look, Kevin hesitated, then explained: "Actually, this is... for a gift."
"Girlfriend?" Mike asked casually. He didn't really care either way.
Kevin was under five-seven, skinny as a rail. Outgoing personality or not, he wasn't exactly the type most high school girls went for.
His looks kinda held him back.
"Not yet," Kevin said cheerfully. "But with your signed photo? Who knows—might help me land one."
Genius, Mike thought, mentally giving him a thumbs-up.
Using another dude's photo to score a girlfriend? Kevin was a legend.
Mike signed it quick, handed it back, and said, "Good luck, man."
"Heck yeah, I'll make it happen!" Kevin grinned, waving the photo as he said goodbye.
...
Once it was just the two of them in the hallway, after walking a bit farther, Katie said quietly, "Mike, I've decided—I'm going to apologize to Janice this weekend. Whether she forgives me or not, she's still my friend."
Katie had filled him in over the phone about what happened between her and Janice.
He'd met the senior—Janice was super cool and straightforward, didn't seem like she held grudges.
"That's good," Mike said in agreement.
"Thanks," Katie replied. She slowed to a stop, then bounced a little on her toes with a smile. "It's still class time—I gotta head back."
Yeah, just to chat with him a bit longer, she'd walked him almost all the way to his junior hallway.
Watching her lighten up, like a weight was off her shoulders, Mike felt his own mood lift for some reason.
But when he got back to class, little Sheldon hit him with a challenge.
"Mike, next test? I'm not losing to you again," Sheldon declared confidently.
Turns out Ms. Ingram had gone over the quiz answers, casually explaining those last two calculus problems.
Now that he'd "learned" calculus, Sheldon thought he was back on top.
"You got this," Mike said calmly, cheering him on.
As for actually beating him in high school subjects? Not happening.
Sure, Mike's raw IQ might not match Sheldon's yet, but when it came to breadth of knowledge?
A guy with a college education under his belt? Mike was confident he could keep the kid in check.