We watch Bron reset the obstacle markers for another run.
Zack tilts his head.
“You two are climbing the rankings fast.”
“We’re surviving.”
“That too.”
Bron steps onto the starting platform again, waiting for the trainer’s signal.
Zack studies him for a moment.
“He wasn’t like that earlier in the season.”
“No,” I say quietly. “He wasn’t.”
“What changed?”
I do not answer.
Because the obvious answer is complicated.
And embarrassing.
And currently sitting in my memory wearing last night’s mistakes.
Zack glances sideways at me.
“Uh-huh,” he says softly.
“Don’t start.”
“I didn’t say anything.”
“You didn’t have to.”
He chuckles and pushes off the railing.
“Well, whatever’s going on, it seems to be working.”
Working.
That’s one word for it.
Bron finishes the drill and jogs over toward the hydration station. His eyes flick upward toward the balcony and catch mine almost immediately.
Of course they do.
For a moment we just look at each other across the distance.
Then he raises an eyebrow.
I look away first.
The next challengebriefing arrives just after midday.
The arena projection expands across the central staging area as Captain Photonic’s voice booms from the overhead speakers with the theatrical enthusiasm of a man who believes danger is most entertaining when narrated loudly.
