Olivia spends much of her weekend studying past quiz bowl packets, with her reading being dominated by Red Army sets.

  When she returns to school on Monday morning, she goes to the weight room, as she always does, but her face betrays her changes in mood. Which Becky notices very quickly between stations.

  “The team started discussing training for the HSNCT as soon as I joined the team. I might have veterans to cover for me, but they make me feel like I have a lot of studying to do to pull my weight, as I might have as a cheerleader! And Ned asked for my help for it, too!” Olivia sobs.

  “It seems like you only spent one weekend on the quiz bowl team and it completely changed your mood!” Becky points out to her, when she has a chance to take her mind off from basketball. “But first things first: what should I be aware of in this group project?”

  “The Missouri Compromise was revered for a time, but then some began to oppose slavery on religious grounds, others on economic grounds. Then came the Kansas-Nebraska Act that gave future states’ residents the right to choose whether to allow slavery, and also another law who enraged free state residents because they were obligated to capture runaway slaves. In a sense, the seeds of human rights movements were sown then, whose influence can still be felt today”

  “You can easily imagine how ungrateful abolitionists were to the eyes of their contemporaries!” Lexie, another cheerleader, tells the two. “You two can be grateful for the ungratefulness of past figures!”

  “Lexie, if you think there’s any parallel to make, let’s say that the immediatists were the Antebellum equivalent of the pandemic’s wokes. They were the radicals of their time!” Olivia responds before going for squats.

  And also because they wanted immediate abolition of slavery before thinking of their integration into freedmen society. Much like how some wokes wanted some changes without any plans to implement the changes they want, Olivia’s mind is sent spinning by some of the readings she made for the group project.

  “It seems like the pressures of quiz bowl got to you, and you study harder than you used to...” Adriana, a Latinx cheerleader, tells her. “But now I have a better idea of who to ask for help, upon return from Pearl River!” Olivia.

  “I guess, I must face the facts. Cheerleading doesn’t protect me against academic pressure anymore...”

  “Olivia, you think that people in town think you’re dumb, or at the very least, not that smart, because of your involvement in cheer! Until now, anyway. But I think cheer didn’t really protect you from academic pressure that much”

  “No one thought I was worth asking for help in class before, nor wanted to be with me in a group project specifically for my academic prowess. There were times when people asked weaker students for help before me in the past!” Olivia points out before doing squats.

  I might have joined the quiz bowl team seemingly out of pity for the team, but I say, to hell with the stereotypes. Then again, it’s too early to tell whether the discomfort I feel is temporary, Olivia muses before the squats begin. If this doesn’t stop a few weeks from now, maybe then I can consider giving up on either cheerleading or quiz bowl.

  Once the squats end, she gets a shower, leaves the weight room and faces Ned once again in the hall.

  “It’s rough. I feel underappreciated as a quiz bowler because of my role in cheer, but surely you can bring me some comfort, especially because I have jerks for parents! They kept putting me down during the weekend even when I was studying for quiz bowl-State!” Olivia then hugs Ned with her sweaty hands.

  “During all these years, Olivia, we’ve been nice to each other. I understand you have insecurities, I really do!” Ned tries to sympathize with her. “We all do, it’s normal. Even me as a wide receiver or an outfielder!”

  “You’re the only boy left at school who still appreciates me”

  “For this reason, I invite you to stay at my place for a bit after the project meeting ends”

  “Sure”

  Speaking of which, she goes right to Ned’s place after the quiz bowl practice ends. Todd was already present, and goes over the Google doc with their group project on it.

  “Let’s just compare what we did about the rise in slavery-induced tensions” Todd suggests to the cheerleader.

  I didn’t believe that she would be ready to do something about others’ parts, but abolitionists had a share of responsibility over the rise in slavery-induced tensions. Good on her to notice that, Todd can hardly contain his surprise upon seeing that Olivia did a lot more than just her chosen part over the weekend. And comments about her part, even as Ned’s mom goes over it.

  “It might be a little long. Yes, everything you say might make sense, and help us understand abolitionism, some of it might be usable as-is in...” Todd continues the comments, when Ned’s mom interrupts him.

  “AP US History. If you plan to take it in the future, I’d say, take AP US Government either first or concurrently” Ned’s mom advises her.

  Oh yes, AP courses... I know they’re rougher than the regular courses, and that some quiz bowlers might have taken AP US History or Government as freshmen if the rules allowed for it, but AP courses aren’t open to freshmen, Olivia sighs, almost as if Ned’s mom wanted her, and likely Ned as well, to take both courses at some point in their time in high school.

  “Let’s say the North was more industrialized, and better-educated as well, so it didn’t need to rely on slave labor as much” Ned adds.

  Vermont and Pennsylvania were the first two to ban slavery. Massachusetts was also an abolitionist hotbed, too... Ned summarizes the other factors that led the North to embrace abolitionism first.

  “I guess, the North was more urbanized, too... New Orleans was the largest city in Antebellum South, but was much smaller than the likes of Boston, New York, Philadelphia or Baltimore, even back then” Ned adds to this as he regains his composure.

  The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

  I guess, joining the quiz bowl team gave Olivia a much-needed jolt, and she earned a little respect from me for now, Todd muses as he goes over what Ned wrote about the socioeconomic context of Antebellum America, but what was common to both sides was the size of the social inequalities, as well as racism. But Ned? He clearly thought that, by starting early, he was able to be free from the project to devote himself to baseball more. He needs some help from us tonight...

  “I think you should add a few lines about gender in Antebellum America, as relevant to the slavery crisis; you must have realized by now that women also rose to prominence in abolitionism” Olivia comments on what could be missing from Ned’s part. “You mentioned race, though”

  “Yeah, parts should flow into each other!” Todd adds.

  “Let’s finish this so that Becky can, upon return from Pearl River, write a good intro and outro! That said, gender was less of a factor than race in abolitionism” Ned implores his teammates.

  It’s then that Todd and Olivia both go over the role of gender in Antebellum America society as relevant to slavery as a political issue in that era. About how women back then had little rights, even White ones. Barely more rights than Black freedmen. However, the trio must exercise care not to let gender issues overshadow slavery. When they are done covering gender in Antebellum America:

  “Dinner’s ready!” Ned’s mom announces to the guests.

  “Just in time for the game to start! My friend Becky’s playing tonight, which is why she couldn’t be here to get the project finished” Olivia tunes in on the parish radio on mobile.

  “Welcome to the second round of the 2041 Division II Non-Select LHSAA girls’ basketball state tournament, pitting the fifteen seed, the Venomous Agendas, against the two seed, the Pearl River Rebels!” Pearl River’s principal introduces the teams in play at the tournament, and it’s clearly heard on air.

  In Pearl River, as a Pearl River bench player sings the national anthem at center court, the VAs get into position for the tip-off. As do Adriana and Lexie at the baseline, and whatever musicians the band could muster.

  Already that, in the opening seconds of the game, the two VA cheerleaders chant the following mantra, as soon as the Rebels’ foreign exchange student playing takes advantage of the tip-off going in their favor:

  “Down with the international exchange markets! Down with Pearl River!” Adriana and Lexie both chant, while the Rebels bring the ball down the court.

  Over the years, every time VA plays Pearl River in girls’ basketball, Pearl River always finds a way to get a basketball player from the international student exchange markets, Ned’s dad thinks as this year’s exchange student for the Rebels, Matilde, closes in on the paint to make a jump shot. Which misses, but she grabs her own rebound right next to the paint. Matilde goes for another shot under the shouts of the Rebels’ cheerleaders:

  “Pastry! Pastry!” the Rebels’ cheerleaders refer to Matilde, and, indirectly, her nationality.

  Huiling was called the Chinese Bridge, Libuse, a Czech player, the Starving Artist, we often tend to evoke exchange players’ nationalities, a Pearl River cheerleader’s parent muses while she listens to the chants of both sides’ cheerleaders.

  And… the ball goes in, which the VAs’ point guard grabs, passes to the shooting guard as soon as the centerline is crossed…

  Here it seems that, as they eat gumbo, they discuss topics other than basketball or Antebellum America. Topics Olivia seemingly has more to discuss than Ned, but only in a rather superficial way since Olivia learned about the topics she knew from quiz bowl packets.

  Once they’re finished eating the gumbo, they finalize the main body and check against the requirements before using AI to proofread it. And organize the bibliography.

  “Let’s not forget to give adequate space for Becky to write a decent intro and outro” Todd tells them. “Olivia, can you condense your part a little bit, like paraphrase a few things, or cut out a sentence or two? Or maybe just choose shorter words, if possible?”

  And then she double-checks a few lines where she feels like maybe there could be room to cut some unnecessary words, the way Ned didn’t need to. Especially when removing a word could save a line.

  When she feels confident that the requisite space savings are achieved, without sacrificing the substance of the content, she decides to call it a day, but by this point the game’s first quarter is over.

  “It’s the end of the first quarter, Pearl River is in the lead, seventeen to sixteen!” Pearl River’s principal announces through the mic to the people in the arena, as well as on the radio.

  Ouch. Becky can’t do everything, but this game is far closer than what I believed a game against 2-seed Pearl River to be, Olivia pictures herself, while Todd is apparently satisfied with the work of the other two people.

  “I think Becky should have enough space to make a good intro and outro, and we should be good to go for the project. Once she’s done, we’re going to rehearse our presentation” Todd tells the couple after reviewing the project one last time, and returning home afterward. “Have a good night!”

  “Good night. I guess, time to do the homework in our other subjects!” Ned snuggles against Olivia after Todd left his home.

  They spend the game’s next two quarters, as well as a good chunk of the fourth quarter doing homework. The couple finishes their homework just shy of the game’s ending.

  In Pearl River, with two minutes left to the game, both Matilde and Becky are on the verge of fouling out, and it seems like whoever fouls out first will cause their side to lose the game. The game is tied, both on the scoreboard and the foul count. Both cross their fingers that Matilde gets fouled out, even as the cheerleaders battle for auditory dominance:

  “Down with the international exchange markets!” the pair of VA cheerleaders, clearly outnumbered, shout. “Venomous! Agendas!”

  “Down with the evil empire!” the Rebels’ cheer squad shout in turn.

  Both players attempt to draw a foul from each other, but Matilde, once more, rushes toward the post. To block Matilde’s shot, Becky inadvertently fouls the Danish exchange player, causing the whistle to be blown. And Becky fouls out of the game.

  “Dansk! Brod!” the Pearl River cheerleaders shout in an incoherent Danish laden with a Cajun accent, as Matilde takes the first of the two free throws. However, they change their tune for the second after Matilde missed her first throw. “Pastry! Pastry!”

  Damn it, Becky, you let the Rebels’ Danish Pastry foul you out of the game! The only reason why this game is so close to begin with was that the Rebels gave the bench much more playing time than usual! Lexie thinks while watching, powerless, Matilde successfully shoot the second free throw.

  For the rest of the game, the VAs’ lack of depth cost them dearly, especially on defense, and they somehow allowed seven unanswered points in the last two minutes. Which makes for disappointed players, especially the seniors.

  Back in Jennings, however, Olivia is about to ask a favor from Ned:

  “Ned, because you’re the could you please go to quiz bowl-State with me? This year, the tournament is held at Southside” Olivia pleads with Ned, while checking against the schedule of quiz bowl-State.

  Ned checks against the baseball schedule. “We don’t play on the weekend of quiz bowl-State, but I accept only if you watch an away baseball game at some point!”

  “Yes. Preferably after quiz bowl-State, so I won’t feel like I have State hanging over my head” Olivia answers as she receives a text message containing a link to VA’s baseball schedule, so she can pick which game to go to.

  “I give you until quiz bowl-State to decide which game to attend”

  A happy Olivia gives him a chocolate she kept in reserve as she beams to him. Even so, she takes another chocolate out of the pack he gave her at the first-round basketball game.

  “How cute…”

  “I’ll show them all: my quiz bowl teammates, other cheerleaders, the whole town!”

  “What do you want to show?”

  “That cheerleading doesn’t prevent me from playing quiz bowl at a level where I can meaningfully contribute to the team at State and, from there, a HSNCT run!”