Ten days after the ACT she took, Carrie checks her ACT score during lunch time. 30. Steven talked about how splitters existed in two varieties, the traditional and the reverse. And how reverse splitters had it better than traditional splitters for getting into college, but it's obvious that, in URI’s context, I’m a traditional splitter since I sit on their 75th ACT percentile, Carrie thinks while sending an email to URI’s coach about it.
And the coach’s reply arrives with a duly signed NLI as an attachment. Which means that Carrie can now rest easy, with her basketball future secured, along with her academic one.
In the end, since Carrie wasn’t as highly touted as Heather, despite being instrumental in the VAs’ successes on the court, her signing at URI only received limited attention, with the parish radio being the only media outlet that really commented about the signing outside of Kingston, RI.
After she signs the NLI in the parish radio station, along with her dad, Carrie meets with Finn once again, outside the actual studio:
“Is that true? Are you really going to play basketball for Rhode Island?” Finn asks Carrie after coming to the parish radio station to see her for her big moment.
“Yes. I’ll have my college education paid for”
“Why is it that you weren’t recruited earlier? It’s not about grades!”
“It’s irrelevant now, and I don’t want you to ruin your future for me. Sorry if it’s painful for you to hear, but it’s over. I break up!”
Finn then leaves the radio station in tears. I should be happy for her because she gets to continue playing the sport she loves, but it cost us our relationship!
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But at the next quiz bowl practice, the coach announces to the players ahead of time what the transportation arrangements are going to be, as well as their bedroom arrangements. Five girls, three boys, and the adults in a third room.
“Just so that we’re clear, unlike at State, or for the basketball players, for your away games, we cannot bring any designated guests at the HSNCT” Warren warns his players. “And, for the HSNCT, the rosters will be the same as at Leesville!”
“I’d say Cora, you and I are going to be in our room for sure” Audrey tells Pablo. Who’s going to be in our room?”
“Forget about us sleeping in your room: we will sleep together in Atlanta” Nadine and Lilina tell the couple when they decide in which room they will sleep.
“I guess, I will sleep in your room since I already slept over with all three of you in the past” Gerard sighs.
“One last thing: this year, we’re assigned the afternoon session, so we leave town at night”
Already that a designated guest for a single-day tournament is a lot to ask of our friends, and all they can do there is study or do homework, Nadine starts thinking about the size of the commitment of getting a designated guest.
“Non-freshmen, since you’re all taking AP courses, and tests, you no longer have to attend practices until the HSNCT!” Warren makes a final announcement.
“Everything we have been doing since the beginning of the season in quiz bowl has been in preparation for this big moment. I urge you to consider rewriting class notes under the form of quiz bowl tossups or bonuses, personally I feel like bonuses are more practical for that purpose, and, of course, do practice problems as appropriate!” Nadine tells her teammates.
“On top of that, yes, AP courses tend to have more relevance to quiz bowl than regular courses” Audrey explains to the freshmen. “And Pablo and I both took AP World History for this reason”
The non-freshmen go home to study for their respective AP Exams in the order they are taking these. As for the freshmen, who aren’t allowed to take AP courses, per parish policy, they serve as moderators for the middle schoolers’ practices down the homestretch for the MSNCT.
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For everyone at school, since finals season is drawing near, they focus on studying and then the demand for tutoring skyrockets, making the students whose families can afford it to ask for it left and right. And quiz bowlers had to turn down some requests, especially early in the AP testing season.
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When, after everything is said and done for their finals, regular or AP, the students get ready to leave for Atlanta in the minibus, the crowd for the HSNCT send-off is much smaller than in past years, especially since townsfolk find it more dangerous to be out at night. Nevertheless, the families and love interests of players are there:
“This is the year or never to win it all! VA has been dominant this year, once again winning State and incurring a single loss all season! All these days of practicing with collegiate quiz bowl packets, competing at tournaments, will come down to two days of quiz bowl!” Warren harangues the players as well as the other attendees.
“Except that you’re talking about the A-team when you talk about the team taking one loss all season. The B-team incurred some losses, all the way until Leesville…” Gerard points out.
“How does it feel to you, Audrey, now that there are two basketball-playing brainiacs at VA?” Pablo asks his girlfriend.
“That ought to relieve pressure on me off the court” Audrey answers him. “Which I quietly assumed was the price to pay for my quiz bowling prowess”
And so it was right until Cora scored the winning points at Leesville that led her to the HSNCT. It was really only after Leesville that people started treating Cora as more than just a basketball player that happened to have good grades! With all the social consequences that implies, Audrey ruminates as she boards the bus, wearing, like Cora, her white home jersey.
Because of the trip taking place at night, the players start falling asleep as soon as Thomas gets seated. And Warren, too. Which means Thomas is driving at night, on I-10, for a while, until the minibus is low enough on fuel to force them to find a gas station. Which happens in Biloxi, and hence outside of Louisiana.
“Where are we?” Pablo asks upon being awakened when the bus comes to a halt. And his teammates, who were snoring up to this point, also find this awakening pretty sudden.
“Biloxi” the driver answers him.
“If any of you need to go to the bathroom, please do so now; we won’t get another stop for a while!
And, of course, Thomas goes into the dépanneur first, in search of coffee that will keep him awake on the way to Atlanta. Pablo, being the only one who’s awake, follows shortly thereafter.
Hmmm… painkillers! But these painkillers have nothing on the painkillers I brew at home, for myself, family or even Audrey… Thomas’ painkiller feels like brewing instant painkillers! Pablo starts thinking of the coffee the dépanneur is serving on his way to the bathroom. However, he knows that it’s the time for him to get some sleep before the HSNCT begins. So… tempting! But it’s, like, 3 AM, and I still need sleep!
And yet, for some reason, no one else awoke to go to the bathroom in Biloxi, so all they could do is wait until they get to the next stop.
When the next stop happens, after a few more hours, Gerard appears to be in distress. However, he only seems to show his issues after he gets out of the bus, and after he checked his grades in other courses. Starting with AP US Government, whose final grades for the spring semester are now out.
“Damn it! My grades are out, and it’s a disaster!” Gerard shouts, about to cry.
“What makes it a disaster?” Nadine asks him, believing that, surrounded by other straight-A students like herself, it’s easy for a quiz bowler to feel like a failure even with a B+.
“Even with my debater girlfriend, I only managed a D in the course! No more APs in social studies for me!”
“I believe a psychological evaluation is in order upon our return home, Gerard! Remember what I told Cora on her first day as a quiz bowler!” Warren tries to console a distraught Gerard.
“Quiz bowl is not school…” Cora tries to intervene, much to her chagrin.
“My talent has… vanished! What did I do, or fail to do, to be outplayed by some… basketball player who has only begun playing six months ago?” Gerard keeps crying, and lamenting.
“Last year, you felt like the pressures of the town’s spotlight were too much, yet you kept playing. Are you playing on both the math and quiz bowl teams just because your parents made you?” Warren asks Gerard as well.
“How could Cora possibly have led us to the HSNCT, and, at the same time, play basketball at a level high enough to contribute to a state title? Same goes of Audrey, too!” a confused Gerard asks in a whiny tone.
“A top-twenty-five at the HSNCT freshman year, the final four of the spring Math Madness, you already accomplished a lot by now!” Lilina, once again, tries to reason with him. “You may leave the quiz bowl team at the conclusion of this HSNCT, but all I want is you to see this HSNCT through!”
“These things aren’t the doing of one player, Lilina! No more than a basketball state title!”
And even these football players could somehow get better grades in AP US Gov than I! Like Cora’s boyfriend! He looks at his report card for the year, whose only As lied in Algebra II and AP Bio. C+ in French II, C in English, and this meant no AP French for him either. Maybe someone else would be worth my love, but not Tanith!
Gerard then proceeds to text Tanith. “It’s over, I’m breaking up! There’s nothing left I can do to make it click!”
“You have serious problems, Gerard! I did as much as I could to take pressure off you in quiz bowl, but the rest is now in your hands!” Cora adds.