Late May 2026, Atlanta. After Sadie, the Venomous Agendas' quiz bowl captain victim of a malaise, asked for a timeout during a playoff game at the HSNCT pitting them against DCC, or Detroit Catholic Central, the game continues.

Meanwhile, Anna and her other two teammates try to hold the fort, hoping that Sadie gets better away from the game room. We must win this - for Sadie. For our fallen teammate, she muses on the next tossup cycle.

"Tossup nineteen: This project was started in the aftermath of the cancellation of the Master Plan of 1948" the moderator starts reading.

What is the Master Plan of 1948 about? Anna starts questioning herself. As much as they try, without Sadie, they just aren't the same, and this architecture question continues...

"One of the components of this project shares its name with an American Revolution battle that happened near one of its ends"

At the same time, both DCC players and the Venomous Agendas' are engaged in a buzzer race, but Anna still scores one tossup.

"Big Dig!" Anna answers.

"Fifteen"

On the last regulation tossup, the Venomous Agendas are in the lead by 25 points, and the tossup happens when Sadie is still in the bathroom. Pray that we can get it without her; this is Sadie's kind of question and fingers crossed, for what comes next, the special topics player thinks, while the final question gets to the FTP cue.

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"For ten points, name this country whose capital is Belgrade" the moderator finalizes reading the tossup.

"Serbia" the DCC special subjects player answers, seeing the despair in the Venomous Agendas' eyes.

"Ten. For ten points each..."

Now we should pray that our opponents only score one bonus, so that, even if they answered the last tossup correctly, we still win, Anna muses, while DCC controls the bonus. DCC answers the first bonus part correctly, but doesn't answer the second. It's all down to this one last bonus, and all players on both sides are shaking in their seats.

"One second" the moderator signals DCC.

"Cognitive behavioral therapy!" DCC's special topics player shouts.

"Twenty points for the bonus, and that's the game. DCC wins, three hundred twenty-five to three hundred twenty" the moderator announces with the final score in hand.

"And the Venomous Agendas finish tied for twelfth place" Anna sighs, as the game ends.

And the team finds Sadie at the exit of the bathroom. Their morale is not the best, but it was the end of a roller coaster. The last 2 games especially. Yet Sadie could tell the game finished poorly.

"Are you all right, Sadie?" Anna asks her.

"I let you guys down by going sick at the worst possible moment" Sadie answers, her voice still affected by the nausea's aftereffects.

"We lost. But we finished tied for twelfth place. For months you have been stressing out far too much and look where it led you" Anna continues.

"Anna, I'm sorry. I pushed myself way too hard, and I still have the NSDA Nationals to look forward to. Your season is over"

As much as we could have won against DCC without her, what difference could it have made? Best-case scenario, Sadie would have rejoined us by half-time, but in all likelihood, we would have lost the following game if she couldn't return to play, Anna starts ruminating while the team remains for the rest of the tournament before starting the long return home to Jefferson Davis parish in southwest Louisiana.