Page 134 of Alice Chen's Reality Check

“You know, if you’d asked me just a month ago, I never would’ve believed that the great Daniel Midas Cho would be talking about taking care of me, rather than, oh, crushing me into dust.”

“Hey, you were the one who was always trying to crush me, if I recall correctly. And can we drop the Midas name now that we’re no longer mortal enemies?”

“You don’t like it?” I ask.

“King Midas turns everything he touches to gold. He’s doomed to live a lonely and unfulfilling life, even though it seems like he’s surrounded by so much that should make him happy,” Daniel says.

“When you put it likethat,” I say, “it does sound pretty dismal.”

“Please, tell me what I ever did to you to make you wish that on me, so I can apologize,” Daniel says. “I know it was because of the Quiz Bowl Regional Finals, but believe me when I say that I wish you hadn’t been at a disadvantage that day. I hate that our last match together wasn’t a fair one.”

I roll on top of him. “Daniel. Midas. Cho. That’s not why I call you Midas at all.”

He peers up at me. “Oh?”

“I called you Midas that day because you were the golden boy.” I search for the right words. “It’s like…everything you did came so easily to you. Everything you touched turned to gold.”

Daniel laughs, low and deep, as he reaches up to brush a stray strand of hair away from my face. “That does make me feel better. But you know, I didn’t have everything I wanted. Because even then, what I wanted was you. And that hasn’t changed.”

“What do you mean?” I ask, but I already know the answer. I can see it his eyes, feel it in the way he touches me.

“I love you,” Daniel says simply. I can feel the heat simmering under those words. I want to bask in it, the way you’d bask in sunlight. “But I don’t want to mess this up. You’re too important to me. I think weshould take things slow.”

I nod, feeling relieved and nervous all at once. I’m still mourning my old life with Chase, still processing the near-death experiences I had on the island, and I still have my mother to think about. She has to be my focus—not this blossoming romance, no matter how exciting and wonderful I know it’ll be.

Take it slow. I can do that.

There’s still more conversations we need to have. But as we lie beneath a sliver of moonlight, bathed in the sounds of the ocean, with my head on his chest and his arms around me, it feels like this moment exists separate from all of that—a weightless point in time, unattached to reality. It feels right not to say anything at all and to just soak up this last night together, before reality can force its way in.

—

The next day, the crew and the cast members who were at the finale take a boat from the island to the mainland, then from there, a shuttle to the airport.

At the airport, it finally hits me that this is it. This odd adventure I shared with everyone is coming to an end, and after this, we’re all stepping back into our regular, everyday lives.

Before she goes, Ava actually stops me to shake my hand. I’m so shocked that I stare down at our linked hands for a moment before remembering how to be a normal human and returning the handshake.

“I wasn’t expecting much out of you and Chase, or you and Daniel for that matter,” Ava says.

“Okay?” I’m wondering if there’s a way to get a refund on handshakes.

“But I’m very impressed with your initiative in stopping Peter Dixon and saving Dawn Taylor’s life,” she finishes.

“You certainly made us work for our win. Thanks for being such great competition,” Noah says, clapping me and Daniel on the back. “You were real value-adds.”

Before their flight, Lex comes over and lightly punches my shoulder. “Take care of yourself, kid.”

“I’ll miss you too,” I say, wrapping Lex in a hug.

“Yeah, yeah, get off me,” Lex says, brushing me off with a laugh. They ruffle my hair. “Stay in touch, okay?”

When she sees me, Leah tries to unruffle my hair. “Of all my contestants, you were—” She pauses, searching for the right word.

“Your favorite?”

“The most trouble,” she concludes. “But you did stop our executive producer from literally blowing my boss up, so I guess that also makes you my favorite.”

“I’ll take it,” I say.

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