Page 34 of Alice Chen's Reality Check

Daniel raised an eyebrow at me. “You’re back.”

“I figured I should keep an eye on you.”

“I’m flattered.”

“Don’t be.” I grabbed a cup and ladled out some punch.

Daniel followed suit. “To the Regional Quiz Bowl Finals,” he said, raising his cup.

I tapped my cup against his and took a swig. It tasted of pineapple and was sweet, but not too sweet, with hints of spice. I didn’t hate it, and sipping the drink meant that I didn’t have to make small talk or play—and lose—a drinking game.

One of the Exeter Prep boys had brought a Nintendo Switch, and K-pop was playing through iPhone speakers. It was getting a bit warm in the hotel room, with everyone crammed together in there, but otherwise, this was nice. Maybe Cindy was right. I’d studied enough. I deserved this break.

“You throw a good party, Slayer,” Daniel said as I downed the rest of the drink.

I made a face at him. “First of all, it’s in my room, but it’s not my party. Second of all, I never approved that nickname.”

“I didn’t realize I had to submit it to the committee,” he said, smirking. I hated that smirk. It was like he was showing off his dimples on purpose.

“You know, not everyone is as charmed by you as you think,” I said, feeling unusually candid.

“What about you?” he asked, pointedly. “You said ‘not everyone.’ But you didn’t say ‘I’mnot charmed.’ ”

“You know what I meant,” I said, scowling. I turned to get more punch, nearly tripping over Cindy’s sweater on the floor. I refilled mycup and was about to drink when Daniel covered my cup with his hand.

“Hang on, Slayer,” he said. “You know this isn’t just juice, right?”

“What do you mean?”

“I don’t know how strong your friend made this punch, but I think you’re more than buzzed already. And hey, if that’s what you want, go for it. But I can’t imagine you actually want to be hungover during Regional Finals.”

“But I didn’t put any vodka in it,” I said, looking from the almost empty handle to the punch bowl.

“Slayer. The vodka is in the punch,” he said gently.

I pressed a hand to my cheek. Oh shit. The hotel room wasn’t getting warmer. I was. My cheeks were flushed from the alcohol. Daniel was right.

“I’m going to kill Cindy,” I said, dragging my hands through my hair. “I need to—” I shook my head, trying to clear it.

“You need to drink water,” he said. “No, wait. I can do better than water. Come on.”

So I ended up at the business center after all. I lay on the ground, waiting for the hotel to stop spinning, while Daniel bought coconut water from the vending machine.

“Here,” he said, handing me a bottle. “Electrolytes.”

I sat up to drink and then flopped back down on the floor.

“Stop being so tall up there,” I ordered.

He sat down next to me.

“Still too tall,” I grumbled.

With a laugh, he lay down next to me, a respectable distance away. “Does this meet with your approval?” he asked.

I nodded, which made the room swirl even more violently. “Why are you doing this?” I asked. “You didn’t have to tell me the punch was spiked. You could’ve let me drink my way to a humiliating loss tomorrow.”

Daniel looked thoughtful. “I could tell you it was the honorablething to do, but I don’t think you’d believe me.”

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