Chapter 3

Dead silence. Then the room erupts laughing.

"She hit that button so fast I thought she actually knew! And she said ZERO!"

"Girl, if you don't know the answer, don't flex your reaction time!"

Sebastian Langley pushes his gold-rimmed glasses up.

A flicker of interest crosses his face.

"She's correct."

The chat loses it.

"WAIT did he just say shes RIGHT??"

"ten seconds bro. TEN SECONDS."

"Sebastian is a Stanford PhD candidate. If he says she's right, she's RIGHT."

One by one, the others answer their baby multiplication questions.

Lauren announces the results. The loser is a girl from IT.

When she hears the punishment, her face drains.

"Lauren, come on. We're coworkers. Do we really gotta do this?"

Lauren sighs, loud and dramatic.

"Hey, don't look at me. Someone over there got dumb luck. That's why you're up."

Nathan jumps in, loud enough for everyone.

"Whoever loses tonight gets a fat Cash App from me. Nobody walks away empty-handed!"

The programmer grits her teeth. Gets on her knees on a floor covered in Legos. Starts crawling.

Lauren's rule: every piece, you stop and say "Thank you Lauren for this opportunity."

A few minutes in, the girl's palms and knees are raw red.

Lauren sighs again.

"Ugh, poor thing. Taking the hit for someone else's dumb luck. Let's see if round two goes the same way."

The next question pops up.

"HAHAHA everyone else just has to name a common AI software. Number six has to explain the theoretical principles behind AI and nanorobotics integration."

Everyone's relaxed. They all think they've got this in the bag.

I slam the button first. Again.

I give my answer. Precise. Every word right.

Sebastian's eyes lock onto me. He doesn't blink.

My stomach drops.

Shit.

I posted an opinion piece on this exact topic on my private X account last month.

Grandpa and his stupid bet flash through my head.

"One year. Live like a normal person. Don't break up with current boyfriend. Don't let anyone find out who you are."

"Make it, and you win."

Sebastian starts walking toward me.

Then a comment pops up in the chat.

"Wait. That answer she just gave. I've read it before. On Vivian Weston's X account. She's literally my idol."