Curvy Girls Can’t Date Soldiers by Kelsie Stelting

Twenty-Nine

Nadira

Even though Iknew the plan and had rehearsed what I would say to Apollo a million and one times, I still couldn’t bring myself to commit to a time to meet him. Something was still holding me back. Fear, insecurity, whatever it was, I needed to get over it because I only had two days until our thirty days were up.

But today I needed to focus on my Mathlete competition. This was the qualifier that would determine whether or not we made it to state.

I’d given up asking my parents to come to the meet or even reminding them of the time. If they didn’t think it was important enough for them to take time off work, I wasn’t going to keep begging them to come. Mathletes mattered to me, and that’s what was important. (At least, I was going to keep telling myself that until I believed it.)

We pulled up to the school where we’d be competing and got out of the van. Regina waited beside the vehicle while the rest of us put on our jackets.

Mr. Aris stepped around the hood and took a deep breath. “I’ve got a good feeling about today, team.”

I smiled, feeling jittery but excited. (Maybe that had something to do with the good luck text Apollo sent me.) “Me too,” I agreed. “I feel like we have the dream team this year.”

Regina snorted. “This is way better than sophomore year. Remember how horrible that was?”

I shuddered, recalling the memory of getting absolutely decimated at every meet. No seniors had joined the team that year, which left mostly sophomores and freshmen to compete. “Thank goodness it’s different now.”

Mr. Aris nodded and gave Donovan a look. “You’ll have some big shoes to fill next year.”

Regina smiled proudly, but I looked toward the parking lot under my feet.

Next year.

So much would be different.

As we walked into the building, I realized this could be the very last Mathlete competition of my life. I decided I would savor every moment, no matter the results at the end of the day.

We went into the building, and I watched the people around us as we checked in. The nervous looks on younger Mathletes’ faces. The sheer confidence of older students. The bored expressions of students from this school who had been commissioned to volunteer.

And then when we went to the cafeteria to wait for the first round, I took in everyone being themselves in a way we couldn’t be at school with the rest of our classmates. There was something about being surrounded by other Mathletes that felt...relaxed somehow. It was almost like being around my friends, the Curvy Girl Club 2.0. There was nothing like being in a space where you could fully be yourself, no apologies needed.

Mr. Aris approached our table with a manila envelope and pulled out the schedule. There were teams we’d faced before on the docket for the day and schools we’d only ever heard of. With the schedule—and the stakes—out in the open, he turned to me. “Any words from our fearless leader?”

Taken off guard, I mulled it over. For how much Regina wanted to be captain, it was more or less a vanity title. I sat at the end of the table with a captain sign in front of me. If there was ever a tie, I went head-to-head with the opposite team’s captain in sudden death, and if I wanted to, I could challenge an answer.

I hardly ever gave motivational speeches, but now, I looked at the other four students on a team that had meant so much to me throughout high school. Instead of speaking to them, I turned to Mr. Aris.

“Thank you,” I told him. “For the last four years, Mathletes has been the one place I knew I could go where every problem had an answer, somewhere I knew I wouldn’t be made fun of or ridiculed for being smart. You’ve made this one of the best parts of high school, and no matter how today goes, I’m grateful.”

His lips quirked into a smile, and I swear I saw his eyes shining as he patted my shoulder. “It’s been a privilege to serve as your coach and teacher, and after you graduate, I hope to be your friend.” He smiled at Regina. “You too, Reg.”

Regina grinned back at him, and for a moment, it seemed like our feud had been set aside. Today, winning was more important.

We left some of our things spread out on the table and then walked to the classroom where we’d be competing. I took my seat at the end of the table, positioned my scrap paper and pencil, and then looked up.

My parents were there.