Peyton looked down at the asphalt track. She'd worn the wrong shoes to work and was struggling with the timer on her phone. Today was their first time-trial, making it week three of the six-week training.

  According to the portal logs, Mia and Trevor were doing all the right things. Their exercise routines and weekly biometrics suggested young bodies in top condition. Dressed in joggers and hoodies, they were stretching on the infield, too far away for Peyton to hear their conversation.

  "I wonder if SHE has to do a time trial?" Mia questioned while in a plank, her left leg crossed over the right.

  "She has to be doing the same stuff we are," Trevor replied. "They're not going to send her to Mars unprepared."

  "They're sending us unprepared. Do you really think six weeks is enough time to do all this?"

  "It's Red Rock. Their job is to get this right. I'm pretty sure what they have planned is solid.

  "I guess. It's just that she should be running with us. What about this "team" she keeps talking about? Can I time her after she times me?"

  "I think that's impossible, considering she has a class to teach right after this. Mr. Phillips told me he's only covering part of her fourth period."

  "Lucky them. I had to endure a full fifty-four minutes of her."

  "So you really like Ms. Lawrence?" Trevor asked.

  Mia rolled her eyes and stuck her finger down her throat. If she were honest, she only wanted Ms. Lawrence to run with them so she wouldn't be the slowest one. Surely, she could beat Peyton.

  "She has zero personality. I can't even imagine being up there with her. Just wait. I'm sure she'll irritate you soon."

  Trevor smiled and stood, offering his hand to Mia, who took it and popped up. They strolled towards Ms. Lawrence, who looked up apprehensively.

  Alright, you two, today is our first time-trial. Follow me to the starting line. You'll complete a timed mile, followed by 30 pushups, 30 sit-ups, and 10 pull-ups back in the gym."

  Mia balked at the news and looked over at Trevor, who was smiling. Her eyes widened. The camaraderie she'd felt moments before was gone, realizing she was dreading this, not Trevor.

  "Any questions?" Peyton asked, opening an orange journal with Red Rock's logo stamped on the front.

  Neither of them spoke. Peyton cleared her throat nervously. "Ok, let's get started. You guys are going to rock this."

  Peyton positioned them on the track with Trevor in lane two, staggered back from Mia. Mia refused to look at him, waiting impatiently for the whistle to sound. But when it did, a panic rose inside, and she forgot how to run.

  Trevor whipped by her, lightly punching her arm. Mia's stomach did somersaults as she watched Trevor pull away. How far did he run each day? Farther than her, apparently. Mia let her legs and breathing fall into a gentle rhythm as she passed Ms. Lawrence for the first time.

  "Great job, Mia. You're on pace to run a 9-minute mile."

  Nine-minute miles sucked, and Mia knew it. She and her mom had been running two or three miles every other day at close to 8:30 pace. But right now, her legs felt like bricks, her heart refusing to relax. Trevor was half a lap ahead now, making everything worse. She watched him moving effortlessly and decided all over again, she didn't like him. Brian would love the opportunity to do something like this to her. He would lap her, then tell everyone how much faster he was than her, as if it weren't a slam -just the facts. Trevor's footsteps were getting closer. Yep, he was about to lap her. She slowed to get it over.

  This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

  "Good job," Trevor said breathlessly, falling in step beside her.

  Trevor turned. Mia could feel him looking at her. She said nothing, cursing everything and everyone in her head.

  "What? Do you want me to tell you that you're also doing a good job?" Mia finally barked out.

  "I'm dying. Running the rest with you."

  Mia didn't respond, picking up her pace. They ran in silence, passing Ms. Lawrence again. She didn't call out their pace this time but wrote something down in her journal and yelled, "Nice teamwork."

  Heading into the second half of the mile, Mia felt her nerves calm. Trevor was wearing ridiculous running shoes—neon green and black. As her legs began to burn, she focused on them, distracting herself until they were back in front of Ms. Lawrence.

  "A seven-minute mile, Trevor!" Ms. Lawrence said, logging it in the journal.

  But Trevor didn't stop running. He looked over at Mia and punched her in the arm again.

  "Please don't run a pity lap with me."

  "Mia, you, I, and Ms. Lawrence are the only people getting freeze-dried lasagna and powdered space milk delivered to our houses. I need to feel like you are doing this WITH me."

  Taken aback, Mia glanced at Trevor, who looked at her pleadingly. How could this seemingly decent guy have anything to do with Brian Foster? Birds of a feather -flock together, her mom always said. How was she supposed to trust Trevor Bell? What was the universe doing here? Was it an exercise in fool me once, shame on you-fool me twice, shame on me? Or was Trevor a decent guy? As they finished Mia's mile, Ms. Lawrence cheered like an elementary school teacher watching her kids compete in a potato sack race.

  Peyton logged 8:39 in the journal without calling out Mia's time.

  "Both of you did an excellent job! Mia, you were well under nine minutes. That's wonderful."

  Mia ignored Ms. Lawrence and walked over to her water bottle, tipping it back for a long while. Trevor smiled, giving her a hearty thumbs-up, followed by a sweaty high-five. Mia smiled back gingerly, looking across the bleachers to ensure no one witnessed their temporary truce.

  "Let's head to the gym and get the other stuff done. I have fifteen minutes before my next class. How do you guys like the space meals?"

  "I think they're decent," Trevor said politely. "I put way too much water in the first few. But now, I think I have it figured out."

  Mia said nothing but raised her eyebrows when Peyton turned to her.

  "That good, Mia?" Ms. Lawrence said, laughing and touching her on the shoulder. "I like the mashed potatoes and butter corn. The peas give me diarrhea."

  Mia flinched, surprised by Peyton's crude confession. Nothing could ever make her share the status of HER bathroom habits with Ms. Lawrence. Mia found the meals so gross that she smothered everything in ketchup. Her mom tried bites of each new thing they sent and admitted straight away she might starve to death if they sent her to Mars.

  "So all we have left is the stuff in the gym, and then we go back to class?" Trevor asked.

  "Yeah, that's it for today. Take your time cleaning up afterward. You guys worked hard out there."

  After completing the sit-ups, pushups, and pull-ups, Mia and Trevor lay spent on the gym floor, letting their heart rate come down.

  "Nice work today," Trevor breathed out.

  "Yeah, I rocked those modified pushups."

  "Don't do that."

  Mia froze. Please quit being nice to me she thought. I don't want this. You and I will never be friends. Space buddies, maybe. Friends-negative.

  "We're doing something big, don't minimize it," Trevor said, inches away from her on the floor.

  His eyes were closed, fingers crossed, and resting on his muscular chest. Mia tried not to stare at Trevor's body, reminding herself to hate him.

  "So the being nice to me thing, is it real or just something you feel you have to do?" she asked.

  Trevor didn't say anything for a long time. But eventually, he pulled himself up and reached for his almost empty water bottle.

  "I'm not him, Mia. He's my best friend, but we're not the same. I know you can't see that right now, but you will."

  Mia watched Trevor stand and walk to the boy's locker room. She shut her eyes tight, blowing out exasperation. She didn't feel bad for Trevor or plan to remove any walls between them. Brian had been friendly, too, initially. He could keep his slanted smile and round butt to himself. Fool me once, Mia thought. Never again.