In the months to follow, Patricia and her team competes in the hardest possible online tournaments for a given week, while making sure they don't compete on the same set more than once. They then get to compete against teams from all ex-USSR countries more often than they used to. However, it becomes her teammates' turn to pay for the entry fees. At the same time, Patricia scales back on her involvement in the Achievement Addicts Anonymous, given that training for the ChGK Worlds becomes intense enough to make her recovery more complicated.

As for the ChGK Worlds, Ukraine chose to host it in Bakhmut; years after the war, and its reconstruction, the symbolism of this city's heroic resistance made it the main reason behind this choice. So other than winning a national championship, alternate methods include placing at certain ranks in designated international tournaments, depending on field characteristics, wildcards (up to a maximum of 5; usually used for getting countries new to ChGK to compete at Worlds, or couldn't otherwise qualify) and finally the top remaining teams by MAK rating not already covered by previous methods.

In late June, Patricia comes to a grim realization: the demands on outpatient counselors have increased since, while there wasn't much of an increase in patient numbers, there were more house calls. So much so that the overtime claimed by counselors have skyrocketed. It appears that the bulk of the increases in overtime were incurred by responding to more house calls. I'll go talk with the head of addiction services, with my case in hand for hiring an additional outpatient counselor or two, Patricia muses, while drafting her case to do just that.

Upon receipt of the report on the impact of house calls on overtime expenses, she is summoned into a meeting with the head of HR, the head of addiction services, as well as other stakeholders to explain herself.

"Can you explain to us how additional counselors would make up for the cost of overtime incurred by existing ones?" the head of HR asks Patricia.

"The amount of overtime hours worked by counselors is high enough to make it less expensive to hire at least one more full-time counselor. Counselors working excessive overtime affected their ability to provide the care for our outpatients. Existing counselors with more experience in house calls will then be doing more house calls vs care at the hospital. That way we would be able to provide the best care we can for our outpatients" Patricia then explains the rationale for her plan, wondering how far afield she will need to go to find the number of additional counselors she deems necessary to obtain.

Obviously, patient satisfaction must be balanced with the cost of providing the care they need. On both sides since house calls are billed in 6-minute blocks to patients. But we're paying the price for this since we cut house call prices by 25%. They're still profitable, but outpatient rehab now has the same hourly gross margin regardless of whether treatment happens at the hospital or on a house call. It is urgent, and I need to draft a job listing if the request is approved by the head of HR as well as the head of addiction services, Patricia muses while these two higher ups deliberate on whether her request has any merit.

At lunch, after the meeting, both Ainslee and Deepak meet with her. That, even though Deepak didn't meet with her for a while.

"We have gotten more house calls from outpatients lately, and I'm afraid I might not be here for that much longer, maybe a year or so" Ainslee then tells Patricia.

"What do you mean, Ainslee?" Deepak asks her, holding his tongue.

"I feel like I hit a rut in my career" Ainslee laments.

"Me too" Deepak adds to this chorus of lamentations.

"What do you feel have held you back in your careers?" Patricia asks them.

"Our inadequate education. We would love to progress into different roles, more leadership-oriented" Deepak answers.

"Same here" Ainslee briefly adds to this.

"I hope you're aware of the Peter Principle, in that the new roles you both seem to want may not necessarily be appropriate for you. Especially you, Ainslee, since running the Congressional debate club only gave you a very limited taste of what leadership really is about in mental health"

"I guess, better that than no leadership experience at all" Ainslee retorts, and then sighs.

"I have faithfully served the inpatients; I think I could do more if I served in a more... community-oriented capacity" Deepak adds to this chorus.

"So you're wondering how to apply for a MPH degree... it might sound cheesy, but there are several considerations" Patricia then tells the two counselors.

In their shoes, it would feel more like applying for a MBA. However, for me to get into the accelerated program, grades held more weight. Of course, letters of recommendation might hold some weight, as do the personal statement, Patricia gets flashbacks from her last 2 years in college. Of how MHA coursework didn't seem to challenge her that much. If they're successful, we'll need to replace both.

"Although you've been working for awhile, grades still matter to an extent. Sure, you can link your experience in addiction counseling to whatever you want out of public health, but writing a personal statement is not the end of your story" Patricia advised her colleagues. "If you wish, I can write letters of recommendation for both of you"

"Thank you" Ainslee promptly answers.

Which one holds the most weight, grades in undergrad or grades in graduate school? While I did learn some French, and multiculturalism at uOttawa, it was my worst undergraduate semester since I sometimes spent weekends traveling, Ainslee reflects on her academic past, realizing she earned better grades in graduate school than in undergrad, but not by a huge margin. She would still need to get transcripts from KU and Ottawa University regardless.

"The final thing you can control is your GRE scores" Patricia then states before Ainslee explains herself.

"While, generally speaking, it's not that important, if your grades are not the best, it will help. I have my reservations about that test, but math-wise, it's approximately at the same level as the screening test we are using. The main content difference between the screening test we use to detect educational issues in patients and the GRE is the GRE is heavier on vocabulary" Ainslee explains Deepak about the test.

"I would advise you to pursue it part-time and inquire about tuition reimbursement. HR is a little finicky as to what training fees can be refunded and what can't. GRE prep, however, can't be reimbursed" Patricia warns them.

It's been a while since I took it. Addiction counseling is, by and large, test-optional; of course, if you have low grades, it's a good idea to study for it, and to aim high. A MPH on the other hand, my grades, while not the best in the world, wouldn't preclude me from attending a program. I can always dream of Ivies, but not many even want to go into health management or policy because they are often scapegoats. Community and environmental health to a lesser extent, but epidemiology, biostatistics and systems management, not really. Disaster management is kind of like an insurance policy from the government's standpoint and is treated accordingly. Ainslee muses, while she opens her account on SOPHAS, the common application service in public health.

"Now that you have a better idea of what to expect, I will help you at every step if you need it" Patricia tells her colleagues.

"Beyond writing a recommendation letter, I don't think you can do more" Deepak warns Patricia.

I did poorly in organic chemistry, which made my parents angry at the time, but I graduated debt-free. My Indian parents falsely believed that addiction counseling was tantamount to practicing medicine, so it would let them off the hook, Deepak reflects on why he came to practice addiction counseling as well as how the profession made him want to pursue public health. Such as community health or epidemiology; Deepak leaves the scene shortly thereafter to write his personal statement.

"One last thing, Ainslee: since the demand for house calls has skyrocketed, we might need someone else to interview the counselors on top of myself and someone in HR. I believe that the input from someone actually doing the work I requested help for would be helpful since HR doesn't always consider the realities of doing the work" Patricia harangues Ainslee.

"Glad that you understand that" Ainslee comments on the process. "Your predecessor was a bad boss who failed to understand the realities of outpatient rehab"

-------------------------

That night, the KCK Achievement Addicts Anonymous chapter seems to have a better balance of volunteers running it now that Patricia wants to focus on preparing for the Worlds. For some reason, Stephanie organizes this meeting at her home:

"Welcome to this new meeting of the Achievement Addicts Anonymous. Who is new today?" Stephanie asks the addicts.

After ChGK Nats, Stephanie attended the AAA meetings less frequently. Has her schedule gotten busier? Therapy maybe? Patricia is wondering why Stephanie seemed not to attend as frequently as she used to. And a ghost from her early days at work somehow surfaces...

"I'm new to this group, I'm Catria, even though I wasn't addicted to achievements, I am recovering from a different addiction. I used to be an alcoholic, now I finished one semester in college with a perfect GPA. So... I think I am on the right path to get my life back on track?"

"Now I must admit I... relapsed. Despite my time at ChGK Nats being plagued by moments where my mind seemed to be malfunctioning momentarily, Kansas is now playing at ChGK Worlds in Bakhmut! Now you know why I decreased my attendance of these meetings lately"

"Patricia! You made no progress in your recovery!" Stephanie bluntly points out, facing her.

"Steph, I wonder what is it that you dislike so much about me... you never voiced your dislike for me as clearly as you did! What happened since we last met?" Patricia's tone seems more confrontational than before.

"Admitting that you relapsed is one thing, but I never brought myself to tell you this. It was about you being anointed the Savior of Kansas ChGK right in front of me!" Stephanie vehemently shouts at Patricia.

"Check the IAMG's website for how the Kansas State Team's performance changed before and after July four, 2040. That date is my first day on the team!" Patricia then instructs Stephanie. "Then you will understand how things have changed for us"

Just let that sink in for a moment, Stephanie thinks while she checks on the IAMG's website for the Kansas State Team's historical records, namely the evolution of the team's MAK ranking and rating.

Without having to ask hordes of questions about the significance tournaments, by looking at the evolution of both numbers, it became clear to Stephanie that Kansas went from a complete unknown on the ChGK national stage to representing the United States at the ChGK Worlds because of Patricia.

"You used to be a star student; I'm surprised you didn't attend graduate school" an addict suddenly remembers Stephanie's dealings in scholars bowl.

"I was burned out by additional study at this point, which was why I didn't seem interested in healthcare professions or a PhD, at least for the time being" Stephanie responds to the addict.

"Let me guess... you were a biology major?" the ex-lawyer addict asks Stephanie.

"Yes. I think I would have made a terrible teacher if I wanted to teach it in high school. I might be a little too impatient at times" Stephanie explains herself.

"One more question for you all: how will you tell that you will have "made it" or otherwise feel like you've done enough?" Patricia asks the addicts, which was long overdue for her to answer but asked the addicts months ago.

"Sometimes I need to stop doing more, especially on essays, when I become unable to decide whichever is better" Catria answers first.

"Remember when I said that I was the kind of person to worry about the realism of an expectation than to place unrealistic expectations on myself? Surprisingly, once you know your expectations are realistic at the onset, it became much easier for me to tell whenever I did enough. So I'll tell you this much: going forward, if you want to successfully recover, you need to ensure that whatever goals you set for yourself are realistic first!" Patricia then harangues the other addicts. "If other people tell you X goal is unrealistic, it probably is"

Now I need to decide whether I want, down the road, to attend law school or to go to business school instead. Whichever one I pick, I will need to commit to it fully. The one thing I know will not hold me back is grades, Stephanie muses, more confused than ever about what the "next step" is.

"I'd say it depend greatly on what my objective is. Sometimes I tended to overwork myself because I find it hard to set boundaries in the pursuit of an objective. Organizing ChGK State might be a piece of cake compared to, say, meeting such-and-such target at work as an insurance adjuster" Stephanie answers this question.

"I'd say, it might be worth waiting a couple years before it can become realistic for you to pursue professional education" the ex-lawyer addict tells Stephanie.

"One more caution, Catria: if you don't want to attend med school, nor to try your hand at research, then technical sales or patent law would be more your alley. Or even teach chemistry in high school" Stephanie warns her fellow volunteer.

"Do you think an MHA is for you? If so, I would be the person to help you out. If you instead want to get out of healthcare or insurance, I know someone else who could help you with B-school" Patricia offers to Stephanie. "The difference is that an MHA is mostly specific to healthcare and medical/life insurance, while B-school is more general. But before you do anything, I strongly advise you to ask to what extent your employer will foot the bill so you won't end up saddled with debt as I am"

Was that what I got into when I started running this chapter of the AAA? A place for people to (re-)evaluate their careers on a volunteer basis? Patricia then gets flashbacks of the early stages of her playing career for the Green Wave. If the ex-lawyer is implying business school is a better fit for Stephanie than law school, Imélie is perhaps the best person I know to help her regarding B-school applications, even though Imélie attended Tulane part-time at night because her employer footed the bill. She took an extra semester to graduate because a core MGM course was not offered during my sophomore year, and she handed over the reins of the team to me at the end of fall semester junior year.

Then Patricia's cellphone dings, leading Patricia to check on her email inbox. She finds an email from SOPHAS prompting her to submit letters of recommendation on behalf of Ainslee and Deepak.

After she steps out of the main meeting to do so, she then repeats what she told Ainslee earlier today about MHA applications, and then gives Imélie's contact information to Stephanie at the end of it.

"Just... who is Imélie?" Stephanie asks, confused about why Patricia believed Imélie would be helpful to her.

"Imélie is a MBA graduate from Tulane, I played quiz bowl with her during my first two years in college. She would be able to help you with MBA applications" Patricia answers Stephanie's question.

-------------------------

A week later, the first interviews take place for a grand total of 4 counselor positions, because the forecasts Patricia's boss made for the increase in outpatient demand differ from hers. Especially important is that, in case of disparity between forecasts, her boss' held precedence over hers.

"Remember, we want two of the four new counselors to be more house call-oriented and the other two to work more at the hospital, the head of addiction services instructs the 3 members of the interview panel" He then turns to Patricia. "You will get one-seventeenth of the gross profits generated by the new hires, paid out quarterly, because you were the one who brought the overextension of the counselors to our attention. One-seventeenth to me, and one-seventeenth to the head of outpatient care"

"Thank you"

Bonuses being based on the new hires' billable hours? And 1/17 of the gross profits from them? The system tracks counselors' haul in billable hours, that is, meeting hours with patients and, for house calls, travel time from and to patients. Thank God counselors have no billable hour targets! Of course, I don't expect much for the third quarter, so it's really during the fourth quarter that I will actually be able to know how much to budget, Patricia muses, while the first interview begins.