The day after Blake and I had our first recording session, I went straight to Mrs. Welch's classroom after school. I didn't quite know what to expect from my first day of Quiz Bowl. The only person I knew who was in it was Madeline, and I didn't even know her all that well. Everything about Quiz Bowl was completely new for me.

When I opened the door, Madeline and a short, dark-skinned boy were moving desks around the classroom. Another boy was standing on his tiptoes and writing on the whiteboard. Mrs. Welch was sitting at her desk, grading papers, probably including the pre-calc test that I was certain that I had failed at the time. I ended up getting a B.

All of a sudden, Madeline noticed me standing in the doorway. "Dani!" she exclaimed. "I'm so glad you came!"

The boy who was writing on the board had just finished writing "Episode VII vs. Star Wars Expanded Universe," whatever that was supposed to mean. He turned to look at me and then asked Madeline, "Do we really have a fourth person today?"

The first thing that popped into my head was how much Blake would have hated these people. He never missed an opportunity to crack jokes about how McKinley was crawling with nerdy kids with no fashion sense. Madeline's Quiz Bowl friends were exactly what he was talking about - they were the sort of kids who wrote Star Wars jokes on the whiteboard without a second thought. A part of me admired that.

"Yes, we do," Madeline said. "Tanner, this is Dani Bloomberg."

"This completely messes up my plan," Tanner said. "Devon was going to be Episode VII, and you were going to be the Expanded Universe, and I was going to moderate. Now we're going to have uneven teams."

"Wait, this isn't fair!" Devon exclaimed. "I want to be the Expanded Universe."

"Why don't you play, Tanner?" Madeline suggested.

"I could play, but then who will moderate?" Tanner said.

"Mrs. Welch, could you moderate for today?" Madeline asked.

"I suppose so," Mrs. Welch said.

Tanner walked up to her desk and handed her a packet of questions. "I promise I haven't looked at these yet," he said while Madeline and Devon set up two rows of desks facing each other, with a red or green buzzer sitting on each desk. We then chose teams: Devon joined the Star Wars Expanded Universe team, while Tanner and Madeline joined the Episode VII team.

"How do I even play?" I asked Madeline as I sat in the empty desk next to Devon, trying not to get distracted by Mrs. Welch's adorable sloth poster.

"Ask Tanner," she said. "He's the captain."

"The rules are kind of complicated, so we'll play a simpler version," Tanner said. "Is everyone okay with playing toss-ups only?" Both Madeline and Devon nodded. Tanner turned to me and said, "Just hit your buzzer if you know the answer."

That sounded easy enough, or so I thought until Mrs. Welch started reading. "This author wrote of an American sculptor who fell for the daughter of a Cavaliere, but died on his way to see her in Interlaken. In another novel, he wrote of a protégé of Olive Chancellor who is conscripted into the women's rights movement, but Verena falls for Basil. This author of Roderick Ransom and The Bostonians ..."

Madeline buzzed and said, "Henry James."

"How did you know that?" I asked.

Madeline shrugged and said, "I've been studying up on literature."

The next question wasn't any easier. "One of these structures that applies the fundamental theorem of arithmetic is named for Peter Shor. Donald Knuth designed one of these for matrices named X..."

Devon buzzed this time. "Algorithm."

"One king of this country was killed at the Battle of the Three Kings in a failed attempt to conquer Morocco. The Castilian right..."

Tanner buzzed in and said, "Spain."

"That is incorrect," Mrs. Welch said. "I'll read the rest of the question, and Devon and Dani can answer."

She read the rest of the question, but neither Devon nor I had any idea what she was talking about. After Mrs. Welch was done reading, we just sat there with no clue what to answer. "Come on!" Tanner exclaimed. "That last sentence was a dead giveaway. Only one country has the capital city of Lisbon."

"Star Wars Expanded Universe, can I get an answer?" Mrs. Welch asked.

"Devon, do you know?" I asked.

"I don't," Devon said. "Do you?" I shook my head.

"Can I answer?" Tanner asked.

"Yes, but you won't get any points for it," Mrs. Welch said.

Tanner buzzed in and said, "Portugal."

"Yes, that's correct," Mrs. Welch said.

The next question was a fine arts question about art museums that nobody seemed to know the answer to. "Art and life science are our weak spots," Tanner explained. "We're probably going to miss the next question too."

"The monoclonal antibody trastuzumab can be used to manage the HER2 positive type of this cancer and genetic screening for risk to develop this type of cancer involves screening for the BRCA1 and BRCA2..."

Finally, Mrs. Welch was reading something that made sense. I buzzed in and said, "Breast cancer."

"Yes!" Devon exclaimed when Mrs. Welch marked a point on the board. "Star Wars Expanded Universe for the win! Good job, Dani!"

"Thanks, Devon," I said, high-fiving him just as Mrs. Welch started reading the next question.

"This friend of Achilles..."

Both Madeline and Tanner tried to buzz, but only Tanner's buzzer lit up. "Patroclus!" he exclaimed. "And he was his boyfriend!"

"Tanner, that was my question!" Madeline complained.

"I thought I was supposed to answer mythology questions."

"That was world literature, which is my category."

"Who cares? We got the point."

"Also, Patroclus and Achilles were definitely together," Madeline said.

"What are they talking about?" I asked Devon.

"Madeline and Tanner both read some book called The Song of Achilles over the summer, and they won't shut up about it."

The scrimmage continued, and Madeline and Tanner crushed us. "Like Episode VII's going to demolish the Expanded Universe," Tanner said. However, neither Devon nor I cared too much.

To my surprise, I had managed to score a few more points during the game, and Tanner told me, "You played really well for your first try."

"Thanks," I said.

"Are you coming again on Wednesday?" Tanner asked.

I had a million reasons not to come back - everyone else was smarter than me, I'd have to stay after school twice a week, Blake wouldn't want me joining one of the "nerd clubs" - but I'd had a lot of fun on my first day of Quiz Bowl. I decided to push Blake out of my head and do something for myself for once. "I think so," I said.

"Great," Tanner said. "I'll see you then."

"See you later, Tanner." Madeline, Devon, and I all left, while Tanner stayed in Mrs. Welch's classroom to put the desks away. I quickly texted Mom and Jason to ask if either of them could pick me up from school, but I didn't get a response right away.

As soon as we got outside, Devon spotted his mom's car. "Son of a banshee," he said as he checked the time on his phone. "I'm late for my clarinet lesson. See you two on Wednesday!"

"Bye Devon," Madeline said as he dashed into the car. Madeline and I both sat down on a bench in front of the school, watching the cars go by. She turned to me and asked, "How did you like your first game of Quiz Bowl?"

"It was pretty fun," I said.

"Are you coming back on Wednesday?" Madeline asked. I nodded. "Great! You were doing an awesome job on the science questions, by the way."

"Thanks," I said. "I knew a lot of them from AP Bio."

"I've heard that class is really hard."

"It's not that bad. The teacher just assigns a lot of homework."

"That sounds pretty bad to me. I'll just stick with orchestra." All of a sudden, she realized something. "I left my cello in the orchestra room. Do you want to come with me to get it?"

"Sure," I said.

While we walked to the orchestra room, Mom texted me and said that she would be at McKinley in ten minutes. I shoved my phone back into my pocket as Madeline asked, "Do you play any instruments?"

"I play the bass guitar."

"Oh, right. My neighbor mentioned that you were in a band. What's that like?"

"It's okay. We're recording an EP right now." Blake still hadn't texted me back about what we were going to be recording the following weekend, but I presumed that we would figure something out, like we always managed to do.

"That's neat. Blake Pinkerton is in that band too, right?" Her eyes lit up as she said Blake's name.

"Yes, he is."

"I met him at that party a few weeks ago, and we've been texting back and forth ever since then. He seems like a sweet guy."

Madeline opened the door to the orchestra room and took her cello case and her music out of her locker. The room was empty at that time of day, but I could just imagine Madeline sitting in the cello section, intently watching the conductor as her fingers danced across the neck of her instrument, playing every note perfectly. The cello case was almost as large as she was, and I asked her if she needed any help carrying it, but she said, "I'm fine, Dani. I've been carrying my own cello since I was nine."

The two of us left the orchestra room, but by the time we returned to the bench in front of the school, Mom had arrived. "I have to go," I said. "I'll see on Wednesday."

I climbed into Mom's car, but after I had buckled my seatbelt, I looked back and waved to Madeline. Already, I was looking forward to Quiz Bowl on Wednesday, if only because I'd get to see Madeline again.

On Wednesday, we played another scrimmage. This time, it was Juniors vs. Everyone Else, meaning that Madeline and I were playing against Devon and Tanner. I answered four or five of the questions, which given that it was only my second time playing, I was pretty proud of. I even managed to get a classical music question, just from listening to Madeline answer so many questions about composers.

Mrs. Welch read, "This composer wrote nineteen songs for voice and piano, set to Polish texts..."

Madeline and I buzzed in at the same time, but my buzzer lit up. I answered, "Chopin."

"You pronounced Chopin wrong," Madeline said.

"How am I supposed to pronounce it?" I asked.

"It's Sho-pan, not Choppin."

"Maybe you shouldn't count it," Devon suggested.

"I knew what she meant," Mrs. Welch said as she marked a point on the board, much to Devon and Tanner's chagrin.

It was a close game, but Madeline and I managed to beat Devon and Tanner. "We should play Sho-pan vs. Choppin next week," Tanner suggested.

"If Choppin wins, I'm going to destroy my cello," Madeline said.

"You wouldn't do that," Tanner said.

"You're right," Madeline admitted. "I love my cello too much."

Madeline and I left the room together and waited for our parents on the bench outside of McKinley High again. "I hope Tanner lets us play with team questions next week," she said.

"I think I'm starting to get the hang of toss-ups," I said.

"You are. I still can't believe you mispronounced Chopin though."

"Does it matter that much?"

"Yes!" Madeline exclaimed. "I thought you were a musician."

"I'm a rock musician," I said. "I don't even know how to read sheet music."

"I bet I could teach you," Madeline said. "It's not that hard." She took out a piece of music from her music folder and pointed to the curved line with two dots at the top left corner of the page. "That's a bass clef. It just tells me that I'm playing in a low register. It's also called an F clef because any note that appears on the line between the two dots in the clef is an F."

"This all seems way too complicated," I said. "Why can't they just use tab?"

Madeline rolled her eyes and continued to explain how to identify pitches. She used some ridiculous mnemonic like "All Cows Eat Grass," even though it seemed like it would just be easier to learn the fingerings. Nevertheless, I listened carefully, trying to decipher what the etude that she was showing me sounded like.

Clearly, Madeline's teaching methods didn't work. I still have no idea how to read music. I think that I was paying too much attention to the shape of her body and the way her eyes lit up when she talked about the cello and not enough attention to the music itself. It didn't matter though. I never touched my bass guitar again after the Love Martyrs broke up.

"What's your phone number?" Madeline asked me just before my mom picked me up. I told her my number, and she told me hers. Once we had exchanged numbers, she texted me, "See you on Monday!" while I got into Mom's car.

"Who's that?" Mom asked me, gesturing toward Madeline.

"Just a friend from Quiz Bowl," I said. Even though we hadn't known each for very long, I still felt like I could call Madeline my friend. There was something that made her different from Blake, and at that point, I wasn't sure what it was exactly, but I was drawn to her in a way that had never happened with him.

The next day, when I took the bus to McKinley, I spotted a red Mazda in the parking lot. I looked closer, not quite believing that Blake, the same person who had called McKinley High a living hell, was here. I couldn't tell from that distance whether or not it was his, but I had enough time before English started to investigate.

I hopped off of the bus and sprinted into the parking lot, pushing past the students trying to get into McKinley as I headed straight for the red Mazda. I glanced at the license plate - it was definitely Blake's car, but what was it doing here? He had said a million times that he would never come back to McKinley. Maybe somebody stole his car. That seemed to be the most reasonable solution. I took out my phone to text Blake, but when I looked up, I saw that he was sitting in the driver's seat of the car.

I yanked on the passenger door, and Blake unlocked the car and let me in. "What are you doing here?" I asked him as I climbed into the passenger seat.

"I'm waiting for Madeline," Blake said.

All of a sudden, Madeline's parents' car parked in front of the school, and Madeline got out of the car and walked into McKinley High, apparently unaware that Blake and I were watching her. "She's so beautiful, isn't she?" Blake said.

I gave him a concerned look. "How long have you been doing this?"

"Just this week. I should have come up with this earlier. I can spend more time with the girl of my dreams this way..."

"Blake, this is seriously creepy."

"How else am I supposed to see Madeline every day?"

"Maybe you could actually talk to her like a normal person?" I suggested.

"Would that work?" Blake asked.

"I've been talking to her every day after Quiz Bowl," I explained. "She's mentioned you a few times, and she seems really into you."

Blake smiled, and for just a moment, he seemed happier than I had seen him in a long time. "Really?" he said.

"I'm serious." All of a sudden, I realized what time it was. I grabbed my backpack and told Blake, "I have to go. I'm late for class."

"Wait a second," Blake said. "We're recording this weekend, right?"

"Did Tommy book us some time in the studio?"

"I'll have to ask him, but I think so. If Tommy says that he's going to do something, he always does it."

"That's true, but I really have to leave, Blake. I'll see you later."

"Bye, Dani," Blake said as I climbed out of the red Mazda. Once I was out of his car, Blake drove away. The fact that Blake was stalking Madeline troubled me, but I didn't have time to think too much about Blake as I sprinted into my English class.

By the time I got there, the class was already in the middle of a discussion about The Great Gatsby. I made a few inane comments about the American Dream, not really engaged in the class, but desperate to make up for the fact that I had arrived ten minutes late. Hopefully, Mrs. Chambers would forgive me.

I saw Madeline in the hall later that day, and I almost told her about how Blake had been stalking her. However, just as I was about to open my mouth, I changed my mind. I had already talked to Blake. He wouldn't do it again. I didn't want to sabotage their relationship, so I kept my mouth shut.

Sometimes, I wish that I had just done it, for her sake and for mine. Madeline would have cut ties with Blake, and none of this would have happened.

The rest of the week was uneventful, and I never saw Blake's car in the McKinley parking lot again. I saw Madeline in the hallway a few more times, and occasionally, we stopped to chat, but since we didn't share any classes and Quiz Bowl didn't meet on Thursdays or Fridays, we didn't have a lot of time to ourselves.

On Sunday, Blake picked me up from church again, and we returned to the recording studio. When we got there, Blake showed me a piece of paper with lyrics and guitar and bass tabs.

"Brokencyde?" I said, looking over the bass tab. "Are you sure about this?"

"They're the band that sounds closest to us," Blake said. "We should acknowledge their influence."

At least it's not Blood on the Dance Floor, I thought as I tuned my bass. I recorded my part of the song - it wasn't too challenging - and then listened to Blake sing and play the guitar.

Until I actually listened to the lyrics, I thought that the cover might work. Of all of the artists I've ever known, Blake is the only one that can bring the energy of his live shows to the recording studio. Even when our producer was pressing buttons and fine-tuning our sound, Blake was jumping around and screaming his lungs out, pouring his heart into every note. He could make even Brokencyde sound passable.

Sometime during the second verse, I finally realized what he was singing.

Come on, bitch, you know you want this

That hardcore shit will make you feel the toxic

Versace, Rolex watches

Bentley Coupes with the 20s dropping

Convertible top, and the wheels spin

I can taste that ice when my grill is in

If you want me, baby, fill me in

Cause I don't waste my time with lesbians

When I heard those lyrics, I felt a visceral mixture of anger and disappointment, even if I didn't quite know why at first, and I knew that I had to talk to Blake. If he was anything like me, he wouldn't want the entire world hearing him sing that. We could always find another song to replace it.

When Blake was done singing, Tommy smiled and said, "Blake, that sounded great."

"We can't put it on the EP," I said.

"Why not?" Blake asked.

"Were you listening to yourself?"

"What are you talking about, Dani?"

"'Cause I don't waste my time with lesbians?' Are you saying that lesbians aren't worth spending time with? That girls aren't worth anything unless they're attracted to you?"

"I'm sure that's not what Brokencyde meant..."

"What about that other lyric? 'Come on, bitch, I know you want this?' Why are you calling the girl you like a 'bitch?' What if she doesn't 'want this?' Did you ever ask her how she feels?"

"Dani, stop being so fucking sensitive!" Blake shouted. "It's just a cover song to fill space on the EP! It doesn't need to be politically correct! Tommy, you agree with me, right?"

"I'm not getting involved in this," Tommy said.

"It's just a song, Dani," Blake said. "It's just a goddamn song."

I stormed out of the studio in frustration, and "Freaxxx" ended up on the EP. "It's not a bad thing to stir up a little bit of controversy," Tommy explained to me, but I still felt like Blake and Tommy had somehow betrayed me.

Going to Quiz Bowl the next day was a welcome relief from all of my band's drama. I could forget about the cover and answer trivia questions alongside three people who would never listen to the Love Martyrs EP in a million years. We added in team questions, where only one team could answer the question, but we could work together, and an alphabet round, where each answer started with the same letter. I still didn't know most of the answers, but I was at least pulling my weight on Team Choppin.

Team Choppin narrowly beat Team Sho-pan, and of course, Madeline was furious. "That's not how you pronounce Chopin!" Madeline exclaimed as we cleaned up Mrs. Welch's classroom.

"The scores never lie," Tanner said.

"Except for when we tried to predict the Super Bowl results last year."

"We predicted the winner the year before that."

"I don't remember that," Devon interjected.

"You were still in middle school," Tanner said.

"Even so, that's a 50% success rate," Devon said. "You could guess the winner randomly, and the results would be about the same. We can't really solve anything through Quiz Bowl scrimmages. Sho-pan is definitely the correct pronunciation though."

"Yes! Devon's on my side!" Madeline exclaimed as she put the last buzzer away. "Come on, Dani. Let's go."

I followed her out of McKinley High School, glancing around the parking lot for a red Mazda. For the first time, I was glad that Blake wasn't there. "Dani, do you want to come over to my house?" Madeline asked me.

"I'd love to," I said. I texted my mom and explained that I was going to a friend's house, and when Madeline's parents arrived, I climbed into the backseat of their minivan. Mr. and Mrs. Fujita asked me a little bit about myself - my name, what grade I was in, how I was enjoying Quiz Bowl - and I answered each of their questions as I stared out the window. Madeline lived in a neighborhood that wasn't too far away from Blake's, and her house was almost identical to his. I thought about asking Madeline if Blake could come over too, but I decided against it when I thought of the way that he had looked at her from the McKinley parking lot.

Madeline and I went into her living room and sat down on the couch. I immediately looked towards a glass cage in the corner, where a reptilian head popped up and stared right at me. "The snakes are my little brother's," she explained.

"They're so neat," I said.

Madeline rolled her eyes and said, "I think they're scary-looking, but you can ask Caden later if you want to play with them." I made a mental note to do just that. Mom and Jason didn't let Sydney and I have any pets, so I had to make up for it by playing with my friends' pets.

Madeline paused and then asked, "How was the recording session?"

I raised my eyebrows, surprised that she had remembered that we were recording. "It was okay," I said. "Blake decided to cover 'Freaxxx' by Brokencyde."

"I don't know that song," Madeline said. "I don't really listen to pop music though..."

"It's okay," I said. "You don't want to know that song."

"Why not?"

"It sounds terrible, and Blake made it a little better in the cover, but the lyrics are just so creepy."

"That sucks. I'm glad that a lot of classical music pieces are instrumentals. There's less potential for creepiness Maybe you should just switch to the cello! You could be in orchestra with me!"

I laughed and said, "It's not that easy."

I didn't tell Madeline this, but between the stalking and the cover song, it felt like I was losing my best friend.