“The proctor calls the time in the order people hand in.”

Owen pushed a cracker across the table to his brother.

“So he’ll know if he loses.”

“He’ll know if he wins,” Eli said.

The macaroni pot hissed, and Claire turned the burner down.

She wiped her hands on the dish towel, and she looked at the name again on the screen, at the school name in gray beside it.

“Boys,” she said.

“If I said no to this trip, what would you say?”