Grid Seekers (Grid Seekers Book One) by Logan Byrne

said.
    “Why wouldn’t it work out? You’d get a wish,” he said.
    “They’d never let me bring my mom or sister, and going out there alone wouldn’t exactly be fun. What is it going to be, me and some guards all prancing around together?” I asked, smiling.
    “I’ll go with you,” he said.
    I looked at him, a puzzled look on my face, as he continued looking at me, both of us sitting in utter silence.
    “They wouldn’t let you. I just said that they likely wouldn’t let me take anyone with me,” I said.
    “I’m your partner, Alexia. I’d get a wish too, you know,” he said, smiling, like I should’ve known.
    “But you said you wanted to use the wish on your mom,” I said.
    “Yeah, but I’ve always wanted to see the country as well, and if I have the perfect opportunity and chance to go, why not go with you? It’d be fun,” he said.
    To say I wasn’t flattered would be a lie. Liam was proving himself to be a sweet guy, even if he first came off a little rough and crass. He really was the type of person you shouldn’t judge by their cover. I knew he was just being sweet, and kind, and supportive of me, but I’d never take him with me or even expect that to happen if we did win and I did decide to use that as my wish. I was just here to win and go on with my life, just like he was, and everybody else here as well. It wasn’t to say that I didn’t like him or think he was nice, but I had my own life already, and I needed to worry about my mother and sister, not some guy I knew for a couple weeks.
    “Maybe. We have to win first,” I said politely.
    “That’s true. I’m pretty confident in us, though. We have a good chance of winning,” Liam said.
    “Oh, yeah? How do you figure?” I asked.
    “We have a great hacker, we have chemistry and mesh well together, and most of the other teams couldn’t find their way out of a brown paper bag, let alone through the competition,” Liam said.
    “I guess you’re right. Just don’t get too cocky. The last thing we need is arrogance, like that Los Angeles guy,” I said.
    “He won’t be a problem, don’t worry,” Liam said.
    “How?” I asked.
    “I’ve got your back. He won’t come near us,” Liam said.
    I yawned, covering my mouth, as my eyes watered a little bit, before I stretched my arms back, my sleepiness starting to come over me a little bit as I felt myself getting close to wanting to crawl back into bed.
    “Yeah, I’m tired too. I think I’m going to get in bed. I’ll see you in the morning,” Liam said, smiling, before getting up and walking off to his room.
    I continued to sit on the couch, looking at the screen, seeing some movement below on the street. That area looked much busier at night than my neighborhood. I didn’t know why, but seeing those people, those giant buildings, made me think even more about the competition. What happened if I lost, if we lost? I knew I’d thought about the consequences before, but this picture and my talk with Liam just made me think how imperative it was that I didn’t lose.
    My mother and Saraia wouldn’t have enough money to scrape by, nobody would be there to take care of Saraia before and after school when my mother was busy and preoccupied with work, and not only that, but I’d miss everything. I knew I should be nervous and scared about three years of hard labor, my body on the line every single day without even one day of rest, but I couldn’t even bother to think about my own predicament…only theirs.
    Saraia would be eleven when I got back, a pre-teen, and I wouldn’t have been there to guide her through the problems she might have in the meantime. She’d be getting into boys, she’d be changing, and I’d be wasting away before coming back and not knowing if I would even be the same person as I was now. I’d heard stories about how you come back a completely different person, your body worn down, bags under your eyes, and worst of all, defeated. I couldn’t come back