Dodging a Lifetime of Tests

I didn’t think much about the one bag she grabbed. Until later. I was tossing things

into boxes when I noticed something: an open notebook on the floor. Her handwriting.

My name at the top of the page. At first I thought it was a journal. Then I actually

read it. It wasn’t a journal. It was a scorecard. There were dates. Details.

Arrows. Little notes like: “Next time, push harder. See what he’ll do.”

And then I saw something worse: “Backup: Meet with Josh if Ryan doesn’t react right.”

Backup. Like I was a main character in a trial run. And if I failed?

She had someone ready. Suddenly, that single bag she grabbed made