Achiever, Believer

"Come on, Mike," Sam yelled, "We've got this. Just a couple more miles. Keep running!"

My best friend, Samantha had always been a tomboy. She favored individual sports early on, especially running, swimming and tennis. Later, she joined soccer. We got along great because I was a jock too. I favored team sports like football and basketball. That wasn't the major difference between us.

I was an average student, whereas no one I know is smarter than Sam. Sometimes while we were out jogging, I would throw out math problems for her to solve in her head. Of course, I couldn't prove she got them right, but I knew she did. At home, I tested her with a calculator in hand. She never missed a digit. Sam was great at Sudoku, chess, word games, and logic puzzles.

For her birthday one year, Sam's parents paid for an escape room. She led us through it like she knew what was coming at every step. We finished in record time. We did two more escape rooms that year with similar results. It was a blast to watch her work through the clues.

The next summer, Sam got into adventure racing. I didn't even know what it was until she dragged me along. She recruited her older brother, Tom, and his buddy, Duncan.

Adventure racing involves four-member teams who can never be more than 100 meters apart. If anyone drops out, the whole team is out. The toughest parts of it are endurance and navigating. We got a map the day of the race and had to figure our own way to checkpoints without any GPS. We typically had a bike leg, a paddle leg, and a trek leg, and sometimes something else, like climbing. We became so close over the next couple of years, that we could almost anticipate what a teammate was about to say.

Sometimes, it was tiring living in Sam's shadow, but most of the time, she was a ball to be around. As a senior, she still hadn't figured out what to do with her life. I kept saying, "Just pick something you like, and you'll be great at it."

Here we were, finishing up yet another adventure race during our Christmas break. We had cross country skied, paddled down a partially frozen river, and were now on our last leg, the trek to the finish line.

I was so tired that all I wanted to do was sleep on the ground rather than take another step, but Sam kept pushing me on. Tom and Duncan were right in it with Sam. I was the weak link. We always tried to cross the finish line by running, but I wasn't sure if I had enough gas in the tank this time.

"Come on, Mike! Go! Go! I know you've got it in you. One foot at a time. That's it!"

I was panting, but seeing the finish line ahead gave me the adrenalin I needed. We surged ahead and finished together. If it hadn't been for the arms of my teammates holding me up, I probably would have collapsed right then, but I had another purpose for wanting to stay awake and alert.

A man approached our group. I inquired, "Agent Thompson?"

He nodded, "So, this is your Samantha." He nodded towards Sam.

Samantha looked confused. "Mike, what going on?"

I smirked. "I sent your resume into the CIA. I heard back and told Agent Thompson you'd be here for an interview. Surprise!"

Her eyes widened. "You did that for me? I wouldn't have even thought about the CIA. It may be a good..."

Agent Thompson interrupted, "I've seen your resume, and I've heard glowing statements from your teammates and your teachers. I've seen your transcripts. I don't think the physical exam is necessary after what I've seen here. Welcome aboard. The only thing remaining are your polygraph interview and phycological exam. Shall we begin?"