My Rival, The AI

As a programmer from Chicago, my little brother Leo's rare illness left us drowning in debt, making the national InnovateNext coding championship our only lifeline. A Stanford scholarship and prize money were his only hope.

But it felt like I was trapped in a recurring nightmare: my rival, Tiffany, always beat me by the exact same, infuriating margin – a flawless twenty points.

Each defeat deepened my despair, the hollow victories mirroring Leo' s weakening breaths. Even my boyfriend, Mark, dismissed my suspicions, openly siding with her.