One Seat in the Double

There is one seat in the double for the camp regatta and two friends: Kos has two seasons of shared rowing behind him, Marta has a current calculation and a channel that cuts a quarter off. The draw is in the morning and will not wait, so Alice says it to both faces.

The regatta pairings list has a dash beside Alice: pick your own partner. Kos comes over first — they rowed as a double for two seasons and know each other's stroke by heart, and he has already taken the oars. An hour later Marta shows a channel on the map that cuts a quarter off the route: she worked the current, and with a partner the channel holds. Both options are honest and both cost something. Alice stalls all day, and by evening it turns out stalling is impossible: the draw is at nine and unregistered pairs are left out. At night comes the temptation to tell one and stay quiet with the other. In the morning Alice calls both onto the pier and stands them side by side: one by one would be easier, but then one of them hears it second and from strangers. They run the regatta on Marta's channel and finish second; Kos, in another double, beats them by a minute and does not look over at the finish.