text: [Themes: drugs, art, multiple protagonists, drama, autobiographical, true story, college, school, drug abuse]
  
  You are covered in sweat. Your clothes cling to you like someone
  else's moist hands, and your skin feels like someone else's skin. Hina is speaking, but you're only aware of your own nauseating body.
  
  Someone interrupts Hina. "You guys need a drink?"
  
  It's Nathalie, wheeling her cumbersome old cooler up to the judges' table. Saving you the energy it would take to croak out a plea for help, she produces three bottles of water.
  
  Hina and Alec chug theirs down desperately, and you follow suit, with no concern for how undignified you must look. A cold, wet trickle runs over your chin, down your neck. Then the bottle is empty; then, finally, you can think clearly.
  
  shade, so this is where Hina decided the judges should sit while the artists work. Hina and Alec are sitting at opposite ends of the table; your spot is in the middle. The sidewalk, the "canvas" of the sidewalk chalk tournament, runs west and east.
  
  Before Hina can get back to what she was saying, Nathalie starts in:
  "I came over to let you know, one of the artists has a problem with another artist's art."
  
  Hina summons enough willpower to roll her eyes. "Who, exactly?"
  
  "Jessica, and Xavier. Jessica is the one who wanted me to tell on Xavier. She wanted a judge to come down and make a ruling."
  
  Hina turns toward you. "Lane, can you take care of this?"
  
  You nod without thinking. It's too hot to think.
  
  "Come on, I'll go with you." Nathalie waves you over, and a tiny spark of encouragement flickers in your overheated heart.
  
  [Author's Note: An account of the disastrous sidewalk chalk tournament of August 27, 2011.]
  
  > About yourself
  Your name is Lane, and you're a sophomore chem major. Your grades got you into the Honors program, your desire to become a well-rounded person led you to join the Honors Arts Committee, and your inability
  to say "no" has made you a judge for the Honors Arts Committee's Sidewalk Chalk Tournament.
  
  Actually, your credit hours from the summer semester probably bumped you up so you're technically a junior. But that doesn't seem right: A real upperclassman would have a measure of confidence that you definitely lack.
  
  > check your inventory
  You are carrying:
  a water bottle
  
  > examine Hina
  Hina is a senior���pre-med���and she basically runs the Honors program single-handedly. She organized this whole sidewalk chalk tournament herself, and she's already filled the calendar for the fall semester with similar activities. You just pray the other events will be indoors.
  
  Her forehead is always furrowed a little bit; she's always working on something. Right now, though, it's like her whole head is furrowed.
  You can't blame her.
  
  > examine Alec
  You can't take Alec seriously, because he doesn't take anything seriously. All you've seen him do around the Honors center is goof off and flirt with underclassman girls. You have no idea how he's still in the Honors program as of his senior year.
  
  And why is he here? Maybe the program director told him he had to to help out with some bare minimum of events, and he decided to get one out of the way right at the start of the semester.
  
  > examine Nathalie
  Nathalie is a theater major, and a fifth-year senior. Instead of
  acting as judge, she's the sidewalk chalk tournament's "hydration officer." She seems the least bothered of anyone by the heat, probably because she has the cooler and all the cold water.
  
  > Go east
  The sidewalk stops well before it reaches the equipment shed, leaving
  a long stretch of sand in between. Beyond the shed is the intersection of First Avenue and Second Street: An impassable wasteland.
  
  An empty bucket sits near the shed.
  
  Nathalie follows along.
  
  > examine the shed
  It's a squat, unattractive building with a big steel door. A brass spigot protrudes from one of the walls.
  
  > examine the intersection
  Last year, it was impossible to get around this part of town on foot, because there was so much traffic. Now it's impossible because of all the construction.
  
  Gosh, you're thirsty.
  
  > Drink water
  (the water bottle)
  The bottle feels too light.
  
  Oh, it's empty. That's no good.
  
  > Go west
  The softball field's aluminum bleachers offer a meager amount of
  shade, so this is where Hina decided the judges should sit while the artists work. Hina and Alec are sitting at opposite ends of the table; your spot is in the middle. The sidewalk, the "canvas" of the sidewalk chalk tournament, runs west and east.
  
  Nathalie follows along.
  
  > go west
  The sidewalk bends south and east here, at the edge of the parking
  lot.
  
  Victoria is hunched over her square of sidewalk, filling in the
  details of a huge, twisting python. A plastic container is nestled in the grass nearby.
  
  Nathalie follows along.
  
  > ask Nathalie for the water
  (the water bottle)
  "Could I get another bottle of water?" you ask, trying not to sound desperate.
  
  "Of course you could, young lady." Nathalie relieves you of your empty bottle and gets a full one out of the cooler. "There you go. As cold
  as it gets, for all that's worth."
  
  It feels plenty cold to you, and you thank her sincerely.
  
  "No need to thank me. Just doing my duty as hydration officer."
  
  [1] "How's it going?"
  [2] "How'd you get to be the hydration officer, anyway?"
  [3] "How do you like this snake?"
  [4] "Thanks."
  
  > 1
  "How's it going?"
  
  Nathalie shrugs. "Oh, I'm fine." She really is. It's like the heat isn't getting to her at all.
  
  [1] "How's it going?"
  [2] "How are you so chipper?"
  [3] "How'd you get to be the hydration officer, anyway?"
  [4] "How do you like this snake?"
  [5] "Thanks."
  
  > 2
  "How are you so..." You lick your lips. "Chipper" isn't really the
  word you want to use.
  
  Nathalie catches your meaning. "Two things: A positive attitude, and staying hydrated. And a willingness to fully embrace my situation. But that's part of the first one."
  
  [1] "How's it going?"
  [2] "How are you so chipper?"
  [3] "How'd you get to be the hydration officer, anyway?"
  [4] "How do you like this snake?"
  [5] "Thanks."
  
  > 3
  "How'd you get to be the hydration officer, anyway?"
  
  "Well, at last year's event I was in Hina's position, and it turned
  out to be really stressful. So I asked her if I could do something a little more low-key this time around."
  
  [1] "How's it going?"
  [2] "How are you so chipper?"
  [3] "How'd you get to be the hydration officer, anyway?"
  [4] "How do you like this snake?"
  [5] "Thanks."
  
  > 4
  You maneuver Nathalie to a spot where you can talk without being overheard. "How do you like this snake?" you ask.
  
  "I love it. It's creepy."
  
  "Creepy is a good thing?"
  
  "I love creepy! Well, okay." She takes a second to consider. "There
  are different kinds of creepy," she concludes.
  
  [1] "How's it going?"
  [2] "How are you so chipper?"
  [3] "How'd you get to be the hydration officer, anyway?"
  [4] "How do you like this snake?"
  [5] "Thanks."
  
  > 5
  "Thanks, Nathalie."
  
  "Hey, no problem."
  
  > Drink water
  (the water bottle)
  You take a meek little sip from your water bottle.