He's going to win. It's very apparent: much as you're trying, hard as you're running, as much as your lungs burn, he's ahead by two paces. You had a good start, but he's the better athlete. You know this now. He's gonna win this competition, and you're going to lose. But, as in the new book "The Other Olympians" by Michael Waters, there may be another outcome.

You plan to buy lots of Jujubes.

Superb. That word's appropriate in this situation. Fantastic, that's another.

Three bedrooms upstairs. That's a minimum.

This and that. It's how a pleasant conversation is fed, with give and take, back and forth, wandering casually and naturally, a bit of one subject easing into the next with no preamble. It's communication you can enjoy, like what you'll find inside "Mean Boys" by Geoffrey Mak.

Can you do me a solid? Just one little favor, a quick errand, it won't take long.