Lin tells us that he's having a hard time concentrating on his homework. He's worried about how he'll be able to catch up with Zillah when she's done with her lessons. Lin also says that he doesn't think Zillah is as good as he thinks she is. He thinks that she is just trying to get ahead of him in the world of math so that she won't have to lag behind when she gets to college. Lin says that Zillah really shocked him when she said that even people who don't do well in math want to do well because they want to be ahead of someone who does. Lin is shocked that she would want to beat someone who is so good at math, but he promises that he will catch up to Zillah in one year.