On Monday, the team endures early strength training. Pen is unusually giddy, while Victoria is grumpy and sardonic; their banter underscores their odd-couple friendship. Scarlett focuses on staying out of her head, fielding Coach Sima’s questions about her last-minute dive changes. She reflects on feeling socially detached and the loss of her best friend Josh’s contact.

Later in computational biology, the TA Otis returns homework. Scarlett finds no grade and a “See me after class” note from Dr. Carlsen. Seeing another student’s paper marked with a D and a warning to drop, she panics, assuming she’s being accused of plagiarism.

Scarlett rushes to Dr. Carlsen’s office. He immediately dismisses plagiarism concerns and asks if her deep-learning approach to classifying pancreatic cells was her idea. When she confirms, he invites her to pursue it as research, handing her Dr. Olive Smith’s email on a Post-it. Scarlett hesitates about time as a student-athlete but is clearly interested.

Before leaving, Scarlett asks about her missing grade. Dr. Carlsen explains her work is exceptional and implies grades are irrelevant; at her request, he agrees to have Otis assign an A+. Buoyed by the praise and opportunity, Scarlett heads toward the dining hall while composing an email to Dr. Olive Smith.