Well, optimism wasn't a bad thing. They all had to keep going somehow. Still, sometimes the only right answer was a song, or a piece of one, and Curnen found herself softly singing just two lines.

The cock he crew in the morning, he crew both loud and shrill
I awoke in California, many miles from Spancil Hill

She finished the race in last. "Fuuuuuuuuck." But it still more amused than frustrated.