The Fastest Finish

by Catherine Hapka

  “JJ seems like a nice kid,” Papa Kurt said.

  “And Kevin had to go to his brother’s piano recital,” Mackenzie went on. She frowned. “But the other two didn’t have good excuses. When I told Izzy I wanted to support Noah, she just said she’d start supporting him if and when he actually makes the wildcard show.”

  Papa Kurt rubbed his chin. “Hmm.”

  “Still, I guess at least she’ll give him a chance then,” Mackenzie said. “Ty doesn’t seem to want Noah on the team at all! When I asked if he wanted to come along today, he said no way!”

  “Ty’s used to winning,” Papa Kurt said. “Your uncle Leo was the same way as a kid. But he got over it, and I bet Ty will, too.”

  “You think so?” Mackenzie watched the fauxhawk ninja struggling to make it through the fourth obstacle, a rope-climbing one. “Maybe. I just don’t get him sometimes.”

  Papa Kurt patted her shoulder. “You guys are all pretty different, aren’t you? But maybe that’s why you make such a good team.”

  Mackenzie thought about that. Maybe her father was right. Ty was supercompetitive—​that was his thing. Just like her thing was getting everyone revved up and excited, and Kevin’s was working hard, and JJ’s was being laid-back and positive, and Izzy’s was staying cool, calm, and collected. If they were all the same, maybe their team wouldn’t work so well . . .

  She forgot about that when the fauxhawk kid finally lost his grip on the ropes and fell to the mats below. The crowd groaned with sympathy. As the kid left the course, a woman with a clipboard gestured to Noah, and Tara stepped back off the start mat.

  “Here he goes,” Mackenzie said, crossing her fingers as Noah stepped forward.

  Fourteen

  Noah shot one last glance toward Mackenzie on the sidelines, still surprised that she was there. She was a nice person—​he should have known she’d want to support him.

  Unlike the rest of my so-called team, he thought.

  But he shook his head quickly, doing his best to banish negative thoughts. He needed to focus, to visualize a positive result. Besides, what was the big deal? He was used to cutthroat competition from the theater world, where a dozen other dancers were always waiting for you to mess up, twist your ankle, or get sick so they could grab your role.

  “Whenever you’re ready, ninja,” the woman with the clipboard said.

  Noah nodded. He was ready.

  The first obstacle was a set of balance steps. Noah skipped through them easily, then moved on to the bar swings that came next. It reminded him of the trapeze work he’d done in a dance class a few years before, and when he dismounted, he was smiling. That had been fun!

  The third obstacle was a tricky balance bridge that had taken out a lot of people so far. The beam was narrow and made several turns and changes in height. But it was a piece of cake for Noah, and soon he found himself facing the ropes obstacle that had taken out the previous ninja.

  “Gooooo, Noah!” Mackenzie cried, her voice cutting through the noise of the crowd.

  Noah barely heard her as he studied the task ahead of him. The first part of the obstacle involved shimmying up a thick rope. Then you had to grab the first of a series of shorter ropes, swinging across them all to a rope ladder. There were no knots on the shorter ropes, which made them hard to grip.

  “Slow and easy, Noah!” Tara shouted from her spot on the sidelines.

  He glanced at the coach and nodded. Then he leaped up and grabbed the long rope, ignoring the way the rough fibers rubbed his hands and legs.

  Getting to the top wasn’t too hard. But once he was up there, the first of the short ropes looked impossibly far away. How was he supposed to reach it?

  He closed his eyes for a second, picturing the ropes at Fit Kidz. For some reason, he found himself remembering a day last week when Ty had been messing around up there, acting like Tarzan and swinging around one-handed.

  Noah’s eyes flew open as he realized what he needed to do. He had to use his body weight to get the long rope swinging, just as Ty had done that day. He did it, and was able to reach the short rope on the first swing. His momentum carried him onto the next rope, and the next.

  After that, the rest of the course seemed to fly by. He’d worked hard to master the Loco Ladder, and after that came a balance exercise that involved jumping from the top of one narrow wall to another. Finally came the Crazy Cliff—​and as Noah flew up the steep wall, he was already grinning. Mission accomplished!

  * * *

  “Good news, Noah.” Tara rushed up to the Fit Kidz van, where Noah and Mrs. Santiago were waiting. Mackenzie was there, too—​she’d stayed for the whole tryouts.

  “Did he make it through to the wildcard show?” Mackenzie asked.

  “Not only that.” Tara grinned. “He had the fastest time of the day!”

  “Awesome!” Mackenzie lifted her hand.

  Noah high-fived her. “Thanks,” he said. “Wow—​the fastest? Really?”

  Mackenzie laughed. “You must have visualized like crazy! Now all you have to do is visualize winning the finals, too!”

  “Congrats, Noah,” Tara said, raising an eyebrow at Mackenzie. “Don’t let this make you overconfident, though. It will take more than positive visualization to make sure you’re ready for the wildcard show, never mind the finals. It’ll take a lot of hard work, too.”

  Noah nodded, but he wasn’t really focused on the coach’s words. He was used to working hard. Right now he was just thinking about how excited his mother was going to be to see him on TV.

  Fifteen

  “Ready to get started?” Tara asked, striding into the ninja room on Tuesday morning. “We have a lot to do today.”

  Ty had been doing pushups to warm up. Now he jumped to his feet, feeling pumped. “Let’s do this!” he cried.

  “Wait.” Mackenzie looked up from her cell phone. “Noah’s not here yet.”

  Tara nodded. “He texted to say he’ll be a little late,” she said. “He has his weekly voice lesson today.”

  “Voice lesson?” Ty made a face. “Are you serious?”

  “Yes.” Tara raised her eyebrows at him. “Do you have a problem with that?”

  “Nope.” But Ty didn’t mean it. He definitely had a problem with just about everything Noah did.

  I mean, I gave up an entire season of travel soccer to be a ninja, he thought with a grimace. And this kid won’t even skip one lousy voice lesson a few days before the wildcard filming?

  But he didn’t dare say any of that in front of Tara and the others. Ever since the tryouts on Saturday, Mackenzie hadn’t been able to stop talking about how Noah had aced the course. That seemed to make the others think he was part of the team now. But Ty still wasn’t ready to accept that. He didn’t think it was fair that Noah had a chance to make the finals and he didn’t.

  Ty realized that Tara was talking again, and he tuned back in.

  “. . . and Ty’s dad will drive the van up to the university again, just like last time,” she was saying. “We’ll all meet here at the gym at six thirty.”

  “Wait—​what?” Ty said. “Um, what did you say?”

  Kevin glanced at him. “She’s talking about Saturday. You know, the filming?”

  “We’re all going?” Ty blurted out.

  “Sure.” JJ shrugged. “I mean, aren’t we?”

  Suddenly everyone seemed to be looking at Ty. For a second he wasn’t sure what to say. Why did they all assume he was coming? Why should he wake up early on a Saturday and ride halfway across the state in a stuffy van just to cheer Noah on? It wasn’t as if he actually wanted the kid to do well . . .

  But he couldn’t say that in front of the others. Especially Tara.

  “Um, okay,” he muttered instead. “So what time did you say to meet here?”

  “Six thirty,” Kevin said, and Ty nodded.

  Whatever. Come to think of it, maybe it would be kind of fun to see Noah choke.

  * * *

  “Whoa, he’
s good!” JJ exclaimed.

  Ty nodded, but he didn’t take his eyes off the TV. It was Thursday night, and the whole ninja team was gathered at the Fit Kidz gym to watch the third episode of Junior Ninja Champion. A tall, broad-shouldered black kid named Benjamin Turay was on course. His nickname was Benny the Beast, and Ty could see why. Benny had powered through the first six obstacles as if they were nothing.

  “Yeah, he’s going to be one to watch in the finals,” Kevin said.

  “He hasn’t made it yet,” Ty said. “Anyway, I bet I could beat him. You know—​if I get called in.”

  “Maybe,” Izzy said. “He’s pretty good.”

  Onscreen, Benny stepped up to the seventh obstacle, a set of balance blocks called Tiptoe Tulips.

  “Beast! Beast! Beast!” Mackenzie chanted, pumping her fist as Benny leaped onto the first block.

  Noah leaned forward, watching carefully. “This guy’s good, but he’s kind of top-heavy,” he said. “Lots of muscles. See? He doesn’t look totally solid on this one. Bet all the balance obstacles are tough for him.”

  Ty shot him an irritated look. He’d almost forgotten that the newbie was there—​Noah hadn’t come to last week’s viewing, but he’d already been sitting with the others tonight when Ty had come in from sweeping up the hallway. He guessed Mackenzie must have invited him.

  “You really think you can beat that guy?” Ty challenged Noah.

  Noah shrugged. “Sure, why not?” he replied quietly. “Nobody’s perfect.”

  Izzy laughed. “True. So maybe you’d better make the finals first, okay?”

  Noah didn’t say anything, and Ty smirked. Then he returned his attention to Benny, who had just made it up the Crazy Cliff to wild cheers from the crowd. It was always good to keep an eye on the competition.

  Sixteen

  “Getting nervous?” Kevin asked.

  He glanced over at Noah, who was sitting between him and JJ in the middle seat of the van. It was Saturday, and they were halfway to the state university, where one of the wildcard tapings would take place.

  Noah shrugged, staring out the window at the highway scenery sliding past. “Sure, a little,” he said. “But I’m used to it from auditions and stuff.”

  “Oh, right.” JJ nodded. Then he laughed. “I wasn’t nervous at all last time. But that’s because I thought I was just an alternate!”

  “Really?” Noah said.

  Kevin smiled, thinking back to that day. “I was definitely nervous,” he said. “But excited, too. We all were.”

  He glanced around the van. Ty’s mom was driving, and his dad was in the passenger seat. Izzy, Mackenzie, and Tara were sitting in the first seat behind that. Then came Kevin and the other two, and finally Ty, who was lounging on the back seat, listening to headphones.

  “Anyway, if you do get nervous, just remember that the whole team will be out there cheering you on,” Kevin told Noah.

  “Really?” Noah glanced over, his dark eyes surprised. “Um, I wasn’t sure everyone was that psyched to have me around.”

  “Sure we are,” JJ said quickly.

  “Yeah,” Kevin said. He had a feeling he knew what Noah was thinking—​not everybody had been that welcoming. He glanced over his shoulder briefly, though Ty didn’t notice. “Listen, don’t let anyone make you think you’re not part of the team, okay?”

  “Right,” JJ said. “We’ve really helped each other through some stuff. I was pretty freaked out when I got called in as an alternate at the last minute.”

  “Yeah, and I wasn’t sure I’d be able to compete at all,” Kevin added, thinking back to what had happened. “My mom didn’t exactly know about the whole ninja thing at first. I wasn’t sure she’d let me go to the semifinals taping.”

  Noah looked curious. “Really? Why wouldn’t she?”

  Kevin thought about how to explain his mother to someone who’d never met her. “You know I had cancer when I was younger, right?” When Noah nodded, Kevin went on. “She sometimes forgets that I beat it—​that I’m fine now. That I can do anything other kids do.”

  JJ reached across Noah to clap Kevin on the shoulder. “So Izzy convinced her to come see Kev do his thing. She was so impressed that she said he could do it.”

  “Yeah. I was mad at first, because Izzy went behind my back to tell her. But she was right. It was the best way to show my mom what I’m capable of and how much I really wanted to be a ninja.”

  JJ nodded. “I guess your parents couldn’t make it today, huh?” he asked Noah. “Or are they driving up separately?”

  “They’re not coming,” Noah said. “But listen—​do you guys have any tips for the Loco Ladder? That’s still the toughest thing for me.”

  “Sure!” JJ said eagerly. “That one took me a while to get, too. Here’s what I did . . .”

  As JJ chattered away, Kevin shot Noah a sidelong glance. Was it his imagination, or had Noah been pretty quick to change the subject away from his parents?

  I guess it’s none of my business, Kevin told himself. But maybe I’m not the only one with a complicated family . . .

  * * *

  A few hours later, Kevin cheered loudly as a ninja attacked the tire swing obstacle. It was fun watching the competition without the pressure of competing himself. Sort of like watching the other semifinals shows on TV—​except better! The producers had changed up the course for the wildcard show, since they didn’t want the competitors to be able to practice ahead of time. A few obstacles were the same as the ones Kevin and his other teammates had gone up against, while others were brand-new.

  “Awww,” Kevin groaned along with the rest of the onlookers when the ninja fell on the second tire.

  “That tire thing looks even trickier than ours was,” Izzy commented. “I hope Noah’s paying attention, or his career as a ninja will be over fast.”

  Kevin nodded. Noah had gone off with Tara to get warmed up for his round, which was coming up soon. Ty had disappeared, too, though Kevin didn’t know where.

  A petite girl stepped onto the mat. When her package played, Kevin and the others learned that her name was Chen Chang—​also known as the Mighty Mini because of her tiny size.

  “Wow, she’s even smaller than Tara,” Mackenzie commented.

  “Yeah. Let’s see if she’s as good,” JJ said with a grin.

  The answer seemed to be yes. From the moment she raced across the balance poles that started the course, Chen barely slowed down to take a breath.

  “Wow!” JJ shouted when the Mighty Mini leaped to her feet at the top of the Crazy Cliff. “She absolutely destroyed that course!”

  Mackenzie elbowed JJ with a grin. “Looks like she’ll be one of the ninjas to beat in the finals.”

  “For sure!” JJ agreed.

  “I wonder why she didn’t try out the first time around,” Kevin added.

  “Maybe she didn’t hear about it in time,” JJ said. “We might not have either if Mack hadn’t told us.”

  Meanwhile, Izzy was looking toward the start mat. “Check it out—​Noah’s up next.”

  Seventeen

  Noah couldn’t believe he had to follow Chen the Mighty Mini. The whole place had erupted in wild shouts and applause halfway through her course, and it hadn’t quieted down much by the time his own package started to play.

  He glanced up at the screen. He’d managed to convince his dad not to tell his mother about the filming of his package. They’d arranged for it to happen while she was out of town for the day. Would she be mad when she found out? And what about when she found out about today’s taping? Would she be upset that he hadn’t told her about that, either? Or would she accept that he’d wanted it to be a surprise.

  “Ready?” Tara asked, interrupting his thoughts.

  Noah nodded, then jumped up and down a few times, shaking out his arms and legs. “Begin whenever you’re ready, ninja,” said the woman standing by the start.

  Noah took a step forward, eyeing the first obstacle, known as the Lean
ing Poles of Pizza. It consisted of six wooden poles of varying heights, most of the them slanted to some degree. They stuck up from a large, colorful pizza painted on the floor, as if the poles were warped stacks of pepperoni.

  The cheers and whistles from the crowd hadn’t died down, but Noah knew they weren’t for him—​they were for Chen, who was standing with her coach near the base of the Crazy Cliff. He couldn’t help feeling a little rattled by all the commotion, but he did his best to ignore it as he took a deep breath and jumped up onto the first pole, which was only slightly slanted.

  Tara had advised him to try to get through as quickly as possible, so Noah pushed off the first pole immediately, aiming for the second, taller pole. The tops were small, no larger than the top of an average fencepost, and his foot hit it slightly askew. Noah wobbled, swinging his arms to keep his balance, and shoved himself forward toward the third pole, which was shorter and very slanted.

  The rest of the poles went okay, though Noah felt a little unbalanced the whole way through. When he finally landed safely on the mat at the end, he stood there for a second, trying to regain his composure. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Chen walking past him toward the locker rooms, waving to cheering fans.

  Focus, Noah told himself. Get your head back in the game or this was all for nothing.

  The second obstacle was called Hanging Out. It was a large, squared-off log, its edges set on a pair of sloped metal tracks. Ninjas were supposed to hang on to it upside down as it slid down the tracks. Several competitors had lost their grip halfway down, and others had been shaken loose when it hit the end of the tracks, falling into the safety net instead of throwing themselves forward onto the landing mat.