Andy barely heard her. He was still trying to think through what had just happened. “I looked on the ground for the medal . . .” he said slowly, remembering. “Through my phone. I looked on the ground, then to both sides, and then I looked up and saw it. I would’ve noticed this note.”
“So you think whoever put it here did it after Tiler- Myths won?” Mika looked doubtful. “That was only like ten minutes ago!”
The Kudo kids looked at each other, then shot to their feet, staring around wildly. Team SuperFan was still talking to Gavin Driscoll. There were probably other OlympiFan players here among the tourists. Had Andy and Mika been looking at their phones while one of them left the note on the ground?
Of course, there was another possibility, too. Andy couldn’t help imagining the Masked Medalist hiding behind a tree, watching them. What if they’d come here to see the action?
Kneeling, Andy picked up the clue. “There’s something on the back!” Mika exclaimed, and he turned it over to see tiny black lettering printed on the bottom of the note.
コンチネンタルホテル赤坂
CONTINENTAL HOTEL AKASAKA
“Whoa.” Mika stared at Andy, eyes wide. “So whoever left this is probably staying at this hotel?”
Andy nodded, his spirits lifting again.
Now this was a clue. Not a clue to the location of the Silver medal, but a clue to the identity of whoever had left this note—and maybe even to the Masked Medalist’s identity.
* * *
“I look so professional.” Mika adjusted the day pass hanging around her neck and beamed. “Thanks for getting us these passes, Mom!”
Mom smiled as she handed Andy his day pass, which was attached to a blue lanyard. The pass read GUEST, COMPETE MEDIA. Andy hung it around his neck, lost in thought until Mom cleared her throat.
Andy jumped. “What?”
“You’re so out of it!” Mom said, looking amused. “I thought you’d be more excited about this.”
“I am!” Andy stepped off the escalator and followed Mom and Mika, feeling slightly guilty. The Continental Hotel Akasaka wasn’t close to where the Kudos were staying, and he’d spent the subway ride back trying to come up with a good reason to convince Dad to take them there. But Mom had been waiting for them with a surprise—she was taking them to the International Broadcast Center.
Still, Andy couldn’t stop thinking about that note—and more importantly, whoever had written it. Even though he knew the note couldn’t actually be a part of OlympiFan, Andy couldn’t help wondering . . . what if it was? What if Team MADR had a clue that no other team knew about?
What if they could win the Silver? Then they’d have two hints to the Masked Medalist’s identity—three, if the Medalist was staying at the Continental Hotel Akasaka.
“All right.” Mom came to a halt outside a set of double doors. Her eyes were shining with anticipation. “I know I promised you guys lunch, and we’ll head to the cafeteria soon, I swear. But first, I wanted to show you . . . this.”
She pushed the doors open and gestured for Andy and Mika to walk in first. As soon as Andy stepped inside the giant room, all thoughts of OlympiFan and the Masked Medalist temporarily fled his mind.
Row after row of tables were covered in giant computer monitors and all kinds of equipment. The screens were showing different Olympic events, and everyone sitting behind a computer wore large headphones. More people milled up and down the rows, swiping tablets or talking on their phones.
“Wow,” Mika breathed as they walked slowly down a row, watching all the different events playing on the monitors.
“I’ve never seen so many screens in my entire life,” Andy said.
Mom looked pleased. “More than a thousand screens, as a matter of fact! Every television network in the world broadcasting the Games to their home countries does it from right here. Pretty cool, huh?”
“Very cool!” Andy tried to imagine how many people were watching the Olympics all over the world right now. The thought made his head spin.
After their tour, Mom took Andy and Mika to a giant cafeteria. They grabbed trays and joined the line at the hot dish area. “Have you two had katsudon yet?” Mom asked.
“Yeah, at that place in Little Tokyo in LA!” Andy replied.
“It’s one of my favorites,” added Mika.
Mom gave the woman behind the counter her order, and then turned to Andy and Mika with a grin. “I meant here in Tokyo, goofballs.”
“Oh.” Andy grinned. “Nope, not yet!”
The woman reappeared with three big bowls and three small bowls, and Andy felt his stomach rumble as he accepted one of each. The bigger bowl was filled with rice topped with strips of fried pork cutlet, sautéed onions, and a beaten egg cooked in broth, while the smaller bowl contained grated carrots and some sort of white vegetable. As Mom led them through the crowded cafeteria, Andy looked around at all of the faces. He heard people speaking in English and Japanese, Spanish and Russian, and more languages that he might’ve been able to guess if the cafeteria hadn’t been so noisy.
Mom found a table where her Compete reporters were already eating. They both looked up and smiled at Andy and Mika as they sat down.
“You guys remember James and Valentina, right?” Mom asked.
“Yes! Hi,” said Andy.
“Hello!” Mika sat down next to Andy and pulled apart her chopsticks. “Mmm,” she said, taking a big bite of pork and rice.
Valentina laughed. “Are you two loving the food in Tokyo?”
“Definitely,” Andy said, digging into his bowl. “We even had octopus.”
“Ah, was it takoyaki?” James asked, and Andy nodded. “I had that for a snack yesterday!”
Mika swallowed, then took a bite from the other bowl. “So this is carrots, and . . . what’s the other thing?”
“It’s called daikon,” Mom told her. “It’s a type of radish. That’s a carrot and daikon namasu—a raw salad marinated in sweetened vinegar.”
“Have you two managed to collect any pins yet?” Valentina asked.
Andy looked up. “Pins?” he repeated.
“Yeah!” She pointed to her vest, and Andy saw six colorful pins. Two looked like variations of the Compete logo, but he didn’t recognize the others.
“Emma had pins like that!” Mika exclaimed. “Can we buy them somewhere?”
“Hang on. They don’t know about the pins?” Valentina gave Mom a look of mock horror.
Mom laughed. “Want to explain it to them?”
“For sure.” Valentina tucked a stray light brown curl behind her ear and smiled at Andy and Mika. “So pin trading is a really big deal at the Olympics. Anyone can make a pin—you’ll see them for teams, media, other companies, and sponsors—and they’re always unique to that year’s Games. They’re serious collector’s items. Really rare pins from past Olympics can sell for hundreds or even thousands of dollars.”
Andy’s eyes widened. “Jeez. And people trade them here?”
“Yep. James had these made for us.” Valentina gestured to the two Compete pins on her vest. “I took a bunch and bartered with vendors and random people I’ve met for the other pins—a PyeongChang 2018, two Tokyo tourism boards, and this one from that sportswear company, what are they called? Ah—Enspire.”
Suddenly, Mika started to choke on her katsudon. She reached for her water, coughing loudly, then took a giant sip.
“Are you okay, honey?” Mom asked, leaning around Andy and patting her on the back.
“Yeah!” Mika’s voice was slightly hoarse, but she nodded vigorously. Her face was tomato red, and Andy noticed she kept shooting little glances at Valentina’s pins. “Totally fine.”
“You two should definitely start collecting.” Valentina elbowed James’s arm. “Let’s help them out, shall we?”
“Of course!�
�� James produced a small bag from under the table, unzipped the front pocket, and pulled out a plastic pouch filled with different pins. He gave a handful each to Andy and Mika. “All right, Kudo kids, you’ve gotta wear at least one of the Compete pins for the rest of the Games. Promote your mom,” he said with a wink, and they laughed.
“Thank you!” Andy pinned one to his shirt, then stuck the rest in his pocket. He couldn’t help noticing that his sister was still blushing. He waited until Mom, Valentina, and James were deep in conversation about work, then nudged Mika’s arm with his elbow.
“What’s going on?”
“Huh? Nothing!” Mika said, examining her pins. “Ooh, this one looks like a butterfly. See?”
She held out the pink pin, her expression completely innocent. But she wasn’t fooling Andy one bit, and he gave her a pointed look to let her know it. Mika was incapable of keeping secrets, especially from him, so Andy wasn’t too annoyed. Whatever it was, she’d tell him soon enough.
In the meantime, Andy had more than enough puzzles to focus on: finding the Silver medal and discovering who’d left that note. For the hundredth time that day, Andy pictured the mysterious creator of OlympiFan lurking in the trees near the Meiji Shrine, watching all of the players, and leaving a special clue for just one of them to find.
It was ridiculous, of course. But Andy couldn’t help but think, What if?
OLYMPIFAN UPDATE!
Special message from the Masked Medalist
Hello, OlympiFans! BIG congratulations to
Team Cryptic on their Bronze medal win!
That was a close race—which just makes
the game more fun, don’t you think?
If you’re checking the scoreboard, you probably
know that Team Cryptic opted for 250 points
and two hints to my identity.
What would your team have chosen—more hints,
or more points? Better figure that out,
because YOU just might find the Silver!
In the meantime, I’ll be cheering for all of the divers
and swimmers competing this afternoon!
Which events are you most excited about?
CHAPTER TEN
MIKA
RJ: OMG. Almost 50 comments!
MK: I KNOW.
RJ: And that one you posted a few hours ago already has 20 comments!
MK: I. KNOW.
RJ: Where’d you meet that lady with all the pins in the picture?
MK: At the diving event! Her name’s Sandra. This was her twelfth time coming to the Olympics.
RJ: WHOA. I guess that’s why she had so many of those pins?
MK: Yeah! She even swapped with me. I gave her a Compete pin and she gave me one from Athens 2004!!
RJ: That’s so cool!
RJ: Are you still going to delete your account when you come home?
MK: Yup. I think I have to.
RJ:
MK: My parents would be SO MAD if they knew I had one even for this contest! Besides, what would I post after Tokyo anyway?
RJ: Ummm . . . there are plenty of pretty things to take pictures of in LA, tyvm
MK: LOL
RJ: And you’re good at taking pictures.
RJ: You could be a professional photographer, like that documentary guy said.
RJ: And Instagram lets you show off your pics to a ton of people and maybe even get sponsors and stuff. And the first thing you ever posted got a comment from a big famous company and might even be featured in a freaking commercial!!!!!
RJ: BUT WHATEVER, NO REASON TO KEEP YOUR ACCOUNT OR ANYTHING
MK: OKAY FIIINE LOL. But that won’t change my parents’ minds.
RJ:
MK: Ok, gotta go.
RJ:
RJ: Lily, Po & Turtle say goodnight!
Mika grinned when a photo popped up. Lily and Po were both curled up like two fluffy white balls on the sofa next to Riley. Behind them, Turtle the beagle sat on the rug, giving the two puppies a disdainful look. Riley’s mom had a strict humans-only-on-the-couch rule, but clearly Lily and Po hadn’t quite learned to follow it yet. Or maybe they had learned, and they just didn’t care.
She closed her messages, then glanced over at the other twin bed. Andy was already sound asleep, mouth wide open with his arms and legs splayed out over the entire bed. From the other side of the door, Mika could faintly hear the sound of Dad’s snores.
Her eyelids felt heavy, but she couldn’t resist checking the comments for the photo Riley had been talking about one more time before going to sleep. After lunch, Mom had taken her and Andy to watch the diving event. Mika had been captivated by every single diver; no matter how long she watched, each time they leapt off the board, she felt as if her heart was trying to jump up into her mouth. She’d been tempted to try and get another photo of someone in the crowd, but she was too nervous that Mom or someone from Compete would notice.
Then Mika had gone to find the restroom, and she’d met Sandra.
She was older than Mika’s parents, with gray hair that frizzed in the humidity and warm brown eyes behind turquoise-framed glasses. Mika had spotted her standing against a wall featuring a beautiful mural of all the Olympic water sports. A small crowd had gathered around the woman, many of them taking her photo, and it was easy to see why. She wore a long, flowing skirt, a loose tank top, a giant floppy straw hat, and almost every square inch of clothing was covered in Olympic pins.
“And these are just the ones I’m here to trade,” she’d said with a wink. “The really valuable ones are pinned to a much more expensive hat.”
That had gotten a big laugh, and Mika hadn’t been able to resist stopping to take a photo, too. She moved to the other side of the crowd for a better angle. The woman had done a little twirl, pins rattling as her skirt billowed around her. She’d beamed as Mika had taken the picture, then spotted the pins on Mika’s shirt.
“Ooh! Looking to trade?”
“Sure!” Mika stepped forward, taking off one of her Compete pins and handing it over. Her eyes flicked to the small sign next to the woman.
SWAP WITH SANDRA!
Over two thousand pins collected
from 12 Olympic Games
Sandra had taken the pin. “Compete! Lovely. Do you have a preference?” She did a little shake, causing her pins to rattle again. Mika giggled and shook her head. “Well then, how about . . .” Tapping her finger to her chin, Sandra gazed down at her pins for a few seconds. “This one!” she decided, removing a pin from the neckline of her top. She handed it to Mika, then attached the Compete pin in the same spot. “The Olympics started in ancient Greece, you know. Almost two thousand eight hundred years ago!”
“Wow,” Mika breathed, examining her new pin. It was a coliseum filled with people in a rainbow of colors, and ATHENS 2004 was printed at the bottom. She loved it. “Thank you so much!”
“Pleasure doing business with you!” Sandra replied as Mika hurried off.
She posted the photo of Sandra on Instagram before she returned from the restroom. By the time Mom took her and Andy to meet Dad for dinner, it had gotten more than thirty comments.
Mika wiggled her feet happily under the covers as she read the latest comments. The photo of Sandra had come out really well—her coy little smile as she looked right at the camera, the way the lights glinted off her pins, her skirt midtwirl. It was even better than her first photo!
A new notification popped up, but not a like or a comment—a direct message. Mika opened it, her confusion quickly turning to fear as she read.
A_Fan: Do your parents know what a talented photographer their daughter is?
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Mika sat up straight in bed. She tapped on A_Fan’s blank avatar, which brought her to the person’s page. No posts, no followers. Whoever it was, maybe this person created an account just to send Mika this message?
Her hands went cold and clammy, and her heart started racing. Someone out there knew this was Mika’s account. The message was complimentary, but the more Mika thought about it, the more her guilt led her to feel like it was a threat. This person wanted her to know that they could tell her parents her secret.
Mika glanced over at Andy, still splayed out like a starfish on his bed. She started to throw her comforter off so she could wake him up. If she showed this message to her brother, maybe it wouldn’t seem so scary. Then she froze, one leg dangling off her bed. Mika really, really wanted to show Andy the message, but that would mean telling him about her Instagram account. She’d never kept such a big secret from him, and she didn’t like it.
But Andy might make her show their parents this message from A_Fan, and they would have her delete the account for sure. Her photos had so many comments—and Enspire had already noticed her! Mika really believed she had a good chance at getting picked to be part of their campaign. Plus, it was just so much fun. She loved taking photos, she loved editing them, and she loved all the praise they got once they were posted.
Taking a deep breath, Mika looked at the message from A_Fan again. Then she closed the app, plugged her phone in to charge, and curled up under the comforter. Just because someone knew this was her account didn’t mean they were threatening her. Besides, what reason would they even have to get her in trouble with her parents? It didn’t make any sense. Maybe the person was just trying to compliment her and didn’t realize how creepy it came across.
Kudo Kids--The Mystery of the Masked Medalist Page 8