My Worst Frenemy

by Marcus Emerson

  ‘Nothing is ever as easy as it seems!’ Wyatt shouted from behind.

  I spun around in time to see Wyatt yank Naoki’s jetpack off his tiny raccoon body. Every muscle in my body burned as I ran after him.

  ‘Wait!’ I said as Wyatt pulled the jetpack over his arms. ‘That thing can carry all three of us! We can all escape if you just wait!’

  Wyatt leapt from the roof, spinning to face me. ‘Too late, losers!’

  My feet dug into the ground, and I slid to a stop inches away from the edge. The little pebbles at my feet slipped over the side and fell to the street below, which, by the way, was about a hundred floors down.

  Naoki’s voice came from behind me. ‘Jump!’

  As I turned around, Naoki leapt towards my chest, pushing me over the edge. Vesh’s machine exploded, rattling the entire building. Glass windows shattered from the force.

  The heat from the blast was so intense that I could feel the warmth even as Naoki and I were falling down the side of the building.

  Air screamed past my ears as I tried to steady myself. We were only seconds away from hitting the ground. I had to think of something quick.

  And then I heard Wyatt’s laughter. He was floating in place high in the sky, watching Naoki and me fall.

  Naoki gripped my head and shook it. ‘Pay attention, man! You gotta think of something!’

  I stuttered, but I don’t know what I said. It was like my brain was totally wiped clean. I opened my mouth to talk, but the only thing that came out was a scream.

  ‘Whooooa, Chase!’ Brayden said like I was a horse he was trying to stop.

  I was on the floor in front of my locker, coughing from the scream I had just let out. I could hear kids laughing at me.

  There, standing in front of me, was my cousin Zoe and my best friend Brayden.

  Brayden looked embarrassed for me, keeping his eyes turned to the ground. Zoe held her hands to her chest as if she had just been frightened.

  ‘Dude, what’s the matter with you?’ Zoe said.

  I froze, waiting for Vesh to burst through the crowd.

  ‘This is it, isn’t it?’ Zoe asked. ‘You’ve finally snapped. When I tell my kids about their zany Uncle Chase, I’ll start with this exact moment. ‘He lost it in the middle of school,’ I’ll say. ‘He had no way to control the volume of his voice … always screaming instead of talking.’’

  I swallowed hard, looking around.

  Other students whispered loud enough that I could hear them.

  ‘What a weirdo.’

  ‘He should’ve stayed at his old school.’

  ‘He’s been nothing but trouble since he got there.’

  My face felt warm, and I had a sick feeling in my stomach.

  ‘Am I still dreaming?’ I asked as I pushed against my locker to help me stand.

  ‘Ah,’ Zoe said. ‘Nightmares in the middle of school?’

  I wiped the sleep from my eyes and pulled my cheeks down to stretch my face. I was still groggy. ‘I mean, is this real life?’

  ‘What if this is a dream inside a dream?’ Brayden said. ‘Do you know what that would mean?’

  ‘No,’ I said. ‘What would it mean?’

  Brayden shrugged and shook his head. ‘Oh, I don’t know. That’s why I asked.’

  I’ve known Brayden since the first week of school. We’ve had our rough patches, but every friendship does. My dad says it’s what turns ‘kind of friends’ into ‘best friends’. I’m not gonna argue with my dad. He seems to know what he’s talking about … most of the time.

  I felt a sting on my forearm. Zoe’s fingers were pinched around the skin above my wrist.

  ‘Ouch!’ I yelped, pulling away.

  ‘You’re supposed to pinch yourself to wake up,’ Brayden said to Zoe.

  ‘Yeah!’ I said, rubbing my arm. ‘I was supposed to pinch myself!’

  Zoe pinched a spot on my other arm.

  ‘Stop that!’ I yelped.

  Zoe smiled. ‘Well you’re not dreaming anymore.’

  I folded my arms, rubbing both spots Zoe had pinched. I couldn’t pinch anyone like that if I practised it a thousand times. What is it about girls just knowing how to inflict that much pain with only two fingers?

  Brayden unzipped his book bag and took out a small black glass bottle, about the size of trading card. He popped off the cap, held it to his neck, and sprayed it onto his skin.

  ‘Cologne, huh?’ I said. ‘Dude perfume.’

  ‘Hey, dude,’ Brayden said slyly, posing like he was in a magazine ad. ‘Ladies dig it when you smell like a man.’

  ‘You smell like a pine tree,’ Zoe said, waving her hands to keep the cologne from wafting over to her. ‘And your pine-tree mist is all over my shirt! Now I smell like a man!’

  ‘Sorry,’ Brayden said, pushing the cap back onto his cologne bottle. ‘I forgot to spray it on before I left home.’

  ‘So your only other option was to do it in a packed hallway?’ Zoe said, annoyed. ‘You should’ve gone to the locker room!’

  ‘I did!’ Brayden said. ‘I sprayed it there first … and now I’m spraying here.’

  Zoe dropped her arms, shocked. ‘Once. Once is enough!’

  ‘Okaaaay,’ Brayden said, raising his eyebrows and bobbing his head back and forth.

  I glanced up and down the hallway, watching all the other students walk with their friends.

  ‘Why were you napping in front of your locker?’ Zoe asked.

  ‘I was waiting for Naomi,’ I said. ‘We’re going to go to the assembly in the library together.’

  Naomi was another one of my best friends. Brayden and I had our rough patches, but Naomi and I were trying to rebuild some seriously burnt bridges.

  I won’t go into detail, because there’s a lot of detail, but basically – she betrayed me, pretended to be my friend, tried to destroy my life, came back and apologised, and then sacrificed her own social life to make it up to me. So, yeah … there’s a lot of history between us.

  ‘If she was supposed to meet you at your locker,’ Zoe said, ‘where is she?’

  ‘Maybe she got caught in a hall jam,’ I said.

  ‘Maybe she’s plotting to destroy you,’ Zoe said, but closed her eyes and shook her head as soon as she said it. ‘No, no, no. I didn’t mean that. It’s just … she hasn’t showed up. You sure you can trust her? Not that I’m saying you shouldn’t, but y’know … just asking.’

  Even though Naomi and I were talking again, Zoe had a point. And it had crossed my mind since Naomi apologised.

  I nodded. ‘I trust her,’ I said. ‘But can we really be sure we can trust anybody?’

  ‘Um, yeah,’ Zoe said. ‘I’m pretty sure I know who I can and can’t trust.’

  Brayden straightened his posture and spoke in a much deeper voice than normal. ‘Forgiveness is what makes good men great.’

  ‘Stop trying to be a man,’ Zoe sighed.

  Brayden smiled. ‘All I’m sayin’ is that it’s a good thing Naomi and Chase are friends again.’

  ‘She said sorry, and I believe she is,’ I said. ‘Isn’t that the only thing that matters?’

  ‘It is,’ Zoe said. ‘Normally, I’m the one who makes all the mature decisions. It’s nice to see you do that for a change.’

  I gave Zoe the dorkiest smile I could.

  She laughed. ‘Nerd.’

  ‘But …’ I said, scanning the crowd one last time, ‘I don’t think she’s coming.’

  ‘Maybe she got caught up,’ Brayden said.

  I sighed. ‘Maybe.’

  Brayden, Zoe and I made our way through the halls, to the library for the assembly.

  This is probably a good time to fill you in on all the stuff that’s happened so far.

  It’s only been a few days since the whole thing with Victor went down in the cafeteria.

  Victor planned the whole shebang. He was an eighth grader who wore an earring and dressed like he was in a boy band – y’know, two collared shirts, both fl
ipped up, along with baggy pants that looked like something my parents used to wear in high school. He had glasses too, but I doubted they were even real.

  He was also the leader of the Scavengers, a group of kids who know the secrets of everyone in the school. They eavesdrop on your conversation, read your text messages over your shoulder, and steal all the notes you wrote to your friends right out of the bin. The Scavengers know everything. Those tiny little secret you think you’re keeping safe in your head? The Scavengers know.

  And Victor had planned to use that power to ruin my life, but thanks to Naomi, he didn’t get away with it.

  The last time I saw Victor, a couple of hall monitors in suits and sunglasses were escorting him out of the cafeteria. It was kind of weird … like he was being taken away by secret agents or something.

  The Scavengers hadn’t said a word to me since, but that didn’t mean they weren’t around. I’d bet my whole comic book collection that I haven’t seen the last of them.

  Well, not my whole comic book collection. The variant-cover editions are comin’ with me to my grave.

  Oh, and on top of dealing with the Scavengers, there was also some trouble with the red ninjas and a group of new green ninjas.

  Wyatt (remember him from my dream?) is the leader of the red ninja clan … well, he used to be their leader. His ninja clan grew so big that he couldn’t control them anymore, and they sort of kicked him out. The red ninjas probably have a new leader now, but I have no idea who it is.

  It was the same with the green ninja clan that recently sprouted up. They’re kind of the mystery of the week.

  And me? I’m just trying to coast through the rest of the school year. Dealing with the Scavengers, Victor, Wyatt, and different ninja clans is more than any sixth grader needs on their plate.

  At this point, ‘cool’ isn’t something I want anymore. I’ve been hated by so many different people the past couple of months that honestly, one step above where I’m at would make me happy.

  I just don’t want to be hated anymore.

  I turned the corner and stopped outside the lobby. Brayden and Zoe were still with me, and everyone was waiting to get into the library.

  ‘Zoe, you’re the president,’ I said. ‘Why don’t you just push your way through the crowd?’

  ‘Doesn’t work like that,’ Zoe said.

  ‘Oh, right,’ Brayden said. ‘You’re supposed to have bodyguards and stuff do that for you.’

  Zoe laughed. ‘I wish! I wouldn’t mind a crew walking me everywhere.’

  My eyebrows raised. ‘Hey, you’ve got Brayden and me! We’re all the crew you need!’

  ‘My own ninja bodyguards,’ Zoe said quietly, and then paused. ‘That’s not such a bad idea, but I think I’d come off as more of a villain if I travelled with ninjas everywhere I went.’

  ‘If by ‘villain’, you mean ‘way cool president’,’ I said, ‘then yes, you’d be a way cool president.’

  Zoe sighed, standing up on her tiptoes to see over everyone’s head. ‘C’mon, man. This is taking forever. The crowd’s barely moving. Are the doors even open?’

  I tried to see past everyone, but the crowd was too thick.

  ‘I dunno,’ I said. ‘At least everyone’s excited to get in there.’

  ‘They should be,’ Zoe said, dropping back to her heels. ‘It wasn’t easy to get Dr Tenderfoot to visit. He doesn’t really do school visits.’

  ‘Tenderfoot,’ I said. ‘Who’s this guy again?’

  ‘Dr Ashley Tenderfoot,’ Zoe said. She was going to continue, but Brayden cut her off.

  ‘Dude’s name is Ashley?’ Brayden said, scrunching his nose. ‘That’s a girl’s name.’

  ‘Um, no, it’s not,’ Zoe said, crossing her arms. ‘And you better not say anything about it when we’re in there. Dr Tenderfoot is a highly respected pioneer in robotics research. He founded Tenderfoot Industries.’

  I leaned closer to Brayden and whispered, ‘That means he’s supes important.’

  ‘He’s not just supes important,’ Zoe said. ‘He’s, like, the dude everyone talks about when they talk about robotics. His lab is working on some pretty amazing stuff.’

  ‘Like end-of-the-world amazing?’ I said. ‘Is he going to build the machines that turn against humans someday?’

  ‘Maybe,’ Zoe said. ‘But for now, we’re probably safe.’

  The doors to the library must’ve opened because the crowd shuffled forward like zombies in search of their next meal.

  ‘It took a ton of emails to get Dr Tenderfoot to agree to come here for the week,’ Zoe continued. ‘And he only did it because we agreed to host a robotics competition for the students.’

  ‘Oooooh!’ I said, excited. ‘Like, getting robots to fight each other in the ring?’

  ‘No,’ Zoe replied. ‘Like, getting a couple of teams of students to build their own robot.’

  ‘And then getting them to fight to the death? Their robot death?’ Brayden said.

  ‘Oh my god, no,’ Zoe said. ‘The teams will build their own robot and then, at the end of the week, present them to the school and Dr Tenderfoot. Best one wins.’

  ‘Wins what?’ I asked, crossing my fingers for a robot sidekick.

  ‘A robot sidekick,’ Zoe said.

  My jaw dropped.

  ‘I know you too well,’ Zoe laughed. ‘I don’t know what the prize is, but I can guarantee you it’s not that.’

  ‘Oh,’ I said, kicking a spot on the carpet like a little child. ‘Robot sidekicks are cool,’ I whispered.

  ‘So wait,’ Brayden said as we shuffled forwards. ‘They expect a bunch of sixth graders to build a robot? Like it’s that easy?’

  ‘No,’ Zoe said, shaking her head. ‘Just wait until you get in there. Dr Tenderfoot will explain the whole thing better than I can.’

  We finally reached the library. The room was packed, with most of the kids in standing since there weren’t any seats left.

  Suddenly, a creepy, dark voice came from behind us. ‘Mistah Coooooopah!’

  I recognised the voice immediately. It was Naomi.

  ‘Sup, dude?’ Naomi said, nudging me with her shoulder.

  ‘Hey!’ I said, happy to see her.

  ‘You weren’t at your locker,’ Naomi said.

  ‘Oh, but he was,’ Zoe sighed, making it obvious that she wasn’t happy that Naomi and I were friends again. I knew Zoe didn’t want to see me get burned again.

  ‘You were?’ Naomi said.

  ‘I sorta fell asleep,’ I mumbled

  ‘Dude,’ Naomi said. ‘You gotta lay off the late-night video games.’

  ‘Okay,’ I said, ‘but we were playing online together.’

  Naomi tried to hide a smile but couldn’t.

  Zoe rolled her eyes the way an adult would wag their finger.

  ‘We’ll be inside,’ Zoe said, grabbing Brayden’s elbow.

  ‘Wait,’ Brayden said. ‘I don’t wanna go in yet. I’ll go in when Chase does.’

  Zoe gave him a quick look. Brayden sighed and followed her into the library.

  ‘Finally,’ Naomi said. ‘Now that we’re alone … my Scavengers will crush you for good!’

  Oh, great. Maybe Zoe was right about Naomi after all.

  ‘Uh … okay?’ I said.

  Naomi laughed and threw her arms around me. ‘I’m kidding!’

  Naomi squeezed me so hard that my throat let out a weird squawk.

  ‘Did you just quack at me?’ Naomi asked.

  ‘Maybe,’ I said, embarrassed.

  ‘You know I was joking, right?’ Naomi said. ‘Too soon?’

  I chuckled, feeling relieved. ‘No, it’s cool. I was just a little shocked.’

  ‘I know,’ Naomi said. ‘You were so shocked you quacked.’

  Pushing open the door to the library, I let Naomi go in first.

  Once Naomi walked past, I tucked my thumbs into my armpits and started flapping my elbows and quacking loudly.

  ‘Quack, quack!’ I said,
marching through door. ‘Quack, quack, qua—’

  ‘Have you quite finished?’ a man asked me in a stern voice.

  The library was dead quiet, except for a few giggles here and there. In the middle of the library was a man with a moustache, a top hat, and a microphone. He was halfway up on the staircase that went up to the second floor. He looked like something from a steampunk comic book – like an old-fashioned professor who builds time machines out of train parts.

  ‘Uhh …’ I stammered. My brain was busy packing its bags because it had given up on me. ‘Sorry.’

  A cricket chirped somewhere in the room. It was probably laughing at me too.

  The moustached man spoke awkwardly into the microphone. ‘We’ll wait until you’re seated.’

  It was the longest walk I’d ever experienced. Everyone in the library watched as I weaved through the crowd. The library was completely silent, so every time my book bag scraped across someone’s clothing, it felt like it was screaming for everyone to gawk at me.

  ‘Sorry ’bout that,’ I said, bumping into a bunch of kids. ‘Excuse me. Um, I’m sorry. Sorrrrry! Your book bag is blocking my—thaaaanks. Sorry!’

  Finally, after what felt like a thousand hours, I found my friends sitting at one of the desks in the middle of the library. Zoe and Brayden were sitting next to each other, and Gidget and Slug were across from them.

  My ninja clan was down to three members besides me – Gidget, Slug and Brayden. After months of trying to keep my ninja clan large, it was a relief to have a small, loyal team. Faith was also sitting with them, next to an empty seat.

  Faith, for those keeping track, had a secret of her own. I’d found myself in more than a few sticky situations this year, and Faith had been there to bail me out each time … but it wasn’t as Faith. It was as the white ninja.

  She knew I knew, but every time I brought it up, she changed the subject. She was up to something. I just didn’t know what yet. All I knew was that she was on my side, and that was all that mattered.

  Naomi was in front of me, pulling out the empty seat next to Faith.

  Faith smiled at Naomi. ‘Sorry, this seat is for Chase.’