Anyone's Game

by Sylv Chiang

“Didn’t you know it was me?”

  “Why’d you change your tag?” I ask. She used to be HermIone.

  “Just wanted something different.” The wobble in her voice tells me there’s more to it than that, but I don’t get to ask her because the phone rings.

  It’s Kyle Obren, the guy from ArcadeStix.

  I put Cali on mute.

  “How are things, JStar?” he asks.

  “Good,” I say.

  “You’ve been playing a lot, eh? Your numbers are lookin’ hot.” He’s talking about my stats. I’ve moved up in the standings since summer break started. Of course, now with stupid STEM Camp I’ll probably drop back down.

  “Thanks. I’ve been working at it.” Kyle told me to play three hours a day. I was playing around eight most days last week.

  “Listen, big news. You know Lance? Sir Lancelot?”

  “Sure.” I mean, I’ve heard the name.

  “Anyways, he can’t make it to the Underground Hype tournament. ArcadeStix is hoping you can fill in. Any chance your parents will go for it?”

  Underground Hype! “That’s in Montreal, right?”

  “Yup. We’ll pay train fare. And obviously the entrance is already covered.”

  “When?”

  “This weekend, man.”

  I’m in hit-stun.

  “Want me to talk to your parents?” Kyle asks when I don’t say anything.

  “No, I got this.” I sound way more confident than I feel. “Can you send me the deets?”

  “Of course. But listen, I need an answer ASAP. If you can’t go, we’re gonna send the next guy on our list.”

  “Okay. I’ll let you know.” I should be worried about how to get my parents to agree to this, but all I can think is: I’m not the last person on their list!

  “I guess my dad would let you stay here,” Cali says when I tell her the news.

  This is weird. Isn’t she excited for me to visit? “Well, I have to convince my parents first.”

  “Okay. Let me know.” She doesn’t sound like she cares either way.

  “Everything okay?” I ask.

  “What do you mean?”

  Good question. “I don’t know. Yesterday you said something about trouble.” I hold off pressing Start for the next game. I don’t want to give her an excuse not to answer. After a while I say, “You still there?”

  “Yeah.”

  “So . . . ?”

  “So.”

  Look, I’m not great at knowing what to say. But she’s not helping.

  Last try. “Everything’s okay?”

  “I’m just tired. The baby makes it hard to sleep.”

  That makes sense, I guess.

  Chapter 5

  “Any chance your parents will let you go?” Hugh asks the next morning at STEM Camp.

  “I haven’t asked yet. Our calendar says my mom’s scheduled to work this weekend and my dad’s at a basketball tournament with Josh.” My brother is an all-star at, like, every sport, and our dad coaches a lot of his teams.

  “Even if you can stay with Cali, they probably won’t let you take the train alone.” Hugh sighs.

  “That’s why I haven’t asked yet. I’m still trying to think of the best way to spin it.”

  Ironically, today’s lesson is all about spin. This can’t be good. The only sports link I can think of is throwing a spiral in football, and I’m pretty sure Ty and Flash will be more interested in tackling than throwing.

  No surprise, Mr. Efram starts off with the Einstein “Get AHEAD” poster again. He’s got a bucket of water on the table next to him. “A is for ask. Today we ask the question, What will happen if I swing this bucket of water in a big loop over my head so the bucket goes upside down?”

  “Probably nothing exciting,” I whisper to Hugh.

  “Mr. Stiles! You have a hypothesis to share for H?”

  Ugh. “I think the water will stay in the bucket.”

  “What makes you think that?”

  “Well, you don’t have a mop.”

  “Fair enough.” Mr. Efram winks at me and points back to the poster. “E is next, for experiment. Let’s see what happens.” He picks up the bucket and spins it quickly in big circles up and over his head.

  “Now A. Let’s analyze our data,” he says. “What did you observe?”

  “The water stayed in,” a kid in the front row yells. “Not even one drop came out—I was watching!” He sounds way too excited.

  “So, time for D. Decide. Was Jaden’s hypothesis correct?”

  Everyone, including Hugh, calls, “Yes.”

  “So, I can be sure that the next time I spin a bucket of water over my head, the water will stay in, right?”

  Hugh’s hand shoots up. “It depends how fast you spin it. If you go too slow, there won’t be enough force to hold the water in the bucket.”

  “Thank you, Hugh, for that new hypothesis. But let’s go outside this time.”

  After Mr. Efram dumps the bucket of water on his head, we head back to class and spend the morning spinning things like pennies, tops, and eggs. I have to admit, I’m surprised that hard-boiled eggs are easier to spin. But when Hugh spins a raw one off the table I’m happy to take a break—time to find the caretaker.

  As we pass the gym, we stop to peek at the sports camp through the window in the gym doors. They’re running lines: you run to touch a line, run back, then run to touch the next line, over and over again. I can’t stand that drill—it’s exhausting. No wonder those kids are all in better shape than us.

  Ty is gaining on the guy next to him. By the time he finishes, his teammate, Flash, takes off at the same time as the other team’s last runner. As his nickname suggests, Flash is the fastest kid in our grade. His real name is William or Willard or something.

  I start to walk away.

  “Dude, check this out,” Hugh calls after me.

  Flash hasn’t pulled away at all. He’s running line for line with his competitor—Hailey.

  I’m glued to the window with Hugh. “No way! Flash is going to lose to a girl!”

  They’re moving in sync, dipping together at each line, like dancers doing a routine.

  “They’ll need a replay to figure out who wins,” Hugh says.

  At the fifth of six lines, Flash stops dipping down. He just touches the line with his foot and moves on.

  The milliseconds he saves by skipping the last dips is enough to put him in the lead at the finish.

  “Cheater,” we both mutter as we head off to find the caretaker.

  As I predicted, that afternoon we head outside to the football field. Mr. Efram makes Hugh and me team captains, probably to save us the embarrassment of being picked last over little kids and girls.

  I don’t want Ty or Flash, so I pick Hailey first. At least I know she’s fast.

  Major miscalculation.

  “Aww! Jaden loves Hailey!” Ty calls while Flash makes kissing sounds. The younger kids join in and everyone laughs except Hugh, Tanaka, and Hailey.

  Now Hugh’s up. He can’t pick Tanaka after that scene, so he points to the biggest kid from Sports Leadership Camp.

  Each person selected is in charge of picking the next person.

  Hailey picks Tanaka, obviously. In the end, because no one else wants to be called out for being in love, my team is mostly girls and Hugh’s is all guys, including Ty and Flash.

  Coach Lee gives instructions for throwing a spiral and tells us to practice in our teams on separate halves of the field.

  “So, the girls’ team is on that side, right, Mr. E?” Ty says, just to be a jerk.

  Fortunately, all the hours of “boy time” hanging out with my dad and my all-star brother gave me one skill: I can throw a decent spiral.

  Unfortunately, the kid I’m tossing to, the la
st boy picked, can’t catch. Plus he keeps overthrowing, so I have to run and get the ball every time. We look like a disaster.

  Across the field, Hugh has strategically paired himself with a little kid so he has an excuse to stand close and throw lightly. He looks like a nice big brother. No one would know he can’t throw any better than his six-year-old partner.

  Next to him, Ty and Flash are showing off. They’ve spread out twice as far as everyone else. Ty jumps up to catch the ball and lands hard, rolling across the pitch clutching it to his chest. When he stands up, he looks at Hailey and Tanaka, spikes the ball, and does a funky chicken dance, his arms out like wings while his feet do the running man.

  The girls roll their eyes.

  My partner hits Hailey in the shoulder with the ball. Ugh.

  “Sorry,” I say. We both bend to pick up the ball at the same time and bump heads. I say “Sorry” again, and she looks at me. Are her eyes green or gray? I can’t stop looking at them.

  “He’s trying,” I say, pointing to my partner.

  “No worries,” she says.

  I hesitate, then add, “Flash totally cheated today.”

  She stares at me. I swear I’ve never seen eyes that color before.

  “When you guys were racing.”

  “What?” she asks. Now I realize it sounds creepy, like I was spying on her or something.

  “Uh, we were passing the gym when you guys were running lines.”

  “Okay . . .”

  “You totally had him.” Shut up, Jaden. You sound like a fanboy.

  “Yeah, I know,” she says, like I just told her footballs aren’t round.

  Awkward.

  Chapter 6

  Coach Lee says captains are the quarterbacks. That means me and Hugh will be the ones deciding who to throw the ball to while everyone else does the running. I’m happy because I can finally prove that I can throw. Hugh’s happy because he won’t have to run.

  Our team huddles up. Everyone talks at once, but they eventually pick positions.

  Ty and Flash dominate their team’s offense. Plus, they cheat. Whenever someone tags them, they yell, “No! No! You never touched me. I didn’t feel it!”

  When we’re on offense, my strategy is simple: throw to Hailey.

  I’m nervous, so my first throw is a bit wobbly. She reaches for it, but it goes off her fingertips.

  My next throw is good, but she gets tripped up by a little science kid from the other team who’s sitting on the field picking dandelions.

  Before the third play, Ty yells, “He’s passing to Hailey again. Flash, stay on her.”

  I look at Hailey, wondering if I should throw to someone else.

  She nods to say she can take him.

  Hailey moves down the line to get away from Flash. He scrambles to follow, chasing her across the field. No one’s near them. No one else is fast enough. I heave the ball and send a perfect spiral to exactly where Hailey ends up. She turns at exactly the right second, catches the ball, and races down the field. I see it all in slow motion, like a SportsCentre replay. Her ponytail flows in the wind behind her as she gallops toward the end zone.

  If that beautiful play didn’t make the highlight reel, what happens next definitely would.

  When Hailey slowed down to catch the ball, Flash gained on her. As they near the goal line, she’s just barely out of his reach.

  I don’t know if he’s still mad that Hailey almost beat him today, or if he’s just used to cheating, but Flash leaps at Hailey and takes her down with a full-on tackle at the line.

  Coach Lee blows the whistle.

  Flash dances away, leaving Hailey in the grass.

  What a jerk. Everyone knows you ease up on a girl.

  When we get back to my place, Devesh is waiting on the porch again. I tell him about Montreal. “Awesome!” he says. “I’ll go with you!”

  Hugh punches him in the shoulder. “You just want to see Cali!”

  He turns to Hugh. “That’s a bonus. You should come too. It’ll be epic!”

  “Her dad is never going to let us all stay there,” I say. “They have a new baby.”

  “No problem. I have an uncle in Montreal we can stay with. We were there last summer for my cousin’s wedding. It’s a huge house. They packed, like, eighteen people in there that week. And, since my cousin got married, her room must be free now. They can fit the two of us, no problem. And you too, if Cali’s dad says no.”

  This just might work. “Maybe . . .” While the guys play Mega Haunt, I spend the next hour planning exactly what to say when I plead my case to Mom.

  But Devesh totally messes up my plans. Mom hasn’t even put her purse down when he says, “Mrs. Stiles, great news! Jaden’s got a tournament this weekend in Montreal.”

  “What?” She looks from Devesh to me.

  “I’ll tell you about it later,” I say. This is so not the right time. When she gets home from work she’s always busy and stressed. I was planning to ask her after dinner.

  “It’s okay, Mrs. Stiles. We’re all going together. So it’ll be very safe.” I know he thinks he’s helping by mentioning safety, but I’m pretty sure he’s having the opposite effect.

  “What? You boys want go to Montreal alone?”

  “Not alone. Together.” Devesh throws his arms over Hugh’s shoulder and mine.

  “Don’t you guys have to go home?” I say.

  Hugh squishes a laugh. “C’mon, dude. You’re messing everything up.” He tugs Devesh’s T-shirt as he gets up off the couch.

  Devesh follows Hugh reluctantly. “What’d I do?”

  In the kitchen, I start setting the table to gain some points. I need every advantage I can get if I’m going to win this battle.

  “What was he talking about, er zi?”

  Stupid Devesh. There’s no putting this off now. I summon Kaigo and make my first move. I speak Mandarin to get on her good side. “There’s a tournament, and the team needs me to go.” I picked the word needs earlier. It sounds like I have to go. Next, I push the positive. “The good thing is, it’s in Montreal, so I can stay with Cali.” Hopefully.

  “Montreal is too far. You cannot go there without us. When is it?”

  As soon as I tell her, she says no.

  I don’t give up. Kaigo won’t let me. He throws a jab. “Devesh and Hugh will go with me.”

  “No.”

  We take some damage, but Kaigo shakes it off and tries an uppercut. “You could put us on the train and Cali’s dad will meet us at the other end. We’ll be fine.”

  “No. You’re twelve. I’m not sending you without an adult.”

  We’re on the ground in hit-stun. Adult? Wait. Kaigo jumps up from the ground in that funky back-arch way that only martial artists and break-dancers can do. He throws a desperation side kick. “There are adults on the team. I can travel with them.” Maybe? I’ve never talked to them before, but I could ask.

  “No. I don’t know these people.”

  I’m out of moves.

  K.O.

  Chapter 7

  When Mr. Efram points to the stupid “Get AHEAD” poster the next morning, I make a little mouth out of my hand and mock him behind his back while he reads out the steps.

  “Ask,” say Mr. Efram and my hand.

  “Hypothesize.” I wobble my head while I move my fingers open and closed.

  “Experiment.” The little kids giggle now but I just glare at them.

  Then Mr. Efram pauses, so my hand moves but no words come out. Without turning around he asks, “Would your puppet like to tell us the last step, Jaden?”

  How’d he do that?

  “Decide,” I mumble.

  Today’s project is something about balancing sticks with marshmallows on the ends to find the center of gravity. I eat three marshmallows while Hugh
sets up our sticks.

  Mr. Efram pulls up a chair next to me. “Everything okay, JStar?”

  I don’t want to have this conversation. “Yeah,” I say.

  “You seem a bit off.” He’s not leaving.

  I look at Mr. Efram. He’s an adult. My parents trust him. I wonder . . .

  “Any chance you’re going to the Underground Hype tournament in Montreal this weekend?” I ask. Hugh’s head whips around.

  “No. Are you?”

  “Supposed to, but my parents are busy.”

  “That explains the attitude this morning.”

  I drop my head to the desk. I don’t know what I was expecting. Like he’s going to offer to come with me. Asking him would sound so stupid.

  I get a chance to hear exactly how stupid when Hugh says, “Could you take us—I mean, Jaden—to the tournament? He needs a responsible adult.”

  Mr. Efram smiles long enough to give me hope. “Sorry, guys, I’ve got plans this weekend.” He might as well just punch me in the face.

  Mr. Efram and Coach Lee set up balance beams, benches, and even a slack line—this strip of stretchy material that’s basically like a tightrope.

  “Today, your job is to navigate the gym without touching the ground. Use your arms to help you balance,” Mr. Efram says.

  Coach Lee blows his whistle. “Let’s go!”

  Hugh sighs. This is not his kind of activity. Neither of us is sporty, but he really sucks at climbing and balancing. He swings his leg up to get onto the first beam and Flash calls out, “Brace yourselves! Huge is getting on.” What a jerk.

  Hugh puts his foot back on the floor.

  “Leave him alone,” I say.

  “Or what?”

  Good question. If we were in Cross Ups, I’d show him what. But here in the gym, if I could ever catch him, I’d be the one getting my butt kicked.

  Since I can’t hurt him physically, I shame him like he did to Hugh. “Whatever. You’re a fraud. Hailey would have totally beaten you yesterday running lines if you actually followed the rules.”

  Hailey passes on a beam above us. Her green-gray eyes say Don’t get me involved in your issues.