Times Squared

by Julia DeVillers

  First we were cheesed.

  Now we were soaked.

  “At least it’s clear soda,” Tess said, trying to console us. “It could have been much worse.”

  “This is bad enough,” Payton said grimly, trying to shake droplets out of her hair.

  “We’re twin targets for disaster,” I said.

  “Man, I’m gonna get in double trouble,” Sam groaned. Then he ran back up the aisle to this seat.

  “I hope Mrs. Burkle tortures him for the rest of the trip,” Payton grumbled.

  “Here.” I reached into inner zip pocket number two of my travel bag and pulled out one of my emergency “magic cloths” for my twin.

  “Soaks up any spill in under ten seconds,” I said. Payton said thanks, and she and Tess vanished from view. I used my backup emergency cloth (inner zip number three) and dabbed at my hair, shirt, and jeans.

  “Ten . . . nine . . . eight . . .” Nima and I counted down the seconds.

  “How cute,” Jazmine said. “They’re practicing counting backward.” Hector laughed.

  “Two . . . one!” I checked my clothes. Hey, not bad. The magic cloth absorbed almost all the soda pop. What a relief!

  “Excuse me, people,” Coach Babbitt said loudly. “Quiet, please. We need to go over the rules. Every one of you will be representing our school in New York City. You must uphold the Gecko rules of safety . . .”

  Coach went over the sheet of rules we had all received with our permission slips. I turned and looked out the window. Tall buildings, taxicabs weaving in and out of traffic, and an incalculable number of people everywhere.

  Oh, yeah. This was it! Soon we would park and disembark and split up—those drama people off to do their acting stuff, and mathletes off to do mathletic and other important activities.

  “As Geckos, we will all be supporting one another this weekend,” Coach Babbitt was saying. “This means that our mathletes will not only attend the play with the drama club but will also be going backstage at the theater.”

  “A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!” Mrs. Burkle exclaimed in a voice that could put a gecko in a coma. “A cultural and artistic treat for our Geckos!”

  “What?” I said. “But we need to focus on what’s important here: Math!”

  The back of the bus muttered “Yeah!” and “Math!”

  Payton leaned around her seat and shushed at me.

  “And that also means that our Dramatic Geckos will be attending a mathematics lecture and also cheering on our mathletes at their tournament,” Mrs. Burkle announced.

  The front of the bus made groaning sounds.

  It was my turn to shush Payton, who was saying “Sheesh!” and “Ugh!”

  “Bo-ring,” Sydney whined loudly from her seat across from my sister. “We have to waste our time in New York doing geeky math stuff?”

  Waste our time?

  Geeky?

  I chose to ignore Sydney, who was ignorant about the important things in life. Which, at the moment, was the math book in my lap.

  Math > zero >Sydney.

  Time to get some last-minute studying in.

  Five

  TIMES SQUARE, NYC!

  I pressed my face to the window. I could see blinking lights! Huge signs advertising random things! Zillions of people walking around everywhere!

  Times Square! I had to share this exciting moment with my sister. I turned around and leaned over my seat.

  “Emma!” I said. “Times Square!”

  Emma barely looked up from her math book.

  “Did you know Times Square is known as the Crossroads of the World? It’s a major intersection of the blocks at Broadway and Seventh Avenue,” she mumbled.

  Oh, dear.

  “Hm, if it spans the blocks between Sixth and Eighth,” Emma said, “and West Fortieth and West Fifty-third. That would mean the perimeter of the square equals . . .”

  “Emma!” I interrupted her. “Stop being a math robot for just a minute and look out your window! It’s Times Square!”

  “Big whoop,” Sydney said, nearly hitting me on the head as she pulled her bag from the overhead. “We went to New Year’s Eve here and watched the ball drop from our hotel room. We were so close, people probably thought I was a celebrity.”

  “This is so cool,” Nick said.

  “Thank you!” I blurted out. “Finally someone appreciates it!”

  Nick leaned around the seat.

  “I’ve never been here before,” he said.

  “Emma and I haven’t been here since we were little,” I replied.

  “It looks crazy out there,” Nick said.

  “I know!” I agreed.

  Then he smiled at me. I smiled back. We were having a conversation! A normal conversation like before, when I thought he might be a good match for Emma and didn’t like him. Like him like him. And before I heard he might like me. If he still liked me.

  “People!” Burkle announced. “I will assign you to a parent chaperone as you disembark the bus.”

  “Maybe we’ll be in the same group,” Nick said to me.

  Eep! I got a stupid grin on my face but I didn’t have time to answer because the line in the aisle started moving.

  Everyone started pushing up the aisle to get off the bus. I grabbed my bags and stood in the aisle behind Tess. Emma got up and stood behind me, reading her flash cards.

  “Why are these people pushing?” Emma grumbled behind me. “They might bend my flash cards.”

  “Emma.” I turned around. “We’re in New York City. Take one minute to stop thinking about math and appreciate this!”

  “Fine.” Emma sighed. “It’s Times Square! We’re in New York City!!!”

  We both grinned at each other.

  “Six point zero five,” Jazmine said loudly from her seat. “Am I right, Hecky?”

  “You’re right!” Hector said.

  Emma stopped grinning at me.

  “Okay, the minute is up,” Emma said. Her nose went back into her flash cards.

  I tried. The line started moving forward.

  “I hope we’re in the same group!” Tess said.

  “I hope, I hope, I hope,” I agreed.

  We inched up the aisle until Tess was in front of Mrs. Burkle.

  “Tess! My Dorothy! Your chaperone is Mrs. Nicely,” Mrs. Burkle said as she scanned her list. Then she looked at me.

  “And you are with . . .”

  I held my breath as Mrs. Burkle scanned her list for my name.

  “Mills, Mills, oh, there you are,” she said. “You’re also with Mrs. Nicely.”

  Yessss!

  “Yay, Payton!” Tess said happily. She held her hand up for a high five.

  “Oh, wait, you’re Payton?” Mrs. Burkle frowned. “I mixed that up. Emma is with Mrs. Nicely.”

  Tess dropped her hand. I ended up awkwardly swiping empty air. “Oh, bummer. Well, I haven’t hung out with Emma in a while,” Tess said. “And, Payton, I’m sure you’ll have a fun group.”

  “Payton, you’re with Mrs. James,” Mrs. Burkle said. “Jazmine’s mother.”

  Noooo!

  “Can’t I just switch with Emma?” I asked Burkle.

  “You want to switch with your sister?” Burkle asked me.

  “Yes!” I said happily. “You can go back to pretending you thought I was Emma like you first did.”

  Burkle frowned at me.

  “There will be no switching! Do not even think about asking me about switching!”

  I turned beet red as everyone looked at me. I hurried down the bus steps and saw Jazmine’s mother with her hand in the air.

  “Well, at least we’ll share a hotel room,” Tess reminded me.

  True. We had put each other on the “who I want to room with” questionnaire. I waved good-bye to her and went over to Mrs. James. I must have been the first person in the group.

  “And you are?” Mrs. James peered at me.

  “Payton Mills,” I told her. “Emma’s sister.”


  “Emma who?” Mrs. James looked at me blankly.

  I would have thought she’d know Emma. Jazmine only had been competing against my sister forever. And last time, Emma had beaten her daughter. Oh. I suddenly realized who Jazmine had learned her mind games from.

  “Uh, never mind,” I said. I shifted away from Mrs. James.

  Anyway, there were better things to think about. I was in Times Square! There were huge, flashing signs on the sides of the buildings. And the buildings were so ginormous! There were bright lights blinking. Tons of people walking everywhere. It was crazy!

  I craned my neck to look up at the tall skyscrapers. Then I looked at the blinking ads. Whoa. I felt a little dizzy. I stumbled back.

  “Stay away from the curb,” Mrs. James said sternly.

  I wasn’t even near the curb! But I stepped even closer to the buildings, anyway.

  “Sorry,” I said. “The signs made me a little dizzy.”

  “They’re called spectaculars,” Mrs. James said. “The largest ones are called JumboTrons.”

  “Oh,” I said. “Gotcha.”

  I stood awkwardly and watched other people join their groups. People were squealing and hugging one another. Tess was standing by Mrs. Nicely. And there was Emma, joining her. And there was Nick joining them.

  Nooo! Emma got to be with Tess and Nick!

  I got to be with . . .

  No no no no no. Sydney was walking our way. No no no no.

  Sydney stopped and rolled her eyes at me. Then she turned to Jazmine’s mom.

  “Hello, Mrs. James,” she said in her Tricking Grown-ups About My Evilness voice. “I’m Sydney Fish. It’s so nice to meet you.”

  Mrs. James held out her hand. Sydney reached out and shook it.

  “Not a handshake,” Mrs. James said. “Spit.”

  “Excuse me?” Sydney asked her.

  “No gum chewing,” Mrs. James said sternly, and held her hand under Sydney’s face. “Spit your gum out now.”

  Sydney looked pained but also intimidated. Then she spit out her gum into Mrs. James’s hand. Ewwww! Mrs. James went to a trash can and tossed it.

  “Okay, that was disgusting,” Sydney said.

  “Seriously,” I agreed.

  “Oh, you’re here,” Sydney said, pretending to notice me. “This isn’t our whole group, is it?”

  I hoped not. Then I changed my mind. Jazmine was walking toward us, reluctantly.

  “There you are,” Mrs. James said.

  “I can’t believe I’m with my mother,” Jazmine muttered.

  “Your mother, who heard you mutter that, requested you specifically,” Mrs. James said to her. “To ensure you are using time wisely. Did you finish listening to your math downloads? And complete the worksheets I drew up?”

  “Yes, mother,” Jazmine said.

  I actually felt bad for Jazmine. I shot her a sympathetic glance.

  “What’s your issue?” Jazmine said to me. “Stare much?”

  Okay, I didn’t feel so bad anymore. So great, it was me, Sydney, Jazmine, and her mother?

  “Hey, we’re in this group.” Reilly and Sam came up to us.

  “Yay, Reilly’s in our group!” Sydney said, and started hanging all over him.

  “And me!” Sam whined.

  “And the munchkin,” Sydney said.

  “Group,” Mrs. James said. “Here are the rules. Later on we will head to the hotel to check in to our rooms, but until then, we will explore Times Square.”

  “Yes!” Sam said, and started to move.

  “Halt!” Mrs. James said loudly and scarily. “Boy who needs a comb, stay with the group.”

  “Sorry. Also, I spilled soda on my head, so that’s why I’m extra spiky,” Sam explained, patting his spiky hair. “And sticky.”

  “We will all be sticky. As in, stuck together as a group,” Mrs. James said. “For safety purposes, you also will each have a buddy.”

  “My buddy!” Sydney pulled on Reilly.

  That left me with Jazmine or Sam. Jazmine sighed. I sighed. I started to walk over to Jazmine. And then she stood next to Sam.

  “Fine, I’ll be with Munchkin,” Jazmine said.

  She picked him? And that left me with . . .

  “Then you’re with me.” Mrs. James pointed at me.

  Um, what?!

  “You will stick with your buddy at all times,” Mrs. James said. “March in a straight line.”

  This was so not good. I was the parent chaperone’s buddy? I had no choice but to follow Mrs. James down the block.

  “Ew, we don’t have to hold hands,” Jazmine said to Sam. “This isn’t kindergarten buddies.”

  “You can hold my hand,” Sydney cooed to Reilly.

  “No handholding!” snapped Mrs. James. “Behave.”

  We walked quickly to the next street.

  “Excuse me, where are we going first?” Sydney asked Mrs. James.

  “A very important institution,” Mrs. James said. Ooh! What would we see? We crossed a street and stood in front of a gray building.

  “This is one of the world’s largest financial institutions,” Mrs. James said.

  Um. Okay?

  We stood there and stared at it.

  “We’re staring at a bank?” Sydney whispered to Reilly.

  “This will gear you up for the math competition,” Mrs. James announced. “Thinking of large numbers and financial figures! Focus, focus, focus!”

  “Mrs. James?” Sydney said. “Most of us are here for Drama Club. Jazmine is the only mathlete.”

  “Hm,” Mrs. James said. “Is there a drama competition?”

  “No,” I said. “We’re here to see a show.”

  “Then have your priorities straight!” Mrs. James said. “Competition trumps passive watching. Now, we have one hour and much to do. Follow me.”

  We silently followed her to the green space in the middle of Times Square. Last time I’d been to New York there had been cars and taxis everywhere, but now it was full of people sitting in chairs set up near a stage.

  “Sit,” Mrs. James said. She stood in front of us and started to lecture. About math! She was teaching us math! And not any math, but mathletes math, that only Jazmine and Emma and maybe Tess would know.

  Everyone except Jazmine sat looking at Mrs. James, totally confused.

  Bbbzt!

  My cell! I reached into my pocket and sneaked a look. It was from Emma.

  Ridiculous. We are in a candy store with world’s biggest chocolate bar. Everyone’s eating candy. People are running around crazy on sugar and stealing my flash cards.

  What? They were in a chocolate store? And I was listening to a math lecture?

  P: Trade places w me! ;-)

  E: NO

  P: Bring me chocolate?

  E: Too late. We’re going somewhere else. Hopefully somewhere quiet.

  Sigh. So. Mrs. James was talking about mathletes stuff. Blah blah blah. I turned to see another group going by laughing and having all kinds of fun times. This was lame. I was in Times Square! And listening to a math lecture for geniuses?

  E: UGH! Now we’re in toy store. Too loud to study. Tess and Nick are riding little-kid bikes around. Ugh! Emma

  What? They were in a toy store? That was so not fair. I looked across the street and could see the toy store. It was huge! And inside, Tess was with Nick, having fun.

  And then all of a sudden it started to rain.

  “Eek!” Sydney said. “My hair!”

  “It’s just a sprinkle,” Mrs. James said. “Fresh air is good for children. You are wearing slickers. Put your hoods up or put your umbrella up.”

  Ugh. I pulled up the hood on my jacket. And stood in the rain.

  “This is ridiculous,” Sydney grumbled as the rain came down more.

  “Ladies? Want to share my umbrella?” Sam asked. “Cuddle close.”

  We all inched away from him. A car drove by and splashed water on my feet. I’d had enough! Then I had a genius idea related to mathle
tes. Okay, not involving math but . . .

  “Mrs. James,” I said, “I’m concerned that if we stay out here any longer, someone will catch a cold.”

  Mrs. James looked at us.

  “You don’t want Jazmine to catch a cold before mathletes competition?” I said. “Again?”

  “Oh. Yes, that is a good point,” Mrs. James said. “Everyone head inside to the—”

  Before she could say bank or who knows what boring math building, I spoke up.

  “To the toy store!!” I yelled. “Let’s go!”

  Six

  GINORMOUS TOY STORE

  I stood in line with Nick and Tess. For a kiddie Ferris wheel. Mrs. Nicely, our chaperone, had blindsided me. I figured a librarian would take us to the New York Public Library or a literary equivalent. Where I could study among the books. But Mrs. Nicely said we were here for “fun!” And “toy shopping for her grandchildren!” So here we were.

  “This is a waste of time,” I muttered. It was infuriating. Sure, I had been happy when I’d heard we were going to New York City. But we were going for a math competition, not a vacation! “I . . . have to go to the bathroom.”

  “Hurry up, we’re almost there!” Tess called as I headed away from the wheel. I was a little afraid of heights. Standing behind a stack of stuffed animals, I began calculating that height plus too many rotations would equal . . . me being sick to my stomach.”

  “Aaah!” A wet, slickered person jumped in front of me, waving! I’d thought Times Square wasn’t dangerous anymore, but some people were obviously acting a little crazy.

  “Shhh!” The Slicker faced me, and inside the hood was Payton!

  “What the heck are you doing?” I whispered. “You freaked me out.”

  “No time to freak,” Payton said. She was whipping off her rain slicker. “Time to switch.”

  What?

  “Here, put this on,” Payton said. “You’re me. I’m you. You know the drill. Here. Behind the stuffed animals where no one can see us.”

  “You heard Mrs. Burkle,” I said. “No switching.” I looked around for our people. I saw no chaperones or students.

  “Emma, we have to switch,” Payton said. “If I have to listen to Jazmine James’s mother’s math tips for another second I’m going to . . .”

  Twin say what?

  Did I hear that correctly? Math tips?