Friend or Foe

by Jody Feldman

  Berk reeled like someone had slapped him, but didn’t make a move to leave.

  “Ahh!” That had to be Elijah jumping all over Zane’s back.

  Zane turned, and they clasped in a brief bear hug.

  “I told you,” said Elijah. “Now, will you listen to me?”

  “I’ll listen, but I can’t promise I’ll believe.”

  “Fair enough,” Elijah said.

  The midday sun shined between the banners like a spotlight. Cameras circled the winning group, recording this moment from every angle. One cameraperson looked like that Cameron kid from last year, but before Zane could find out for sure, a man in a gray suit strode toward them like he was totally in charge.

  “This is great, this is fabulous!” said the man. “I am Bert Golliwop. Welcome to the Gollywhopper Games. Our third. Last year we had six girls and four boys in our finals. This year, it’s just the opposite.” He stood beside Berk and beckoned to another guy.

  “I want you all to give a round of applause to our alternates. Just hundredths of a second separated them from you.”

  Zane hated the pity clap.

  “Now, which of you finished first and second?”

  Zane stepped forward, and a girl with silky black hair and a huge smile raised her hand.

  “Congratulations, Hanna Lee, number one, and Zane Braycott, number two!” Bert Golliwop led the applause. “Only one one-hundredth of a second separated you two, but it was two seconds later before we heard from number three, Elijah McNair.”

  “Elijah!” Zane gave him a high five.

  “Here’s the question, Hanna, Zane. How’d you manage to tap in so fast?”

  “I was just paying attention,” Hanna said.

  “It was basically an adrenaline thing,” said Zane. “I had nothing to lose.”

  “Perfect,” said Bert Golliwop. “We love people who take reasonable risks.”

  “It makes good TV,” said Elijah.

  Bert Golliwop laughed. “So it does, my friend. Well, we won’t keep you here. Momentarily, you’ll join your families in the air-conditioned tents. They haven’t seen anything since you started the question grid. So might I suggest you burst in at once and give them all a grand surprise?” He motioned for a couple of Golly guides. “These are Sharryn and Wanda, two of our best Games people. They will tell you all you need to know. Until tomorrow.” Bert Golliwop bowed out and trotted away.

  Sharryn and Wanda stepped up.

  Zane could walk into any locker room and tell you who the captains were. No doubt Sharryn was the leader of these two.

  “Top ten!” she said. “Congratulations!”

  “Yeah, right,” Berk said under his breath. “Big deal.”

  “It is a big deal,” said Sharryn. “If you don’t think so, no one’s keeping you here.”

  No sympathy for that big doofus? Zane was liking this place more and more.

  “All morning, we’ve purposefully kept every family from knowing exactly where you stood,” said Sharryn. “Right now they believe we’re organizing you according to airport schedules—which is, in fact, true. You’re just not heading to the airport today.”

  That brought a round of cheers.

  “Instead,” said Wanda, “you are headed to a hotel where the only guests are people involved in the Games. Feel free to get to know one another. Talk at dinner, meet up at the hotel pool afterward. Then tomorrow. Ah, tomorrow!”

  Sharryn laughed. “Don’t expect what you’ve seen in the past. Not at all. But that’s tomorrow. For now, let’s go!”

  Most of them were jumping and running, but Zane was weirdly calm. He’d just defeated a gob of people, but it didn’t feel like he’d really won anything except for the chance to play.

  The ten of them, though, burst into the family tent, where all the whooping and shouting ignited the energy and flipped Zane’s switch. He screamed and jumped and high-fived anything that came his way, even Berk’s forehead. And he didn’t care.

  It was like they’d all become one huge family; one team, all with a team’s goal: to win. He’d never celebrated with his competitors before. Zane couldn’t wrap his head around that and didn’t think he’d be able to. Ever. Right now, it didn’t matter. He was here. And he was going to win.

  After

  THE STADIUM ROUND

  Bert sat at his desk, pulse racing, head spinning about what might go wrong tomorrow. He’d scrutinized the footage from all eight spy cams, but no one had entered the two final challenge areas.

  Danny came in and tossed Bert a bag of pretzels. “What can I do for you?”

  “You can tell me why it hasn’t worked. None of it. I thought it’d be foolproof.”

  “Nothing’s foolproof. Maybe Ratso had a change of heart and has no plans to ruin you.”

  “And maybe it’s like that old practical joke, where someone tells you they’re going to prank you. It’s coming. It will be epic. But the joke is that there is no prank. They just wanted to make you go crazy waiting for it.”

  “If that’s the case,” said Danny, “by this time tomorrow, you won’t care. We’ll be in full celebration mode, the Games will be a success, your trusted team will remain in place, and the world will smile on you.”

  “You’re right, you’re right.” Bert tried to rub the headache away from his temples. “No, you’re wrong. Something’s going to happen.” Then his face took on a big smile as his executive team came in. He couldn’t let on that he suspected any one of them. But someone here was Flummox’s little pawn, and he was going to find out. Somehow.

  Chapter 17

  The luxury bus took them straight to their hotel, which, with only Games people staying there, was weirdly quiet. They’d gathered the ten contestants in a dining room. Zane and his dad chose an empty table in the center of the room, and Elijah, his parents, and older sister joined them.

  Elijah’s family wasn’t as scrawny as he was, but they weren’t big people, either. Zane’s dad towered over them, but they had this powerful presence that made them seem just as tall. Zane had seen that before with a quarterback on an opposing team. To look at him, you’d think he’d fold under a feather, but with a ball in his hands, he was totally in charge. Zane didn’t come close to making an interception that day.

  Before Elijah’s dad sat, he grasped Zane’s shoulder. “Thank you, son, for getting Elijah started on the right foot.” He shook his hand. “But what made you pull in a skinny little black kid when there were so many others to choose?” His laugh was larger than he was.

  Zane laughed with him.

  “In all honesty, though, what did?”

  “I was looking for people to balance me out,” said Zane. “I was hoping that someone so small had big brains.”

  “Smart son you have there,” Elijah’s dad said to Zane’s.

  “I’ve been told you have the same.”

  “Don’t always know what to do with it,” Elijah’s dad said, “but we love it.”

  Elijah rolled his eyes.

  It was easy being with Elijah’s family, easier than being with his own. They’d called his mom on speakerphone as soon as they’d checked into the hotel.

  “I knew it!” she said.

  “You did not,” said Zane.

  “Oh, yes I did. And I can prove it. Look in the outside pocket of your duffel.”

  Zane went over and unzipped it. “Underwear?”

  “Three extra pairs because you only packed one. There’s also an extra shirt for you.”

  “They already gave us one to wear tomorrow.”

  “Doubtful they’ll let you wear it home. You know how they keep everything secret. I was just making sure you were well covered, so to speak.”

  “Don’t turn him into a wimp,” Zane’s dad had said in that loud voice he mostly reserved for money issues.

  “It’s fine,” said Zane. “And thanks, Mom.”

  When they hung up, Zane’s dad was gritting his teeth. “She can be a little smothering.”


  Zane didn’t need this. “She was looking out for me.”

  “Sure,” his dad had said. And Zane headed out the door for dinner, early. Why couldn’t his parents be like Elijah’s, who were laughing and touching and—

  The room went pitch black. Gasps. Music. Spotlights. The old contestants! How’d they get here?

  Gil Goodson, star of the first Games, came front and center. “And the drama begins,” he said. “I’m Gil. And to my right are Jig, Estella, Cameron, and Clio from last year. To my left, Bianca, Lavinia, and Thorn, my competitors.

  “We are missing two people. You may remember a little incident that makes Rocky unwelcome at Golly Toy and Game Company.”

  Clio stepped up. “And if you heard the recent buzz, you might think Dacey was also uninvited. It wasn’t her fault, though, that she accidentally received a picture of our obstacle course. Cameron?”

  That had been the kid with the camera, only he was a few inches taller, and something else. He almost had a swagger.

  “I’m Cameron Schein. And I was also a victim of some sabotage. Golly has taken steps to prevent anything like that from happening again, but if something seems wrong, speak up right away. It worked out for me, didn’t it?”

  They all clapped.

  “If you’re wondering,” said Clio, “Dacey moved to Colorado where, this minute, she’s smiling for the pageant judges. In her words, ‘Good luck, y’all.’”

  “If you ask me,” said Estella, “she didn’t want to face us again.”

  “Face me, you mean,” said Jig. “Tell them what you told me, Bianca.”

  “Oh, no,” said Bianca. “I’m not getting in the middle of this, Jig. I’m too smart.”

  “Don’t know about that, Bianca, but you said Dacey had a crush on me, and I just didn’t crush on her back. Embarrassing.”

  “So you can see this is just like school,” said Clio. “The Gollywhopper Games rumor mill moves ten thousand miles per second.”

  “And we don’t want to tarnish you yet,” said Lavinia.

  “So we’re outta here,” Thorn said. He turned to leave, then looked back. “But we may see you tomorrow.”

  The room went dark, the music came up. When the lights came back, the contestants were gone, but a team of waiters paraded in with dinner.

  Steak! Zane downed his and a second one, plus salad, a potato, and a flaming dessert. He was all carb- and protein-loaded for tomorrow. Maybe too loaded and too amped up to sit in a hotel room.

  No one was in the pool when he and his dad got there. Zane dived in, breaking the smooth, still water, and took half a lap before surfacing for air. By the time he’d lapped back, that alternate, Berk, and Tay, the girl who’d come in seventh, were calling at him to play Marco Polo.

  Zane wanted to ignore Berk especially, but he didn’t want to make enemies. “I’ll play when there are five of us. It’s not fun with fewer than that.”

  In quick succession, in came number one, Hanna with her friendly eyes; number four, Becky, the blonde who walked like an athlete; and number five, Ryder, with normal brown hair who’d buddied up with his near look-alike, Josh, number eight.

  “All right!” called Berk. “And because it’s my idea, I’m Marco Polo first.” He cannonballed into the water.

  “Seriously? Start a game by becoming dictator?” said Becky.

  “Exactly,” Zane said. “Apparently, Berk needs a power rush.”

  “There’s a girl on my soccer team like that,” she said.

  “There’s a person on every team like that.”

  She and Zane high-fived.

  They all went with it, though, and splashed around blindly trying to tag Berk or catch him out of the water; nearly impossible because he answered “Polo!” only three of the dozen times they called “Marco.”

  By now, except for the skittish girl, Leore, and Gary, the other alternate, everyone was there. With Berk ignoring the rules, it was becoming a bonding-type joke. “Marco!” Zane called.

  Nothing.

  “Marco!” called one of the girls.

  “Marco!” called a guy.

  “Polo!” Berk finally replied.

  “Out of the water?” Zane said.

  “No!”

  “But I’m standing right next to you,” came another voice.

  “My foot’s in the water and—”

  “Got you, anyway!”

  Zane opened his eyes.

  “Only because I let you,” Berk said to Tay.

  Which was good because Tay, who was now Marco, turned the game from joke to competition. She was the type Zane wanted on his team tomorrow. Or Becky, who was apparently some fierce soccer player. Or Hanna, who laughed easier than anyone he’d ever heard. They could—

  Thwuck!

  “Help!” yelled Hanna.

  Zane opened his eyes. Tay was lying by the side of the pool, her head near the edge.

  The adults rushed over. One of them got on the phone with 9-1-1. Zane swam there as fast as he could.

  Tay was totally still.

  Elijah knelt over her. “Don’t move her.” His parents, who seemed to know what they were doing, took his place.

  Hanna wedged in to Tay’s side. “You’re going to be okay,” she whispered although Tay probably couldn’t hear her. She gently held her hand even after Tay’s mom got there.

  Ryder and Josh were standing far away, murmuring to each other like Thing 1 and Thing 2 always did. Becky, in the pool next to Zane, was gripping the ledge so hard her knuckles had turned white. Berk was sitting at the pool’s edge dangling his feet in the water, looking totally unconcerned.

  Tay came to, but Zane recognized her faraway look. Berk must have, too, because he broke into the biggest grin. “I’m in,” Zane heard him whisper. Had Berk figured out some way to trip her, then manage to scramble way over there before the rest of them opened their eyes?

  The paramedics took Tay to the hospital as a precaution. “It could’ve been me,” Zane said to his dad when they were back in the room. “I could be in a hospital with almost no brain left.” He lay flat on his stomach and covered his head with a pillow.

  His dad sat on the edge of the bed and put his hand on the small of Zane’s back. The even pressure was reassuring. Almost.

  After a few minutes, Zane moved his head from under the pillow, but he curled his arm around his face and head. “Things can change so fast. It’s so scary, Dad.”

  “I know.”

  His dad did know. One minute he’d been playing in an NFL preseason game, the next minute he pulled a hamstring, and the following minute, the Patriots cut him. After that, according to his dad, what other skills did he have? He’d never imagined he’d need to take college classes seriously. He’d be smart and rich with all those millions he’d make in football.

  “Here’s the positive and the problem all at once,” said his dad. “You, son, are smart. And smart people can see consequences coming faster than the rest of us. So all the possibilities out there? They’re scary, and they can paralyze you if you let them. But if you let fear win, what kind of life would you have?”

  “But still . . .” Zane let it hang there.

  So did his dad, but he stayed with his hand on Zane’s back, which was the last thing he remembered until he woke in the morning, thankfully headache free, but still a little freaked.

  Then they got to breakfast. Zane had barely put a couple slices of pineapple on his plate when Berk burst in.

  “You all ready for me?”

  Zane took in a deep breath. Game on.

  Chapter 18

  Sharryn joined them midbreakfast and confirmed what Zane already knew. “Tay suffered a concussion and will be fine, but she needs to go home. We’ve already awarded her the same prizes as our third-place finisher, and if there’s a fourth Gollywhopper Games, she will be a finalist if she wants.”

  “That’s so totally fair,” said Hanna.

  “Fair?” Berk said. “She gets to be in two Games? Win double prizes? Wh
y can’t I have a concussion?”

  Zane stared at him. “You don’t want one.”

  Berk stared back.

  It got really quiet.

  “This isn’t how we wanted to start the morning,” said Sharryn. “We wanted to see smiles and nervousness and laughter and anticipation. We wanted you to be so excited we’d need barricades to hold you back because one thing hasn’t changed: The Gollywhopper Games are so ready for you, they’re nearly breathing on their own. You’ll see stuff you couldn’t possibly dream up. Do things you never thought you’d do. Win money, lots of money. A million dollars for one of you. And the title of champion.”

  Zane looked at Becky, who was looking at him just like a JZ might. He could feel his blood start to pump. This could be good! “This is gonna be great!”

  “Yes!” came the voices of the others.

  Sharryn wrapped an arm around his shoulders and gave a squeeze. “To start, a fleet of limos will whisk you to Golly Headquarters. So take that last bite, then hold on to your hats. You don’t have hats? Doesn’t matter. This’ll be one of the best days of your lives, win or lose!”

  Zane put down his fork. He was ready. Focused. He moved to the lobby. Paced. One side. The other. The JZs would know he was getting in the zone. His dad did. But Elijah didn’t.

  He matched strides with Zane. “I’ve been pondering gym class.”

  Huh? Zane looked at him.

  Elijah took that as a cue to go on. “I have no problem when the guys pick me last. Most of my life I’ve been half their age and half their size. But if we pick teams today, by virtue of you coming in one-two, they’d have Hanna and you—”

  “Elijah McNair!” called the limo driver.

  Elijah smiled up at Zane. “See you.”

  “No worries, buddy.”

  Even before Elijah was out the door, Berk moved over. “Love it, dude! Letting him get all delusional that you’d pick him when you know we’d be awesome together.”

  “Right.”

  Berk could interpret that any way he wanted, but if he seriously thought they’d make a good team, he was delusional. Maybe they were both athletic, but Zane needed an Elijah.