Stay in the Game

by Megan Atwood

  He pulled up the website again.

  33:46.

  James threw his mousepad against the wall. How could they have missed it? If they knew everything, like they seemed to, how could they not know what he did last night?

  He paced around his tiny room. There was nothing on the website that would let him ask questions. No one to talk to. His whole body tensed in frustration. This had to work. He couldn’t be doing this for nothing. He had to take some time to calm down and find a solution.

  He stomped into the bathroom and looked at himself in the mirror. Huge bags under his eyes made him look ten years older. His face was pale, his hair getting long. He had a five-o’clock shadow. He looked awful.

  He took a deep breath, then got out his shaving kit. After he’d shaved his face and trimmed his hair, he took a long hot shower. By the time he got out, he felt human again. Though the thought of all the things he’d done still hovered in the corner of his mind. He was wrapping a towel around himself when he heard a ding from his phone: a new email. He sat down at the computer and opened it.

  You did not follow directions for your latest task. You did not write the exact message given to you. This failure has been discussed with our team. Because you have done everything else correctly for this task, you are not disqualified from The Contest. But you have been docked time. You must wait ten more hours before your next task is revealed. Check back at 5:00 p.m. for your next task. Another punishment awaits you at a different time.

  This is your only warning. If you fail at any other assigned task, you will be disqualified.

  James stared in disbelief. He’d done everything just right. He knew he had. He racked his brain for how he could have done something wrong. Sitting back, he closed his eyes and tried to remember the task.

  He’d been told to graffiti, “CB, we know about your brother. His time is running out.” He was positive that was it. But he hadn’t been paying total attention to the spray painting, because he’d been so worried he would get caught. Had he left something out? He could picture the words forming, the movements his arm had made . . .

  His eyes flipped open. He’d forgotten the word his. For that, he was almost disqualified. Whoever the Benefactor was, he wasn’t messing around.

  James sighed. He didn’t want to admit it, but he was relieved to still be in the contest, even though the other “punishment” was still out there. For now, though, there was nothing he could do until 5:00 pm. He’d go to school, visit his grandpa, then make sure that he would do exactly what he was told to do for the next task. No matter what.

  CHAPTER 8

  At school, James could barely keep his eyes open. He nodded off completely in history class and was rewarded with his teacher making fun of him. He couldn’t even muster the outrage to make fun of him back. His algebra teacher took him aside and asked him if he was OK. All James could do was nod. After an eternity, the final bell rang and James went to his locker.

  He twirled the combination and tried to remember which books he’d have to bring home for homework. He’d have to walk all the way home carrying them in his arms, since he had no bike and no backpack . . . He opened up his locker and blinked.

  A folded note, with JAMES written in huge block letters, sat on the shelf. In his locker. The locker no one was supposed to know the combination to.

  James snatched up the note and opened it.

  You have been punished. We trust you will do the right thing next time.

  Right then, James’s phone rang. The school didn’t allow students to talk on their phones in the hall, but James was terrified that the news was about his grandpa.

  He grabbed the phone out of his pocket and checked to see who it was. Aunt Beth.

  “I’m on my way, James.” Her voice was clear and un-crackly, and the sound of it made James relax with relief.

  “You were able to get away from the job? Figure out your visa and everything?”

  There was a pause at the other end. And then she said, “Well, sort of. My visa’s been revoked. I just got fired. They’re kicking me out of the country.”

  James’s heart clenched.

  He was being punished.

  *****

  At 5:00, James sat in front of his computer and bounced his knee, thinking about the conversation he’d had with his aunt. She’d been fired out of nowhere. No warning, no cause. She said she was going to appeal, but she couldn’t for the life of her understand what had happened. Neither could James.

  The flip side was she could get back to her dad and to James sooner.

  She'd tried to sound brave about it. “Don’t worry, hon. People need doctors. I’ll find something else. And there are some things about this company that are just weird. I was thinking of quitting anyway so I could be closer to home. This just makes things faster. I can’t wait to get there and squeeze you!”

  James knew that was true. She often said she wanted to come back. But the work she did felt so important where she was.

  There was no way around it. This was his fault.

  What he couldn’t understand was how the Benefactor did it. How could he—they—it—have that much pull? Enough to get someone fired halfway across the world?

  James shook off his questions as the clock flipped to 5:00. He pulled up the contest website. A new timer was up.

  72:00.

  The person who was on task 4 seemed stuck, though. And now James was tied with the other two people, whoever they were. He had a chance. The words scrawled across the page.

  TASK 3 COMPLETE

  Task 4

  Go to Burnett’s Hardware. In the back room, there is a file cabinet. Open the drawer labeled H-M and take the folder labeled “Insurance.” Keep it at your home with the backpack.

  James sighed and shook his head. Was it just him or were these tasks getting harder? But not doing them . . . well, his aunt had paid a price for his stupidity. He couldn’t let that happen to his grandpa too.

  He thought of his grandpa. The tubes in his nose. His grandpa’s gravelly voice and wheezy, contagious laugh.

  He’d do just about anything to keep that laugh in this world.

  CHAPTER 9

  Burnett’s Hardware was a tiny store scrunched between two other tiny stores in North Minneapolis. The windows had bars. Sales signs in neon splashed across the windows. When James walked in, a bell rang.

  A tired-looking woman came out through a door behind the counter. She smiled warmly at James. “Can I help you find something?” James immediately liked her. But behind her he could see a door she’d just come through. This had to be the office he needed to get into. A pang of guilt shot through him—a now-familiar feeling.

  He said, “I’m looking for a bag. Like a backpack or a messenger bag or something. Do you carry those?”

  She nodded and smiled. “We sure do. Come on back here.” She led him down a row filled with school supplies. Several backpacks and other types of bags lined the walls, plus paper and pencils and notebooks. James couldn’t help it, he had to ask. “How come you have school supplies at a hardware store?” He quickly covered up and said, “I mean, I was hoping you did, but I wasn’t expecting it.”

  The woman beamed. “Well, I have two kids. So we’ve always stocked a few school supplies.” Her smile turned sad. “It was my husband’s idea, actually. He died years ago, but I still keep this up. Even though one of my kids is grown and the other is almost there . . .” She seemed to remember James and brightened up again. “Here you go! I hope you find one you like.”

  James’s shoulders dropped. He was going to steal from a nice lady whose husband had died. This seemed way too personal. He wasn’t sure he could go through with it.

  At least he could buy a backpack. He grabbed the cheapest one and walked to the register. The lady seemed surprised. “Well, that was quick!” She gave him that huge smile again.

  He shrugged and smiled back. “I really need a bag.” He eyed the office door directly behind her. How was he going t
o get in there anyway? He just didn’t think he could get through this task.

  Just then, the sound of glass breaking startled him out of his thoughts. The lady frowned and said, “Just a minute,” and then ran to the back of the store.

  James tensed. It was now or never.

  He ran around the counter and slipped through the door to the office. He found the file cabinet right away. As quietly as he could, he grabbed the file that said “Insurance” and ran back out. He put it in the backpack. Just as he finished zipping it, the lady came back. She looked shaken.

  “Hey, are you OK?” James asked, genuinely worried. Her warm smile had vanished. Worry lines took over her expression, and there were tears in her eyes.

  “One of my kids . . . has been getting threats. Never mind. Just small-minded people doing small-minded things.” She wiped her eyes. “You know, a lesser person than you would have just run out of here with the backpack. I’m so glad there are still good people in the world.”

  James’s face burned with shame. He gave her the money for the backpack and then walked out the door with his head hanging.

  *****

  “You are such a man now!” Aunt Beth hugged James so tightly he couldn’t breathe. And he didn’t care. A huge weight had been lifted off his shoulders. His aunt was here. He wasn’t alone.

  He laughed and then picked her up. She laughed back. “No fair. You’re not allowed to grow up so fast.” Her laugh lines crinkled as she spoke to him. James hadn’t even known how heavy he’d felt until she came.

  The thought of all the things he’d done sparked through his head, but he shook it off. His aunt was home.

  “I talked to the hospital during my layover. They say Dad is doing better. We’re going to set him up at home and look after him. Are you up for that? We’ll go tonight and get him, OK?”

  James nodded. He would be in good hands with Beth. She walked into the kitchen and started looking through the cabinets. James sat down. He hadn’t realized how tired he was either.

  “We need to make a grocery run soon,” Aunt Beth muttered as she rummaged. But she came out with some pasta and sauce and then found some hamburger in the freezer. “Well, this will do for tonight. But we’re getting vegetables in you one way or another very soon.”

  Suddenly, James felt like crying. “Aunt Beth . . .” He didn’t even know where to start. His grandpa was sick. His parents were gone. And he’d done things in the last few days that he wouldn’t have thought he was capable of. How many people’s lives had he messed with? How could he ever come back from that? Maybe his aunt would know what to do.

  But shame spiraled through him. He couldn’t tell her what he’d done. He had acted like a horrible person. He was a horrible person.

  He realized she was staring at him. He cleared his throat. “I’m just really glad you’re home.”

  She smiled and tears shone in her eyes. “Me too, James. It’s going to be all right.”

  James wasn’t so sure.

  CHAPTER 10

  James watched the familiar font start its crawl across the page. He chewed on a hangnail and bounced his knee.

  TASK 4 COMPLETE

  TASK 5

  You will find a jump drive outside your apartment door, in your grandfather’s left shoe. Tomorrow evening, go to 45235 University Avenue. Go to the desk of Sandra Bravo. At exactly 4:50 p.m., upload the file from the jump drive onto her computer. Then take the drive with you.

  Failing to do this exactly will result in failure of The Contest.

  James rubbed a hand over his face. Now that Aunt Beth was here, this felt more complicated. He loved that she was home, but it made everything he had done and everything he had to do seem that much worse.

  He got up and walked out to the front door of the apartment. His grandpa’s shoes that had been sitting outside the door so long they had dust on them. The jump drive was wedged into the heel of the left one.

  James wondered how long the drive had been in there. It could have been placed any time. He didn’t even want to know what was on it.

  He shut the door and slipped the drive into his pocket. Then he walked into his grandpa’s room, now outfitted with a hospital bed and an oxygen machine. The machine whirred, and James watched as the saline solution dripped in the IV bag. He followed the IV line to his grandpa’s wrinkled hands. Gramps looked small. Small and weak. James knew he was dying.

  He felt an arm around his shoulder and his aunt said, “He looks peaceful now, don’t you think?”

  James shrugged off her arm, suddenly angry. “He looks awful!”

  Aunt Beth said, “Shhhhh.”

  James laughed—a kind of laugh he’d never heard come out of his mouth. It was more than just angry. It sounded cruel. “Yeah, shhhh. I wouldn’t want to wake the dead, right? You’ve given up on him!”

  His aunt tried to grab his arm, a confused look on her face. “James, what’s gotten into you?”

  “It’s just always up to me, that’s all. It’s always up to me.” James turned around and marched to his room. He grabbed his backpack and stormed out the door before his aunt could stop him.

  CHAPTER 11

  James had managed to avoid his aunt for a day and a half. He knew she was confused. One minute he couldn’t stop hugging her. The next minute he was yelling at her. James felt like he was losing his mind. It didn’t help that he was getting absolutely no sleep.

  At 4:40, he walked into the storefront building at 45235 University Avenue. The place looked well kept but small, about the size of Burnett Hardware.

  He’d gone this far. He might as well keep going. His grandpa wasn’t even conscious, and he’d pushed his aunt away. All he really had left was the hope of winning this contest.

  The jump drive was in his pocket. A couple of times the night before, he’d almost plugged it into his computer to see exactly what he was delivering. But each time, he’d remembered that the Benefactor had somehow gotten his aunt fired.

  He told himself it was probably just spyware. Nothing terrible. But the little voice in the back of his head kept poking him about it.

  Still, he tamped that down and headed for the glass doors in front of him.

  The name of the company was on the doors.

  EarthWatch

  Imagining a Better Tomorrow

  through Innovation Today

  The logo was a person-shaped outline with a thought bubble that held the earth inside it.

  “Can I help you?” asked the receptionist.

  He’d rehearsed what he was going to say the whole way over. “I’m here to see Sandra Bravo?” His voice didn’t even waver.

  The receptionist smiled. James gave his most innocent smile back. He knew he looked fairly harmless. He was wearing his best khakis and a sweater with a button-up shirt underneath. Church clothes, back when his family used to go.

  “Can I tell her what this is about?”

  “Um, yeah, my science project is about the environment, and I called and made an appointment to interview her?”

  The receptionist frowned. “I don’t have you down here . . .”

  James put on a distressed look. “I called a week ago? It’s really important that I talk to her. This project is 60 percent of my grade.”

  The receptionist held up her finger and picked up the phone. “Sandra, I have a . . .” She looked at James expectantly and he said, “Jack Price.” The receptionist continued, “A Jack Price here for an interview.”

  After a few “mm-hmms” and “uh-huhs,” the receptionist pointed him back toward Sandra Bravo’s office. “She’s down the hall, second door on your right. She has to head out right at five today, but if you can make it quick, she’ll make some time for you.”

  James thanked her and walked back to the office. He checked his watch. 4:45. He was almost there. And he’d have five tasks done.

  A youngish woman sat clacking away at her computer. The desk faced her office door, and two chairs sat in front of it. Her hard drive wa
s nowhere to be seen. James assumed it sat under her desk. He had five minutes to figure out how to put the file on her computer.

  Seeing him enter, Sandra Bravo put her hand out and smiled. “Hello! Please take a seat.” She was wearing a T-shirt with the words Solar Power Hero on it. Her long dark hair was tucked behind her ears.

  James felt his stomach clench. Another person he was about to hurt.

  “How can I help, Jack?” He flinched when she said his fake name. His dad’s name. He swallowed.

  “Um, I’m supposed to do an interview for a class project.” His voice cracked. So much for the smooth operator he’d been when he walked in. He glanced at his watch: 4:47. He had three minutes. Sweat started at his temples.

  She looked at him curiously. “What kind of project? Is your class learning about solar energy?”

  “Um, yeah.” He was so glad she’d given him a clue. He hadn’t thought far enough ahead to come up with a fake school project. He was really no good at this spy stuff.

  “Great! This is an exciting time for us. As I’m sure you know, we’re a think tank that helps companies design Earth-friendly products. I truly believe we’re on the eve of a breakthrough. And if it works out, solar energy is going to be easier to get, more affordable than oil or even natural gas, and sustainable for the long term.” Her eyes sparkled. James felt caught up in her enthusiasm.

  “That sounds amazing,” he said. He didn’t really follow all of it, but “easy” and “affordable”—who wasn’t on board with that?

  Sandra Bravo grinned. “Well, I can’t say too much about specific projects. Any information we give out before a product is built could hurt the company. But I’m happy to answer general questions about what we do. Or we can talk about successful projects we’ve worked on in the past.”