Battle of the Brightest

by Hope McLean

  With the first part of his task completed, he rapidly made his way through the school back toward the main entrance. The lights in all the hallways were on, but he didn’t spot anyone, not even the early-morning custodian.

  A glance at his watch told him it was five forty a.m. School wouldn’t start for almost two hours, but he still had to hurry before more staff members began to arrive. He raced through the main entrance and approached the flagpole. He quickly untied the rope and lowered the flag to the ground. After removing the flag, he carefully folded it and placed it in his backpack so he could leave it safely in a storage room somewhere when he was finished. He grabbed the boxers and attached them to the rope, then hastily raised the boxers up the flagpole. It was a breezy morning and they fluttered in the wind. He had to laugh to himself. It was a funny sight, and the “AA” on the shorts was big enough to leave no doubt about who owned them.

  Just then, the door to the main entrance opened. Eli jumped behind a bush and looked up. It was the custodian. Eli watched the man’s gaze go to the flagpole. Oh no! Eli thought. What if he finds me here? Will he take the boxers down before the Memento Mori can see it? His heart pounded in his chest as he tried to be as quiet as possible. Then he heard the man chuckle softly and walk back inside.

  Eli let out a huge sigh. He had done it!

  * * *

  Later that day, the entire school was buzzing about the practical joke.

  “That was too funny.” Eli’s friend Zane laughed at lunch. “Everyone on my bus was cracking up when we pulled up to school. I wish I knew who did it. I heard Atkinson went ballistic when he found out.”

  Ryan walked by his table and winked. Eli wanted to tell his friend Zane the truth, but he knew he couldn’t.

  By the end of the day, Eli couldn’t stop yawning. He was beat from getting up so early. He groggily walked toward his locker and opened it. An envelope fell out onto the floor. Eli quickly scooped it up. The envelope had a red wax seal on it with the initials “MM.” Had he succeeded? Was he now a member of the Memento Mori?

  “Great job, Eli!” Lili squealed, giving her brother a big hug. “I knew I could count on you!”

  The Jewels, the Rivals, and Eli had once again gathered in Lili’s bedroom. Eli’s envelope did indeed contain an invitation to join the Memento Mori.

  “I’m in!” Eli beamed. “And I am invited to a meeting next week.”

  Jasmine laughed. “I wish I could have seen Atkinson’s face when he realized his boxers were flapping on the flagpole!”

  Ryan smiled. “I did. He was not happy.”

  Eli grew nervous. “I hope he never finds out it was me!”

  Erin crossed her arms in front of her. “If everyone here keeps their mouth shut, no one will ever know you had anything to do with it.” She glared at Isabel.

  “I know how to keep a secret.” Isabel pouted. “But you have a very big mouth, so maybe you should be worried about yourself.”

  Erin’s face grew bright red. “You — you —” she stuttered.

  Willow let out a piercing whistle. “Quiet!” she yelled. Isabel and Erin stopped and stared at her, their mouths hanging open. “No time for fighting. Eli has more news to share.”

  Eli nodded. “That’s right. In addition to the envelope in my locker, the Memento Mori emailed me a secret file about the history of their group. I have twenty-four hours to study the file before a code embedded in it causes it to destroy itself. They are going to test me at the next meeting before I am formally initiated.” He began typing on his laptop to pull up the file. “Here it is!” he said triumphantly.

  They all gathered around the laptop excitedly. Isabel bumped into Erin. Erin turned to glare at her, but a warning look from Willow silenced them both.

  Ryan bent his head over the screen and let out a low whistle. “Wow,” he said. “It looks like this lists the name of every single person who was ever a member of the Memento Mori.”

  “Oh my gosh!” Veronica cried as she pointed at the screen. “Erika Douglas, 1985. That’s my biology teacher. Her name is Douglas-Kollet now, but she went to Atkinson!”

  Aaron pushed his way to the front. “I wonder if any of my teachers are on here,” he said.

  Ryan cleared his throat. “Excuse me, but we don’t have time for this. We only have twenty-four hours before the file is deleted. Let’s get to work.”

  Willow nodded her head. “Agreed,” she said. Ryan looked at her in surprise. She shrugged. “When you’re right, you’re right,” she told him with a grin.

  Eli began to read from the file. “It has a history of the Memento Mori, too. This is interesting. Memento Mori means ‘remember your mortality’ in Latin. The group believes in living every day like it is their last, and celebrating life.” He smiled. “I’m kind of glad you guys talked me into this. It sounds like it’s a fun group to be a part of.” His smile turned to an evil grin. “And I might even get used to those skull masks.”

  Lili rolled her eyes. “Oh no! We’ve created a monster!”

  “I did it all for you, sis,” Eli teased back. He returned his attention to the computer and continued scanning the file. “Ryan’s right. It has a list of every person to ever belong to the Memento Mori since it first was formed, dated by year.”

  “Search 1949,” Erin and Isabel said at the exact same time. They looked at each other in surprise, while the rest of the group burst out laughing.

  “I guess you guys have some things in common after all,” Jasmine said. Erin and Isabel rolled their eyes at this comment simultaneously, causing everyone to erupt in fresh peals of laughter.

  Eli ignored the ruckus as he typed in “1949.” A list of eight names popped up.

  Isabel scanned the list. “They must all be old men by now. Some of them might not even be alive.”

  Willow read the names. “‘Henry Porter. Robert Everette. Thomas Roderick. Lawrence Andover. Walter Donahue. David Wimmer. James Kirk. Arthur Clifford.’ I guess we could do an Internet search on each of them and see what we turn up.”

  Erin tapped a finger to her cheek, deep in thought. “One of those names sounds so familiar, but I can’t place it. Willow, can you read them again?”

  Willow repeated the list, while Erin shut her eyes tightly. “I know I’ve heard one of those names recently. It’s floating around my brain. I just can’t grab it!”

  “Think of something completely different,” Lili suggested. “That always works for me. Did you see last night’s episode of East Coast Class? I loved the white dress Derrica wore to the party. Too bad Rhianna threw that glass of punch on her.”

  Erin got a huge grin on her face. “Lili, I love you!” She grabbed her surprised friend in a hug. “That’s it! Derrica mentioned Lawrence Andover on her Chatter page.”

  East Coast Class was a reality television show about rich socialites in the DC area. The Jewels had had a chance to meet one of the stars of the show, Derrica, when they tried to stop the Rivals from stealing her emerald. Derrica knew all about Arthur Atkinson’s involvement with the theft and about how he was searching for the sapphire, too.

  Eli handed his laptop over to Erin. She logged into her Chatter account and went straight to Derrica’s page, then read one of her status updates out loud: “Congrats to Chad Andover and Amanda Highfield on their engagement. Looking forward to the party this Saturday night at Lawrence Andover’s house!”

  “Maybe Chad is Lawrence’s grandson?” Aaron suggested.

  “I know one way we can find out!” Erin began to type. “I’ll ask Derrica.”

  * * *

  The next day, the Rivals, the Jewels, and Eli sat at Café X again, this time to meet Derrica. She had confirmed that Lawrence was indeed her friend Chad’s grandfather, and was thrilled to hear from Erin. She wanted to talk in person as soon as possible.

  Veronica looked uneasy. “Is everything okay?” Erin asked as she sipped on a vanilla frappe.

  “We stole her emerald,” Veronica said. “I feel really bad about
it.”

  Ryan, Aaron, and even Isabel had guilty looks on their faces.

  “Derrica is really nice,” Jasmine tried to reassure them. “She’ll be happy you’re trying to help get it back.”

  Just then, Derrica breezed through the door, wearing oversized sunglasses and carrying a clearly expensive handbag. She let out a little yelp of excitement when she spotted the Jewels.

  “Girls!” She hurried over, her high heels clicking on the floor. “It’s been ages.” She bent to give them all air kisses, then removed her sunglasses and turned her gaze to the Rivals. “Are these the little masterminds who stole my lucky emerald?”

  The Rivals all looked uncomfortable, but Ryan spoke first. “We did, and we’re sorry,” he said while the others nodded. “Once we turned the jewels over to my uncle, he locked them in the safe in his house. But we’re going to do everything we can to get it back for you.”

  Derrica waved a perfectly manicured hand in the air. “I understand. It was all that awful Arthur Atkinson’s fault. Water under the bridge. If you can get my emerald back, all will be forgiven.” She looked at Erin. “So you wanted to know about Lawrence Andover?”

  “Yes,” Erin said. “In fact, we need a favor. We were hoping you could introduce us to him. We think he might know something about the Atkinson sapphire.”

  “Hmmm,” Derrica pondered. “Well, it will have to be during the engagement party. He’s taking a long trip to the south of France the next day.”

  “Do you think you can get us in?” Erin asked eagerly.

  “It would be hard to sneak all of you in,” Derrica admitted. “Does it have to be everyone?”

  The group exchanged confused glances. They hadn’t thought about splitting up. Willow took charge.

  “Eli needs to go,” Willow explained. “He’s Lili’s brother, and a member of the same secret organization at Atkinson that Lawrence was a part of. If Mr. Andover knows anything about the sapphire, we’re hoping he might open up to Eli.”

  Ryan jumped in. “And Willow and I should be there,” he said. Willow looked at him in surprise, and he smiled.

  “Are you sure we should all be seen together? Isn’t your uncle getting suspicious that you’re hanging out with us?” Jasmine asked. “I mean, he seems to have eyes everywhere, you know?”

  Ryan shook his head. “I happened to mention that we were doing some field research to get ready for Nationals, to throw him off track, so we can meet with Mr. Andover without drawing attention to ourselves, no problem. Aaron is a master of disguise, so we should bring him along, too, just in case. Also, it’s probably a good idea to have a history expert.”

  Isabel eagerly leaned forward, but Willow insisted on taking Erin. “It should be two Jewels and two Rivals,” she explained. “It’s only fair.”

  “So what are the rest of us supposed to do?” Jasmine asked.

  “Maybe you can keep researching what the treasure might be,” Willow said. “We still have no clue and we don’t want to waste time looking for an answer.”

  Jasmine nodded. It wasn’t the most fun assignment, but it was still important.

  “Now that that’s decided,” Derrica said, “I’ll have to figure out how to get you in. The Andover mansion is beautiful — and huge. Our families have been friends for years, so I know the layout pretty well. Let me think it over and I’ll message Erin and let her know. I’ve got to run now. I’m late for a fitting at Elan’s,” she said as she stood up.

  Lili’s eyes grew wide. “Oh, please post a photo of you wearing Elan’s latest creation!”

  Derrica laughed. “I will, darling. I’ll be in touch. Ta-ta!” She floated out of the café.

  Veronica shook her head in disbelief. “She is exactly the same as she is on television. And I thought all reality shows were fake!”

  * * *

  The following Saturday, Eli, Willow, Erin, Ryan, and Aaron met at Ryan’s house, which turned out to be within walking distance of the Andover mansion. The mansion, built of red stone, was impressive, and Willow quickly counted over thirty windows in the front of the house. It had a huge front lawn and a circular driveway, complete with a fountain in the middle.

  Erin read from her phone. “Derrica said to go to the French doors off the library at four p.m. Then we’re supposed to walk around to the back of the house, and the library will be located to our left. Derrica will let us in and bring us to Andover for a meeting.”

  Guests were already driving up and valets were parking their cars for them. The team decided to walk on the far side of the lawn, which had a row of trees planted next to the driveway, so as not to draw any attention to themselves.

  They rounded the house and came to the back, where they saw the gleaming glass French doors, just as Derrica had described. Eli reached his hand to the doorknob and turned it, but the door was locked.

  “Did Derrica forget?” Aaron asked, panicked.

  If Derrica didn’t come through, they would miss their chance to talk to Mr. Andover!

  A moment later, the handle of the door turned slowly. Derrica poked her head out. “Just in time!” she said in a loud whisper. “Mr. Andover is in the library.”

  The group exchanged excited glances. Answers to all their questions about the sapphire could be waiting for them just on the other side of that door!

  They walked into a large room that still felt cozy despite its size, due to the burgundy carpet on the floor, the dark leather armchairs in front of the fireplace, and the tall mahogany bookcases that stretched from floor to ceiling and filled every inch of wall space. Sitting in one of the chairs was a thin man with a lined face and neatly combed, wavy white hair. He wore a tuxedo and had a plaid blanket on his lap.

  “Lawrence, these are the students who wanted to meet you,” Derrica said, motioning to them.

  “Come in, come in,” he said, and it was hard to read his mood. He wasn’t smiling, but he didn’t sound unfriendly, either. “Hope you don’t mind standing. Or the fire, either, for that matter. I know it’s late in the spring, but it still feels like winter in my bones.”

  Derrica stepped back and Willow, Erin, Eli, Ryan, and Aaron awkwardly gathered around Mr. Andover.

  “It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Andover,” Willow said politely. “And thank you for having us.”

  “It’s a good excuse to hide in here for a bit longer,” the man replied. “These parties are so terribly boring. A nap is more exciting. But I suppose talking to you will have to do. What is it you all wanted? Derrica didn’t say.”

  “Well, I’m Ryan Atkinson,” Ryan began, carefully emphasizing his last name.

  Mr. Andover’s face brightened. “You’re my old friend Charlie’s grandson, aren’t you? My goodness, I miss that old boy. So do you and your friends go to the school?”

  “Yes. And Aaron and Eli do, too,” Ryan said, pointing to the other boys.

  “And we go to Martha Washington,” Erin offered.

  “A fine school,” Mr. Andover said with a nod. “My, I remember the pranks we used to play on those girls. Had them convinced a ghost was haunting their dining hall! Those were the days.”

  The old man was smiling now, and he had a distant look in his eyes. Willow and Ryan exchanged glances. He had mentioned “pranks.” They were both thinking the same thing. This might be a good time to mention the Memento Mori.

  “That’s what we came to see you about, sir,” Ryan said. “We had some questions about one of the pranks played by the Memento Mori.”

  “And how do you know about that?” Mr. Andover asked, narrowing his eyes.

  Eli stepped forward. “I’m a member, sir,” he said. “I saw your name in the roster.”

  Mr. Andover nodded approvingly. “So, what did you have to do to get in?”

  “Well, I had to run Arthur Atkinson’s boxer shorts up a flagpole,” Eli admitted, blushing a little.

  To everyone’s surprise, Mr. Andover let out a huge guffaw. He laughed and laughed until Derrica ran up and patted him on th
e back.

  “Lawrence, are you all right?” she asked.

  “Better than I have been in years,” he replied, wiping away tears. “Oh boy, that’s rich. What a classic! I wish I could have seen it. Did you take a picture?”

  Eli shook his head. “I was too nervous.”

  Ryan tapped the screen of his phone and then held it out to Mr. Andover. “It’s all over the Internet. See?”

  The old man chuckled. “Couldn’t have happened to a better person. Ryan, your uncle was always a mean little child. My guess is he’s grown up to be a nasty man.”

  Ryan nodded. “You could say that,” he replied, a little sadly.

  Mr. Andover took a deep breath. “So. What was your question about the Memento Mori?”

  Ryan looked at Eli and gave a small nod. It would be better if Eli asked, since Mr. Andover seemed to like his prank so much.

  “Well, it’s like this,” Eli said, a little nervously. “We need to find the Atkinson sapphire. And we think that maybe the Memento Mori took it as a prank when you were in it.”

  Mr. Andover eyed Eli for a moment without saying anything. The quiet seemed to drag on for a long time. Finally, he began to speak softly.

  “It was so long ago,” Mr. Andover said. “But silence is most precious to the Memento Mori. I do not think I could betray that trust, even now.”

  “I know,” Eli said. “But, sir, I read the handbook. Doesn’t it also say that the members of the Memento Mori live by a code to do what is right? In this case, telling us about the sapphire is the right thing to do.” Eli went on to explain Arthur Atkinson’s scheming and how he had tricked a bunch of kids into stealing jewels for him. Mr. Andover’s face grew grave as he listened to Eli’s account of Arthur’s actions. “So, if you tell us what you know about the sapphire, sir, you can help stop him,” Eli concluded.

  Mr. Andover nodded thoughtfully. “What a bright young man you are. A credit to the Memento Mori, for sure,” he said. “Very well. I shall come clean, for the common good.”