by Mike Thayer
“That’s two from Noah’s squad,” I told Freddie. “But it looks like he’s got a sniper bow.” A swell of anticipation rose in my chest. It looked like I was finally going to get the showdown I’d been waiting for.
We mopped up a few last stragglers on our way through Spasm Chasm and the remaining player count in the top corner of my screen dropped down to four. With my helm, I could already spot them. The only players left on the entire map were me, FreddieCougar, RigaTortoise, and SpudMasterFlex.
“Spud is hiding in the fort. Riga is … tucked behind some rocks to the west. She’s looking to flank us, but I don’t think she knows I have the helm and can see where she’s at. Let me snipe it out with Noah while you flank Riga.”
Freddie nodded and took off toward the stony outcrops to the west.
I zoomed in with my helm and fired a pair of shots right near where Noah was crouching, clicking them off the stone. “Knock knock.”
Noah popped out from behind cover and returned fire, but the shots went wide. There were at least 250 yards between us, so any shot landed would have to be a good one. Noah could hole himself away in that fort for a while, but I knew one area I could attack to pry him out: his pride.
I stepped out from behind my cover. “May the record show,” I announced to the assembled gamers, “that we both have sniper bows, but only one of us is in the open. The other one is hiding.”
“Oooooh.” The crowd reacted just like I wanted them to.
Noah had moved, but I purposefully sent a few more arrows zipping toward his old location to throw him off. Noah fired a volley of arrows in my direction and hopped down from the wall. I rolled out of the way and returned fire. He’d taken the bait. We were in it now.
We fired shots across the clearing, some in high arcs and others in straight shots, trying to force each other to dodge one and get hit by another. This wasn’t just a cowboy quick draw.
Flashes of fire consumed the rocks to the west, and a kill notification popped up on my screen.
FreddieCougar scorched RigaTortoise
“Nice work, Freddie,” I growled. “Only one thing left to do.”
I felt myself zeroing in. My volleys were inching closer, my straight shots pushing Noah more and more to make a fatal error. I lured him into a pattern. Two straight, two up high, two straight, two up high. When I saw him fall into a rhythm, I fired a fan of four straight shots. The third one went straight through his helmet. Confirmed kill at 235 yards.
“Yes!” I bellowed, throwing my phone down. “There’s a new sheriff in town—”
“Danny!” Freddie yelled.
“Huh?” I looked around confused as the crowd gasped. I snatched my phone off the ground as I watched my arrow pop back out of SpudMasterFlex’s helmet and return to my bow. “The Enchanted Timekeeper! No!”
Before I could ready myself. My screen flashed red.
You have been sniped by SpudMasterFlex
“You were saying?” Noah’s grating voice sounded from across the park.
I brought a palm up to my face. That was why a discard-day attempt would have been useful. How could I have been so stupid? It was like Noah had used a five-second double day to get the best of me. He’d beat me at my own game.
I switched to spectator mode and watched a volley of arrows thud into the ground around FreddieCougar. She dove for cover back toward the rocks but not before one of the arrows tagged her in the leg.
“Slug-sliming turkey butt,” Freddie cursed.
“What’s the matter, Freddie?” Noah called out, peppering the rocks around her with more arrows. “One of those didn’t hit you, did it? Would be a shame, seeing as though I have the Basilisk’s Curse. These arrows are just dripping with poison.”
“I’m pinned down,” Freddie hissed. “I’ve got sixty seconds till the poison does me in. What do I do?”
“Let’s count it down, folks!” Noah taunted, turning to the assembled crowd. “Sixty, fifty-nine, fifty-eight…”
Only a handful of the other gamers joined in on the countdown, and I could see Freddie’s breathing quicken.
“Well, help me out,” Freddie hissed.
“Do you have anything in your inventory that might be useful at this range?” I asked, my brain stumbling for anything she could try. “Any magical item like Darkon’s Blackness or something that would give you some cover or cure the poison?”
Freddie shook her head. “My boomerang won’t even go that far. The only thing I have is a sniper bow, but if I try to snipe with Noah I might as well just bounce an arrow off the ground, shoot myself in the head, and save us the last fifty seconds.”
However much I didn’t want to admit it, Freddie was right. She was in a bad spot. I would have given up the double day for a month just to be able to trade places with her and snipe it out with Noah again, but, injured as she was, I wasn’t sure even I could have done much.
I watched her poisoned health meter tick down like sands through an hourglass to Noah’s victory. There had to be something I could do.
“Bounce an arrow off my head…,” Freddie mused, chewing on her bottom lip and flitting her eyes to my phone screen. “Wait! I’ve got an idea.”
“Really? What?”
“Yeah,” Freddie said, equipping her sniper bow. “Go to Noah’s POV.”
I hopped my spectating camera to Noah’s point of view, not seeing how this could be helpful. He was zoomed in on the rocks surrounding Freddie. “Okay, what now?”
“Fifteen, fourteen, thirteen…” More of the crowd chanted now, their tone desperate for Freddie to try something. Noah stood on top of the table, bobbing side to side on beat with the countdown.
“Just hold steady,” Freddie backed away from her cover slightly and sighted in on the same rocks. “And pray that all my practice has pleased the gods of the ricochet trick shot.”
I shook my head. In every sense of the word this was a long shot, but it could still work. Freddie glanced between my screen and hers, trying to line up the shot. She stuck her tongue out and held her breath.
“You’re not even going to try?” Noah scoffed. “Saves you the embarrassment, I guess.”
“Seven, six, five…”
Freddie zipped off three arrows. All three clacked off the hard rock wall and zoomed toward SpudMasterFlex. The first two went high, but the third found its target right between the eyes.
FreddieCougar sniped SpudMasterFlex
The crowd’s chanting died away at three seconds as a final notification flashed across everyone’s screen.
FreddieCougar is victorious!
“I got him!” Freddie squealed as the crowd erupted into joyous disbelief. She dropped her phone and crushed me in a hug around my neck. “We did it!”
“It was all you, Freddie,” I croaked.
“This is bogus!” Noah yelled from across the park. He frantically looked around for someone to agree with him. “That was a lucky shot, and you two were cheating the entire time! Is everybody seriously going to let a stinkin’ cheater walk away with this thing?”
“You should talk!” someone yelled from the crowd. “How many Brown Bag Games did you cheat us out of?”
“I never cheated!” Noah squawked, sparking a chorus of boos. “You honestly think I need to cheat to win? What are you even talking about?”
“We want our money back, cheater! We’ve got proof!” The crowd shouted as it slowly closed in around the table.
“Yeah, Noah,” I yelled from the back. “How about you give them their money back. I think you owe the crowd a few thousand bucks.”
Noah looked around in desperation, like a mouse hopelessly cornered by a hungry cat. “You want your money back?” He glanced down and paused on the shoebox. “Fine. Have it back.” Noah bent down, grabbed the golden shoebox, and launched it into the air.
“No!” Freddie called out as dollar bills rained down onto the crowd, who instantly devolved into a frenzied mob, snatching up the loose cash.
“Stop!
” I waved my hands above my head in a hopeless attempt to restore order. Freddie’s prize money dissolved away into the crowd right before my eyes. Everything we worked for, yet again thwarted by Noah.
“Look out!” Freddie pointed over my shoulder and I turned just in time to see a charging Noah lower his shoulder and slam into my chest. I tumbled to the dirt as Noah fell on top of me, snarling and twice as rabid as the day he bit me on the shoulder. I batted away his flailing, scratching attacks as best I could. If getting pounded by Jaxson was like getting hit by a truck, this was more like getting mauled by a ravenous badger.
And then it stopped.
Noah was yanked off me and subdued with such efficiency that my savior could be only one person.
“Zak!” I exclaimed, brushing myself off and getting to my feet. My best friend currently had Noah folded like a pretzel and pinned to the ground. “You made it. It’s almost like you knew I’d get jumped by someone in the end.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Zak said calmly as Noah weakly squirmed beneath him. “I came to support Freddie. I actually didn’t think you’d make it past Jaxson.”
“Thanks.” I chuckled. “I hate to tell you, though, Noah threw the shoebox in the air and everyone took off with the…” I trailed off as I turned back around to Freddie, who stood still, glittering shoebox in hand. One by one the crowd of gamers came up and re-deposited their money, congratulating her as they went.
“Good game.”
“Crazy last shot.”
“Nice work, FreddieCougar.”
With every dollar and compliment Freddie’s smile got wider.
“We found money, Danny!” I looked down to see both my little sisters at my feet holding up handfuls of wadded cash. “Can we get ice kweam now?”
I bent down and picked up Sarah and Alice, one in each arm, and walked them to Freddie. “How about we give Freddie her money back and then I’ll get you your ice cream.”
“Yay! Ice cream!” the twins shouted, throwing the money into the air.
Freddie giggled as the money fell down around her. “Don’t worry, Danny. Looks like I’m buying.”
When the final gamer deposited their money in the shoebox, I set my sisters down and cleared my throat. “The king of Champions Royale has been dethroned,” I announced in a loud voice, pointing down at Noah. I grabbed Freddie’s wrist and held it skyward. “Long live the queen!”
“You’re such a bug-gushing goober,” Freddie said, but I could hardly hear her over the roar of the crowd.
CHAPTER 31
ANOTHER DOLLAR
(Discard Monday—Oct. 18th)
“So, what do you say there, champ? You gonna still hold the Brown Bag Game?” I asked Freddie as we sat on a bench with Zak during lunch.
“I think so,” Freddie said, smoothing her new, stylized Champions Royale T-shirt. She also sported a pair of brand-new jeans and black-and-white Converse shoes. Her untamable black curls had been trimmed but still kept their characteristic wildness. “I’m thinking of sticking with Champions Royale but doing teams of four with spectating on. Not sure how big of a crowd we’ll draw, but we’ll see.”
“Something tells me you’ll get quite a few people, Freddie.” I nodded.
“What makes you think that?” she asked.
“I just sent you a link to something.”
Curious, Freddie took out her phone. The screen was fixed, and it had a brand-new Champions Royale case. “Snake River Gaming All-Stars?”
A picture of Freddie’s exuberant, victorious face was the top post of a new Instagram account along with the caption Congrats to FreddieCougar, the new undisputed queen of the Shoebox Game! She swiped to the side, revealing more pictures of the crowd, a screenshot of the final stats, and the kill map of where she’d scored her final shot.
Freddie looked up at me and Zak, eyes wide. “Did you do this?”
I shook my head. “No, actually. I have no clue who did it. Pretty cool, though.”
Freddie smiled as if she’d won the Shoebox Game for a second time.
“Times are a-changing,” I said, overlooking the scores of Snake River Middle School students.
The usual groups were on display: kids playing four square, basketball, football, or just chilling. There were the geeks and nerds of all variety: band, drama, art, D&D, and everything in between. Just beyond the blacktop, a shiny, mint-green cruiser bike was securely fastened to the bike rack … with two locks. I stared at Braxlynn and the Clique up by the tree where Jaxson had slugged me in the stomach on my first day at school. He told me twice last week that I was a dead man, and I knew he wasn’t one to forget a grudge. I was safe now with Zak at my side, but Zak couldn’t always be there. Whether I liked it or not, Jaxson needed to be dealt with, and soon. For now, however, I was still savoring the Shoebox Game victory.
Noah sat against the school with Ophelia and one other person, all three hunched over their phones. Thirty-seven of the gamers had banded together to permanently expel Noah from any of their lunchtime games or tournaments. The only brown bag that punk would ever hold would be his home lunch. I smiled at the thought.
I turned to Zak. “I still can’t believe you lied to your dad so you could leave the stadium and make it to the end of the Shoebox Game.”
Zak held up a finger. “I did not lie,” he corrected. “After you sent me that text Saturday morning telling me what happened at the Shoebox Game, I figured you might need some help, so I purposefully stuffed myself with nachos and chili dogs at the game. It was only a slight exaggeration when I told my dad that my stomach hurt and I had to go home. My integrity remains intact.”
I gave Zak a slow clap. “Well done, maestro. This is progress, Zak. Doesn’t it feel liberating?”
Zak shook his head. “There is a feeling that comes with eating three plates of nachos and two large chili dogs, and I’m pretty sure it isn’t liberating.”
“We all have our part to play, Zak,” I said, patting him on the knee. “It was good that you finally got to rescue me from a beating during a sticky day for once.”
“Wait,” Freddie said, looking at Zak. “Did you say Danny sent you a text in the morning telling you what happened at the Shoebox Game?”
“Uh, yeah,” Zak said slowly, realizing his mistake.
“But the Shoebox Game wasn’t until after the football game,” Freddie pressed. “And what in the toe fungus is a sticky day?”
Zak looked to me with eyes that pleaded for me to handle the situation.
I held out a reassuring hand. “Don’t worry, Zak. I think the time has come.”
Freddie turned to me and Zak, black curls bobbing. “Time has come for what?”
“Freddie.” I cleared my throat and scooted forward. “I’m gonna need you to tell me something that I could never figure out unless you told me yourself.”
“What are you talking about?”
I smiled, flitting my eyes to Zak. “I’ve got a secret to tell you.”
“You gonna finally tell me how you ‘read minds’?” Freddie said, fingers held up in air quotes.
“Yes,” I said, nodding. “Yes, I am.”
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
My first thanks goes to my incredible agent, Lauren Galit. She loved Danny from the start, liberated my manuscript from the throes of querying, and took a chance on me and my story. She’s always been honest, fair, and insightful. Thanks as well to Caitlen Rubino-Bradway, who worked side by side with Lauren to help me add to, sculpt, and polish my story for the big leagues.
I will be eternally grateful for Holly West, my editor, who was Danny’s second champion, swooping in during submission like Gandalf on the back of a dadgum eagle to rescue my manuscript from certain doom. Her love and dedication to this story (along with Lauren’s and Caitlen’s) changed the course of my life.
To my small but mighty writers group, the Principal’s Office (i.e. Allison Hymas and Ben Hewett), for always being on point, insightful, and giving me what I n
eeded to make this story shine brighter. In a mad reading blitz, they came through with seconds left on the editing clock to make the ending truly pop. You guys are the best.
To my Friday night Apex Legends clan, Steve and Reg. It’s nice to know that after all these years of gaming we can still hold our own and show the rising generation how it’s done … some of the time. Hopefully out of Noah, Freddie, and Danny, I’m not the Noah of the group, but I’m pretty sure I know what Steve would say.
To my children, Abby, Owen, and Sienna. For always believing in Dad, supporting me, making fun of me, and being my inspiration. I will always remember Abby bringing a pillow and blanket into my office to delay bedtime night after night as I read another chapter to her. Her obsession with the double-day concept was a confidence booster, and her knowledge of the intricacies of middle school life were essential.
To my wife, Jill, who has been through it all. She has always supported this impossible dream, sustained me through my many failures, and loved me. In between edits on Techno Wizard 2, she asked me if I had another story idea. When I told her about The Double Life of Danny Day, she pushed me to write it. The first draft (one-third its current length) was knocked out three weeks later. So many dominoes needed to fall for this all to work, and Jill pushed over the very first one.
To my parents, who kept me safe and gave me space. Who inspired me to write and believed that I could do it. Dad, what I wouldn’t give for just one more Saturday night with a small white bowl full of Oreos.
Thank you for reading this Feiwel & Friends book. The friends who made
possible are:
Jean Feiwel, Publisher
Liz Szabla, Associate Publisher
Rich Deas, Senior Creative Director
Holly West, Senior Editor
Anna Roberto, Senior Editor
Kat Brzozowski, Senior Editor
Dawn Ryan, Executive Managing Editor
Kim Waymer, Senior Production Manager