The New Champion Read online

  The man pointed to a yellow mat several feet in front of them. “The moment you step on this,” he said, “your time begins. Once you’re fully through the curtain, you’ll see a wide ladder. That’s your first stop. Be careful. Be observant. After you reach the ladder, it should be perfectly clear what you need to do next. You may start whenever you’re ready. Good luck, Cameron!”

  This was it. He took a deep breath, got into his starting stance, rocked back on his right leg, pushed off, and crossed the yellow mat. He burst through the curtain to the sight of more blue curtains encircling an area with all . . . this . . . equipment and all these Golly people.

  A ladder. He had to get to a ladder. There it was, ten yards ahead, connected to the biggest set of monkey bars (decorated with monkeys) he’d ever seen. He raced to it, stepped on the first rung, the second. His hands grabbed above him, but the next rung felt different. It was different. It was a wooden plank. Stop! said the words burned into the wood. Do not run the obstacle course. Instead, collect 4 flags of different colors, and follow their instructions. In order.

  What flags? Cameron jumped off the ladder. The flags—red, green, blue, and yellow—rimmed the entire perimeter. He raced to his right and grabbed one of each. The blue one said #2 Hand me to a Golly official.

  He turned toward the official nearest him. Wait. That flag said #2. Which was #1? Yellow was three.

  Red! #1 Plant me in the dragon’s right nostril.

  Dragon? There! The dragon balance beam he’d seen on the monitor. He ran and put the red flag halfway in the nostril to his right. No. That would be the dragon’s left nostril. He planted it in the other. Turned. Golly official, there, ten steps away! He gave her the blue flag.

  The yellow flag was #3. Put me inside the human hamster ball.

  He sprinted, tossed the flag inside.

  Last flag. Green. #4 Carry me, waving, across the red finish line. It’s near the spot where you entered.

  Where had he entered? He was totally turned around. The place was flanked with blue curtains. Which way? Which side? He pivoted, and there it was: a big, red Finish sign.

  Cameron barged through, but no one was there. Had he got it wrong?

  He turned to go back, but his name was blinking on a lighted sign. Underneath, a downward arrow pointed to a table with a gear bag and a GollyReader.

  Cameron touched the screen, and the GollyReader sprang to life.

  HA-HA-HA! JUST WHEN YOU THOUGHT YOU WERE DONE, CAMERON . . .

  TOUCH PLAY.

  He did. At the top was the same word list as before. Underneath were two questions.

  CAULIFLOWER

  CLING

  COPPERHEAD

  CRASH COURSE

  DRAGON

  DREGS

  ELEVATOR DOOR

  FINISH

  FLAGS

  FROGS

  GEESE

  GRAPES

  HAMSTER BALL

  HOGTIE

  LADDER

  MOUSETRAP

  ODORS

  PRONGS

  STRESSED

  TEMPERATURE

  ZIPPER

  1. SPELLED BACKWARD, THINGS USUALLY CONSIDERED DELICIOUS.

  2. WHAT A CERTAIN FARM ANIMAL MIGHT WEAR TO THE HAMSTER BALL.

  He could do this. Number one. Not something usually considered delicious, but things, plural, which meant, if you reversed it, the word should start with an S. Only one word did: stressed. Yes, he was stressed, thank you.

  Backwards, though? Desserts.

  Question two? Slam dunk. Cameron had solved it even before he knew it was a question.

  He switched to the answer screen and typed in S-T-R-E-S-S-E-D and H-O-G-T-I-E.

  The screen flashed black before it lit up again: “Breathe. You have officially finished the Stadium Round.”

  But what did that mean? Where should he go?

  The man who had brought him to the obstacle course stepped through the curtain. “Good job, Cameron!”

  “Good enough?”

  “Don’t know. I’m just here to usher you to your family in tent twenty-four. After that, Sharryn, I believe, will let you know the rest. Let’s go.”

  The rest of what? This would be the hardest part. The waiting, knowing he might have a chance. No way he’d racked up any penalty seconds. He’d been fast with stressed and hogtie. Some kids must have been slower. Some probably ran the obstacle course.

  Poor Spencer. He would. Nothing distracted him when he was in game mode.

  Inside the tent was a bank of six large TVs, each showing a different obstacle course. He didn’t see his mom and dad and Walker until they charged him.

  “You were amazing,” said his dad. “How’s Spencer?”

  How’s Spencer? They all looked at him as if he were holding Spencer’s fate in his hands. They didn’t bother to ask exactly how he himself was feeling.

  “In game mode.”

  “Oh, crop-rot,” said his dad.

  “I was afraid of that,” his mom said. She bobbed her head toward a girl crying in the corner. “Didn’t see the directions.” She shook her head. “Poor Spencer.”

  They all turned to the monitors. His mom pointed to the second one. “There he is!”

  “C’mon, Spence!” said his dad. “Let’s hope he flies past anyone we’ve seen so far.”

  His mom kept her eyes glued to the screen. “He meant except you.”

  “Right, right,” said his dad. “I meant, he’s so fast he has that ability if he sees the plank.”

  Cameron didn’t bother to mention he’d also have to answer those two questions, which they weren’t showing on the monitors. Then again, Spencer had finished the other puzzles faster than Cameron.

  Spencer rocked forward and back and raced past the starting mat. So fast. He took a flying leap and hit the ladder on the third rung, his eyes already above the plank.

  Was it wrong that Cameron gave a silent cheer?

  Spencer took the monkey bars two at a time, slid down the chute, ran the hamster ball to the high hurdles, jumped those, high-stepped through the line of tires, raced across the dragon’s spine, sped into the tunnel, and did it all in less than two minutes, their dad said.

  Their mom had stopped watching.

  Spencer had already heard the bad news before he came into the tent. His mom and dad pulled chairs into a little circle and consoled him.

  Cameron kept his sights on the video feed. Some kids messed up the flag order; some pulled a Spencer; some were even more turned around than Cameron had been; most of them ran it perfectly, but it was impossible to tell if they were faster or slower than he had been. For all he knew, he could lose by a nostril, the wrong nostril, where he’d almost planted the first flag.

  He’d know something soon. Sharryn was back. She leaned toward his parents. “I need to borrow Cameron,” she said. “Wanda will come explain.”

  Explain what? But Sharryn didn’t say. She smiled at Spencer; but his head was in his hands, and he was stomping at the ground.

  At least his dad gave Cameron a hug and his mom mouthed, Good luck.

  Sharryn led him away. “It’s tough on him,” she said. “I guess in his world the little brother’s not supposed to beat him.”

  “In his world no one’s supposed to beat him.” Cameron slowed down. “Wait. I did beat him. Sort of. I mean, he beat himself. But still I’m—” He kept pace with Sharryn again.

  “Those’re the most words you’ve strung together today,” Sharryn said as they walked out one tent and into another. “You know, Cameron, I’d often love more silence, but can I tell you a secret?” she said. “Your mouth is not your enemy. You might want to listen to the questions and thoughts inside your head and learn to spit them out, just in case.”

  “In case what?” Cameron managed to ask.

  “Right question,” she said, “but not one I can answer. Next question?”

  “Can you tell me where we’re going?”

  “To the holding tents.�
�

  Holding tents? “What are holding tents?”

  “Places we go to torture you.”

  Cameron smiled.

  “It’s where we take contestants like you, ones who have the twenty fastest times so far. You’ll sit there until either you’re out of the top twenty or until we run out of contestants. Meanwhile, our judges will be reviewing tape to make sure there’s been no cheating or other funny business. And all you can do is wait. See? Torture.”

  Cameron’s whole body was buzzing even though twenty was far from ten. He took a deep breath, kept putting one foot in front of the other, and concentrated on the heavy concrete structure of the stadium, the fluttering Gollywhopper Games banners, and so many details he’d missed earlier. Good thing they hadn’t tested him on finding his way back to the tents. He’d never have made it without a map.

  As they entered a smallish room within the tent city, Cameron suddenly detected a puddle on his upper lip, and no doubt his head was sweating buckets.

  Sharryn directed him to a chair in the far right corner. Catty-corner was a girl sipping a drink. “What can I get you?” Sharryn asked. “Water? Soda? Juice? Lemonade?”

  “Anything wet.”

  Sharryn disappeared through a tent flap and came back with four cups. “One water, one orange juice, one cola, one lemonade. All wet.” She set them on the table next to him, then draped a hand towel over his head. She laughed, then waved to the girl. “How’re you doing, Clio?”

  “I’m still here, right?”

  “Yes, you are.”

  Clio either had found a shower and fresh clothes or had never felt pressure a day in her life. She looked, well, it was stupid, but it was the only word Cameron could think of: She looked crisp. Her cheeks were flushed. Her black hair was silky and straight, no sweat pouring out, and not a strand out of place.

  “Do you need anything else?” Sharryn asked her.

  “Maybe a bag of chips this time. I’ve pretty much eaten everything else you have.”

  “You’re not the only one,” said Sharryn. She handed Cameron a card. “It’s a small menu, but it beats nothing, especially after the long day you’ve had.”

  It didn’t matter what she brought him. He ordered the first things he saw. “Hot dog and potato chips, please?”

  “Catsup? Mustard?”

  “Mustard, please.”

  “You might want Sharryn to bring you a chocolate chip cookie,” said Clio. “Best ever.”

  “And one chocolate chip cookie,” said Sharryn. She paused at the tent flap. “Clio already knows this, but you can talk about anything except personal details. No last names, no hometowns, no schools. We don’t want you researching each other in case you happen to officially meet tomorrow.” She pointed to a camera in another corner of the tent. “It has a sharp microphone.”

  That sounded ominous. Best to stay silent. He finished his water and started the lemonade.

  “Yeah,” Clio said. “When I first got here, I was scared to talk about anything, too. But another kid asked me about stressed and hogtie, and Sharryn okayed that. The kid said he’d been here forever, but a few minutes later some guy beckoned him with a finger, and poof! Disappeared.”

  “Eliminated?”

  “Kinda creepy. Another kid was here for like one minute. Didn’t even get her juice before they beckoned, and poof!” Given the circumstances, her laugh might have belonged in a horror movie, but Clio’s was a happy, warm, funny laugh.

  He made a mental note: Create a laugh video.

  He’d have been laughing if he weren’t suddenly so wiped. He took the towel off his head. He must look ridiculous. “How long have you been here?”

  She motioned around the tent. “No clocks. But long enough to eat a chicken sandwich, a hamburger, some fries, an apple, and two cookies. I get hungry when the pressure’s off.”

  “Me, too.”

  On cue, Sharryn came through with food. Two hot dogs, two cookies, two bags of chips for Cameron. Chips and an extra cookie for Clio. “This should hold you while I’m gone. I need to send another contestant to the airport. Poor thing doesn’t know it yet.” She looked at Cameron’s cups. “Be back with more water and lemonade.”

  Cameron allowed himself a small smile. At least for now he was here. “Do you know how long we’ll need to wait?”

  “Forever,” said a Golly person leading in another boy. “We are evil and want to keep you captive as long as possible.” He sat the kid in another corner. “P.J., this is Clio and Cameron.”

  The man in the Golly shirt disappeared behind the food flap, then leaned back just seconds later with a cup in one hand, beckoning P.J. with the other.

  Clio nodded at Cameron, and they waited in silence until P.J. disappeared. “We’ll never see him again,” she said.

  Cameron had to laugh.

  “What?”

  “You make it sound like he’ll vaporize without a trace.”

  “Maybe he will. We’ll never know.”

  Four more kids came and went. Each time a Golly person beckoned, Cameron’s heart deflated, then soared when they didn’t kick him out. He and Clio would come to the middle just long enough to high-five. “Survivors!”

  “You know,” Clio said after the fifth kid had left, “if my best friend, Janae, can’t be in here with me—she, of all people, tripped on the obstacle course—I’m glad it’s you. You’re good at just letting me be.”

  That might have been the nicest thing Cameron had ever heard. He smiled, then looked away to let her be.

  He stretched his arms, his legs. His whole body had tightened the same way it did after his track meets, not that he’d run so much today. Could stress do that?

  Clio was lying across three chairs, beating a drummer’s cadence on her legs. Maybe that was how she worked out her nerves.

  If only he had his videocam to work out his. He’d pan around the tent, then zoom in on little details. Clio’s hair swaying off the chair. The drinking straw from his lemonade. Sweat beads on the upper lips of new kids who came in. Once he’d reviewed all the footage, he’d know what to do with it. Just the thought gave him a new sense of calm, but only for a moment.

  They had to be near the end. Their plane had landed at 2:02 this afternoon, and when they got to the stadium, the dashboard clock had read 3:08. Hundreds of kids must have finished and headed home before he’d even arrived.

  Funny. He’d imagined they’d get to Orchard Heights, check into a hotel, swim, sleep, then compete together in the morning. He’d never pictured sitting here, waiting.

  Sharryn strode into the tent. Clio bolted upright. Cameron leaned forward. Who was next to vaporize?

  Sharryn beckoned with both hands.

  “Nice meeting you,” Clio said to Cameron.

  “Yeah.”

  Maybe they’d let him shower before they shoved him back on the plane. There was always the sink in the airport.

  “So,” said Clio, “is this the vacuum that sucks up the rejects?”

  Sharryn shook her head. “No. This is the vacuum that sucks you up and spits you out in a hotel. Four more kids on the course, and none of them will kick either of you out of the top ten.”

  Clio grabbed him. Or did he grab her? Either way, they were jumping and shouting to the muffled sounds of other kids who’d just received the news in their tents.

  “Your drivers and your luggage are waiting for you.” Sharryn led them into a central area, where a number of tented hallways spoked off. “Just beyond this point are your families. They only know that you’ve been on hold. Tell them however you’d like. Cameron, to the left; Clio, to the right.”

  Balancing his euphoria with Spencer’s depression would be tricky. He peered into the tent and caught sight of Spencer sulking in the corner, his parents hovering close, but not too close.

  He couldn’t help himself. He ran over, and even before he reached them, they knew.

  His dad swung him around. “You did it!” he said in a low voice, probably n
ot to rub it into Spencer.

  His mom bear-hugged him. “Oh, Cameron!”

  Walker came from nowhere and jumped on his back.

  For those few brief seconds he was the absolute perfect person in his family’s eyes. At least three in his family, anyway.

  Cameron eased up to Spencer. “You know you would have had me. I mean, if you hadn’t—”

  Spencer didn’t glare, didn’t budge in his chair. He stayed in his hangdog position, bent over at the waist, elbows on knees, head drooping toward the floor. “I flunked the obstacle course. I flunked the freakin’ obstacle course.” He looked up at Cameron. “You know this is not how things should be.”

  Cameron nodded. This wasn’t the time to disagree with Spencer, but maybe, starting now, this was the way things could be.

  After the

  STADIUM ROUND

  Bert Golliwop thought his cheeks might explode the way that one backup generator had. “What happened?”

  “An electrical glitch?” said Tawkler from Marketing.

  “Electrical glitch, my foot,” said Bert. “There were no thunderstorms. There were no reported power surges, says the electric company. Besides, machinery in the off position does not self-destruct.”

  “At least it didn’t affect the integrity of the Games,” said Morrison from Legal.

  “Not this time,” Bert said, “which is the good news. The bad news? We have a rat somewhere among us.”

  “A rat, sir?” said Jenkins from Human Resources. “Rodents in this building, too?”

  “Who said anything about rodents?”

  “Weren’t you talking about the rodent scare at the Kansas arena? I can still feel the gnarled paws of one of those little buggers running over my foot.”

  “Nobody told me about that,” said Bert. “But it doesn’t matter. “I’m not talking about that kind of rat. I’m talking about a rat fink, a traitor, a mole.”

  He hadn’t planned on meeting tonight, but he also hadn’t imagined that one of tomorrow’s puzzles would be all over the Internet. “No one outside the company could have leaked that puzzle.”