Odd Girl In (19 page)

I sat up and rubbed my eyes. “What … what are you doing here besides bringing my worst nightmare to life?”

Emily at least had the common courtesy to stick to the hedges outside. Maybe this was part of the Champs course, hand-to-hand combat in my pajamas with the teacher. Or maybe all this time she'd secretly been dating …

“Dad!” I screamed.

Ms. Success winced and wiggled a star-point finger in her ear. “Wonderful set of lungs, Alexis. Save 'em for the course.”

Footsteps thundered down the hall, and Nick and Parker ran into my room.

“Alex, what's … woah!” Nick stopped short at seeing Ms. Success. “Hey, uh, Coach.”

“This used to be such a
normal
place.” Parker brought his hands to his head.

Ms. Success clucked her tongue. “Traditionally I get a better response when I visit students.”

“So this isn't your first home invasion?” I asked, drawing my blankets up.

Dad appeared behind Nick and Parker, smiling. “Oh, good. I see you got your wake-up call.”

Parker turned to face him. “
You
let her in?”

“What else did you expect?” asked Ms. Success. “That I'd rappel off the roof and come crashing through a window like SWAT?”

“Okay, but
why
are you here?” I asked.

“It's a tradition for me to visit students on championship day, make sure they're fit for competition, and wish them good luck,” she said, giving me a star's version of a thumbs-up. “So good luck!” She swiveled to show the thumb to my brothers.

“Uh, thanks.” Nick mirrored her gesture and elbowed Parker to do the same.

“Alex?” Dad prompted from behind them.

I forced my thumb into the air. “You couldn't have sent a fruit basket instead?”

“Who says I didn't?” She winked at me and headed for the door. “It was nice to see you kids. I'm glad you sleep in pajamas.” She winced. “I wasn't so lucky at the last house.”

Nick and Parker stepped aside so she could pass through, and Dad walked Ms. Success downstairs.

“Amazing,” said Parker, shaking his head. “This goes right behind ‘covered in bees' as the worst way to wake up.”

We dressed in our Champs T-shirts and athletic shorts, and went downstairs for breakfast. Sure enough, there was a fruit basket sitting in the center of the kitchen table.

“Well,
that
at least was nice of her,” said Nick. He pulled a banana out of the basket, along with a small white card. “‘To Sharon,” he read, “I had fun on our date. Paul.'”

Nick lifted his head. “She gave us used fruit.”

“And coffee filters, for some reason,” said Dad, holding them up.

My brothers and I grinned at each other.

“Well, my thanks to Paul,” said Parker, grabbing an apple and biting into it. “Although we need some
real
fuel for today.”

“I'm one step ahead of you,” said Dad, balancing three plates on his arm. They were laden with eggs, fried potatoes, bacon, and toast.

“Wow,” said Nick. “So what are Alex and Parker going to eat?”

The three of us sat and tucked into our meals while Dad brought over orange juice and chocolate milk. He took his chair at the head of the table and smiled as he watched us.

Parker stopped mid-chew. “I feel like it's feeding time at the zoo.”

Dad leaned forward and clasped his hands in front of him. “I just wanted to say that I'm very proud of the three of you. You've come further than I thought possible, individually and as a team.”

“As a family,” I corrected him.

Dad smiled and kissed my forehead. “You're right.”

I smirked at my brothers. “Put that one in the record books.”

“We're proud of you too, Dad,” said Parker, turning a little red.

Dad cocked his head. “Why's that?”

“Well … because since we started Champs, you've been there for us a lot more than you used to be.”

Dad's face fell.

“I mean you're always there,” Parker corrected quickly. “And we appreciate it.”

“Yeah. Except now we get bonus time,” said Nick.

Dad shook his head. “You're right. And you were right when you first said it a few weeks ago. I'm not there enough.”

“You do great,” I said. “Considering you've had to raise us on your own.”

“Yeah, we're not on drugs or covered in tattoos,” said Parker. “And Alex only has one felony under her belt so far.”

“Lighting the neighbor's couch on fire wasn't a felony,” I pointed out. “The courts would call it criminal mischief.”

Dad raised an eyebrow. “How disturbing that you know that.”

“The point,” said Nick, “is that you're a way better parent than certain others, who shall remain nameless, ever were.”

Guilt tugged at the corner of my mind, remembering my voice mail to Mom, but I simply nodded in agreement.

“Thank you for that sentiment.” Dad scraped his chair back. “And now, I've got presents for the three of you.”

He disappeared into his office and returned with a small plastic bag. “Sorry I didn't wrap them,” he said, plunking the bag between us on the table.

Parker grabbed it and pulled out a shiny, red Swiss Army knife.

“Cool,” said Nick, reaching into the bag and pulling out the same.

“It's the Ranger version,” said Dad. “I checked with Ms. Success, and it's completely legal to use in the competition.”

Nick pulled at the bits of metal tucked away. “We've got scissors, a saw…. Oh yeah, this'll definitely come in handy.” He passed the bag to me. “Thanks, Dad.”

Dad nodded. “I just want you all to do your best.”

“We will,” I said, giving him a hug.

“And I'll still be proud of you no matter what place you get,” he said. “As long as it's not last.”

We laughed and finished breakfast, then left the house a little late after Parker (and his hair) realized people might be taking pictures. Since we were the last team to arrive at the championship, that was where Ms. Success placed us for competing order. Unfortunately, we still couldn't see the obstacle course since it was surrounded by a forest of pine trees.

Emily was there, too, standing by herself with a murderous look in her eyes. I walked over to greet her, but she stopped me when I was still a few feet away.

“As championship co-coordinator, I'm not allowed to talk to any of the competitors,” she said, frowning. “Even if it's to tell them to stop drooling all over my crush.”

She nodded toward a group of kids, among them Trevor and Chloe. Chloe was giggling and leaning against Trevor.

“She's touching him,” said Emily. “Nothing is that funny that she needs to touch him.”

“Maybe one of her ankles is bad and he's helping her stand,” I said. “I mean, that would make
me
feel better.”

Emily's ponytail whipped from side to side as she shook her head. “I saw her warming up earlier. She's in top form.” Then, as an afterthought, she added, “Sorry.”

“Well, I'm sure everything will be okay,” I said. “If you want, I'll go check it out.”

Emily's angry expression relaxed. “Would you?”

“Sure. And if one of her ankles isn't bad, I can change that,” I said.

Emily stiffened and stared straight ahead. “As championship co-coordinator, I cannot approve of violence toward another player.”

I rolled my eyes. “It was a joke. I won't lay a finger on her.”

“If you do,” Emily whispered, “make sure it's just to push her away from Trevor.”

She resumed her wooden stance while I trotted over to my Champs classmates. Everyone greeted me, except Chloe of course, and went back to talking about their fund-raising and game strategy.

“So are you and your brothers ready?” asked Trevor, pulling me slightly to the side.

Chloe was talking to one of the other girls, but her eyes were on me.

“Oh, yeah,” I said, waving my hand dismissively. “We've got the fire-making down and we've planned out how we'll approach almost any obstacle.”

“That's good,” said Trevor. “Chloe's been pretty much running the show for us, so as long as we do what she says, it'll be great!” He smiled, but his teeth barely showed.

“She's not much of a team player, is she?” I asked.

He dropped the happy act. “She is … if it's a team of one.”

“That sounds like her,” I said. “But at least you guys already know what you're up against.”

“I don't think it'll matter,” he said. “Ms. Success wouldn't let us be a team of two so we had to invite Shelly.”

“Then you have an extra player to help you! That's …” I saw the sour look on his face. “That's
not
good?”

“Shelly practiced with us on Friday and Saturday.” Trevor stepped closer and spoke in a low voice. “And I kept waiting for the mother ship to come and whisk her back to her home planet. She's a total space cadet.”

“Why? She doesn't follow the leader?”

“Oh, she follows just fine,” said Trevor. “When the leader's a butterfly or squirrel.”

I wanted to laugh, but I knew Trevor was making jokes to cover up his disappointment.

“Sorry,” I said again. I noticed Ms. Success stepping onto a tree stump, with her whistle and clipboard in hand. “I should probably get back to my brothers. Good luck in there.”

“You too,” said Trevor.

I hurried over to my family, giving Emily an encouraging nod. From the way Trevor talked, she didn't have anything to worry about.

Ms. Success blew a trill note on her whistle, and the Champs gathered around with their parents.

“Hello to all of you!” she boomed. “And welcome to the fifth-annual Champs Championship!”

The audience cheered and applauded.

“In just a moment, we'll be sending our first group into the obstacle course. There are ten obstacles, which I've personally run with my co-coordinator.” She nodded at Emily.
“Therefore, I can tell you it's possible to make it through in thirty-five minutes or less.”

“Ten obstacles, thirty-five minutes,” whispered Parker. “Three and a half minutes per obstacle.”

“There will be a course judge watching you at all times,” she continued. “And because I care about the well-being of my students, we've got trained EMTS standing by to treat injuries.” Ms. Success raised an eyebrow. “Real injuries, folks. Not boo-boos or owies.” Then she called out the team positions and members. After she read off our team, she lowered her clipboard.

“Sadly, I can't allow any of you to watch the other teams run the course until you've done so yourself,” she said. “But while you wait, I've set up a few shows for your viewing pleasure.” She pointed to a film projector and a large white sheet tied to some trees to make a movie screen.

“What's the first show?” asked Nick.

Ms. Success tilted her head modestly. “A little something from my theater days. I was Eliza Doolittle in
My Fair Lady
.”

“Oh.” Nick smiled at her, then turned to us. “That combination of words means nothing to me.”

“It's a musical,” said Parker.

“Ugh,” said Nick.

“So without further ado,” continued Ms. Success, “let's send our first group onto the course!”

The audience cheered again and Team One headed for the starting line. As soon as they'd vanished into the forest, the crowd settled down to watch Ms. Success butcher a British accent.

About forty-five minutes into the show, Team One re-emerged, red-faced and sweating. One of them, Tan Dan, had scraped up his legs, and the entire team was wet and muddy.

“That doesn't look promising,” said Parker.

“Maybe you should have brought a shower cap,” said Nick.

A woman in an EMT uniform pulled Dan aside while his teammates went back down to watch the next group.

Ms. Success shook her head and pointed to the movie screen. “They're going to miss a quality dance number.”

My brothers and I struggled through the show while four more teams disappeared into the forest. When Team Six got up to take their turn, Nick, Parker, and I stepped away from the film to warm-up.

“What's the fastest time for the course?” I asked.

“Thirty-six minutes,” said Parker, consulting the clipboard Ms. Success had left out. “By … surprise, surprise … Chloe, Trevor, and Shelly.”

“Darn,” I said.

Chloe had turned out to be a better leader than I'd
hoped. My stomach started to fill with butterflies, and when Ms. Success called my name, I jumped with a start.

“Alexis, Nick and Parker!” called Ms. Success. “Team Seven is up.”

My brothers and I looked at each other.

“Are we ready?” asked Parker, setting his watch.

Nick let out a deep breath and nodded. “Alex?”

I bent into a runner's lunge. “Thirty-five minutes or bust.”

Chapter 16