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  CRIMSON ADVANTAGE

  Gregor is pacing when we arrive at Meeting Room Twelve, a large room on the first floor of Piedmont Chamber. When he sees us he stops and stands like an eagle, hands on his hips. His blond, spiky hair scares me. “We’ve reserved this room for only one hour so we must get to work.”

  I sit down at the table next to Jillian.

  Gregor places his hands on the edge of it. “Now that we know the task you’ve been given, we must explain the rules for creating your solution.”

  “And then can we start working?” Ander asks.

  Gregor looks at him, annoyed. “This will take a while.”

  Seraphina passes out packets that contain a description of our task, a list of the rules, and the scoring system.

  Gregor speaks in a slow voice. “Rule number 1: No outer team influence. Any ideas that are discussed must be your own. Any work must be your own. In other words, no one else outside of the team may give ideas or assist you in any way. The task must be completed in its entirety by the five teammates and no one else. If the judges feel your team was assisted, you will receive a penalty. The amount will be determined by the judges as indicated in the scoring section of your packet.”

  Ander sits up. “So you and Seraphina can’t help us at all?”

  “No, we may not.”

  “Can you make suggestions?”

  “No.”

  I lean on my elbows. “So the five of us have to come up with a way to complete the task by ourselves and do all the work ourselves?”

  “Yes, that is correct.”

  “What if you gave us a suggestion anyway and we use it?” asks Mare.

  “We won’t do that. We’ve taken an oath that we will assist you in other ways like helping you gather supplies, scheduling meeting times, and keeping you focused on your work. The rest is up to you.”

  “What if we can’t agree on a way to solve the task?” Jillian asks.

  “That is part of the challenge you face.”

  “Rule 2: You must follow the camp schedule we give you. We will have set times for work, breaks, meals, and activities. You are required to be on time for every event. No exceptions. You will receive your schedule in your bedchambers each day.”

  Ander wiggles in his chair. “How long will our breaks be?”

  “That depends on the day and what you are working on.”

  “But will we have time for any fun? I brought my hockey bag.”

  “This camp will be your fun.”

  I stare at Ander. He must not be scared of Gregor at all. “Yeah, I know, but we can’t work all the time. Will we have time to play tag or ghost in the graveyard or anything?”

  Mare giggles.

  “Like I said, you will have breaks.”

  Ander slides down in his seat.

  Gregor walks around the table. “Rule 3: This is not an official rule, and it does not apply to every team. Only yours. The fact is this: Your team will be more closely watched than any other team in this competition. All eyes will be on you because you all come from the same school.”

  Ander jumps up from his chair.

  Gregor holds out his hand. “Before you explode, please hear me out. It may not be fair that the judges expect more from you. We know that you didn’t know each other before this competition, but team spirit is a large part of this competition. It takes most teams a long time to feel at ease around each other. The best teams are able to work together and inspire each other. The judges may score you more harshly because they feel you already had that advantage.”

  “But we didn’t,” Ander insists.

  “We know,” says Seraphina. “But we can’t change their minds.”

  “So there’s no way we can win,” says Mare.

  “Not true,” says Gregor. “We feel you can use this as an opportunity.”

  “How?” asks Jillian.

  Seraphina smiles. “You all come from the same school. That makes your team special. All you have to do is show everyone why that is.”

  “I don’t understand what you mean,” Jillian grabs her hair and twists it tight.

  “You simply need to create something that will showcase your special team.”

  “Isn’t that breaking the rules?” I say. “I thought you can’t tell us what to do?”

  Gregor stiffens. “That is called coaching. Of course that is allowed. Now, turn to page three. Here you’ll see a detailed description of your task. Please read it through, and when you have finished, Seraphina and I will answer your questions.”

  Ander flips the page over and groans. “We have to read all of this? When do we get to start working on our task?”

  Seraphina smiles. “How can you start working without first knowing the details of the task?”

  Ander shrugs and looks down at his packet.

  I read through every single page devouring the words. When I finish, I turn back to the first page and read the summary of the task again.

  Our home, the Earth, is shaped like a circle.

  Your task is to create an object that transforms three times into something else, and then transforms back to its original position . . . creating a circle effect. The object you create must answer a question that is universally asked, but has not yet been answered by mankind. Your solution must include elements from each of the six academic categories and one original language. Your presentation to the judges may not exceed twelve minutes.

  Seraphina flips over the packet. “Okay, then. Any questions?”

  “I have one,” says Jillian. “How do we make up our own language?”

  Gregor responds. “You must use the creative side of your brain.”

  “That sounds hard,” says Mare.

  “That sounds fun,” says Ander. “Maybe we can talk like aliens from Mars.”

  I sit up in my chair. “Or we could talk like roosters that just came out of the ocean, riding on an underwater bubble bike!”

  “Or maybe we come up with something more mature than that,” Mare replies.

  I slouch back down in my seat.

  “Can the object be made out of anything?” asks Jax.

  I look down the table at him. He’s been so quiet, I almost forgot he was here.

  His face turns red. “You know, the object that has to transform three times and then transform again to its original position.”

  “Yes, Jax,” Gregor replies. “You may use any material as long as it does not contain anything deemed explosive or dangerous.”

  I scoot my chair closer to the table. “It says here we have to present the solution of the task to the judges. But how? Do we write a report and then read it to the judges during the twelve minutes?”

  Seraphina spreads her purple nail polish fingers on the table. “That’s for your team to decide.”

  “That’s too boring,” says Ander.

  I tuck my foot underneath me. “I think so too.”

  Ander springs up from his chair. “What if we do a play?”

  I think for a second. “That could be good. Maybe we’ll get extra points for being original.”

  “No way,” says Mare. “I don’t perform in front of other people.”

  “I don’t mind,” says Jillian. “We’d get to play someone that we’re not.”

  “I bet Jax doesn’t want to,” Mare says, boring her eyes into his. “Do you, Jax?”

  Jax looks away. “I don’t care.”

  “You would do a play?” she challenges him.

  His face turns into a cherry again. “I guess so.”

  Mare scowls. “We have to create an object, not a Broadway play. I vote no.”

  Ander taps his fingers on the table. “Well, if all of us want to do a play then you have to do it—majority rules.”

  “That’s not fair,” says Mare. “I won’t do
it.”

  Seraphina holds up her hand. “It may be too early for a team vote. Why don’t you think up a few more ideas first?”

  “Thank you!” Mare snarls, smirking at the rest of us.

  Gregor closes his packet. “Our time has expired. We will gather again here in Meeting Room Twelve for our afternoon session.”

  I pick at the skin around my pointer finger. I don’t want to take a break.

  Seraphina stands up. “Well, I guess we can discuss this again later.”

  “Where do we go now?” asks Ander.

  “We go to the Team Building Room down the hall. Our session starts in fifteen minutes. You are excused until then. Please be prompt.”

  We pour out of Meeting Room Twelve and into the living room outside the Appelonia Dining Hall. Mare and Jillian fall into the couch. I sit in the chair next to them.

  “What do you guys think about our task?” I ask. I’m starting to think the hardest part is getting all of us to agree.

  Jillian smiles. “It’s better than I hoped for. I can’t wait to start working on the language part. We could make up our own handshake or invent our own way of moving—kind of like the sound beams on Jax and Ander’s wall.”

  Hmm. That’s a good idea. Maybe I’ve underestimated her.

  “I bet we can think of something better than a play,” says Mare.

  Why can’t she just like the play idea? “Like what?”

  “I don’t know yet. I’m sure I’ll think of something though.”

  “Well, I think it’s a good idea.” I’m trying to be nice but working with teammates is hard.

  When the boys get up, we follow them down the hall and find Seraphina and Gregor waiting in the doorway. “Come on in,” Seraphina says. “This room is where we’ll work on your team building skills.”

  “Team building skills. What for?” Mare crosses her arms.

  “Since you’ll solve your task as a team, it’s important to learn to work together, so let’s get to our first exercise. I want all of you to stand in a circle facing each other.”

  We do as she instructs, rearranging ourselves two or three times, trying to figure out who we should stand next to.

  “It won’t matter who you stand beside for this activity.”

  We stop shuffling and I end up between Jax and Jillian.

  “Now reach across the circle with your right hand to the person across from you. Grab their right hand. Next, take your left hand and reach across for the left hand of a different person who’s not standing next to you.”

  I look across the circle and take Ander’s hand with my right, and Mare’s hand with my left. Everyone else chooses hands too.

  “Your team has formed a human pretzel. Your task is to untangle yourselves in under three minutes without letting go of the hands you’re holding. To successfully untangle, you’ll end up in a circle, holding onto the hands of each person next to you, without your arms crossed.

  “Oh, man,” Ander laughs. “This’ll be cool.”

  “First, the rules: You must not let go of your partners’ hands. Your team will have failed the task if you do. Also, you must use positive phrases to encourage your teammates. Your three minutes starts now.”

  We immediately lift our hands and take turns crawling under and over arms. When we’re stuck, Jillian says, “Here, Ander, I’ll lower my arm, you climb over it.”

  He tries, but Mare’s arm pulls on mine almost out of the socket. “Ouch! No. I can’t bend it that far.”

  “This is impossible.” Mare rolls her eyes. “It’s never going to work.”

  “We can do it,” Ander says, his voice full of authority. “What if I crawl over Jax’s arm and then Jillian’s right here?”

  “No,” I say. “Jax, you have to lift your arm. Then Mare can go under.”

  He does and Mare crawls through. Jillian twists around. Soon, we’re more tangled than ever. My right arm is twisted and stuck over Jax’s head. I’m facing the outside of the circle but my left hand is pulled behind my back.

  “I told you. This can’t work,” says Mare.

  Ander lets out a loud breath. “What if Jax turns around and Kia pulls her right arm under Jillian.”

  I try that but Mare cries out. “My arm!”

  Jax pulls his arm and let’s his hand break free of Jillian’s.

  “No!” Jillian cries.

  “Aw, Jax!” Ander yells.

  Jax turns red. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to let go. My hand slipped.”

  I feel bad. He looks like he might cry.

  “It’s alright,” says Jillian. “I couldn’t hold on either.”

  “We stunk at that one,” Ander sighs.

  “Not so,” says Seraphina. She puts an arm over Jax’s shoulder. “It takes a while to learn how to work as a team. We’ll try it again another time.”

  We complete two more team building tasks almost like the Human Pretzel before we stop for lunch. I can tell Jax doesn’t like doing them, and Mare thinks they’re stupid. So much for team building. Whatever—if we don’t start planning our solution, our team will be going home right after the finals anyway.

  I examine my nail stubs. Seraphina says we have an advantage but I’m not so sure about that. How can we convince the judges our team is special when we can’t even work our way out of a simple pretzel?

  BRAINSTORM

  I must be in the wrong room, but this has to be Meeting Room Twelve. It’s the same place we met this morning except for the flying cloud tunnels, climbing cubes, and airborne trampolines. What the heck? Meeting Room Twelve is a like a space playground!

  Seraphina and Gregor stand in the corner whispering. I want to jump on the trampolines, but I’m not sure if we’re allowed to. I look at Ander and he looks at me. We make a break for it at the same time. We leap onto a swirly ladder and race for the platform, but when we take our first jump, it tosses us across the room onto bean bag looking blobs.

  Mine wiggles, then bounces me so high I can see the fluffy insides of the cloud tunnels. “Come on, guys! This cloud smells like toothpaste.”

  “Kia, how’d you do that?” Ander tries to lift his blob, but instead it spins at warp speed like the food flowers in the dining hall. “Whoa!” he screams with his cheeks spread flat across his face.

  Seraphina strolls over, smiling. “Like the Brainstorming Room?” She pushes a button and Ander’s blob suddenly halts. I drop to the ground and my stomach sinks, but not from the bouncing. This whole room is unbelievable, probably full of inventions made by last year’s winning team. How can we think up something this good for the finals? I bite my thumbnail and stare at Ander, Mare, Jillian, and Jax. I wonder if they’re freaking out inside too.

  Ander grins. “That was awesome! What is all this stuff?”

  “This is the solution that won seven years ago. The team from North Dakota designed a collection of playground equipment using invisible springs and environmentally safe materials. We brought them in while you were having lunch at the dining hall.”

  I knew it! Those kids must have been geniuses. I bet they moved onto the Global Championships and then went to PIPS. I bite my ring finger nail. We really have to start working now. I’m not going to be happy if we waste this meeting playing around.

  Seraphina walks around the equipment like a game show host. “Here at Camp Piedmont, we believe a child’s imagination is always present, but as we get older, we forget how to let the creative parts of our brains take over and simply have fun. Some of the best ideas are born when you allow yourself to act like a child, like the child you were in kindergarten. Do you guys think you can act like kindergarten children this afternoon?”

  “I can do that!” Ander says and springs to his feet.

  Seraphina smiles, shaking her head.

  “Me too,” I say. I really do want to play, but thi
s idea better work.

  “Sure,” smiles Jillian. Her eyes are practically twinkling.

  “What about you, Mare? Are you up for some kid time?”

  She smoothes out her hair and smirks. “Yup.” She says it like she thinks she can have fun way better than the rest of us. No chance!

  “Jax?”

  He straightens up in his bean bag. “Sure, I’ll play if you want me to.”

  “Well,” whispers Mare. “If he plays as well as he talks, we’re doomed.”

  I glare at her. I can’t believe she just said that!

  Jax looks over at the climbing cube and I consider making a joke out of what she said or something, but maybe he didn’t hear her. I hope not anyway.

  We spend the next half hour playing our own version of tag. We make up a game using a yellow pole at the end of the room. Ander is it, and the rest of us have to scatter away from him and try to reach the pole without him catching us. I race through the cubes, down the slide, over the swings. I hide under the clouds, inside the cubes, and on top of the trampolines.

  “Come on, Kia Krumpet,” Ander dares me. “Run for the pole!”

  I bounce on the trampoline and aim for the yellow pole. I stumble a few steps away and graze it just as Ander dives for my ankle.

  “I got you!” he yells and rolls back up to his feet.

  “No way!” I say before Seraphina calls us back to the bouncing blobs. By the time our play time has ended, I’ve learned that Jax doesn’t run very fast but somehow finds ways to trick Ander. Mare squeals a lot. Jillian comes up with the best hiding places and Ander likes to be in charge. That’s pretty good information for just one game!

  Seraphina pushes a button on a remote control. A door to a low cabinet in the corner opens up. Mabel, the robotic monkey rolls out and zooms over to us. She stops in the center of our circle.

  “Cool!” says Ander. “What’s that?”

  Seraphina smiles. “Hello again, Mabel. Please deliver the cards.”

  The side panel on her body opens up and five cards slide onto the floor. Mabel picks them up with her robotic hand and passes one out to each of us.