were crowded around. âWho was that? It was awesome. Is it on iTunes?â
Theo shook his head. âNo. Just a home recording by my cousin.â
They shrugged and left.
âThat was Gavin?â Brian asked in shock.
âYeah,â Theo admitted. He didnât want to discuss it anymore. He hated that everyone liked it so much. It was bad enough he had to see Gavin in L.A. He didnât want Gavinâs presence spilling into his life here.
âThe dude has talent,â Tunes said. He held up his phone and started replaying the song. âI should post this on Facebook, see how many Likes he gets.â
âNo!â Theo said, trying to snatch the phone. âCome on, man. Donât. Heâd kill me.â
Daryl laughed. âRelax, dude. Iâm just kidding. I wouldnât do that to you. Weâre a team, right? The Unstoppable Brain Train.â He deleted the song. âSee?â
âRight,â Theo said. âThanks.â
But he was thinking that they didnât feel like a team. Not like when he was playing basketball. In basketball, there was all this silent movement, relying on the others to go where they were supposed to, to run out and help you when you were trapped. To feed you the ball when you were open. The Brain Train was five overachievers who didnât play well with others, answering questions as if they were by themselves at home in their rooms. How was that a team?
Just then, Mr. J appeared in the doorway holding a grocery bag. He grinned. âNow that music appreciation is over, whoâs ready for sudden death?â
EVERYONE scrambled to set up their chessboards, arranging the pieces as they had been left the last time theyâd all played âsudden death.â As Theo carefully placed the queen and rooks, he felt especially confident about his chances of finally beating Mr. J.
No one ever had. Yet.
âTunes!â Mr. J suddenly barked, pointing at him. He then sang, ââI went to Kansas City on a Friday.â Whatâs the next lyric? Go!â
ââBy Saturday I learned a thang or two.â Title: âEverythingâs Up to Date in Kansas City.â From the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical Oklahoma! â
âVery good. Now move.â
Sudden death involved playing Mr. J in a game of chess while he shouted out questions from each kidâs special area of knowledge. His theory was that if they could answer questions while concentrating on chess, they wouldnât feel as pressured in the real competition. It seemed to work. In their first Aca-lympic match of the season, two weeks ago against Fullerton, theyâd won. Not just won, but crushed them into oblivion, 145â23. However, Fullerton was always a bottom-feeder team that rarely made the regional tournament, so heâd warned them not to get cocky.
Mr. J stood in front of Darylâs chessboard. Daryl finally moved his queen. Mr. J studied the pieces for three seconds, and then moved his knight. âCheckmate in six moves,â he said, slapping the clock. Daryl frowned in disbelief as if heâd just been told he had an extra ear growing out of his neck.
âHow? Iâve got your rook and both bishops and Iâm closing in on your other rook.â
Mr. J said, âWhere does the word âalgebraâ come from?â
Daryl looked up, confused.
Mr. J snapped his fingers. âCome on, come on, Daryl. This game is lost anyway. Focus on what you still can win.â
âYouâre bluffing. Trying to rattle me because Iâm about to beat you.â He slid his queen across the board and knocked over Mr. Jâs rook. He looked up at Mr. J with a delighted grin. âWarned ya.â He slapped the clock.
Mr. J instantly hopped his knight over Darylâs pawn. âCheck. Next youâre going to go here, since itâs your only move.â He tapped the square with his
Tim Curran, Cody Goodfellow, Gary McMahon, C.J. Henderson, William Meikle, T.E. Grau, Laurel Halbany, Christine Morgan, Edward Morris