The Fastest Finish Read online

  Finally it was JJ’s turn. It felt strange to see his own familiar face appear on TV.

  “Weird,” he commented as he watched himself step onto the mat. “I was really nervous, but you can’t tell.”

  “Nope. You mostly just look really focused,” Ty said. “Here’s your package.”

  JJ had been so nervous at the show that he hadn’t paid much attention to his package. But he watched it now. It showed him climbing around in the tree house he and his dad had built and playing kickball with his friends and cousins. There was even a shot of him roller-skating with Jasmine.

  Then the package was over, and JJ was starting the course. He felt nervous all over again as he watched himself leap up to grab the first ring, even though he knew he’d made it through the Ring-a-Ding Swing easily. Next came the balance steps, which had been a lot harder. He’d slipped on the last step, almost losing his balance. A gasp went up from the crowd as he flung himself forward, barely making it onto the mat.

  The next few obstacles passed in a flash. Finally the JJ on TV stood looking up at the Crazy Cliff—​probably the most famous obstacle on the show. Now, in the Fit Kidz gym, JJ’s heart pounded with excitement. This was better than the best video game he’d ever played. It was almost as fun watching himself do the course as it had been to do it!

  “Climb that cliff! Climb that cliff!” the audience in the gym chanted, almost drowning out the audience on the show, which was chanting the same thing.

  “Climb that cliff!” JJ cried as he saw himself starting to run . . .

  A huge cheer rang out when JJ made it to the top and leaped to his feet. His teammates cheered louder than anyone, even though they already knew what had happened.

  “Take a bow, ninja!” Izzy said, giving JJ a shove.

  JJ jumped to his feet and waved, which brought even louder cheers. It was weird being the center of attention. After all, he was just an ordinary kid. But maybe it was okay being a little more than ordinary for once. Maybe it was even kind of fun!

  Three

  “Way to go, Ty!” Coach Channing slapped Ty on the back. “You looked strong out there, son.”

  “Thanks, Coach.” Ty forced a grin for his school basketball coach, but he felt a little weird. Watching the show had been fun. But it also reminded him that he’d failed. Unlike JJ and Izzy, he hadn’t completed the course. He’d made it all the way through and then wiped out on the Crazy Cliff. Because of that, he hadn’t made the finals, at least not for sure—​he was only an alternate. That was better than Kevin and Mackenzie, who hadn’t made it at all. But if you weren’t a winner, you were a loser—​everyone knew that. And Ty hated feeling like a loser.

  The coach wandered off, and more people came over to talk to Ty—​some of his friends from the baseball team, his dentist, people from the gym, neighbors. All of them seemed to think that he’d done great.

  But Ty knew better. If only I’d pushed a little harder, made it up that cliff, he told himself for the zillionth time since the competition. Then I’d still be on track to become the first-ever Junior Ninja champion . . .

  “Santiago—” A familiar voice snapped him out of his gloomy thoughts.

  “Coach Driscoll!” Ty gulped, suddenly a little nervous to face his soccer coach. Ty had skipped tryouts for the coach’s local travel league to be on JNC. Was he mad? Especially since Ty hadn’t even made the finals?

  But the coach was smiling. “It’s not every day one of my players is on national TV. Congrats.”

  “Um, thanks.” Ty wasn’t sure what else to say. “Kinda wish I’d made the finals, though.” He shot the coach a sidelong glance. “Especially since I missed soccer tryouts to do it.”

  Coach Driscoll scratched his beard, looking thoughtful. “Did you have fun?”

  “You mean being a ninja? Sure, it was a blast!” Ty grinned. “One of the funnest things I’ve ever done.” His smile faded. “But now I’m going to miss a whole season of travel soccer.” He shrugged. “I thought, uh, you might be bummed about that.”

  The coach smiled. “Life is about choices, Santiago. You chose ninja-ing over soccer this time. That’s cool with me.”

  “Really?” Ty was surprised. Coach Driscoll took soccer really seriously. He’d helped Ty become a much better player.

  “Really,” the coach said. “Listen, did I ever tell you that all three of my older brothers were basketball stars back in school?”

  “I don’t think so.”

  “Well, they were. So it was practically a family rebellion when I decided I liked soccer better.” Coach Driscoll grinned. “My oldest brother wanted to disown me. But my parents said it was up to me. You gotta do what you love—​you only live once. That’s what they said. And that’s what I’m saying to you now.” He patted Ty on the shoulder. “If you want to be a ninja, be a ninja. But don’t second-guess yourself. That’ll just make you crazy.”

  Ty nodded slowly. “I get it, I guess. Thanks, Coach.”

  * * *

  The finals taping in Hollywood was less than two months away. That meant there was no time to waste! The next morning, the team met at the gym to get back to work. JJ and Kevin were already in the ninja room when Ty walked in. JJ was scrambling up the climbing wall while Kevin practiced on the balance steps. Both of them were smiling and looking as if they were having a blast.

  Coach Tara was there, too. “Morning, Ty,” she said cheerfully. “I hope being a TV star hasn’t gone to your head too much. Because it’s time to get back to business. We’ve got a finals show to train for!”

  You mean Iz and JJ have a finals show to train for, Ty thought.

  But he didn’t say it, flashing back to Coach Driscoll’s words: Don’t second-guess yourself.

  “I’m ready,” he told Tara instead, flexing his muscles.

  As he started his warm-up, Ty glanced over at JJ again. He’d been an alternate after tryouts and had ended up being on the show—​and finishing the course. Maybe the same thing would happen to Ty!

  All I need is a chance to get on that finals show, he thought as he did a few lunges and stretches. Then it’s up to me to do the rest. And this time I won’t choke!

  Soon Izzy arrived and started her warm-up. Tara glanced at her watch.

  “Where’s Mackenzie?” she asked. “Well, she’ll just have to catch up when she gets here. We have a lot to do today!” She clapped her hands. “Okay, team—​five laps around the room, and don’t dawdle! Let’s get that blood pumping!”

  Ty fell into step with the others. He was used to running laps, since most of his coaches used running to build wind. But he was itching to move on to the ninja obstacles.

  “Faster!” Tara shouted. “I want to see a team of ninjas, not a bunch of turtles!”

  “I thought you might take it easy on us today,” Izzy called to Tara with a grin. “We were up late watching ourselves on TV, remember?”

  “Tough,” Tara retorted, laughing. “Now move those legs! Hup, hup!”

  “Being a ninja TV star isn’t as glamorous as I thought,” Ty joked.

  Tara laughed again. “You’re right about that.” Then she glanced at the door. “Well, well—​look who finally decided to show up.”

  It was Mackenzie, looking wide-eyed and excited. Then again, she almost always looked that way. Still, something about the way she was waving her arms around made Ty slow down and watch her.

  “Hey guys, guess what!” Mackenzie cried. “The overnights are in, and it’s official—​Junior Ninja Champion is a huge hit!”

  Four

  Kevin rushed over to Mackenzie, along with the rest of the group.

  “What are overnights?” JJ asked.

  “It’s a hit?” Izzy added. “Really?”

  Kevin waited to hear what Mackenzie would say. Somehow she always seemed to know how stuff worked. Probably because she spent a lot of time online. Her dads trusted her a lot, so her computer time wasn’t limited the way Kevin’s—​or most of the others—​was.

/>   “Overnights is just another word for TV ratings.” Mackenzie flopped onto a pile of spare mats to catch her breath. “And the ratings show that JNC is already doing great with viewers all over the country, even after just one show.”

  “Ours,” Ty put in, puffing out his chest proudly.

  “Right.” Mackenzie grinned. “Actually it looks like it’s going to be just as popular as National Ninja Champion!”

  “Wow,” Kevin said. “That’s one of the top shows on TV!”

  “That’s great,” Tara said. “Sounds like you guys are even bigger stars than you thought.” She winked and clapped her hands. “Now let’s get back to work.”

  * * *

  After practice, it took Kevin only ten minutes to walk from the gym to his neighborhood in the oldest part of town. His street was lined with beautiful historic houses and huge old trees that shaded the street. The only bad thing about living there was that the yards were really small. Most kids played at the park or in the empty lot at the end of Kevin’s block.

  Today he heard shouts and laughter coming from the lot as he approached. He glanced over and saw the Nguyen twins playing kickball with six or seven of their friends.

  Kevin kept walking. The Nguyens were thirteen, two years older than he was, so he didn’t know them that well.

  “Yo, Kevin! Kevin Marshall, hold up!”

  Kevin stopped, surprised. When he turned, Gabe Nguyen was loping toward him, followed by his brother. The other kids were right behind them.

  “Check it out,” one of the kids said. “It’s the neighborhood TV star!”

  Eric Nguyen grinned at Kevin. “We saw your show last night,” he said. “It was totally cool!”

  “Um, thanks. It was no big deal.” These kids were treating Kevin as if he were some kind of celebrity, and he wasn’t sure he liked it. It didn’t feel right.

  “No big deal?” A tall girl—​Kevin was pretty sure her name was Olivia—​laughed and gave him a playful smack on the shoulder. “Don’t be modest, Kevin. You’re a ninja superstar!”

  “Yeah,” another kid said. “Better get used to the attention.”

  Better get used to the attention. Something about those words seemed familiar. But why?

  Suddenly Kevin got it. His doctor had told him something like that back when he was sick. Having cancer had made him the center of attention, too. Everyone had always wanted to know how he was doing, if the treatments were working, stuff like that. The doctors explained that it was normal—​people cared and wanted to make him feel better. But Kevin had hated it.

  He jerked out of his memories when Gabe poked him in the arm. “Want to join the game?” Gabe asked. “My team’s one short, and I could use a good athlete like you.”

  “No fair!” a girl with cornrows protested. “I want to be on Kevin’s team.”

  Olivia grinned and held up the ball. “Tough,” she said. “He’s with us. Right, Kev?”

  Kevin shrugged, still a little surprised that the older kids were paying so much attention to him. “Sure,” he said.

  “Cool.” Olivia tossed him the ball.

  Kevin drop-kicked it, sending it flying back into the empty lot. Then he jogged after it.

  He’d definitely hated being a cancer celebrity. But so far, being a ninja celebrity was turning out to be a lot more fun!

  Five

  Izzy kicked off at the top of the Polk Street hill, then glided down on her skateboard. It was a hot day, and the breeze felt good. She was running a little late, since her stepmonster, Tina, had insisted that Izzy unload the dishwasher before she left for the gym.

  At the bottom of the hill, she shifted her weight to curve left onto Ninth Street. Halfway down the block she spotted a lone figure skateboarding in the parking lot by the gas station.

  Izzy skidded to a stop. “Jess!” she blurted out.

  Her mind spun as her friend jumped a curb and then turned to face her, kicking her skateboard end-up into her hand. “Iz, what’s up,” Jess said casually.

  “I was just going to ask you that.” Izzy couldn’t believe that Jess was right here in front of her. She hadn’t heard from her in weeks! “Where’ve you been? Did you get my text about the premiere party?”

  Jess shrugged, squinting up toward the sky. “Couldn’t make it. I was busy.”

  Izzy’s head spun. Why was Jess acting so weird? Like they weren’t even friends. Yeah, she was older and cooler than Izzy, but that had never seemed to come between them before.

  “Busy?” Izzy tried to turn it into a joke. “Come on, Jess. You’re the whole reason I ended up on that show in the first place.”

  It was true. Jess and Izzy had been skateboarding in the parking lot of a local shopping center when Jess dared Izzy to ride down a steep stairwell. Izzy hadn’t wanted to do it, as she was a tiny bit scared of heights. But she never turned down a challenge, especially in front of Jess. She’d panicked halfway down, and her skateboard had ended up getting away from her and crashing through a restaurant window. As punishment, her parents had sent her to run laps at Fit Kidz every day after school, and the rest was history.

  “Don’t blame me for that,” Jess snapped. “You’re the one who blew it, not me.” She dropped her board, jumping on and setting it rolling in one smooth move. “Gotta bounce,” she muttered.

  She whizzed past before Izzy could say another word, disappearing around the corner seconds later. Izzy just stood there, confused and hurt. She hadn’t seen or heard from Jess since that night at the shopping center. But that hadn’t seemed too strange—​Izzy had been stuck at the gym every day, and then the ninja thing happened and kept her even busier. Plus her parents had taken away her phone after the window-breaking incident, and they’d given it back only a week or two earlier.

  But maybe there was another reason she hadn’t heard from her friend. Had Jess actually been avoiding her all this time? Why?

  Izzy was still feeling distracted when she got to the gym. Ty, JJ, and Kevin were already in the ninja room warming up, though Mackenzie was nowhere in sight. When Izzy walked in, the three boys were talking about the trip to Los Angeles for the finals.

  “. . . and my mom talked to your parents, and it’s all arranged,” Kevin was saying. “I still can’t believe she’s going to let me go all the way out to California without her!”

  “Cool.” JJ smiled. “Hi, Izzy. Did you hear that? The three of us get to share a hotel room.” He hooked a thumb at the other two boys. “Maybe you and Mackenzie should try to bunk together.”

  “Maybe,” Izzy muttered, not particularly interested. Still, she was happy to hear that Kevin was definitely going to the finals. They’d all been afraid that his mom wouldn’t let him make the trip to Los Angeles, since he wouldn’t be competing. But his mom had agreed to fly him out there as an early birthday gift, even though she couldn’t go herself because of work.

  The rest of the families would be there, though—​even Izzy’s. That had been a surprise. She knew they’d have to miss out on their town’s annual Labor Day half marathon. And the Fitzgeralds were runners. That’s what her dad always said. Besides that, her brother, Charlie, had won his age group last year, so he was giving up the chance to defend his title. Izzy still couldn’t quite believe he was willing to do that.

  Just then Tara strode in. “Look alive, ninjas!” she said. “Let’s get moving.”

  Izzy tried to focus on warming up with the rest of the team, but she couldn’t stop thinking about Jess. What was her problem, anyway?

  “Alternating lunges, people!” Tara ordered. “Keep going until I say stop.”

  Izzy obeyed, doing lunges alongside the others. But her mind was still on her friend. Or was Jess her friend? Izzy had always wondered why the older girl wanted to hang out with her. Sure, both of them were into skateboarding and parkour. But maybe that wasn’t enough. Maybe Jess had decided that hanging out with a twelve-year-old was boring . . .

  “Izzy, heads up!” Kevin said. “We’re supposed to
do pull-ups now!”

  Izzy snapped out of her thoughts. The others were scrambling toward the pull-up bars while she was still in mid-lunge. “Sorry,” she muttered.

  “Mind in the game, Iz,” Tara said. “Being a good ninja is mental, not just physical.”

  “I know, I know.” Izzy jumped up and grabbed a free bar, grunting as she did her first pull-up. Exercises like this, which relied almost totally on upper body strength, were a lot harder for her than the balance or agility stuff, so for the next few minutes she didn’t have much energy to spare worrying about Jess.

  Tara had just ordered them all to move on to the climbing wall when Mackenzie rushed in, pink-cheeked and out of breath.

  “Sorry I’m late again!” she cried. “But you’ll forgive me when you hear the huge news.”

  “What is—” Ty began.

  But Mackenzie didn’t even let him finish. “There’s going to be a wildcard show!” she exclaimed, clapping her hands. “Isn’t that amazing?”

  “A what?” Izzy said. She had no idea what Mackenzie was talking about.

  “What’s a wildcard show?” JJ added.

  “It’s like an extra show—​JNC is such a huge success that they want even more kids to be a part of it,” Mackenzie said. “It works like this . . .”

  Six

  * * *

  MACK ATTACKS . . . . . .

  MY BLOG ABOUT INTERESTING STUFF

  * * *

  By Mackenzie Clark, age 10½, nerdgirl extraordinaire! (← that last word means fab!)

  Today: MACK ATTACKS . . . . . . Wildcard Ninjas!!!

  Big news, loyal readers! So I already posted what a big hit JNC is. But I just found out something even more amazing. The producers want to make the finals even bigger and better. So they just announced that they’re adding a wildcard show!!!