I can’t believe that actually worked.
God, I’m good.
A genius strategy! Seyoon’s in the lead again, with only two more obstacles before she reaches the end!
Carter and Dean gawk down at me, fifty feet ahead of them, then immediately follow my lead to roll down the rest. Ha. Suckers. It’s too late though; I’m not letting go of the lead this time.
The next segment of the race is the easiest one by far, but also the longest. Dangling from a metal framework are large, square tiles of wood spaced a foot or so apart, stepping stones that weave and curve around tree trunks. Unlike the last bridge, this one has no handles. I have to pray I don’t fall.
But of course, I don’t.
As someone who’s always loved running and never been religious, I thank both my cross-country coach and God as I sprint from tile to tile.It’s just a warm-up run,I think as the path turns tightly around a tree.Just a warm-up with long strides. I could do this in mysleep.
But so could Carter, probably, who I sense is coming up fast.
When I leap off the last tile and onto another wooden platform, I have to take a moment to catch my breath. It’s futile, because as soon as I look up and see what’s next, all the air escapes from my lungs.
There are two bridges in front of me. The one on the right is made of logs tightly woven together, and the one on the left is constructed of rope.
This is mychance.
I could secure victory right now, provided that Garrett was telling me the truth. Something in my gut trusts him, and my gut’s generally more reliable than my head. I know if I take the path on the left, I’ll win. It’s so tempting, itburns.I would show Blake and Appa how wrong they were for thinking I couldn’t beat the odds.I’d win the money and fix all of me and Umma’s problems. I’d prove I’m a winner.
But that’s not what I want to be remembered as.
Several seconds later, Carter jumps onto the platform, then Dean, and I hold my arm out to stop them both. “Wait,” I say.
I have to brace my core against the painful knowledge that if I had just gone ahead, there would be no chance in hell either of them would ever catch up, even if they did take the correct path.
Carter tries to wriggle around me. “Seriously, hold on, you asscheek,” I grunt. I don’t have long to convince him; he’s still moving as I speak. “Carter, Garrett lied to you. The path on the rightisn’tthe fastest one. He told me that the left one is.”
That gets Carter to freeze. Dean nearly snaps his neck from how fast he whips toward me. I squeeze my eyes shut and inhale through my nose. The crisp, pine air inflating my lungs slows the pounding of my heart and silences the chaos in my head.
When I exhale, it’s like releasing a rubber band that’s been stretched taut for far too long. The relief is instantaneous.
“Some things are more important than winning,” I say. “No more tricks. This is our chance to play fair for once. What happened to our parents doesn’t need to happen to us too.”
Neither of them move yet. My hands shake at my side from the terrible anticipation: I could have just made the worst mistake of my life.
But then I catch the look on Dean’s face and get to watch it transform from shock, to confusion, to glowing with devastating fondness. I think of Umma, and how she’d be proud of me. My fears ease. I’m sure I made the right choice.
Carter looks at me. The bridge on the left. The bridge on the right.
Then he throws his head back and laughs. “You must think I’m a fucking idiot. For the last time, get out of the way.”
He shoulder-checks me on his way to the bridge on the right, cackling as he sprints easily over the wood. My eye twitches as I watch him go.
“Can’t say you didn’t try,” Dean huffs, in a mixture of disbelief and amusement. He turns to me then, the smile on his face gentle and apologetic. “Lead the way.”
We run stealthily but carefully across the suspended rope, holding on to our cables the whole time. The bridge goes up, until we’re fighting through the foliage. Acid builds in my stomach as I pray Garrett was actually telling me the truth—that he actually wants to give us the fair chance he took from Umma and Dean’s dad.
“What are we going to do when we get to the end?” Dean asks as we hurry.
I wince—both at the stitch starting to form in my side from all this running and the inevitability of the finish line approaching. I haven’t thought through that part yet. Before I can answer, there it is: the end of the bridge.
It leads directly to a treehouse. But no, not any treehouse: the one from the Trailside Treasure Hunt.
Dean and I look at each other, then race to open the door, revealing the same three-sided interior as last time. Carter’s not here.Yet.Garrett was telling the truth.
