Partner Games
Page 8

Her eyes lit up. “You’re so smart, Clemmy!”
“Just practical,” I told her, and stifled a groan as I saw another team climb the stairs to the Temple of the Sun. “But we can’t tell anyone what we’re doing, and we need to hurry.”
As I saw the other team race over – freaking green cops – I raced over with my twin to the examples completed. I nudged Georgie as I did. “Look super confused and scratch your head a lot, okay?”
She winked at me, and then bit her lip as she put her hands on her hips, and gave a gusty sigh of frustration. “This puzzle sucks,” she declared loudly.
Attagirl. I started counting and set to work. By the time we got to the second set of blocks, I figured out which one was the extra. I carefully set it aside without being too obvious, since the cops were watching us. Then it was just figuring out the repeating pattern, which wasn’t too hard to do once you figured out which way the blocks turned. I had Georgie keep standing in front of our display so the cops would have a hard time seeing it, and I worked, hauling rocks and pushing stones into place.
We had to catch up to the black team. No way was I going to let those guys beat us. Not on the first day.
 
 
Chapter Five
 
 
“I wish she wasn’t that cute. I’m here to win a million dollars, not flirt with the girls. And yet here I am, shooting myself in the foot constantly.” — Swift, Team One Percent, The World Races
 
 
“Are we done? I think we’re done,” Georgie declared, studying our wall.
I hefted the lone brick we had left and studied it myself. It looked pretty damn good, and we’d powered through that challenge. If this was how all the race challenges were going to be? We could smoke this competition. “We’re done,” I told her. “Let’s go turn in.”
We raced back up the stairs to the Temple of the Sun. Behind us, three teams were working, and I knew that three teams were ahead. The rest of the group was somewhere else, probably still climbing the long trail to Machu Picchu.
As we turned in our brick, the costumed Incan gave us a new disk, and we raced back down the steps to read it in private. As we did, a cameraman broke off from the group and followed us, and I did my best to ignore him. We were going to be watched every day for the next few weeks, and I just had to get used to it.
“Read it,” Georgie whispered to me, and we hunched over the disk to read the next clue.
“Individual challenges: making beer or making clothes? Each of you pick one.” I looked at my twin. “What do you want to do?”
“Clothes are my thing.” Georgie took the disk from my hands. “I’ll do that and you go make beer.”
Fair enough. I gave my twin a one-armed hug. “Good luck!”
To my surprise, she stiffened against me, then relaxed. “You too!” She dashed off, then came back. “If one of the other contestants is there at the challenge, watch what they do. Learn from them. Don’t try and figure it out on your own.”
“Okay—“ I began, but she dashed off again, leaving me wondering.
Then there was no more time to wonder. A signpost at the bottom of the stairs had an arrow pointing in two different directions, so I headed for the one that read BEER.
I went up a flag-marked terrace, and came to a cordoned off area with a crowd of tourists watching and blankets set on the ground with large bowls next to them and trays. I frowned to myself as I counted heads. There was one of the Dr. Moms, the wife from Team Houston…and Swift.
Of course Swift was here. I wasn’t that lucky.
I went and grabbed one of the challenge cards at a marked spot and skimmed the instructions.
Chicha de muko is a native Incan beer made from maize. The corn is ground with a mortar and pestle, then chewed to bring out special enzymes. Create 100 maize balls in preparation for fermentation. When the judge determines your maize is created correctly, he will hand you a beer. You can drink your beer, then continue to the finish line.
Once both team members have completed their challenges, they will be checked in.
Chewed? Ugh. I looked at the blankets set out, like a picnic. Several stations had bowls of corn, a mortar and pestle, and trays. Both of the women from the teal team and yellow team were sitting together on one blanket, chewing. That station was full.
That left me with…Swift. Team black.
Dammit. I contemplated going to one of the other stations and striking out on my own, but if I lost, Georgie was going to have my ass for not listening to her and watching another team.
With a small sigh, I moved to the blanket Swift was currently seated on, cross legged, and thumped down with him.
He grinned at me, his cheeks full of corn. “Hey.”
“Can I sit here?”
He ground his pestle into the stone bowl in front of him and shrugged, chewing hard.
I sat, crossing my legs, and studied my implements. I had a bowl of purple corn, a few trays, and a mortar and pestle. No idea on what I was supposed to do. I glanced around, but everyone was watching me. “Where are the instructions?”
Swift grimaced and held up a finger, chewing. Then, he pulled a wad of half-chewed corn out of his mouth and made a face. “Sorry. Not my hottest moment.”
“No,” I said faintly.
He shrugged and wadded the chewed corn into a ball and set it on the tray.
“Is that how it works?”
He narrowed his eyes at me. “Maybe. Or maybe you want to wait for the demo. It’s at the top of the hour, every hour.”
I looked around. There was no clock to see what time it was. I could take a chance, or I could ask for help.
I focused on Swift, who was chewing another mouthful of corn. “Did you watch the demo?”
He smiled smugly at me, which I imagine was difficult to do with a mouthful of corn.
“Can you help me?”
He spit out another handful of corn, then said, “On one condition.”
“What?”
Swift shrugged. “You go out with me and your sister goes out with Plate. One date.”
I gaped at him. “When?”
“Today after the challenge.”
“We’re in a freaking race!”
“And you’re about to drink a beer made of spit and I’m about to put this half-chewed corn back in my mouth. It’s no one’s finest moment.” He wiggled his eyebrows again. “But that’s my condition.”
My face felt like it was on fire. “No.”
“Suit yourself,” he said, and tossed the handful of corn back into his mouth. I winced as he grimaced again and continued chewing. I looked back at the other two women at the picnic blanket on the other side of the challenge. They saw me glance over and hunched over their trays so I couldn’t see.
Damn it.
Just then, Swift spat out his last mouthful and began to mash it into another ball. Then, he dusted off his jacket and got up.
And I panicked. “Wait. You’re done?”
“Done with this part,” he told me. “Last chance to take me up on my offer.”
I hesitated. What if the demonstrator was coming in the next five minutes? Then I wouldn’t need Swift’s help.
Then again…it might not come for an hour. By that time, the other teams might catch up. “I’m not here to date anyone,” I told him as he shouldered past me. “I’m just here to spend time with my sister.”