Playing Games
Page 13

Off in the distance, there was a roped off section. I watched as Summer got in line again, headed straight to the glass-case covered book, stared at it for a long while, her lips moving, and then raced back to her table to return to her page. So this was coloring and memorization. There had to be a smart way to do this. I stared down at the paper a moment longer. It reminded me of paint by numbers. All right then, I'd treat it like that. I raced to get in line to view the book, and when the contestant in front of me was done, I moved up to the podium.
And stared. The book was gorgeous. Illuminated by a soft light, the book was opened to a page of one of the Apostles, his head crowned by a golden glow. He held up a hand and cupped an object in it, and his robes were a heavy blue. I studied the colors for a moment, then decided to tackle it one color at a time. I'd start with gold. Crown, I told myself, then looked for other bits of gold. Sandals, sparkles in the sky, and the border. Repeating this to myself, I ran back to my page and dipped a paint brush, then blobbed the appropriate pieces.
Each object in the picture had been broken into several different sections - no doubt to try and throw us off, so I dabbed a bit of the appropriate paint color in each section, then set my brush down and returned to the painting. I'd do blue next, and then work my way through all the colors, so I'd know I was right. It'd take some time in advance, but it'd pay off when I only had to do it once. Even now, I watched another person - Myrna - call over the judge, only to be told 'no' right away. This challenge was about accuracy.
So I returned to the book and looked for blue. Then red. Then green. Then black. Then the smaller, less numerous colors. I took my time, carefully dotting each color on my page. Sometimes I had to return once or twice to the book, unsure of the block I was looking at, so I just skipped that and checked it the next time I went. By the time I had most of my picture blocked out, the three teams that had started at the challenge were still there, and the last two had arrived.
I wasn't flustered, though. I had this. I leaned over my table and began to carefully paint in the boxes I had marked, taking my time with each one. I had careful, steady hands, thanks to my practice icing and decorating delicate cupcakes and wedding cakes. I was fast, and I was steady, and I was totally rocking this challenge. When my back began to cramp up from leaning, I got up and headed to the book again, filling in the last few blanks.
At last, my picture was done. I carefully lifted it from the frame, holding it so it wouldn’t smear, and shot a triumphant look at Liam. He stood with the other teammates, looking cool and casual, but as I glanced over at him, I saw him give me a subtle thumbs-up.
I brought it to the judging stand and laid it flat to be judged. The judge pulled out his magnifying glass and began to pore over my finished painting. He took so long to study it that I was sure he was going to find fault, and my stomach dropped. Had I missed something? Had I dripped into the wrong box? I watched him, holding my breath.
He straightened, looked at me, and then nodded. "Good job." And he held out my disk.
I bounced with excitement and hugged him. "Thank you! Thank you!" I grabbed the disk and dashed to Liam, and on impulse, hugged him too.
Liam seemed surprised by that, but after a moment, he hugged me back. The other teams clapped politely, but I could tell they were nervous that we had already finished.
"Let's go outside and read this," Liam told me, whispering in my ear.
We grabbed our bags and headed outside, and I flipped over the clue. "Make your way to the Shelbourne Dublin. Bring all disks with you so you may cross the finish line." I looked up at Liam. "The Shelbourne Dublin? It sounds like a hotel."
"I know where that is," Liam told me. "I've stayed there before."
"You have?"
He nodded, slinging my backpack over his shoulder. "On tour. Come on."
We made it to the Shelbourne Dublin a short time later, though we had to stop and ask for directions twice. I nearly chewed my nails off in anxiety as Liam navigated the streets of Ireland, but he didn’t get lost once and listened intently to my directions.
In the front of the large building, I could see The World Races flag and the cameramen milling about. No teams waited outside - I didn't blame them. Why hang out on the street when you can take a break in the nice comfy hotel? And I was suddenly exhausted. We parked the car, and then Liam and I were racing for the finish line. The tape had been broken already, which meant we weren't first, but we didn't care.
We bounded past the finish and waited for Chip to announce our place.
"Black team," Chip said in a grave voice. "You are team….number five."
I gave a happy squeal of excitement, even though I'd known we were at least five, considering we'd left five teams back at the last challenge. And to my surprise, Liam reached down and grabbed me into a hug, lifting me into the air.
And I laughed. Today? We were safe.
 
 
CHAPTER FIVE
 
 
"I have to say…I'm not exactly unhappy to have Katy as a partner. She's a tough one, despite the pigtails. I think the others underestimate just how strong she is because she looks so small and cute. And she kisses like a fiend." — Liam Brogan, Paris Leg of The World Races
 
 
Everyone lingered in the lobby of the hotel. It wasn't that we particularly wanted to hang around. All the racers were exhausted from the constant flight-hopping and then heading straight to the challenges, not to mention the constant nerves when you thought you were in last place. I was wiped, Liam was wiped, everyone was wiped. And yet, we were all still in the lobby.
No one had the money for a hotel room.
Rooms were just a bit over two hundred a night, and we'd been given twenty dollars for the Greenland leg, and a hundred for the Ireland leg. Considering that we liked eating, we had to save some money for food and drink. Even two teams pooling their money together couldn't afford one room, as the price we’d been quoted was over two hundred and twenty a night. No one was quite willing - yet - to fork over most of their money to split one double room between six people. No one wanted to be that third couple that didn't get to sleep on a bed.
So we hung out in the lobby, our two bucket chairs scooted close together, and watched the others come in for the race. Brodie and Tesla had come in fourth, one spot ahead of us. They now sat in the bar of the hotel, eating dinner and flirting. It was like my brother hadn't even noticed I was there.
I glanced over at Liam to see if he was feeling the sting of Tesla's lack of attention, but he didn't seem to be bothered.
In fact, he was leaning in to my chair. He whispered, "Kissy and Rusty came in ninth, so they’re out."
I couldn't say I was surprised to hear that, since the Rednecks hadn’t proven themselves to be particularly good with the challenges. I was, however, surprised by the shiver that rocked through me at his breath against my ear. I squirmed in my chair and counted heads of the other contestants, loitering in the lobby. "Who does that leave?"
"Just Myrna and Fred, I think." Liam glanced around the room and nodded. "Yep. Just them."
"The two easiest teams," I mused. "It's going to get a lot harder after this. Who do you think will go next?"