The Hijinks War

19. Purple Axle Kilimanjaro Wine

We needed to get back before they did. Both Robert and Mark cursed me for giving away the win, as they scrambled along the rooftop racing against the Hellhound squad.

"Shut it guys! Are you trying to get caught?" Rebecca hissed as she hit the ground before me.

"Listen!" I told them all sharply as I came to a stop, still hanging by a first floor window. Through our earpieces, we could still hear the conversation going on in the newspaper office.

"One more team down. Your turn to make the change, Leon."

"Severed Pachyderm Green Toast?"

"Done."

"Holy shit!" Robert exclaimed too loudly in my earpiece.

I hushed them all as the loud voice that emerged through the slightly opened window I hung beside caught my ear. Headmaster Corbis. Rebecca and I both strained to hear what was being said.

"Brats. Spoiled rich idiotic brats. I don't know why I have to be the one babysitting their sorry asses."

I shivered and looked at Rebecca, furrowing my eyebrows. What kind of headmaster was this?

"Yes, well. Fine! I'm tightening security and reinstating the dormitory guard so those asswipes stay where they're supposed to. I swear, I saw one of them running around the grounds after 1:00 a.m..." 

He didn't seem to like his job, or us, very much. In fact, his vehement loathing was all the more reason for us to get out of there before he found us. Rebecca and I moved quietly away from the window, picking up speed the further we got, we ran along the wall then behind the building toward the woods behind the gyms where we needed to check-in.

Putting the headmaster's words out of my head, I explained the game to Rebecca when we were far enough. "The Elite change the answer if they catch you. 

"I didn't know that. But what if you knew one of the codes?"

I grunted and broke free of the shadows of the school, making a desperate break for our rendezvous point. Mark and Robert zip-lined down from the roof, unlatched themselves and tore ahead of Rebecca and I.

They crashed through the trees before us, attempting to get level with the Hellhounds squad; Rebecca and I sprinted to catch up. At the last minute, I held her back, letting them break the line of trees in front of us. She gaped at me, furious. The whole squad had to be there to present the answer, and we wouldn't beat them now.

I shrugged as I limped into the tree line. "They ask if you're sure you've got the right answer. Say no, you can go back and try again, especially if there was enough time for someone else to get caught. If you say yes, you give them your answer. They think they have the right answer because we raced them all the way here. They're going to say yes."

"Wait!" Mark whispered excitedly, pulling out his earpiece. "Are you disqualified if you get it wrong?"

"Bingo!"

"Oh. So why do we care? If we got there first, they would be out anyways right?"

"Not so, Robert," I whispered, as we neared the check-in. "If we went first, they would be able to say they didn't have the right answer and go back."

"Okay, but—"

"If we're the last one's standing, we get more points." 

"You're devious!" Rebecca said with a grin as she and Robert both pulled out their now unnecessary earpieces. We stepped up to the check-in tent, where the Hellhounds squad was facing the Elite.