Little Dove | Daniel Hayward

37.

"She's a Raven now," Alex says, standing in front of the Eagles.

"Unbelievable," Tammy says. "Did you talk to her?"

Alex shakes his head, "my mom told me."

Daniel cringes, "I don't know what's worse. Brooke leaving or Brooke being a Raven."

"This is all my fault," Alex sighs.

Sophie frowns, "no, it's my fault."

"We all messed up," Parker explains. "We should have been more understanding."

I stay silent. Personally, I think we had a right to scold Brooke for her poor timing.

"At least I can permanently stay," Hayley says, trying to brighten the mood.

"I guess so," Daniel replies. Hayley frowns bitterly, "don't get too excited."

"I'm sorry," Daniel says. "I can't picture her in a Ravens uniform."

My Louie chimes. So does everyone else's Louies. "Suzanne's back," Sophie says happily.

We gather in one of the grass fields along with the Ravens. Suzanne smiles at us, "hey guys. Needless to say, I am very happy to be here and not staring at a cement wall eating Jell-O."

Everyone chuckles as she continues, "for those of you who don't know how to play Capture the Flag, each team has to hide their flag above ground. If you're captured on the other side, you have to sit on the penalty bench for five minutes before going back."

"Wait," Parker interrupts. "So this isn't just another win for the sake of winning challenge, is it?"

"Yes, but I think the joy of winning will be most evident when you're riding on this," Suzanne holds up a picture of a banana boat. "Here are your flags, you have five minutes to strategize."

Sophie grabs the Eagles flag and we all huddle together. "So the Ravens are dying to win because of their losing streak."

Parker shrugs, "well, we don't want to end their streak." Everyone laughs and nods in agreement.

"So what's our strategy?" I ask.

"Get on that banana boat in an hour," Daniel replies.

"Obviously, they can't outrun us," I say.

Sophie nods, "we'll start by picking off the slowest ones."

"Max and Emma are gonna be the ones guarding the flag because they can't run," Alex states.

Hayley shakes her head, "they're not gonna do that. They aren't that predictable. I think we should-"

Parker cuts her off, "trust us, Hayley. We got this."

"All right guys," Suzanne says. "That's enough strategizing. Let's begin!"

The Eagles stand on one side of the white line. The Ravens stand on the other side. Suzanne blows her whistle and the game begins.

The Ravens try to run past us but we're faster. We tag most of them and eventually, Brooke is the only one left.

She stands on the white line as the others run past her, searching for the Ravens' flag. Daniel and I search a nearby tree, trying to find the flag.

"You look hot," I hear Brooke say to Alex. "Want me to wipe your forehead for you?"

She holds up the Eagles' flag, smiling proudly. Suzanne blows her whistle, "the Ravens have won!"

"That's not fair," Parker insists. "We looked everywhere."

"No you didn't," Leo says, grabbing the flag from under the bench. "You had a whole five minutes to find it, too."