My Worst Frenemy

by Marcus Emerson

My gut twisted because I knew my friends still didn’t trust Naomi.

  ‘It’s cool,’ I whispered. ‘She can have it.’

  ‘Young man, another interruption from you, and I’ll have to dole out a consequence,’ the man at the microphone said.

  I leaned towards Zoe. ‘Can he do that?’

  ‘Chase, this guy can do whatever he wants, so stop talking!’

  A low chuckle came from the speakers.

  ‘It’s alright, Zoe,’ the man said. ‘Apparently your friend hasn’t a clue who I am, so allow me to introduce myself … well, reintroduce myself since you were absent when I did it the first time.’

  Kids in the library made an ‘Ohhhhhhhh’ sound.

  ‘My name,’ the man with the moustache said, pausing for effect, ‘is Dr Ashley Tenderfoot.’

  ‘Oh, man,’ I whispered. The man was wearing a top hat and a tuxedo jacket, along with a pair of blue jeans and sneakers. And over his right eye was a monocle.

  I never understood monocles. It was like someone said, ‘I need glasses, but only for half the number of eyes I have.’

  ‘I own and operate Tenderfoot Industries,’ Dr Tenderfoot said. ‘Many of you are probably familiar with the work we’ve done, from hoverbikes to spaceship prototypes. And we’re leading the way in state-of-the-art robotics research. We’ve broken a lot of new ground already, but we’ve barely scraped the surface!’

  Zoe nudged me with her elbow. ‘See? This dude’s awesome.’

  Tenderfoot walked across the staircase platform. ‘Your president, Zoe Cooper, and Principal Davis invited me to come and speak to you today, which is something I never do. However,’ Tenderfoot paused, ‘there was something different about this invitation. I couldn’t put my finger on it, but something told me I had to come and see this school for myself.’

  Tenderfoot paused again, tapping his finger on the railing of the staircase. He was looking right at me.

  He blinked, turning his attention to the other students in the library. ‘Zoe and Principal Davis really wanted to ‘wow’ you, and show you that there’s a whole world of undiscovered territory in the technological world.’

  Taking a step up the staircase, Tenderfoot wrapped the microphone cord around his wrist.

  ‘Some of the best tech that will exist a hundred years from now hasn’t even been thought of yet,’ he said. ‘Think of the craziest science fiction movie you’ve ever seen … Now imagine you live in that world. Massive spaceships, so large that you can see their silhouettes against the clear blue sky. A weekend trip to see the rings of Saturn. An actual journey to the centre of the Earth!’

  ‘That would be sweet,’ Brayden whispered from across the table.

  Tenderfoot’s moustache lifted to one side. I think he was smiling. ‘Just between us, we’ve got our best minds working on a little gadget that will allow squids to communicate with humans.’

  ‘No way,’ Slug said, not even trying to keep his voice down.

  Tenderfoot chuckled. ‘Yes way!’ he said. ‘Did you know squids are the most intelligent invertebrates on the planet?’ Tenderfoot closed his eyes, nodded, and held out a hand. ‘It’s controversial, of course, but that doesn’t stop our scientists from trying to have a conversation with them … .or even challenging them to a video game or two. I can’t say too much about it, but I will say squids are quite the talkers.’

  Brayden leaned into the table again. ‘Squid people! Can you imagine? What if they got so smart they could go to school? Oh, man, what if we had classes with squids?’

  ‘Cray craaaaay,’ I sang.

  Zoe lightly slapped the table. ‘They’d get better grades than either of you! Now pay attention!’

  Tenderfoot was still talking. ‘… which is the real reason I’m here this week. President Zoe, Principal Davis and I have come up with a little competition for a handful of lucky students. Three teams will be chosen to build a fully functioning robot that—’

  Someone from the back of the library shouted, interrupting Dr Tenderfoot. ‘Build a robot? Are you kidding me? Half the kids here don’t even know how to make a paper aeroplane!’

  Everyone turned to see who had the guts to be so rude. It was Jake, and he was standing with a bunch of his friends, the wolf pack.

  Dr Tenderfoot paused, smoothing his moustache with his fingers. His patience was being tested. ‘If you had let me finish, you’d know that the robot doesn’t have to do anything fancy, and Tenderfoot Industries will supply all the necessary parts. The robot just needs to be able to complete one function, even something as simple as moving from point A to point B. The goal is to create, to bring life to something that didn’t have life before.’

  ‘Okay,’ Jake said, annoyed. ‘But that still sounds too complicated for anyone in this room. I mean, c’mon, these kids aren’t the freshest eggs in the shop.’

  Faith frowned. ‘Freshest eggs in the shop?’

  Dr Tenderfoot sighed. ‘It won’t be quite as difficult as you’re making it sound, but luckily for you, the odds of you being on a team are pretty slim.’

  Jake slunk back into the crowd, embarrassed.

  ‘To keep everything simple,’ Dr Tenderfoot continued, ‘there will only be three teams. The winning team will receive a prize greater than they can even imagine.’

  The students in the library murmured with excitement. There’s no way I was going to enter, but I still felt queasy at the idea of getting roped into the competition.

  ‘I think it’d be totes sweet to compete,’ Zoe whispered. ‘But not just anyone can enter. Dr Tenderfoot is going to pick the team leaders out of a hat.’

  And just like that, the queasy feeling was gone.

  ‘Nice,’ I said. ‘I didn’t put my name in the hat, so I definitely won’t get picked, which is good because I seriously need to recharge my batteries. Just once, I’d like to not be in the middle of all the drama.’

  Zoe flashed me a devious smile. ‘Everyone’s name is in the hat. We’re all entered whether we like it or not.’

  I groaned, letting my head fall to the table with a thud. I rolled my head back and forth, until something caught my eye from the skinny window on the door.

  As Tenderfoot kept talking, I saw it again – a flash of red and green from the window.

  ‘Holiday ninjas,’ I whispered.

  ‘Holiday what?’ Zoe asked.

  ‘Um, nothing,’ I said. ‘Can you watch my stuff for a second?’

  ‘Watch your stuff?’ Zoe said quietly. ‘What do I do if someone tries to take it? Fight them? Hey, where are you going?’

  I didn’t bother replying, already weaving back through the crowd. There were red and green ninjas up to something in the halls, and I had to check it out.

  Principal Davis was leaning against the wall next to the library doors. He didn’t say anything when he saw me – just cocked an eyebrow.

  ‘Uh, I gotta use the bathroom,’ I whispered.

  The principal sighed as he quietly pushed open the door. I pulled the door closed behind me and it clicked shut.

  When I pulled my ninja mask over my face, I heard a boy’s voice echo down the halls.

  ‘Seriously?’ the boy said. ‘I made you!’

  It was Wyatt … and it sounded like he was in trouble.

  ‘Let’s get dangerous,’ I whispered.

  I followed Wyatt’s voice out of the lobby. I was nervous because Wyatt wasn’t even trying to keep quiet. It was almost like he wanted people to hear him.

  About halfway down the hallway, I saw Wyatt pinned against a water fountain that was between two bathrooms.

  Two green ninjas stood in front of him doing their best ninja poses.

  ‘I want your names!’ Wyatt demanded. ‘When this is over, you’re so out of my ninja clan!’

  ‘We’re not even in your clan,’ one of the ninjas said.

  ‘Just give us your mask,’ the other ninja said, ‘and we’ll let you go. Easy-peasy.’

  ‘There’s no way I’m just gonna give yo
u my mask,’ Wyatt growled.

  My last run in with the red and green ninjas happened because they were trying to swipe my ninja mask. I only got away from them because I threw my mask down while they were chasing me.

  Wyatt had told me that the kid who got my mask would be the leader of the green ninjas.

  ‘Why do you need my mask anyways?’ Wyatt said. ‘Word is that both the red and green ninja clans have their leaders. Whoever took my red ninjas from me made themselves leader without my mask. And that noob, Chase, just let you have his mask!’

  ‘Aw, thanks, Wyatt,’ I whispered to myself. ‘It’s not like I’m out here trying to help you.’

  The ninja sighed. ‘Look, dude, you’re washed up. You have no power over the red ninjas anymore, and our new orders are to take your mask anyway. We don’t want you pretendin’ to be a ninja.’

  ‘Pretending?’ Wyatt said defensively. ‘Without me, the red ninjas wouldn’t even exist!’

  ‘You wanna argue? Take it up with their new leader,’ the green ninja said. ‘I’m sure he’d love to hear from you.’

  ‘I would if I knew who he was,’ Wyatt said.

  ‘Their new leader?’ the ninja asked. ‘It’s—’

  The other green ninja slapped his friend’s shoulder. ‘Don’t speak his name! That’s the number one rule! And also number two. Like, the first ten rules are that we never say his name!’

  The two green ninjas took a step forwards. From where I was standing, I could see that Wyatt’s hands were shaking.

  Wyatt had been a pain in my neck since the first day of school, and now I had to decide whether I should help him or not!

  If this were a video game, I would’ve done both. I’d save the game right before helping him and see how it panned out. If it went bad, I’d just load my save and not help him.

  But this wasn’t a game, and those ninjas weren’t leaving Wyatt alone.

  I clenched my jaw because I knew what I had to do. I never really had a choice anyway. I decided a long time ago to try to do the right thing every time.

  Stepping into the middle of the hallway, I took a deep breath and shouted, ‘Hey, you guuuuuuuys!’

  The two green ninjas turned to look at me.

  ‘Leave him alone!’ I said, trying to hide the fear in my voice.

  Wyatt glared at me. ‘I can handle this!’

  I laughed. ‘Of course, you’re not pinned up against the water fountain or anything, right?’

  The two ninjas paused and then relaxed. And I soon found out why. Hands grabbed my arms. I tried to free myself, but there were too many hands on me. Suddenly I was on my back, the ceiling lights close enough to touch. I thought I was hallucinating, until I realised …

  They had picked me up.

  Wiggling around, I saw that Wyatt was also in the air.

  ‘Give it back!’ Wyatt growled.

  One of the ninjas was jumping up and down, victoriously waving Wyatt’s red ninja mask in the air like a flag. I had managed to pull my own mask off before anyone got hold of it.

  ‘Let go of us!’ I said, but obviously the ninjas didn’t listen.

  Instead, they ran through the halls carrying me and Wyatt over them. The fluorescent lights zoomed by as the ninjas turned down different hallways.

  The ninjas came to a stop right outside the front lobby. I heard the sound of a door click, and then I realised what was about to happen.

  The ninjas dumped Wyatt and me through the library doors, where kids were still listening to Dr Tenderfoot’s presentation.

  Our landing was so rough that both of us shouted in pain. Everyone in the library froze, staring at the two of us.

  I was on my stomach. Next to me was Wyatt, his legs digging into my back.

  Zoe was glaring at me. The rest of my friends looked shocked.

  Principal Davis was hovering above Wyatt and me with the angriest look I’d ever seen on his face.

  Principal Davis helped me to my feet. ‘This is the second time today that you’ve caused a scene, Chase. And if Dr Tenderfoot hadn’t just announced your name, I’d send you to my office.’

  ‘Announced my name?’ I asked.

  Principal Davis put his hand on Wyatt’s shoulder. ‘But Dr Tenderfoot didn’t say your name, so head straight to the front office and wait for me.’

  Wyatt didn’t argue. He also didn’t make eye contact. I thought maybe there were tears in his eyes, but he left the library before I could see.

  Principal Davis put his hand on my shoulder and guided me through the crowd as they made a path for me.

  ‘What’s going on?’ I asked. Principal Davis walked me to the staircase in the middle of the library. Tenderfoot was holding his top hat in his hands. It was upside-down and filled with slips of paper.

  Standing next to Tenderfoot were two other kids. One of them I knew well – Wyatt’s cousin, Carlyle. The other I only kinda knew – Dante.

  Carlyle had an ugly habit of talking like a pirate all the time. I know, right? Super annoying.

  ‘Ah, the quacking child,’ Dr Tenderfoot said as he studied me. ‘You must be Chase Cooper.’

  I smiled tightly because I didn’t know what to say.

  ‘Congratulations, Chase Cooper,’ Tenderfoot said, waving a small slip of paper. ‘You are the team leader of group C, or better yet, Team Cooper.’

  I sighed, feeling my stomach drop. ‘Greaaaaaat.’

  Since Dr Tenderfoot was a special guest speaker, first period was cancelled. Stations were spread throughout the library, and there were different robots at each station – flying drones, tiny microbots smaller than the tip of a pencil, and an android-looking thing that freaked me out every time I looked at it.

  I was still standing next to the staircase when my friends walked up.

  ‘I can’t believe you,’ Zoe said. ‘You knew how important this was to me, and you were in the hallway goofing off!’

  ‘I wasn’t!’ I said. ‘I was out there because I saw—’

  ‘I don’t care if you saw Big Foot out there,’ Zoe said. ‘You were playing around! You think the only person you affect with your little ninjas hijinks is yourself? It’s not! Everyone who laughs at you is also laughing at me, Chase. You’re such an embarrassment sometimes!’

  Slug raised his eyebrows. ‘Ouch.’

  Zoe shut her eyes and shook her head. ‘I’m sorry,’ she sighed. ‘It wasn’t easy to convince Dr Tenderfoot to come, and I wanted things to be perfect.’

  The whole morning was important to my cousin, and I messed it up. Twice.

  ‘No,’ I said. ‘I’m sorry. You’re right. I should’ve stayed at the desk with you guys …’

  ‘What’s the deal with you and Wyatt anyway?’ Naomi asked. ‘What happened?’

  I thought about telling everyone about the red and green ninjas, but I didn’t. I barely had any info about them so it wasn’t the best time.

  ‘It’s nothing,’ I said. ‘I was just goofing off.’

  Zoe folded her arms and looked away. ‘You’re lucky I’m the best cousin ever, or you’d be in the hot seat. Plus, I have to forgive you since you’re about to ask me to be on your team.’

  Scratching the back of my neck, I avoided eye contact. ‘Um, I was actually going to find Dr Tenderfoot and ask if I can pass.’

  ‘You’re what?’ Zoe asked, wide eyed.

  ‘I’ve got too much going on,’ I said honestly.

  Brayden coughed uncomfortably. ‘Uh, hey, guys,’ he said to the group, ‘we should take a look at some of the robots.’

  I hoped Zoe would just drop it after everyone left, but she didn’t.

  ‘Chase,’ she said, ‘this is a huge opportunity. For both of us! Tenderfoot is going to be remembered for centuries because of his inventions! The fact that you’ve got a chance to sit down and talk to him one on one isn’t something that comes along every day!’

  ‘I dunno,’ I said, looking for Dr Tenderfoot.

  ‘Seriously, dude,’ Zoe said. ‘Like, in a hundred ye
ars, this place will probably be filled with the stuff he’s created! People look back and say, ‘Okay, this is when Dr Tenderfoot changed the world’.’

  I couldn’t see Dr Tenderfoot. His upside-down top hat was still sitting on the other end of the staircase. The slips of paper with the names of students were stuffed inside it, and the three slips he had pulled out were folded neatly and resting next to the hat.

  I leaned back, stretching my arm across the steps to grab the folded slips of paper.

  ‘I’m just so drained,’ I said to Zoe. ‘I’m like a tube of toothpaste that’s totally empty but keeps getting squished to get every last drop out.’

  ‘I still think you’d kick yourself later if you didn’t at least try to work with Dr Tenderfoot,’ Zoe said.

  I kept quiet but nodded as I played with the slips of paper.

  Zoe sat on the step next to me. ‘I know you’re dealing with a lot right now,’ she said. ‘And I know that your ninja stuff is all out of whack.’

  I looked at Zoe. ‘You do?’

  Zoe knew about my ninja clan, but I tried to keep most of the drama a secret from her. I didn’t want her stressing out over those things.

  ‘C’mon,’ she said. ‘I’m not an idiot. And Faith and Gidget keep me in the loop.’

  ‘Awesome,’ I said sarcastically.

  Zoe reached back and pulled Dr Tenderfoot’s hat closer. ‘He’s kind of a weird dude, isn’t he?’

  ‘Geniuses can seem odd.’

  ‘Totes. Not in a bad way, but in a way that makes sense. Like, they think differently than everyone else, so they’re naturally kinda … weird.’

  ‘I guess.’

  ‘You’re impulsive and act without a plan,’ Zoe said. ‘You do what you want and you don’t care what anyone else thinks about you.’

  ‘Um, thanks?’ I said.

  ‘I think between the two of us, you’re the most like Dr Tenderfoot,’ Zoe said. ‘You’re creative, weird, and totes cray, but you think differently than everyone else. I think you have it in you to win this robotics competition, but I really think you have it in you to become a great man like Dr Tenderfoot.’