Team Cooper was at Wyatt’s dinner table. Small pizzas lined the centre of the table. Each one had a couple slices missing. It looked like a pizza buffet.
And it smelled amazing.
Everyone was in the middle of a weird conversation.
‘Whatever, dude,’ Zoe said. ‘You can believe what you want, but it’s not possible.’
‘It’s totes possible!’ Slug said defensively. ‘Just ’cause you can’t see it in your brain doesn’t mean it wasn’t happening!’
‘You seriously believe that?’ Zoe said. ‘There’s no way literally everybody was kung fu fighting.’
‘Agree to disagree then,’ Slug said, folding his arms.
Zoe shook her head, laughing.
An oven timer chirped from across the room.
‘Gidget, this one’s yours,’ Wyatt said, pulling an oven mitt on. ‘Spinach artichoke comin’ right up.’
‘Hey, Chase,’ Zoe said. ‘I had Wyatt make a buffalo chicken pizza for you. It’s intensely spicy though.’
Buffalo chicken pizza was my new favourite thing. I always thought pizzas had to be just meat, cheese and pizza sauce until I tasted my first buffalo chicken pizza. It’s chopped up chicken spread out across a layer of buffalo wing sauce and then blanketed with mozzarella cheese. And it is awesome.
Zoe set a slice on a plate and put it in front of the empty seat next to her.
Brayden leaned over the kitchen counter top, inspecting all ingredients Wyatt had set out. ‘Man, you’re hardcore about cooking, huh?’
Wyatt smiled. ‘My dad’s a professional chef.’
‘That’s awesome,’ Brayden said.
I took a huge honkin’ bite of my buffalo chicken pizza. The crust was soft and kept warm by the piping hot buffalo wing sauce on top. The chicken was so tender that it almost melted in my mouth. And the cheese? I couldn’t tell what was different about the cheese …
‘You’re tasting the blue cheese, aren’t you?’ Wyatt said, setting down Gidget’s spinach artichoke special delivery on the table.
Pushing the food to the side of my mouth, I spoke. ‘This is what blue cheese tastes like?’
‘Yup!’ Wyatt said, dusting the flour off his hands. ‘Tastes like angel wings.’
‘Chew with your mouth shut,’ Zoe said, embarrassed for me.
‘Oh my god,’ Gidget sighed. ‘I think I’m gonna marry this spinach artichoke pizza!’
Olive was creating another pizza back by the ingredients bar. I was pretty used to her being around, but it was getting kind of weird that she didn’t talk much. Brayden still smelled like a lumberjack, which was probably why she stayed at a distance.
I inhaled the rest of my slice and grabbed another.
There was even a mac and cheese pizza that Faith was guarding with her life. She didn’t just take a slice of it either. She had the entire pizza in front of her, eating it with a fork. ‘This,’ she said seriously. ‘This one’s mine.’
Slug was awake, but it didn’t look like he would be for long. On his plate were eight crusts – just the crusts. They were the only leftovers from his pizza-eating rampage.
Naomi only had one slice one slice in front of her. It wasn’t anything special either – just a slice of regular pepperoni.
Zoe leaned closer to me and spoke quietly. ‘Wyatt’s really turned over a new leaf, huh?’
I just nodded because I was chewing.
‘What do you think?’ she asked. ‘Could this all be part of some larger scheme?’
I shrugged.
Zoe sighed. ‘I hope this new version of him is for real.’
‘It’d make life a lot easier, that’s for sure,’ I said after swallowing.
‘For everyone,’ Naomi added.
‘He told me he wanted to be in our ninja clan,’ Slug said.
‘Nope,’ I said. ‘Being on our team is one thing, but I have to draw the line somewhere. We used to be in a ninja clan together. Didn’t work out so well.’
Everyone devoured the rest of the pizza while joking and sharing crazy stories with each other. All in all, Wyatt’s party turned out way cooler than I thought it would.
Wyatt brought out a bunch of board games. He set them on the table and said that Zoe would get to choose which one we played since she was the class president.
It was as if Wyatt had finally won everyone over.
Once I cleared my plate, I took it to the sink to rinse it off.
Wyatt followed me over. He leaned back, folded his arms, and spoke under his breath. ‘So those pebbles … I figured it out.’
Olive had taken the spot on the other side of me.
I glanced over my shoulder to make sure everyone was still at a distance. They were, but I turned the tap on so nobody would hear us talk. ‘You know where the pebbles came from?’
Wyatt nodded. ‘I had a hunch when we first found them, but I didn’t wanna say nothin’ until I knew for sure.’
‘So?’ I asked. ‘Where?’
‘The school roof,’ Wyatt said.
‘Those kids train on the roof?’ I said, a little shocked.
‘I doubt they’re training,’ Wyatt said. ‘They’d make too much noise. They’re probably just having meetings up there.’
‘Actually,’ Olive said, ‘the roof is solid enough that you probably wouldn’t hear an elephant stomping around up there.’
‘Well,’ Wyatt said, ‘there’s really only one way to find out.’
‘Find out what?’ Naomi said, nudging me aside to put her plate into the sink.
‘Um,’ I said, hesitating. There wasn’t any point in keeping Naomi or my other ninjas in the dark anymore. ‘Wyatt thinks some new ninjas are meeting on the roof at Buchanan.’
‘I knew it!’ Naomi said with a scowl. ‘I knew you two were doing ninja things behind everyone’s back!’
‘It wasn’t behind everyone’s back,’ I said. ‘I wanted to wait until we had more before coming to you guys.’
‘You always say that,’ Naomi said.
‘So what’s the game plan?’ Wyatt asked me.
I answered Wyatt with another question. ‘What happens if we find them there? It’s not like we’re going to do anything. I’m not fighting anyone because, one, it’s stupid, and two, they outnumber us by a billion to two.’
‘We can’t do nothing,’ Wyatt said.
‘I know,’ I said, frustrated.
‘Let’s just check it out,’ Wyatt suggested. ‘If they’re there, we’ll try to talk to them. If they’re not, there’s nothing to worry about.’
‘Just talk to them?’ Naomi said. ‘About what? Life? Love? What we wanna be when we grow up?’
‘Naomi’s right,’ I said. ‘It’s not like we can tell them to quit bein’ ninjas.’
Wyatt clenched his teeth. ‘Those kids can go play ninjas all they want somewhere else! Someone took my ninja clan, and I’m gonna take it back.’
‘Babe,’ Olive said. ‘Calm down.’
Wyatt took a breath. ‘Look, those kids are up to something. You know it. We all know it! We just don’t know what it is. And to be frank, I don’t wanna know! I wanna stop it before it even happens!’
‘Okay, Frank,’ Naomi said, smiling.
Wyatt gave her a dirty look. ‘I’ve missed you, Naomi,’ he said sarcastically. ‘You’re a real breath of fresh air, but only if you’re into breathing fresh air.’
Naomi and I looked at each other. Neither one of us could tell if that was a burn or not.
‘Okay,’ I said, finally. ‘Let’s meet tomorrow morning. Early. We’ll check out the roof, but that’s all we’re gonna do. We’re not gonna talk to them. They won’t even know we’re there. The only reason we’re doing this is to see if that’s actually where they’re meeting.’
Wyatt nodded. ‘At least we’re moving in the right direction.’
‘I’ll let the other guys know,’ Naomi said.
‘Really?’ Wyatt snipped. ‘Why do they need to know?’
‘Because they’re part of my ni
nja clan,’ I said. ‘And they’re my friends. They’re with us whether you like it or not.’
Wyatt pursed his lips. ‘Fine,’ he whispered.
Brayden, Naomi, Gidget and Slug were filled in after Wyatt’s party. I told them everything that happened with the red and green ninjas, and how Wyatt was booted from his ninja clan. I told them all about stealing my mask and how there was a new leader for each of those clans, but we didn’t know who they were.
I even told them about the balloons in the Dungeon, and how they were fooled, thinking the black balloons were members of my ninja clan. Naomi laughed pretty hard at that.
‘There’s a bunch of those balloons on the cafeteria stage too,’ she said. ‘I wondered what they were doing there. I guess they ordered too many.’
Once my ninjas were up to speed, they were pumped to help. They were waiting when I stepped through the front doors. Wyatt was there too, but Olive wasn’t with him.
‘Sup, man?’ Brayden said first.
‘Stinkin’ cold outside!’ I said, rubbing my hands together.
‘Normal people wear winter clothes during winter,’ Gidget said, tapping on her phone. ‘Hashtag frostbite. Hashtag not so smart. Hashtag actually pretty dumb.’
‘I get it,’ I said. ‘I shoulda worn gloves.’
Wyatt was standing in front of the lift. The doors slid open immediately after he pushed the up arrow. ‘Can we do this now? We’re wasting time down here.’
All six of us got into the lift. We weren’t stuffed into it, but there definitely wasn’t room to do cartwheels. Well, even if there was only one kid, there wouldn’t be room to do cartwheels. Unless that kid was tiny. Like, super tiny. Like, fifteen-centimetres-tall tiny. How cool would that be? They could ride all kinds of remote controlled cars and helicopters and—Y’know what? Never mind.
Gidget bobbed her head back and forth to the beat of the lift music. Even Slug kind of bounced up and down, dancing. He had a small bag of chocolate drops in his hand that he shook like a tambourine.
Once the lift reached the second floor, the doors slid open. Wyatt was the first one out.
‘This thing doesn’t go straight to the roof?’ I asked.
‘No,’ Wyatt said, coldly. It was different from how he had acted all week. ‘But there’s a couple other ways to the roof.’
‘If it’s a ladder, then count me out,’ Gidget said. ‘I’m not really in a ladder-climbing mood today.’
‘Baby,’ Wyatt said.
Gidget glared at Wyatt. Then she held her hand out at him. ‘Whatever, dude. Talk to the hand.’
‘Hey, 1990 called,’ Wyatt said. ‘They want their insult back.’
‘Oh yeah?’ Gidget fumed. ‘Well, 2060 called. They said you died and nobody went to your funeral!’
Everyone gasped.
Gidget shook her head. ‘Nope, nope, nope. Too dark. I knew it was too dark the second it left my mouth.’
‘Anyways … there is a ladder, but there’s also a staircase,’ Wyatt said, pulling open a large metal door that led to the stairwell. Again, Wyatt was the first to go through. He was a dude on a mission.
‘Wait up, dude!’ I said, catching up to Wyatt on the stairs by skipping every other step. ‘We’re just seeing if they’re there! That’s it!’
Wyatt stopped on the step in front of the door to the roof. ‘Of course,’ he said. ‘I’ll be as quiet as a kitten.’
And then Wyatt kicked the door open.
‘A really loud kitten,’ he said as the door slammed open.
And right there, on the school roof, was a herd of holiday ninjas. Kids in red and green ninja robes clumped together in groups, talking. Not training. And I think some of them even had cups of coffee. Were we interrupting an evil ninja business meeting?
‘Gimme back my ninja clan!’ Wyatt shouted as he stepped through the door.
I should’ve let him deal with the ninjas by himself, but I just couldn’t. I grabbed his arm and pulled him back into the stairwell. The door swung shut on its own, leaving us in quiet darkness.
‘So much for staying hidden,’ Naomi said at the back of the group.
‘Does this mean we go back down, or …’ Slug said, trailing off. He threw a couple more pieces of chocolate into his mouth.
‘Are you crazy?’ I said to Wyatt.
‘It was my clan,’ Wyatt growled. ‘And I want it back!’
‘You know that you might not get it back, right?’ I said. ‘That was always a possibility!’
‘Uh, guys?’ Gidget said coolly. ‘We should prob’ly get goin’ now, huh? I mean, there is an army of ninjas right outside the door, and they know we’re here.’
‘Maybe they’ll go away,’ Brayden said.
‘Really?’ Gidget replied. ‘You think if we turn the lights off, they’ll think nobody’s home?’
‘Maybe!’ Brayden said, panicked.
The doorknob jiggled. I grabbed it and pulled as hard as I could, keeping the door shut.
‘Just let go!’ Wyatt said.
‘You got some sorta death wish?’ I said. ‘If I let go, this stairwell gets flooded with ninjas, and if that happens, we’re toast! Lightly buttered toast!’
‘Dudes, real quick,’ Slug said. ‘Are chocolate drops supposed to make your mouth burn?’
I’m not sure Slug’s mind was completely aware of the situation.
‘No,’ Gidget said to her brother. ‘They’re not.’
‘Man,’ Slug said, tilting his head. ‘I should prob’ly get to the nurse then.’
‘How are we so different?’ Gidget sighed.
‘Um, helloooo?’ I sang. ‘We’re kind of having a crisis up here!’
‘Oh, right,’ Slug said. ‘Holiday ninjas.’
‘Get back down the stairs,’ I said to my ninja clan. ‘I’ll hold the door as long as I can, but it ain’t gonna be long!’
Since Naomi was the last in line, she ran to the bottom of the stairs so the others could go down too. I knew she would’ve stayed if she could.
Gidget snapped a quick selfie with me in the background. I might’ve been two seconds away from death, but I still made a dorky face. After that, she and Slug hopped to the bottom of the stairs.
Brayden didn’t budge. ‘I’m not leaving,’ he said boldly.
‘I know,’ I said.
The door opened about a crack. Brayden grabbed my forearms and helped me pull it shut. The ninjas on the other side were shouting and pounding on the metal door.
‘So what now?’ Wyatt asked. ‘We’re just gonna sit here, pullin’ the door shut all day long?’
Wyatt was right. At some point, we were gonna have to let go.
‘Okay, okay, okay,’ I said quickly. ‘On the count of three, we make a break for it.’
‘Back down the stairs?’ Wyatt asked.
‘No, through the door,’ I said sarcastically. ‘Yes, down the stairs!’
‘You don’t need to be like that,’ Wyatt huffed.
‘This is all your fault!’ I said. ‘Kicking the door open was never part of the plan!’
‘Not your plan,’ Wyatt said.
‘We were supposed to work together on this!’
‘And we are!’ Wyatt said. ‘I’m sorry if I have a habit of working faster than you. That’s how I get things done, Chase!’
‘Children, please,’ Brayden said. ‘Can we act like grown-up kids and focus on what’s happening right now?’
The door inched open again. Brayden and I pulled it back shut.
‘There are so many ninjas out there that I can’t even see the roof!’ Brayden said.
And then Wyatt’s angry eyes disappeared. ‘Okay,’ he said. ‘Kicking the door might’ve been a mistake.’
‘Ya think?’ I said.
‘On three?’ he asked me.
I nodded and took a deep breath. ‘One …’
Brayden stared into space, waiting.
‘Two …’
Wyatt was also staring at nothing.
‘… three!
’
All three of us spun around to run down the stairs, but the second I let go of the doorknob, it swung open. All at once, the ninjas on the other side spilled into the stairwell, rolling over one another like a landslide of ninjas.
‘Watch out!’ Wyatt squealed in a super high-pitched voice as he disappeared into the mess of tumbling ninjas.
Brayden reached his hand out to me, but it was too late. We both were sucked into the mass of Holiday ninjas. The only thing we could do was ride the wave until we hit the bottom of the stairs.
I didn’t know where Naomi, Gidget and Slug were, but I was glad they managed to get away.
When the world stopped spinning, I found myself on top of a pile of red and green ninjas. They were groaning in pain. My body hurt too, but there wasn’t any time for me to rub my sore spots.
I grabbed Brayden’s arm and pulled him out.
Wyatt was at the door that led to the hallway, holding it open. ‘C’mon!’ he said. ‘Before they get up!’
Back at the door to the rooftop, someone shouted, ‘They’re getting away! After them!’
The ninjas on the ground heard the order, but they didn’t move. They were still nursing their bruised knees and elbows.
Brayden and I wasted no time and dashed through the door Wyatt was holding open.
There were a few kids in the hallway, staring in our direction. It was a good thing too – the ninjas wouldn’t come after us since there were witnesses.
Naomi, Gidget and Slug were nowhere to be seen.
‘Be cool,’ Wyatt said.
I tried to straighten up, but it hurt. I hunched over slightly, keeping a hand on my lower back. Pretty sure I looked like my grandpa.
Brayden was limping next to me. Wyatt put a hand on his shoulder to help him keep balanced, even though Wyatt was trying to walk through a limp of his own.
We all stared at each other for a moment.
And then, because of how redonkulous we looked, we started laughing.
‘You should be a singer for an ’80s hair band with a scream like that,’ I said to Wyatt.
Wyatt rolled his eyes and faked a laugh. ‘Bwah ha ha, very funny. My voice gets high when I get excited.’
The clock on the wall said we only had a few minutes until school started. We agreed to meet again during lunch.
My Worst Frenemy Page 8
