by Sylv Chiang
“Your pool has two players from our rival team. That’s them over there.” He points to a table of guys in neon-blue shirts with a picture of a power drink inside a big circle on the front. Now I get why the blue hair was a bad choice.
“They’re going to do a lot of trash-talking,” Sage says. “Don’t let it get to you.”
“Okay,” I say.
“The good thing is you won’t understand most of it.” Sage laughs. “They’re Frenchies.”
Kyle continues. “Jaden, you have an easy match first. SaltyPeppa.”
Sage dismisses this news with a pfff and a wave of his hand. “No problem. Just try to focus on the screen, not her legs.”
“Rude,” Chung-Key says.
“C’mon, why does she wear skirts that short if she doesn’t want us to look?” Sage says.
“All right, that’s enough. Let’s keep this PG,” Kyle says. “Sage and Chris, your pools each have an O in them too.”
“What does that mean?” I ask.
“The power drink that sponsors the blue team is called O. Like eau, the French word for water,” Kyle explains.
“Or oooh! like people scream when they watch us ooooown them,” Sage adds.
I notice Melanie and Cali settling into a booth nearby. I wonder what pool she’s in.
Chung-Key leans over. “You need to make top two. Don’t make us look stupid for having a kid on our team.”
There’s that word again. Kid.
Kyle must see the panic in my eyes. “Don’t worry about Jaden representing,” he says. “He’s solid. Since he started using our controller, he’s been on the rise.”
Crap! My thumbs drum the table. “Um, about that . . .”
Just then, a blue-shirt guy with long, wavy hair comes over and starts talking to us. “So, who is your new guy—JStar?” Sage wasn’t kidding; the guy’s French accent is so thick, the word who sounds like ooh. But worse, he pronounces the letter J in French and it almost sounds like the word she. That makes me She-Star.
Sage cracks up. “She-Star,” he says with major exaggeration. “That’s what I’m calling you now!”
“You mean JStar?” Kyle asks.
“You are She-Star?” the French guy asks Kyle.
“No, she is She-Star.” Sage points to me. He’s shaking with high-pitched screechy laughter. If anyone’s a girl, it’s him.
“Ah, you are She-Star?” The long-haired guy doesn’t get the joke, or he doesn’t care. He could pass for a girl himself with those long curls. My thumbs are tapping and I’m starting to sweat.
The French guy calls to his friends at the other table and holds his hand to his waist. “Eh, le p’tit gars c’est She-Star.”
I need to stop him from saying that stupid name again. “Who are you?” I ask.
“Me, I’m ORevoir,” he says as he flicks his hair over his shoulder. “I am the winner of this tournament.”
Chapter 14
“He’s fronting,” Sage says when ORevoir walks away. “Last tournament he drowned in the pools.”
My food arrives and I look over at Cali. The guys have joined them now. Roy is sitting next to Melanie while Devesh and Hugh are squished into the other side of the booth with Cali. I’m sure it’s no accident that Devesh is in the middle.
“Kyle,” I say hesitantly. “There’s something I need to tell you.”
“Eat first,” he says. “You need your energy. Game on in twenty minutes.” He calls the waiter over and pays the bill on the spot. Then he and the other guys stand.
“Eat up. Then put on your shirt. We’ll see you inside.” I’m too nervous to eat much, so after a few bites I throw on the T-shirt and head over to my friends’ table. Cali’s got a competitor’s pass around her neck now too.
Roy is reading her paper and laughing. “Who comes up with these names? PandaCandy? MrWinDoh? Actually, I like that one.”
Melanie rolls her eyes. “Lame.”
“Oh yeah? What would your tag be?” I ask. “Shopaholic?”
“Better than JStar.” She switches to a singsong voice. “I’m so cool, I’m a star.”
“That’s nothing,” Hugh says. “Devesh calls himself GodofGods. And he’s not even a good player.”
“Whatever, Catchup. Devesh means God of Gods, so it’s legit.”
Hugh points to his plate, which is a sea of red goop. “And I eat ketchup on everything, so mine’s legit too!”
“I think I’d go with something like Ouch,” says Roy.
“And that’s why you don’t play fighting games,” I say. “We’d better go. Ready?”
“I guess,” Cali says.
“She was born ready!” Devesh says.
Hugh and Devesh get up to let Cali out. “This is so cool! Both of you are competing!” His smile practically stretches off his face. Then it droops. “Wait. How are we going to watch you both?”
“I’m at station sixteen,” I say.
“Twelve,” Cali says.
“That’s not too far apart,” Devesh says. “We’ll figure something out.”
Hugh sits back down and picks up his fork. “I’ll catch up,” he says. “Get it?”
We all groan.
Cali follows me out of the restaurant with Devesh on her heels.
The banquet room where the tournament is being held is huge. Like T3, there are numbered stations along the walls, each one with two chairs facing a monitor. Some stations have crowds gathered, and when big moves happen, the spectators react loudly. In the middle of the room, chairs are set up in rows, half facing left and half facing right, so people can watch the two big screens at either end where matches are being streamed.
There’s this cool energy in the room that’s not just about all the gaming systems running in here. It’s powered by excitement and nerves. It’s like we’re at a rock festival and me and Kaigo are about to perform. I remember the rush of playing on the big screen at T3. It felt amazing to have all those people behind me, cheering me on. There’s nothing like the hype of tournament play!
We make our way through the crowd, following the station numbers from one up. We get to Cali’s station first. I open my backpack and pass her a controller. She must be nervous, because she’s not talking. I want to say something to encourage her. That’s what a boyfriend would do. But I can’t get a word past Devesh, who’s rambling about how great she’s going to do. Finally I just say “Good luck” and walk away.
Devesh doesn’t make a move to follow me. So that’s how it’s going to be.
When I get to station sixteen I take out Cali’s other gamepad and plug in. Then I sit tapping the buttons until SaltyPeppa shows up.
She’s wearing a tight red miniskirt that gets even shorter when she sits down. She looks like Cali, but about ten years older—except for the clothes. I can’t imagine Cali ever wearing a skirt like that. Cali’s clothes look a lot like mine.
SaltyPeppa has an amazing controller. It’s from ArcadeStix, too; it’s shiny and gold but smaller than the one I lost. I’m trying to figure out what model it is when I realize it probably looks like I’m staring at her legs. Kaigo’s fire shoots into my cheeks when she shakes my hand. I try to keep my eyes up. I don’t even care about her legs, but after what Sage said, I can’t stop thinking about not looking at them.
She selects Wendo, the kraken-cross. I’m glad to have the screen to focus on.
The FIGHT! sign flashes. I go on the attack by throwing my bread-and-butter combo: two crouching light punches followed by Dragon Claw. But it’s like I have Saki’s Yeti hands on the tiny controller, and I miss the button on the last move. Kaigo just jumps up and spins around.
SaltyPeppa may not be the best player, but she totally capitalizes on my miss. I don’t play against the kraken-cross a lot. Wendo’s hard to fend off because he grows eight tentacles when he performs hi
s Super moves. All those arms are beating me to a pulp right now.
K.O.
This cannot happen. If I lose to a girl in the first round I’ll be She-Star forever. I bet Yuudai Sato never lost a round to a girl. I’ve got to turn this around. Man, I miss my ArcadeStix controller. How could I have been so stupid to leave it on the train?
I press Start to begin round two.
“Jaden, what the hell, bro?” It’s Kyle’s voice from behind me, but I can’t turn to look at him. I have to keep my eyes on the screen.
“Where’s the controller we gave you?”
I hope I can get my story straight while I’m in the middle of a battle. “Tried to tell you. It’s gone.”
“Gone?”
“Someone took it. On the train.”
“You can’t play with that thing.”
He’s right. I’m getting killed. I crouch to block a jet of water. Too late—I’m blown to the edge of the screen.
Kyle mumbles something and leaves.
I want to hit Pause and see where he went, but the rules say pausing means you forfeit the round. So I continue getting beat up by SaltyPeppa. Arms are all around me. It’s like being beaten by a mob instead of just one character.
K.O.
I’ve lost two rounds in a row. That means the first game is hers. If I lose another game I’ll lose this match, along with my dignity.
Chapter 15
I look around. Where did Kyle go? What did he say? Did he kick me off the team? I’m seriously freaking when I see him running across the room with my ArcadeStix controller in his hands.
“Hold up,” he says when he gets back. “Jaden’s going to swap controllers.”
“How’d you get my controller back?” For a second I wonder if the old lady from the train is here.
“It’s one of the demos I brought along for people to try out.”
“That’s not allowed,” SaltyPeppa says. “‘Each competitor must provide their own controller.’” She’s quoting from the rules.
“This is his controller,” Kyle says. “He’s on our team.”
“You can’t change in the middle of a match.”
“Actually, you can if it’s between games,” I say with confidence. But I don’t want to be a jerk about it, so I press Start as soon as Kyle plugs in the ArcadeStix controller.
This is more like it. My hands don’t feel so huge anymore. I just hope it’s not too late.
I go straight to my bread-and-butter. This time Kaigo doesn’t even move. What is happening? I follow the cord with my eyes to check that Kyle plugged it in right. He did.
Wendo juggles me from one tentacle to another at supersonic speed.
Kyle calls out, “Flip the switch!”
What’s he talking about?
“I was using that controller for Mega Haunt. It’s not on the right mode. Flip the switch next to the power button.”
I follow his instructions, but it’s too late for this round. Wendo is body-slamming me hard and my health is almost gone.
When the FIGHT! sign flashes again, I’m back. No more misses. Now Wendo hits the ground, fast and hard. When my Super Meter is full, I combo into Dragon Breath Super and fry Wendo up. Calamari, anyone?
Kyle pats my back. “That’s more like it!”
I take four rounds in a row to win the match. Should have won them all, but I’ll take it.
I shake hands with SaltyPeppa, making sure to look her in the eyes.
Then I head back to station twelve where Devesh and Hugh are watching Cali. The guy she’s playing is older. He’s got a beard and a belly, and looks kind of like Mr. E. Guys like this, who’ve been playing forever, are called OG, like Original Generation. I hear they prefer Original Gangstas, which is kind of funny. These guys sure don’t look like thugs.
“How’s she doing?” I ask Hugh.
“Game three, round three.”
In other words, whoever wins this round takes the match.
On screen, Cali’s Saki is locked in battle with Lerus, the unicorn-cross. Their Health Meters are about equal.
Saki tosses Lerus through the air, spins to become a Yeti, and breathes snow all over his opponent. The OG’s Health Meter goes down, but it’s not enough.
Lerus spins into a unicorn and gallops at Saki with her horn down. Cali reacts fast and jumps Saki out of the way. But Lerus kicks her from behind. Now it’s Cali’s Health Meter that’s dropping.
Back in human form, Lerus and Saki box it out. It won’t take much at this point. Both have only tiny slivers of health left.
“C’mon, Cali, you can do this!” Devesh says.
And he’s right. A jab to the head and Lerus is K.O.
“Yeah!” The three of us scream in unison.
Cali gets up and shakes hands with her opponent. She’s blushing.
Hugh and Devesh give her high fives. “You were amazing!” Devesh says. I’m surprised he doesn’t try to hug her, like yesterday.
She smiles.
From what I could see she almost lost. But I don’t want to look like a jerk after everyone’s congratulated her. “Way to keep calm under pressure,” I say.
“Thanks,” she says, looking down.
It’s Hugh who finally notices what I’m carrying. “Dude, how’d you get your controller back?”
I tell them what happened. Well, most of it. I don’t mention that I was losing at first. Hey, it was their choice to watch Cali instead of me.
Sage walks by and spots me. “Hey, She-Star. Your pal ORevoir is playing Chris on stream. Come support the team.”
We follow him. Chung-Key and ORevoir are setting up on the stage. The organizers select people to play up there when they expect a good fight. These matches show up on the big screen for everyone at the tournament to see, but they’re also streamed live for anyone watching at home. I wonder if Ty and Flash will watch to see if we really went to Montreal. Or Hailey. I imagine her mesmerizing eyes watching the live-stream and my thumbs start to tap.
It’s still early, and the pool matches don’t usually draw huge crowds, but seats are filling up. There’s a hot tension in the room, like the energy from all these gaming consoles is vibrating toward the stage.
We can’t find five seats together close up, so me and Kyle sit in the third row and my friends sit in the three seats in front of us. I keep my backpack with the controller in it on my lap so there’s no chance I can forget it again.
“So, this is your posse,” Sage says.
“Oh, yeah. This is Cali, Hugh, and Devesh.”
“You guys playing or watching?”
“She’s playing.” Devesh points to Cali.
“Nice! How you doing so far?”
“I’m doing okay—”
“She’s killing it!” Devesh breaks in. “She’s goddesslike!”
“You teach her to play?” Sage asks me.
“Sort of.” I mean, we play together a lot.
“Nice,” Sage says. Cali rolls her eyes and turns back to face the stage.
“She even beat Jaden,” Devesh says. Again.
“Oh yeah?” Sage raises his eyebrows.
I glare at Devesh. “Once.”
“It’s cool when a girl can keep up with the guys,” Sage says. Then, quietly, he adds, “And it’s hot. She your girlfriend?”
I shrug.
“Yeah, she is. Look at you turning red.”
Why does everyone keep saying that? Maybe she is. I’m glad the match is starting so we can talk about something else.
Sage says, “We’d better hope Chris wins. He’s no fun when he loses.”
So that was Chung-Key being fun at breakfast?
I’m not surprised that ORevoir plays Goyle, the griffin-cross. A griffin has the head and claws of an eagle and the body of a lion. This ch
aracter is super aggressive and totally arrogant. I hate playing Goyle because he’s one of the only characters in the game that can fill his Super Meter by performing taunts.
Chung-Key plays Blaze, the phoenix-cross. He teleports behind ORevoir and kicks him in the back with a seven-hit combo. Then he spins through the air and spits fire from above. We yell for every Super like we’re at a rock concert, but it’s nothing compared to the noise of the home crowd cheering for ORevoir.
ORevoir uses every opportunity to play his taunt. Instead of attacking, he stands with open arms, basically saying, “Come on, hit me with your best shot.” The disrespect fuels the fires of rivalry and the home crowd goes crazy.
And he’s not just taunting in the game. After each round, ORevoir leans over and says stuff to Chung-Key. Chung-Key never responds; his shoulders just inch up closer to his ears. On screen, he whiffs a grab here, back dashes, there. He’s getting mad and making mistakes.
ORevoir jumps up and spins like a corkscrew into Chung-Key, then follows with a twelve-kick combo to the head. Chung-Key rallies with a ten-hit combo of uppercuts, but it’s not enough.
The taunts, the crowd, and Chung-Key’s own frustration are just too much. ORevoir takes the match.
“Uh-oh. He’s gonna be salty!” Sage says. “Stay away from him for a bit.”
I was planning to avoid him anyways.
Sage gives me a fist bump before we hustle to our next matches. As he leaves he winks at Cali. “I’ll keep my eye on you, pretty lady.”
Cali gives a sarcastic smile. Why’s she being so rude?
Chapter 16
I claim an easy win against a noob next, but it’s my third matchup that gives me the shakes. I’m playing a guy from the O team. I look around as I sit down. Still no sign of Hugh or Devesh. I could really use some support here.
The guy’s tag is OMG. That’s probably what people say when they see him. He’s tall and wide and scary looking. The funny thing is he chooses Ylva, a skinny girl wearing a cavewoman dress.
She looks easy to beat, but she’s the matchup I struggle with the most. She’s the dire wolf–cross —she’s fast and tricky. Thank god Kyle got me this controller. I’d have no chance without it.
