A Game of Chase

by Marcus Emerson

  He sighed deeply, shaking his head. ‘Where were you yesterday? When my project was being destroyed? You didn’t seem to want to find that one, did you?’

  I stood there shocked, stuttering over my words. Finally, I was able to say, ‘But we didn’t know what the whole chess thing meant yesterday! It was after we heard about your project that we put it all together!’

  ‘Whatever, dude,’ Brayden said angrily. ‘You didn’t even try! You probably knew exactly what was happening and let it get destroyed on purpose!’

  Was Brayden serious? It sounded like a joke, but his eyes looked like they were on fire. ‘Dude,’ I said. ‘I honestly didn’t have a clue yesterday…’

  My ex-best friend turned around. As he walked away, he said, ‘You don’t ever seem to have a clue about anything, do you?’

  Clenching my jaw, it took everything I had to keep myself from yelling out. I wasn’t angry, but I wanted to defend myself. In a gym full of kids though, yelling out defensively would just look like a scene from a soap opera.

  I heard the girls’ locker room door creak open as I watched Brayden walk away. Zoe’s voice whispered from behind. ‘Chase! I found it, and it’s still in one piece! If you’re good to go, I’m gonna take it down to Mrs Olsen and tell her that someone stole mine too, alright?’

  I paused, staring at Brayden as he shot baskets across the room all alone. ‘Sure,’ I replied.

  The door to the girls’ locker room thumped shut. I took a moment, observing the other students in the gym, trying to see if anyone was watching me. Was the kid who stole Zoe’s project in here right now? Did they see that we just rescued her stuff from destruction?

  I hoped so.

  Zoe returned her project to the science room without a problem. It seemed as if everything was okay. Neither of us had received a chess piece or a note since gym, so I think it was safe to assume we were good.

  After Mrs Olsen took attendance, she said the rest of class was basically free to work on our projects. Every day for the rest of the week was going to be like that.

  I was working on the written part of my project when Faith came over to me.

  ‘Zoe told me about her project,’ Faith said.

  I set my pencil down. ‘Yeah,’ I replied. ‘I hate to think what would’ve happened if we didn’t find it.’

  Leaning against the black counter, Faith said, ‘Probably the same thing that happened to Brayden’s.’ With her thumb, she dragged a line in front of her neck and stuck out her tongue, acting like she was dead.

  ‘Probably,’ I agreed.

  ‘Who do you think it was?’ Faith asked.

  Olive suddenly appeared out of nowhere and answered Faith’s question. ‘Someone slick enough to move around without being seen.’

  Faith glanced at me, annoyed.

  I looked at Olive. ‘Who do you think it was?’

  Olive leaned closer, skimming over the notes to my project. ‘They never found that ninja, right? It’s probably that kid.’

  ‘What?’ I asked, surprised. ‘You think a ninja’s behind all this?’

  ‘Any kid that wears a mask over his face is bad news,’ Olive laughed.

  I was forced to bite my tongue, but this time it was because I knew the truth. It wasn’t a ninja that stole Brayden and Zoe’s project … at least it wasn’t any of my ninjas.

  ‘I think it’s just the work of someone looking for attention. Someone being a jerk just to be a jerk,’ I said.

  Faith chuckled. ‘It’s probably someone who wants to win first place in the science fair, but they know the only way they can do it is to sabotage the hard work of others.’

  Olive glared at Faith. ‘It was that stupid ninja from the paper,’ she sneered. ‘Just watch. I bet when they catch that kid, the truth will come out. I just hope they catch him before he messes up someone else’s project.’

  My new lab partner stormed away, angered by the conversation we just had, which was messed up because she was the one that started it.

  ‘What’s her deal?’ Faith asked.

  I shrugged my shoulders and got back to my own project. ‘I dunno,’ I sighed. ‘Maybe she’s just stressed ’cause of the science fair.’

  Faith smiled softly at me. ‘You don’t have a mean bone in your body, do you?’

  ‘I wish that were true,’ I said. ‘I just know what it’s like when people talk about me behind my back, that’s all.’

  ‘How noble,’ Faith said sincerely as she walked back to her project. ‘Like a knight in ninja armour!’

  I thought of the chess piece left in my locker – the black knight. Why would Faith say that word? What if she was the one leaving the notes in my locker? No. I squeezed my eyes shut and shook my head. Now I was over thinking the situation. Faith wouldn’t do something like that … would she?

  The rest of the school day was cool. Zoe’s project remained untouched, so we must’ve won this round. Although there were still three days left until the science fair and nearly sixty other projects in danger. I wasn’t thrilled at the idea of having to do this all over again, but at least Zoe’s project was safe.

  When I got to school, I went straight to my locker. I hated the idea that whoever was leaving the notes was able to get in to anyone’s locker they wanted, and I thought that if I could get there early enough, I’d be able to catch them.

  But apparently I wasn’t early enough. I picked up the new note left in my locker and read it.

  You did well yesterday, but today won’t be so easy. —Jovial Noise

  I slammed my locker shut and rested my head against the cold metal. Jovial was really starting to get on my nerves. I wondered how many years of therapy I’d have to go through as an adult because of my one year at Buchanan School?

  Before I left my locker, I set my combination’s dial to zero. That way if someone opened it later on, I’d know because the dial wouldn’t be pointing at zero.

  ‘Hall pass!’ shouted someone.

  I turned, groaning at who it was. Wyatt was standing behind me with a bright orange sash draped across his shoulder. There was another larger boy with a red bracelet around his wrist, standing right next to him. Apparently hall monitors were recruiting red ninjas. Wonderful. I was beginning to hate this school.

  ‘I don’t need a hall pass ’cause school hasn’t started yet,’ I said coldly.

  Wyatt grinned stupidly. ‘Maybe I’ll make that a requirement soon. Y’know, as my first order of business as the hall monitor captain.’

  I wanted to walk away, but it was too early in the morning for me to make smart decisions. Resting against my locker, I decided to have a conversation with my worst enemy.

  ‘How’d you do it?’ I asked. ‘How’d you get Gavin kicked from the force?’

  Surprised that I was talking to him, Wyatt stumbled. ‘Umm,’ he hummed, ‘it wasn’t as hard as you’d think. I know people that know people and some of those people even like me. Maybe not much, but enough.’

  ‘I heard Sebastian had something to do with it,’ I said. ‘Must be nice to be friends with the president of Buchanan.’

  ‘Maybe,’ Wyatt sighed as he pulled a zip-lock bag from the small pocket of his book bag. Inside the bag were sugar cookies, but bigger than the normal kind and bathed in white frosting. For the next few seconds, the only sound was Wyatt opening the seal on his bag and taking huge bites out of the biscuits.

  ‘I’ve never seen a biscuit that huge,’ I said, trying my best to sound disgusted. I hoped it wasn’t obvious that my mouth was watering for one. They’re my kryptonite!

  With a full mouth, Wyatt muttered, ‘My mum makes them huge like this ’cause she knows how I like ’em. There’s enough dough in one of these bad boys to feed a family of six for a week.’

  No way, I thought. I’m from a family of four and there was no way a single biscuit would feed us for a week! Oh wait … he was being sarcastic.

  Crumbs fell from Wyatt’s mouth. Wyatt – who was now the hall monitor captain. Wyatt –
who was the leader of the red ninja clan that trained somewhere in the school. I stared into his cold eyes and took advantage of his attention by trying to see if he was the one leaving chess pieces around the school. ‘I know it’s you, Wyatt.’

  He stared at me, dumbfounded.

  And then I added, ‘I know it’s you, Jovial.’

  Wyatt’s jaw slowly dropped open. I guess his brain couldn’t handle too much thinking at once while keeping his facial expressions normal.

  Wyatt’s bodyguard leaned towards him and asked, ‘What’s he talkin’ about, boss?’

  Wyatt shook his head. ‘I have no idea,’ he said to the monitor, and then he spoke to me. ‘Have you finally snapped? Are you officially crazy? Because honestly that would be fantastic.’

  I grunted, frustrated that Wyatt wasn’t the science project kidnapper. I quickly changed the subject. ‘What’s your endgame?’

  ‘My what?’ he asked. His bodyguard took it as an insult and stepped forward, but Wyatt held his hand up, stopping the larger boy.

  ‘Your endgame,’ I repeated. ‘How do you see all this ending? You think you can get away with it all?’

  Wyatt guffawed like a horse. He glanced over his shoulder and saw some other students approaching so he turned and started walking away.

  ‘I’ve already got away with it, Chase. You think you can stop my plans, but the storm is coming. You can’t stop the weather.’

  I took a deep breath and held it for five seconds, letting the anger slip away from me. What the heck was that kid talking about?

  I cinched my bag tighter on my back and started walking among the other students as the hallway bustled with activity. The bell was going to go off at any second, and I had to get to homeroom.

  When I sat at my spot in homeroom, I saw that Brayden was up the front already. He was sunken in his chair with his hands folded on his desk. If I had made it to class any sooner, I would’ve tried talking to him, but as soon as I took my seat, the bell rang.

  Zoe immediately flipped around. ‘Any notes today?’ she asked, excited.

  I pulled out the yellow slip of paper and held it in front of me. ‘Yup.’

  ‘Have you seen Faith this morning?’ Zoe asked as she read the note. ‘She was looking for you.’

  My heart skipped a beat. It was nice to hear some good news. ‘Really? What’d she want?’

  My cousin made an ‘I dunno’ face, raising her eyebrows and pushing her lips to one side.

  ‘She seemed a little anxious.’ Zoe stopped and glanced at me. ‘You don’t think she got a chess piece, do you?’

  I remained silent, feeling my heart skip another beat. Funny how hearts react the same way when they’re happy as they do when they’re scared. ‘Man, I hope not. I really, really hope not.’ Mrs Robinson went on and on with the announcements at the front of the class, but my mind was a haze. Her voice sounded muffled in my head as the world seemed to swirl around me. Everything felt like a bad dream all of a sudden, a dream I couldn’t wake up from. The kind of dream where you’re getting chased by a polar bear dressed as a clown – those are the worst.

  I had to collect my thoughts, so I shut my eyes and concentrated, meditating the way ninjas do. When life gets messy, a good way to get it unmessy is to slow down. At least that’s what I’ve read when studying ninjas.

  Plus, calming myself was a good way for me to think. You should try it sometime – it’s relaxing. Just shut your eyes and think of clouds moving slowly against a blue sky. Careful though or you’ll fall asleep. Trust me, I know from first-hand experience.

  Jovial was still on the loose. He destroyed Brayden’s project – an accident I would’ve prevented if I had understood the game in the beginning. Zoe’s project was saved and apparently still safe. She didn’t get another chess piece in her locker, so I think the bad guy is going to leave her alone.

  Wyatt is the new captain of the hall monitors, but he doesn’t seem to have a clue about what’s going on with the chess pieces. He’s a bad egg, but I’ll have to hold off on dealing with that until after the science fair.

  I guess President Sebastian is on ‘Team Wyatt’, but I have no idea why. He defended Wyatt last month when Brayden was busted as a ninja, and then gave Wyatt the position of hall monitor captain, which also took it away from Gavin. There’s something else going on there, but that too will have to wait.

  As for today, I don’t know who has the pawn piece. Zoe said Faith wanted to talk, but I hope it’s not because she received the pawn.

  With my luck … she probably did.

  Seconds before the bell clanged, I was already out the door. Sitting in the back of class made it easy for me to slip out a little early. I sprinted through the empty hallway toward Faith’s homeroom until there were too many students for me to run anymore. Catching my feet on the carpet, I managed to slow myself down to a casual pace.

  I skipped checking her locker since the only period of the day so far was homeroom. Normally kids got their books and stuff for the first part of the day before school so there wasn’t much of a need to swap anything out until around lunch.

  Finally, I saw her at one of the drinking fountains outside the gymnasium doors. I had this thought that I was swooping in to rescue her at the last second until I remembered that I had no idea what was going on with the chess pieces either.

  Why was she looking for me earlier? Please don’t let it be because she got a pawn.

  I leaned against the wall while she slurped from the fountain. Trying to act as casual as possible, I said, ‘Sup?’

  Faith coughed water out of her mouth, and then smeared her sleeve across the front of her face. ‘You know I have a fear of people freaking me out while I drink from one of these things?’

  ‘Sorry,’ I said, embarrassed. ‘Zoe said that you were looking for me this morning.’

  Without saying another word, she grabbed my elbow and led me to one of the corners of the hallway where the corridor turned. She looked over her shoulder, making sure nobody was following us. With a sigh, she showed me the black pawn piece I’d hoped she wouldn’t have.

  My shoulders slumped. ‘No way,’ I whispered.

  Faith nodded. ‘It was in my locker this morning.’

  ‘He’s gone too far this time!’ I grunted, punching my fist into the open palm of my other hand.

  ‘Zoe told me you helped find her project yesterday,’ Faith said. ‘And that someone left a clue along with her pawn piece.’

  ‘He did for Brayden too,’ I added.

  She gave me a tight smile, but I could tell it was forced. ‘You’re not gonna like the clue I got.’

  I remained silent, watching her pull a photo from her pocket. She handed it to me without saying anything.

  It was a photo of a book bag, and it had been taken while someone was wearing it. The boy in the photo was a little blurry, but I knew who it was immediately.

  ‘It’s Carlyle,’ I said. ‘Why do you have a picture of Carlyle and his book bag?’

  For those of you just joining us, Carlyle is Wyatt’s cousin. He talks like a pirate 24/7, smells like the ocean, and tried to take over the school a few months ago. Zoe and I stopped him, but since he didn’t technically break any rules, he wasn’t punished. He’s a bit of a smooth talker with the ladies, but that’s because he keeps his dark side hidden well.

  Faith tapped the picture. ‘This is the clue I got. This photo was under the chess piece in my locker. What do you think it means?’

  I clenched my jaw, feeling my teeth grind against each other. I knew exactly what it meant, and now I knew what Jovial meant when he said today wouldn’t be so easy. I sighed, looking at Faith. ‘It means your project is inside Carlyle’s bag.’

  Faith looked flustered. ‘But my project wouldn’t fit in his bag,’ she said, suddenly breathing faster. She was getting panicked. ‘What if my project was already destroyed? What if it’s in pieces in that pirate’s backpack?’ She grabbed my shoulders and shook me. ‘Chase, you have to
get it back! You have to save it!’

  My brain bounced around in my skull. I squeezed her hands tightly. ‘I’ll find a way to get your project back, alright? I promise.’

  Leading her down the hallway, I tried to think of a plan before the bell rang. It was possible that Carlyle hadn’t opened his bag yet, so Faith’s project might still be in it. I had to get to it before he opened it or we’ll end up in an entirely new world of trouble.

  Faith squeezed my hand and pulled at me to stop walking. To my surprise, Carlyle walked right in front of me, even bumping into my shoulder with his own.

  ‘Watch it, mate,’ he sneered as he walked through the gym doors.

  Finally, I was catching a break! Carlyle having gym meant that his bag was going to be left in the locker room. It also meant that he probably hadn’t opened it yet!

  I let Faith’s hand go as I walked backwards toward through the gym doors. I put my finger up to my lips and nodded at her. She knew what I was going to attempt, and she nodded back, half-smiling.

  ‘Good luck,’ Faith whispered.

  ‘Luck has nothin’ to do with it,’ I replied. ‘Meet me at my locker after first period. Hopefully I’ll have your project back in one piece.’

  I waited exactly thirty seconds after Carlyle walked through the gym doors before I went into the locker room. Keeping my head down, I went straight for the back of the room to where the toilets and showers were. Nobody at Buchanan ever showered after gym, so I knew they’d be empty. And what’s even better is that the lights in the shower section were switched off.

  I was in the shadows … the perfect place for a ninja.

  The bell rang, sounding dull from inside the locker room. The guys in the class laughed and joked about pointless things. Their voices echoed off the shower room walls as I pulled my ninja hood over my head.

  ‘Hey, hold on, you guys,’ said one of the boys.

  The sound of footsteps pounded on the concrete floor, coming towards the showers. I froze as the boys drew nearer to me. Holding my breath, I forced myself against the wall next to the shower entrance.