by Bill Doyle
Someone in the crowd groaned sympathetically. “Ouch!”
Bug dangled over the side in the harness, his feet submerged in the River of Low Prices.
As fast as her body would move, Mrs. T. scrambled to kneel on the ledge. She pulled the harness and hauled Bug up like a fish. He wasn’t crying and hurt. He just looked angry that his stunt didn’t work after all. Mrs. T. hugged him and put him down on the other side of the ledge. Butler was there immediately, nuzzling Bug worriedly.
Mrs. T. stood so she could step off the ledge, too. That was when all the running caught up with her. She started to lose her balance. For one awful moment, she tottered on the edge of the River of Low Prices.
Cal reached for her. Mom—
And then she slipped.
Mrs. T. spun in the air and hit the water on her belly. Smack! She came up on her knees, soaking wet, just her shoulders and head above the water. She had lost her headband, and her hair was matted to her face.
There was a burst of laughter from the crowd, with a few hoots and cruel jeers, as the news cameras rushed over to capture the moment.
“How’s the water?” a high school kid asked.
Mrs. T. didn’t seem able to move. In fact, none of the Talaskas did.
Except Imo.
With a nod to Cal, she took a step forward, and Cal could almost hear the cameras zooming in on her. The attention would normally make her shy, but not now. Imo climbed on top of the ledge so everyone could see her. She raised her eyes and her head, and then in a loud, clear voice, she said, “In my opinion, you’re a winner, Mom.”
Imo jumped down into the waist-high water. She fished around for something near her feet. It was the headband, and she tossed it to her mom. Mrs. T. pushed her hair back and put the wet headband around her head.
Her eyes were shiny as she mouthed, Thank you, Imo.
“No problem,” Imo said, helping Mrs. T. out of the river. “And we only have eighteen seconds.”
Cal’s gaze went to the timer. It was true. Now just seventeen seconds. Make that sixteen. Fifteen.
In a flash, Cal thought of all the things he could say to convince his family they could do this. They could reach the finish line on time. All the bottled-up words from the past twenty minutes wanted to pour out at once.
Cal opened his mouth and this came out:
“Ahhhhhhh!”
It felt so good to yell after being silent for so long that Cal didn’t think he could stop.
And he wasn’t alone. Soon his whole family was shouting and barking. They raced toward the finish line, suddenly the world’s loudest family.
“AHHHHHHH!”
Just then, the Wylots came out of the main entrance. They had ditched the bandanas and the headsets. And they were taking their time, as if winning the contest were the easiest thing in the world.
“Hurry, Mr. Wylot!” Alison’s dad shouted. “They’re coming!”
The Wylots spotted the Talaskas. It was as if a giant, invisible hand goosed all the Wylots. They leapt in the air, and then they were off and running.
The Talaskas’ stuffed cart was shaking so hard, Cal thought it would collapse. Mrs. T. was managing to keep up, but her wheezing was getting much worse.
The two families reached the bridge at the same time. The carts slammed into each other like chariots in an action movie, and the wheels bumped and collided. The Wylots shoved and pushed, and the Talaskas struggled to keep their cart upright.
The crowd counted down the last seconds.
“Three!”
The families raced across the bridge.
“Two!”
They were just a few feet from the finish line.
“One!”
The crowd roared. The Talaskas and the Wylots—and their carts—had all crossed the finish line in time.
“It’s a tie!” an old woman shrieked.
Exhausted, the Talaskas fell on top of each other in front of King Wonder’s throne. Once again, they were a rolling ball of arms, legs, a tail, and giggling. Cal felt as hysterical as he’d been while making the video weeks ago.
“Don’t find the missing P, Cal!” Coach Eaton yelled.
Cal just laughed. When he looked up, he found the Wylots standing in a line watching them and laughing, too.
“Congratulations, Wylots! Looks like we’re all winners!” Mrs. T. said. The Talaskas climbed to their feet, and their hysteria died down to chuckles. But the Wylots kept laughing. Even the normally silent Emma was guffawing like crazy. It was creepy, and Mrs. T. asked uncertainly, “Pretty funny that we’re all winners, right?”
“Oh, that’s not why we’re so happy,” Mr. Wylot said. “We’re not laughing with you. We’re laughing at you.”
Leslie grinned at Cal, then pointed at Imo. “You broke the rules, Jessie,” Leslie announced with glee. “We weren’t allowed to talk during the contest. But you said, ‘In my opinion, you’re a winner, Mom.’ We’re the winners. Not bragging. Google it.”
The Wylots must have been listening in on their headsets just before they tossed them.
“What this little girl did was very, very sweet,” Mr. Wylot said, gesturing at Imo. “But a clear violation of the rules. Don’t you think, King?”
King Wonder hesitated. Mr. Wylot cleared his throat loudly twice until Mr. Vance met his gaze. Mr. Wylot made a signal with his hand. Mr. Vance ducked his head to whisper to King, who nodded as he listened.
“The Wylots are correct,” King said. “The Talaskas must be disqualified.”
No! Cal thought. Imo managed to stop being shy, and now this? Has her bravery cost us the contest?
King held out his hands as if there were nothing else he could do. “We are going to declare the winning family to be—” he started to say.
“Wait?” a voice shouted. It was Sarah!
Bug’s babysitter was rushing through the crowd toward them.
“You can’t let the Wylots win this time?” Sarah said to King when she reached the Talaskas.
Mrs. T. touched Sarah’s arm. “Thanks, sweetie,” Cal’s mom said, and then lowered her voice. “But remember, Mr. Wylot controls the money you need for school. He could take it away from you.”
“It’s not much of an education if it keeps me from doing what’s right?” Sarah responded.
“Here’s a little education for you,” Mr. Wylot said to the Talaskas. “Even with nothing in our cart or if we barely try, the Wylots will always beat you. We’ll always win.”
This was too much for Mr. T. “I…I…,” he said.
“Oh, this should be good,” Mr. Wylot said. He looked like a cat about to toy with a mouse. “Come on, Nelson. Use your words. Maybe a rhyme about being jobless and having a family you can’t feed?”
At the mention of family, Mr. T.’s face changed. His eyes narrowed and he stood up straighter. “This is wrong, Mr. Wylot,” he said, “and you know it.”
“Dad, that doesn’t rhyme,” Cal said.
“Because I’m not nervous,” Mr. T. said. “Because I’m right.”
Mr. Wylot shot a look at Mr. Vance, who whispered into King’s ear again. When he pulled back, King frowned and said, “We need to declare the winner. And, well, we—”
“Please, can I say something?” Cal asked.
King nodded absently, and Cal stepped forward. This was going to take all his skill. At the front of the crowd, Ms. Graves nodded at him. “Go for it, Cal,” she told him quietly. “Talk him over to your side!”
But Cal had figured out something while running around the store. He didn’t always need to talk. Sometimes it was just all about listening.
He took a breath and said to King, “Excuse me, sir, but didn’t you say there was no talking inside the store?”
“My goodness, the boy is right!” James called, copying the mayor’s voice. Then, in Leslie’s voice, he said, “Why, I think he might be onto something!”
Leslie clapped a hand over her mouth as if words were escaping her lips.
Ms. Donegan nodded. “Cal’s right. King did say that.” A few people murmured, as if they remembered the same thing.
“When my sister spoke, she was outside the store,” Cal said.
Mr. Wylot snapped his fingers angrily at Mr. Vance, who leaned toward King Wonder’s ear again. This time, though, King held up a hand to block him.
“You know,” King said, “we like it when people listen to us.” He gave Mr. Vance a look. “And when they aren’t always telling us what to do.”
King’s eyes went from Mr. Vance to the Wylots’ empty cart and their angry faces and, finally, to Cal. He seemed to like what he saw, and he nodded.
Turning to the cameras, King said, “The Tal…Tal…this family is correct. The ban against talking was only inside the store. We declare a tie! Both families are winners!”
The crowd cheered, mostly fueled by Sarah and the Talaskas’ friends. Alison joined in the clapping. Her dad instantly pulled her away, toward their car. She gave Cal a last smile over her shoulder.
Leslie’s braids were shaking with anger. “How can we both be winners?” she asked her dad. “Does that mean the Talaskas are our equals?”
“Bite your tongue!” Mr. Wylot snapped.
“Not to worry, my friends,” King Wonder told the Wylots. “Both families are winners. They can keep whatever is inside their carts.”
“But there’s nothing in our cart!” Leslie said. “All we have are these ribbons!”
“Oh, we see,” King Wonder said, as if trying to keep a straight face. “Too bad. We guess we were wrong about the winners part.” He rose from the throne and walked to the Talaskas’ overflowing cart. “This cart tells a different story, though, doesn’t it?”
Now that King Wonder was standing closer, Cal saw how red his cheeks were and how excited he was about the contest. “Let’s see what we have here,” he said, like a little kid about to unwrap a present. “What did you grab for yourself, Mrs. Tal…Tallulah…?”
Cal’s mom smiled. “It’s Talaska. But Mrs. T. is fine.”
He smiled back. “Well, what did you get for yourself, Mrs. T.?”
“Oh, we all know,” Mr. Wylot said. “She got herself home gym equipment. The rest of them grabbed a keyboard, a laboratory, a video game system, and…that one?” He pointed at Bug. “I don’t know, candy or something. Their cart might as well be filled with nothing, too.”
Cal couldn’t believe it. Mr. Wylot remembered everything Cal had said the Talaskas wanted on the day of the first elimination.
“I’d like to show you what we got, Mr. Wonder,” Mrs. T. said. She took out the small box she had grabbed. “I don’t know why this was in the Fitness Circle, but I do know where it will find a good home. It’s for you, honey.”
Mrs. T. gave the box to a surprised Imo.
“But what about something for your home gym?” Imo asked. “Or something for your trivia?”
“I’ll get the trivia organized later,” Mrs. T. said. “Right now, I want to work on the big stuff.”
Imo opened the box and removed a smaller one, shiny silver and about half the size of a toaster. She put it down and flicked a switch on the side. BLAM! A parachute fired out of the box, creating a kind of ceiling over the family. Light shot up from the box and reflected off the parachute, filling the surface over their heads with stars, planets, moons, and zipping comets.
The crowd oohed and aahed.
“It’s a mobile planetarium, which normally only museums can afford,” Mrs. T. said. “Now you can start planning trips for the spacecraft you’re going to invent.”
Imo tugged her earlobe as her eyes wandered across the stars above, and then she smiled at Mrs. T. “Thanks, Mom,” she said. “I got something for you, too.”
It took both hands, but she pulled a large plastic bundle out of the box she had picked up at the Sporting Goods Circle. She put it at Mrs. T.’s feet and said, “It’s a giant inflatable pool. Not quite a home gym, but it’s a start.”
“I love it,” Mrs. T. said. “Thanks, honey.”
King Wonder, giddy, was clapping. “And, Cal, what about you?” he asked. “What did you get? My Wonder World Video Game System?”
Cal nodded. “For a second,” he said. “But then I decided on this.” He reached into the cart and pulled out the box he had grabbed in the Fun and Games Circle. He gave it to his dad.
“I knew you wouldn’t get something for yourself, Dad,” Cal said. “You can finally put that talent for music and words to good use.”
It was a sound-effects keyboard. Instead of notes, the keys produced BLURP, SPLOOSH, SPLAT, and PFFFFT.
Mr. T. laughed. He handed Cal a box from the Music Circle. Inside were a mallet and a gong that was as tall as Bug. “It can replace the small bell at home,” Mr. T. explained. “Use it to call family meetings whenever you have another big idea.”
“Oh, that’s…awesome,” Cal said. “Thanks, Dad.” Actually, he wasn’t sure what to make of the gift.
“What?” Mr. T. asked. “You don’t like it?”
“No, I’m sorry,” Cal said. “Sure I do.”
Mr. T. said, “You know, all those years as an accountant rubbed off on me. That mallet is pure gold and probably the most expensive thing in the store!”
Cal liked the sound of that and gave the gong a whack with his hand. ZWONG!
“If you decide to sell the mallet,” Mr. T. said, “it won’t solve all our problems. But it will pay the bills for a couple of months—and give us some time to figure out our next step as a family. Maybe even help Sarah with school if she needs it.”
“Amazing,” Cal said. “But what about Bug?”
“Rabbo,” Bug said to Butler. And then he added, “Don’t worry about me, Cal.”
KA-BLAM! The words were like a lightning bolt. Cal was stunned. His little brother had just said real words!
Cal could tell that his dad was trying to keep calm, as if he didn’t want to scare Bug into only barking again. Mr. T. gave Bug a high five.
“This is what I really wanted!” Bug said, pointing at his family around him. “But I got other stuff, too.”
Bug started pulling things out of the cart. Most of them had probably been buried under the other boxes, unless Cal had been too distracted to notice.
There was a napkin dispenser from the café, a doorstopper from the entrance of the store, a robotic beaver from the River of Low Prices, a Friendly Farmer, a plastic B from a sign inside the Wish Shoppe, and a huge dog bone for Butler.
“Rabbo!” Butler barked, and ran circles around Bug.
Cal had to admit that it was a pretty good haul. And Bug wasn’t done yet. He held out a foot-long screw.
Crash! Something fell inside the store.
King Wonder cringed, then laughed. “Are the winners ready for their picture?”
“Will it appear all over the country?” Imo asked.
King nodded. “Yes, young lady, it will.”
“Good,” Imo said. “I want everyone to see what a perfect family we have.”
Cal couldn’t have said it better himself.
Mrs. T. reached over to hug Imo. The cord of her inflatable pool got tangled around her ankle. In an explosion of air, the pool inflated.
At that instant, a photographer snapped the family’s picture for the Wish Shoppe ad campaign.
Cal could imagine what the photo would show: Mr. T. standing behind the sound-effects keyboard, Bug holding up the B, Cal banging the gong—with the whole family in the inflatable pool under the planetarium’s stars, next to the grinning King Wonder. In the background, Cal dreamed, people could see the Rivales stacked in a crazy human pyramid as the Wylots slinked off to their limo.
The cameras zoomed in on the Talaskas. Imo was too excited to be nervous as she answered reporters’ questions. “Well, first,” she said straight into a camera, “I want to say hi to Grandma Gigi. In my opinion, she should be here with us.”
Cal felt the weight of the mallet in his hand. He couldn’t wai
t to try it out on the new family-bell gong thing.
He hadn’t told his family about the other contests he’d been checking out. He had his eye on one at an amusement park. But from the loopy grins on their faces, Cal didn’t think he would need to scheme too much to convince them to enter.
After all, they were now the Prizewinners of Piedmont Place.
