Rising Star (Cross Ups Book 3) Page 2

  “Who’s her running mate?” Hugh asks.

  “Her what?” I ask.

  “You have to run as a team of two: a president and a vice president,” Hugh explains. “Haven’t you been listening to the announcements?”

  Why would I listen to the announcements? It’s all about teams and clubs. Nothing that matters to me.

  It’s a good thing Hailey didn’t agree to come over, and not just because of how awkward my friends are. I still can’t get Dragon Fire Super to work, and it’s totally messing up my game. I mean, I beat Hugh and Devesh, but they’re just messing around, playing each character, one by one, to try them out.

  “I like the new Blaze,” Hugh says about the phoenix-cross. “He’s more muscly.”

  “Muscles are useless if you can’t get him to do any moves. I like the new Saki,” Devesh says, playing the yeti-cross. “He’s faster.”

  He only thinks that because he’s doing better against me than usual. I’m so tired. Plus I’m freaking out so much I’m starting to miss my other Supers too.

  Cali notices. “What’s going on?” she asks after she wins the third game in a row. “You’re playing like crap today.”

  I yawn. “I didn’t sleep much.” But that’s not it. It’s like my connection to Kaigo is gone. He used to feel like a part of me. Now, he’s a stranger.

  “What time are your parents coming home?” Devesh asks.

  Even though I’m tired, my spidey-senses tingle. Devesh is up to something. I look at Hugh and he puts the bag of Doritos down. He senses it too.

  “Look at me, Dev,” I say.

  He turns his head my way.

  “No, seriously. Look at me.”

  He turns his whole body to face me and puts his chin on his fist, wrinkling his monobrow. “What up, bro?”

  “This is important. When my mom gets home, do notbsay anything about Comic Con.”

  “What? Why? Your mom likes me. I totally convinced her to let us go to Montreal, didn’t I?”

  Hugh laughs. “Um, no.”

  “I had to do a lot of damage control after you opened your big mouth,” I say.

  “Did we go to Montreal or not?” Devesh says.

  I roll my eyes.

  “If we wait for you to do something, we’ll be waiting forever.”

  “Please,” I say.

  He puts his hands up like he’s under arrest. “Fine, I promise not to say anything to your mom about Comic Con.”

  Thank god. Truth is, I’m not even going to ask her. I’ll just tell everyone she said no. That way I have an excuse not to go and I won’t end up looking like a loser. I mean, I’m supposed to be a “rising star,” but I can’t even do Kaigo’s best Super. I can’t let people see that.

  The front door opens, but it’s not Mom. It’s my dad and my brother, Josh. They’re both wearing sweats, which means they’re coming from a practice for one of Josh’s teams. What sport does he play on Thursdays? My brother’s the MVP on all his teams, and my dad coaches some of them. Ty and Flash would fit better in this family than I do.

  “That the new game?” Josh asks, plunking down on the couch next to me.

  “Get out of here. You stink!” I push him, but it’s like trying to move Kaigo—he doesn’t budge. A lot of people don’t realize we’re brothers, because we look so different. Then they say I look like Mom, and he looks like Dad. I don’t like being compared to a little Chinese woman.

  “Let’s play. You beat me, I take a shower.”

  Josh is the one who taught me how to play Cross Ups, and how to hide my gaming from Mom. She actually used to be even more strict than she is now. We weren’t allowed to play any violent games or watch violent movies. She thinks animated Disney movies are violent. So, all the blood flying around in Cross Ups makes her cringe.

  I don’t want Josh beating me. The way I’m playing, he probably can. “The advance copy is just for me and Cali.”

  “Whatever. You let Devesh and Hugh play.”

  The guys suddenly act real interested in the last chips in the bag.

  “Aw, let your brother try,” Dad says. “He needs to lose at something. Scored three goals today. One off a header. Talk about getting a big head.”

  Right. Thursday is soccer.

  “Fine. Play Cali.” I shove my controller on his lap and head to the kitchen for a new bag of chips.

  “So, Mr. Stiles, you coach a lot of Josh’s teams, right?” Devesh says.

  “Sure do. This guy keeps me busy. And keeps me in shape.” I bet Dad’s patting his stomach.

  “You go to a lot of tournaments out of town?” Devesh asks.

  “For sure,” Dad says. “This summer we went to three. Ottawa, Niagara. Even Chicago.”

  “It’s a good thing Jaden’s not into sports. You wouldn’t have time to take him to tournaments too,” Devesh says.

  “Oh, I’d make time,” Dad says. “That’s what parents do.”

  My spidey-senses are doing more than tingling now. They’re trembling on high alert. I fly back into the living room just as Devesh goes all-in.

  “So, you could take Jaden to New York for Comic Con?”

  Chapter 5

  Dad turns and looks at me. “You want to go to Comic Con?”

  “It’s just that Kyle invited me and Cali to demo Cross Ups Five there,” I say, opening the bag of salt and vinegar, all casual. I’m annoyed Devesh asked him, but it’s not like he’s going to take me.

  Dad smiles like he just found out I got drafted by the New York Yankees. “That’s incredible. When?”

  “Next weekend,” I say. “Don’t worry, I know you’re too busy.”

  Devesh gives me a what-the-hell look over my dad’s shoulder, and then calls out, “It’s a long weekend.”

  “Is it? Josh, do we have anything?”

  Josh shrugs.

  Dad pulls out his phone. Is he actually considering this? “Titans don’t have a tournament.” That’s the soccer team. “Lightning practice on Saturday is optional.” That’s Josh’s hockey team. “Tryouts for basketball start the Wednesday after . . . You know what? I’m in. Let’s do this!”

  I choke on the chips. The vinegar burns in my nose. Hugh claps me on the back until I’m done my coughing fit. Then he gives me a huge bro hug.

  My mind races. This isn’t how it was supposed to go. I throw out a desperate, “What will Mom say?”

  Devesh looks ready to punch me in the face.

  “Mom?” Dad shrugs. “I’ll talk to her.”

  Dad calls Kyle to get the details, and then calls Cali’s mom to make sure she can go. Cali beams when he nods to her.

  Then, Dad gets really into planning the road trip. “Good thing ArcadeStix reserved the hotel already. I wanted to get a second room, but everything’s booked up.” It’s like he’s been waiting for so long for me to be good at some sport, and he knows this is as close as I’ll ever get.

  “You are so lucky,” Hugh says.

  I don’t respond.

  “What’s the matter?” Devesh says. “You in shock? Is your mind blown?”

  Oh, my mind is blown, all right. I should be so hyped. My dad just agreed to take me and my best friend to Comic Con, where Yuudai Sato is going to be. But instead, I’m freaking out.

  Why does Devesh always have to jump in and take over? He ruined my plan. Again.

  Now I have no excuse not to go. My secret will be out. Everyone will find out I suck at V. And Dad’s just going to end up disappointed.

  Devesh is all smiles. “See? Leave it to me and your dreams come true.”

  Of course, my dreams aren’t enough for Devesh. He looks over my dad’s shoulder while he checks out the venue online. “You know, Mr. Stiles, I have an aunt who lives in Weehawken,” he says in his talking-to-adults voice. He turns his phone to my dad, showing him
a map. “Technically it’s in New Jersey, but it’s only a short ferry ride to Manhattan—Google says eighteen minutes to Javits Center, where Comic Con is.”

  Devesh’s parents each have a ton of brothers and sisters, and they take a lot of road trips to visit his aunts and uncles in random places in Canada and the United States. When we went to Montreal this summer, Hugh and Devesh stayed with one of Devesh’s uncles.

  Devesh goes on. “We’d love to come along and support Jaden and Cali. If you’d be kind enough to let me and Hugh drive down with you guys, we could stay with my aunt. We wouldn’t be any trouble.”

  He elbows Hugh, who looks like he just got called in to kick a field goal after sitting the whole season on the bench. “Oh, yeah. That would be so awesome, Mr. Stiles. We’d be eternally grateful.”

  “Sure, why not. We’ll make this a real boys’ trip.”

  Cali clears her throat.

  “Sorry, Cali. You know what I mean.” He winks at her. “You’re like one of my boys. Hey, Josh should come too.”

  Seriously? It’s not enough that I’m totally going to disappoint my dad and fail in front of my idol. Now my all-star brother’s going to be there to rub it in my face.

  Obviously, I have to stay up all night practicing again. I don’t totally suck. My Dragon Breath Super is solid, and burning everything up in a giant, fiery wind feels good. Plus, I can do a lot of damage flailing my massive tail around, since my Dragon Tail Super hits every time. But I still haven’t pulled off a single Dragon Fire Super.

  I’m still winning, but that’s in training mode. I’ll have no chance playing against good players at Comic Con without it.

  Is my controller broken? I put in Cross Ups IV and try Dragon Fire. Kaigo spins into smoky destruction. No problem. Switch back to Cross Ups V and nothing.

  This is a mega problem. They want me, the “rising star,” to demo Cross Ups V, live, in front of thousands of people, and I can’t do Kaigo’s best Super? Plus, even more people will watch me fail online. Me. The guy who totally freaks out when he has to do a presentation in front of the class. My head is spinning like I’m being juggled by Ylva.

  Why can’t I get this? It’s like the input has changed to some secret combination. My usual strategy—looking online for tips—won’t help because the game hasn’t even been released yet.

  My thumbs tap uncontrollably and my T-shirt is damp. I’m sweating like I’ve actually been doing all the moves myself. I’ve versed every single character in Cross Ups V, even the new ones.

  I wonder if Cali can do Kaigo’s Super in V. I’ve kind of been hogging the game, to be honest. Maybe I could ask her tomorrow. I don’t want to admit I can’t do it, but I’m desperate. I wonder, could I do Ylva’s Supers?

  I try. It takes me a while, but I manage. The Moon Howl Super doesn’t hit every time, but Wolf Tail and Wolf Claw are easy. Not smooth like when Cali does them, but I can get them all to work.

  I scroll through the character list. There’s a reason I main Kaigo: I love everything about him—or at least I used to. He’s the best character, at least from Cross Ups IV. But there are some new ones in V.

  First up is Aatom, a basilisk-cross. I can get him to Super, but he’s basically a giant snake. I don’t like snake-crosses. Even though they’re strong, they’re slow. Kaigo has power and speed.

  Next, I try Turan, the girl from the cover with the ponytail coming out above her forehead. It turns into a horn when she Supers, which is lame. Cross Ups already has a unicorn-cross, Lerus. But at least all the Supers are easy to play. And Turan’s way stronger and faster than Lerus. I look at her player sheet and she’s actually some weird Chinese creature called a luduan. When it turns out she executes my bread-and-butter combo, the one I go to all the time, exactly like Kaigo, I’m sold. I train with her until I can’t keep my eyes open anymore. When I fall into bed it’s almost 5 a.m.

  A pillow to the head barely wakes me.

  “Get up, geek!”

  I force an eye open and register the sun coming through the window, and Josh, fully dressed. I try to open the other eye, but sleep pulls me back.

  I hear my sister calling down the stairs. “Jaden’s still in bed, Cali.”

  Crap. Cali and I walk to school together. We usually leave way before Josh and Melanie. The twins go to a high school that starts half an hour later than Layton. If they’re leaving, I’m super-late. I moan.

  “Wha!?!” That’s Mom’s voice. “Still in bed?”

  I’m up like Kaigo recovering from a hit. I don’t need my mom finding out why I’m so tired. “I’ll be ready in, like, two minutes,” I yell down the stairs.

  I throw on the jeans I wore yesterday, then dig through the clean laundry basket in the hall until I find a black T-shirt. I grab a piece of gum from the pack on Josh’s trophy shelf and scramble down the stairs, pulling the shirt over my head. No time to fix my hair, but it’s always standing up in crazy directions—no one will notice.

  “You need breakfast,” Mom says in Mandarin as I breeze through the kitchen, grabbing the last bagged lunch sitting on the counter.

  “Not hungry,” I say.

  “At least take a banana,” she calls.

  I grab my backpack off the hook, jump into my sneakers, and fly out the door, calling, “No time” over my shoulder.

  “Took you long enough.” Cali jumps off the swing that sits on her side of our shared porch and follows me down the steps. “Hey, wait up!”

  As we warp-speed it, I tell her about my night playing Turan.

  “Finally you try a girl character.”

  “C’mon. I’m not like that. I know girls can win. And Turan is amazing.”

  School’s in sight now and kids are still outside, so, miraculously, we haven’t missed the bell. Cali stops and gives me a once-over. “I guess that explains the T-shirt.”

  “What?” I look down at my black shirt and see the sun reflecting off something. Are those silver sparkles? “What the? No!”

  Cali giggles. “So, you didn’t mean to wear that?”

  “Argh! Must be Melanie’s. What’s it say?”

  “You don’t want to know.”

  “Yes, I do.” I scrunch my chin to my chest and try to read the glittering, fancy script from upside-down.

  Cali whispers, “Girls Rule.”

  Chapter 6

  Of course, today of all days, Hailey’s waiting by my locker. I’m wearing my backpack in front to cover the sparkly words.

  “There you are,” she says, her green-gray eyes twinkling. “I have a plan to beat Ty and Flash, and I need your help.”

  “Yeah, sure, anything,” I say. I probably sound like a total loser, but I really would do anything for her. Plus, I need her to go away so I can deal with my wardrobe malfunction.

  “Remember I told you yesterday how I’m going to run for president?”

  I nod.

  “Well, I need a running mate for vice president, and we nominated you.” She says this like it’s a good thing.

  “We?” I ask. That’s when I notice Devesh and Hugh standing behind Hailey.

  “I don’t think so,” I say. “I mean, I’ll totally help you. Put up posters and . . . hand out buttons or . . . whatever. But I’m really not a good candidate,” I stammer.

  “I disagree. In fact, you’re the perfect candidate. Since that article came out, everyone at school knows your name. And name recognition is a huge part of any campaign.” Did I mention Hailey’s on the debate team?

  She pulls out a piece of paper with a list of signatures running down it. “We got the twenty signatures we need on your nomination form this morning, no problem. People know you.”

  “Cali was in that article too. I nominate her.”

  Cali freezes like she’s in hit-stun. I feel bad, but I have to save myself.

  “You have to be
in grade eight to run,” Hailey says.

  Cali sticks out her tongue. She’s only a month younger than me, but since my birthday is in December and hers is in January, we’re in different grades. Lucky her.

  I shoot Kaigo’s flames at Hugh and Devesh. Their names are on that list. What are they thinking? They know I’m not a leader.

  I turn back to Hailey and stammer more. “You don’t know me . . . I can’t . . . there’s no way I can give a speech . . .” I’d rather take a real-life infinite attack than get up in front of the whole school and talk. The idea makes me want to hurl. I turn to Devesh and Hugh. “C’mon guys, help me out.”

  Devesh clearly does not understand what I mean by help. “I’ll write your speech for you. Just make lots of promises and then throw candy into the crowd.”

  “We need you, J,” Hugh says. “If you don’t try, Ty and Flash automatically rule Layton, and this year will totally suck. Hailey’s right, people know your name—they’ll vote for you.”

  Hailey pleads, “I’ll do all the talking today. The real speech isn’t for two weeks. Please say yes. I can’t run without a VP and the form is due to Madame Frechette before the assembly.”

  The bell rings.

  “When’s the assembly?”

  “Now.”

  Every instinct is telling me to say no. But how can I disappoint the girl of my dreams in her moment of need? It’s like Leia in that scene from Star Wars. Help me, Obi Wan Kenobi, you’re my only hope. Too bad she sees me as Obi Wan, when really I want to be her Han Solo.

  The next ten minutes are a blur. Hugh and Devesh disappear to their homerooms for attendance. I ransack my bag and my locker at hyper speed, trying to find my gym shirt. Must have left it at home in my rush. Mr. Efram refuses to let me bring my backpack to the gym for the assembly. Then, he won’t let me go to the washroom, where I was planning to hide out. It’s like he’s Professor X and he can read my mind.

  Madame Frechette, who’s in charge of student council and is also the school French teacher, opens the assembly, saying something about a last-minute nomination, and the next thing I know me, Hailey, Ty, and Flash are standing on the stage.