Battle of the Brightest Read online

  Contents

  Title Page

  Dedication

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Preview

  Copyright

  “This is a crime against fashion!” Lili Higashida shrieked, strapping on a thick black vest.

  “It’s not supposed to be fashionable,” countered her friend Erin Fischer.

  “Are you sure this doesn’t hurt?” asked Jasmine Johnson, nervously looking around the equipment room, where dozens of laser guns hung from the wall. “I mean, I know it’s just lasers, but it looks pretty dangerous.”

  “Well, once I tripped over my shoelace and skinned my knee,” Erin admitted. “But that’s about as dangerous as it gets. Actually, this is a miracle of modern technology. See?” Erin pointed to her vest. “The lights on the shoulders show what color team you’re on. These ports on your back and chest will register when someone makes a hit. The lights will go off for ten seconds, and when they’re on again you know it’s okay to shoot.”

  Lili sighed. “Why couldn’t you have chosen something normal, Erin?”

  Willow Albern came to Erin’s defense. “Lili, this whole ‘friendship checkup’ thing was your idea, anyway,” she pointed out. “And when it was your turn to choose the activity we went to the art exhibit.”

  “Yeah, well, that was awesome!” Lili said.

  Willow rolled her eyes. “It was just a bunch of squiggles. My little brothers can do better than that.”

  Lili frowned. “Anyway, we wouldn’t have to do these friendship checkups if you and Jasmine would just play nice.”

  Jasmine and Willow looked uncomfortable. Even though they’d been friends since they were little, they had recently been arguing with each other a lot. Jasmine had become so upset that she briefly quit the Jewels, the middle school quiz bowl team the girls competed on together.

  “We are playing nice,” Jasmine insisted. “So don’t you think a game of laser tag defeats the whole purpose of that?”

  “No, because the purpose of this is fun,” Erin said cheerfully.

  It was Friday night, and the Laser Emporium in the Hallytown Mall was filling up fast with other players. One mom had brought three young kids into the equipment room, and five teenage boys were suiting up, too.

  Another boy wearing a red Laser Emporium T-shirt entered the room.

  “Hi, my name is Chip,” he said in a bored voice. “I need to tell you the rules now, so pay attention.”

  Chip explained how the vests worked, just like Erin had. Then he outlined the rules of the game.

  “You get fifty points every time you hit someone in the back of the vest, a hundred points if you hit the front,” he said. “The targets in each base are worth three hundred points each. There are also hidden targets on the course for bonus points.”

  “Where are they?” one of the little kids asked.

  “I said they’re hidden,” Chip explained, rolling his eyes. “Does anyone else have questions?”

  “I do, but I’m afraid to ask,” Jasmine whispered to Willow.

  “Don’t worry,” Willow whispered back. “There are lots of places to hide on the course.”

  “Oh yeah, the most important thing is no running,” Chip added. “Now please proceed to the red door.”

  The teenage boys rushed to the red starting gate, practically knocking over the girls. Jasmine nervously wiped her palms on her leggings.

  “How about I just watch?” she asked.

  Willow grabbed her hand. “Just lie low, and you’ll be fine.”

  Chip opened the door to a black cavernous room decorated to look like the surface of a strange planet. Large fluorescent orange rocks dotted the landscape, and the walls were painted to show a purple-pink sky with three moons floating in it. Special black lights lit up the space, so the rocks and the sky glowed in the dark. When the girls walked onto the course, it was hard to focus on anything except the colored lights on their own vests.

  “The game will begin in fifteen seconds,” Chip instructed. One of the teenage boys started to speed away, but Chip stopped him with a booming command. “NO RUNNING!”

  Then a robotic voice started to count down over the speakers. “Fifteen … fourteen … thirteen …”

  The little kids started trotting away, with their mom hurrying to keep up. The teenagers weren’t running, exactly, but they, too, were moving pretty fast.

  “Oh my gosh. What do we do? Where do we go?” Lili fretted.

  “Stick with me,” Erin said. “I got your back.”

  Erin took off after the teenage boys, with Lili following nervously behind her. Jasmine wanted to stick with Willow, her super-athletic friend, but she, too, was already racing across the course. Panicked, Jasmine found the biggest rock in the farthest corner and hid behind it.

  “Three … two … one … commence play!”

  The teen boys all went after one another, darting among the rocks and shooting blast after blast. Erin and Willow snuck up on all of them, scoring points by shooting quickly and then zipping away.

  Distracted by her conquests, Erin forgot her promise to watch over Lili, who was soon surrounded by the three younger kids.

  Pew! Pew! Pew! They barraged Lili with shots, and the lights on her vest went dead. She shrieked with laughter, despite herself.

  “Aaaaaah! They got me! They got me!”

  Behind the rock, Jasmine held her breath, hoping nobody would notice her. From the corner of her eye she saw a round red light on a rock hanging down from the ceiling.

  Remembering what Chip had said about targets, she took aim and fired at the light. It flashed and then died out.

  “Woo hoo!” Jasmine yelled, and then covered her mouth with her hand, but it was too late. One of the older boys heard and walked up to her, shooting her in the back. But Jasmine didn’t mind so much. She used her ten seconds to look for another hiding place — and another target.

  It seemed like the battle had just begun when the robot voice came over the speakers again.

  “Game ending in ten … nine … eight …”

  Everyone except Jasmine was zipping around the field like crazy, walking as fast as they could without actually running. Willow and Erin were chasing each other now, laughing. Lili hid, waiting until the three little kids walked past, and then she jumped out.

  Pew! Pew! Pew! She hit all three.

  “Revenge!” she cried happily, raising her fist in the air.

  Jasmine carefully made her way around the perimeter, hitting every target she could find. Then the count was over, and Chip entered the course.

  “Okay! Everybody out!”

  After they took off their vests and turned in their laser guns, they went up to the front counter, where each player got a printed sheet showing their score.

  “Yes!” Erin cried. “I hit that one guy twelve times.”

  Then she frowned and turned to Willow. “You hit me eight times? Seriously?”

  Willow shrugged. “It’s all about the points!”

  “My score is pathetic,” Lili said. “But I have to admit, it was fun.”

  “I got eleven hundred points,” Jasmine said. “Is that good?”

 
; Erin and Willow both stared at Jasmine.

  “Are you serious?” Erin asked. “That’s awesome! How did you get all those points?”

  Jasmine shrugged. “I just aimed at the targets, that’s all.”

  Erin shook her head. “It’s always the quiet ones, isn’t it?”

  “Why? What score did you get?” Jasmine asked.

  “Never mind!” Erin and Willow said together, and then they laughed.

  Lili put her hands on her hips. “Come on, guys. Friendship night isn’t supposed to be competitive.”

  “Is anyone else hungry?” Erin asked, quickly changing the subject.

  “I could go for some pizza,” Jasmine answered.

  They made their way across the mall to their favorite pizza place, Mario’s. It wasn’t part of the food court, but a little restaurant all on its own.

  “One large plain and four waters?” Willow asked her friends.

  Erin checked the pockets of her jeans. “Four bucks each, right? Got it.” She handed Willow the cash. “Lili and I will find a table for us.”

  A few minutes later they were seated at one of the metal tables, biting into slices of hot pizza.

  “Sooo good,” Erin said, taking in a mouthful at the same time.

  Lili giggled. “Erin, you’ve got cheese all over your chin.”

  Erin reached for the napkin holder, but it was empty. Willow noticed and flagged down the bus boy, who came back a minute later with a holder stuffed with new napkins. The girls each took one.

  “Well, that was fun,” Lili said. “It’s nice to take a break from quiz bowl practice once in a while, isn’t it?”

  Jasmine nodded. “Although we need to keep up with practices. We’ve got Nationals in a few weeks. I can’t believe we qualified!”

  Willow nodded. “Especially since this is the first year that Martha Washington School has had a team in ages.”

  “Well, anyway, we still need to practice,” Jasmine said. “I bet the Rivals are training right now.”

  “I bet they practice in their sleep!” Erin joked.

  “Except when they’re busy stealing jewels,” Lili added.

  The Rivals, the academic team from Atkinson Preparatory School, were the stars of the middle school quiz bowl scene. They also happened to be jewel thieves.

  Willow groaned. “Don’t remind me. They’re probably plotting how to steal the sapphire at this very moment, if they don’t have it already.”

  “That’s what bugs me,” Erin said. “For all we know, they could have all four jewels by now, and have already figured out the clues.”

  The four friends had gotten involved with the Rivals’ jewel thefts when the Martha Washington ruby was stolen, and Jasmine was the main suspect. Then they discovered a letter written by Martha Washington herself that said there were four special jewels: a ruby, a diamond, an emerald, and a sapphire. According to what the girls had learned, each jewel held a clue etched on the back that led to some kind of important thing — a treasure, maybe. At least, that’s what they hoped.

  The Jewels couldn’t get the ruby back from the Rivals, but they did prevent them from stealing the diamond — for a while. Unfortunately, the Rivals stole it back. And then they went after the emerald, which was owned by a wealthy socialite and TV star named Derrica Girard. Jasmine had held it in her hands, but only for a few seconds. It was with the Rivals now.

  “Don’t forget what Derrica said,” Jasmine reminded them. “She’s heard that Arthur Atkinson has been asking around about a sapphire. So I don’t think they have it yet.”

  Arthur Atkinson, the director of Atkinson Preparatory School, had been helping the Rivals steal jewels all along.

  “Then we can find it first,” Willow said.

  Erin nodded. “We tracked down the diamond all on our own. I bet we could find the sapphire.”

  Jasmine frowned. “Principal Frederickson is watching our every move these days,” she said. “She doesn’t want us looking for the jewels, and I certainly don’t want to get in trouble with her.”

  “She doesn’t have to find out,” Erin said, smiling, her mouth ringed with tomato sauce.

  Jasmine shook her head. “Napkin, Erin!”

  Erin reached for a napkin, but when she held it up to her face she stopped. She wasn’t holding a napkin at all. It was a piece of lined yellow paper, folded into a square.

  “No way!” Erin cried. “It’s another secret message!”

  The girls sat in silence for a second as they gazed at the yellow notebook paper, their eyes wide. It wasn’t the first time they had seen a note like this. The same kind of paper had been used by a mysterious helper who had left them clues to help find the diamond.

  Erin eagerly began to unfold the paper, but Willow put a finger to her lips and raised an eyebrow. Her gaze scanned the room, looking for whoever could have planted the note. The other Jewels joined in, checking out the room. But nothing — and no one — seemed suspicious. When the busboy walked by, Willow stopped him.

  “Excuse me,” she asked. “Where do you get the napkins to refill the dispensers?”

  He wiped his hands on his apron as he shrugged. “From the big cardboard boxes in the closet. They’re not anything fancy.”

  “Any idea how this could have gotten mixed in with them?” Erin asked, holding up the paper.

  The boy sighed as he brushed his shaggy brown hair out of his eyes. “If you’ve got a complaint, you gotta tell the manager.” He shuffled away quickly before they could ask him anything else, clearly not wanting to get into any trouble.

  Lili glanced at her phone. “My mom will be here any second to pick us up,” she said. “Let’s bring the note back to my house and we’ll analyze it there.”

  After getting a ride to Lili’s house from Mrs. Higashida, the girls rushed upstairs to Lili’s bedroom. Erin felt like the note was burning a hole in her pocket — she couldn’t wait to open and read it!

  Lili’s bed was piled with sketchbooks, pieces of fabric, plastic gems, and other items from her craft kit.

  “So sorry!” Lili hurriedly grabbed a handful of stuff and shoved it into her closet. Jasmine and Willow sat on the bed, and Erin flopped onto the fluffy rug on the floor, clutching the note in her hand.

  “Read!” Jasmine cried eagerly, her eyes shining.

  Erin unfolded the paper and theatrically cleared her throat. Lili giggled as she sat down next to Erin on the rug.

  “Come on,” Willow pleaded impatiently.

  Erin read the note out loud: “‘We shall meet when the value of seven cubed plus the number of times per month the moon orbits the Earth, adding the year the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel was completed, divided by the number of James Madison. Subtract two. Next add one hundred. Then find me in the place that tinkers are dying to get into but never leave.’”

  “Huh?” Lili asked with a frown.

  “It’s a riddle,” Jasmine said. She pulled out a mini notebook from her bag and a small purple pen. “We need to figure it out.”

  Willow reached off the bed and grabbed the note from Erin’s hand. “Hey — help yourself, why don’t you!” Erin cried.

  “Sorry.” Willow grinned sheepishly. “Do you mind?”

  Erin rolled her eyes. “Fine, have at it.”

  “We just had a friendship checkup!” Lili yelled. “Everyone behave.”

  “Or else Lili will make us use finger-paints and sock puppets to get in touch with our inner feelings,” Erin said with a grin.

  Lili’s eyes got big. “Hey, that gives me an idea!” Willow groaned.

  “Guys, enough! Let’s focus,” Jasmine said sharply as she clicked the tip of her pen. “Willow, read it again slowly.”

  Willow began. “‘We shall meet when the value of seven cubed —’” She shut her eyes as she ran the calculations in her head. “Let’s see, that’s seven to the third power or … three hundred and forty-three!” she said confidently in the same tone of voice she used when answering a quiz bowl question.
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br />   “Okay, so far we have three forty-three,” Jasmine said as she jotted the number in her notebook. “What’s next?”

  Willow continued. “‘Plus the number of times per month the moon orbits the Earth.’”

  Jasmine snorted. “Simple. If this is a riddle, it’s a really easy one. The answer is one,” she said as she wrote it down.

  “So right now we have three forty-four,” Lili said. “What’s next?”

  “‘Adding the year the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel was completed,’” Willow read.

  Lili’s eyes glowed. “Michelangelo, what a genius! Did you know that it’s a myth he painted the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel while lying on his back? He was so super-smart, he invented this totally innovative scaffolding system instead. There are more than three hundred painted figures on that ceiling!” Lili gazed into the distance with a dreamy look in her eyes.

  “Um, Lili?” Erin nudged her friend gently. “That’s really great and all, but do you know when he finished painting it?”

  Lili shook her head as her eyes drifted back to her friends. “Oh yeah!” she giggled. “Sorry. 1512.”

  Jasmine wrote in her notebook. “That makes the total 1856.” She frowned. “How can we meet someone in 1856?”

  “Last time I checked I don’t own a time machine!” Erin said. “But, man, how awesome would that be?!”

  Willow got that stern look on her face, the one she always made when the conversation began to drift off topic. “We’re not finished,” she said seriously before continuing to read. “‘Divided by the number of James Madison.’”

  Lili looked confused. “James Madison is a person, not a number.”

  “Ha! He is a person who will always be known by one number, and that’s the number four,” Erin said triumphantly. “Madison was the fourth president of the United States. Whether you look him up in an encyclopedia or online, that’s the first thing you’ll find out about him.”

  The others nodded their heads. “Let’s keep going and see what we come up with,” Lili suggested. “We can always go back and try again if the final answer doesn’t make any sense.”

  Jasmine quickly scribbled. “So that brings us to four hundred sixty-four.”

  Willow scanned the yellow note. “So next we subtract two.”