CHAPTER 24

PHOTO FINISH

CLAUDIA

By the time Beast Squad got off the stage, it was after 4:00, so Akash and Mrs. Bevan closed the auditorium door and took attendance.

Six teams got disqualified for missing players. My guess is the absent kids just couldn’t bear to watch the Fembots win front-row MSG tickets for being completely evil.

PARVATI

Can I just say, I kind of don’t blame the kids who skipped it? I mean, everybody was BEYOND sure the Fembots were going to win.

And the whole time the points were getting added up, Athena Cohen would NOT stop rubbing it in.

CARMEN

Athena was just off-the-charts annoying. She kept making these loud, totally obnoxious comments to the other Fembots, like “I don’t know if we should use the front-row seats on a Deondra concert. I mean, I JUST SAW her from, like, two feet away. Too bad nobody else did.…”

CLAUDIA

Finally, Mrs. Bevan got up to announce the winners.

First, she thanked everybody for participating and reminded us again that the whole scavenger hunt was for charity, and the truly important thing was that we all helped raise a lot of money for the Manhattan Food Bank.

I am very proud to say there was a huge round of applause for that.

Then she said, “Before I announce the top three finishers, remember—no matter how many points you got, EVERYBODY’S a winner.”

And Athena Cohen went, “But especially us!” loud enough that even Mrs. Bevan heard her.

Ordinarily, this is the kind of behavior that’d make Mrs. Bevan stop everything for a “teachable moment” about not being a horrible person. ^{Ed. Note: “teachable moment” = 5-minute lecture (at least)}

So it was kind of a surprise when she just paused for a second and bit her lip like she was trying not to smile.

And it was an ABSOLUTELY ENORMOUSLY HUGE SURPRISE when she said, “In third place: Goddesses, Inc.!”

For about two seconds, the whole auditorium was stunned into silence.

Then there was laughing.

Followed by cheering.

CARMEN

All I can say is, the Fembots only getting third place was the greatest moment in the history of anything. Anywhere. Ever. It was SO sweet.

PARVATI

I seriously almost fainted.

Actually, I think I DID faint. For like a second.

REESE

It was pretty awesome. I mean, ordinarily, I don’t have a problem with Athena and Ling and those girls. But the way they were trash-talking everybody was pretty uncool. So they totally deserved it.

CLAUDIA

At first, the Fembots looked like they were in shock. Then they got angry.

Then Mrs. Bevan held up one of the pencil cases and called out, “Come on up, girls!”

This was followed by a little muttering argument between Athena and her mom, because Athena clearly did NOT want to go up on stage.

But eventually, Mrs. Cohen marched them all up there.

The absolutely best thing about the scavenger hunt was raising all that money for the Manhattan Food Bank.

But the second-best thing was DEFINITELY the look on Athena Cohen’s face when Mrs. Bevan handed her a ten-cent pencil case in exchange for the gazillion dollars ^{Ed. Note: not actual amount (probably more like high $100s/ low $1,000s)} she’d just spent trying to buy her way to victory.

As the Fembots skulked back to their seats, Parvati nudged me and went, “Who do you think got the other two Deondra pics?”

I figured it must be somebody whose parents were either super-rich or hooked up, because they were the only people who’d have access to Deondra.

So it was a pretty huge surprise when Mrs. Bevan said, “In second place… the Avada Kedavras!”

In all honesty, I was very happy for Kalisha and her team. Even if all they got was a Starbucks gift certificate.

PARVATI

You didn’t act like you were happy for them.

CLAUDIA

Maybe because you kept elbowing me in the ribs and muttering, “See? SEE?”

PARVATI

I was just saying—if we had Kalisha on our team, that could’ve been us.

CARMEN

Totally. She masterminded that team.

CLAUDIA

Whatever! It’s not like Kalisha actually won the whole thing.

PARVATI

She SHOULD have.

CARMEN

No kidding! I’m still in shock over who won.

CLAUDIA

We all are.

I seriously do not know how to explain this. So I’m just going to use Mrs. Bevan’s exact words:

“The winners of the First Annual Culvert Prep Middle School Scavenger Hunt For Charity: BEAST SQUAD!”