The rest of the weekend was long and dull. Dylan had a karate tournament, and Winnie had to go to her cousin’s wedding. “I love seeing my gōng gōng and pōpō, but these things go on forever. We have to sit through a ten-course banquet. Ten courses!” she’d complained the night before. I wanted to say “Ten courses! Can I come?”
Astrid and I filled our time doing our laundry and our shopping. On Sunday afternoon we went to the library to get out some books and to use their free Wi-Fi.
I had an email.
Congratulations, Felix Knutsson! You’ve been selected to audition for a spot on Who, What, Where, When—Junior Edition. Auditions will be held on Tuesday, October 30, at the Sunshine Inn, downtown Vancouver. Please arrive by nine a.m. at the latest for check-in. And good luck!
Sincerely,
Nazneen Iravani
Producer
I showed Astrid. We whooped so loudly that the librarian had to shush us three times.
I told Dylan on Monday morning when we arrived at school. “That is amazing, Felix!” he said. “I got an email, too. A thanks, but no thanks.”
We ran into Winnie on the front steps. She’d bought herself a brand-new beret in canary yellow, and matching canary-yellow socks. “You look…bright,” I said.
“Like Tweety Bird,” added Dylan.
Any fears I’d had that it would be weird between us after the dance disappeared when she launched right in. “I heard from Who, What, Where, When. I got an audition.” She was trying really hard not to look smug.
“That’s awesome,” I said. “Congratulations.”
“Wow,” said Dylan. “I can’t believe I know two people who got an audition!”
Winnie blinked. “Oh. Felix got an audition, too?”
“Yep,” I replied.
It took her a moment before she said, “Well. Congratulations to you, too.”
She did not sound entirely sincere.
We had only a week to prepare, and we made the most of it. Dylan drilled us every day after school at his house. Sometimes Alberta and Henry helped too, using questions from their Reach for the Top packets.
Because I’d watched the show so often, I knew the categories we should focus on: world geography, classical literature, pop culture, world history and science.
“What city was once known as Constantinople?”
“Istanbul.”
“In which U.S. state did Faulkner’s The Sound and the Fury take place?”
“Mississippi.”
“What is the periodic table of elements symbol for mercury?”
“Hg.”
Astrid also quizzed me when I got back to the garage.
“What year did Hitler invade Poland?”
“Nineteen thirty-nine.”
“How many planets are in the solar system?”
“Used to be nine, now it’s eight.”
“Which product wanted to teach the world to sing, in perfect harmony?”
“Coca-Cola.”
The night before the auditions, we went to the community center. I had a long shower. I laid out all my clothes on the passenger seat: dress pants paired with my brand-new used red polo shirt and fresh socks. I set two alarms. No way was I going to be late.
I said goodnight to Horatio, my mom and Mel, and climbed into bed early, but I was jangly with excitement; I got through at least ten different lists in my head before I finally fell asleep.
Then, at 6:58 a.m.—just before my alarm went off—disaster struck.