CHAPTER 8

THE WALL

Derek and Tanisha ran up the trail to the next obstacle, the rock-with-you wall.

Tanisha was shocked to see a very short version of the wall she and Derek had climbed at EveryFit during their training sessions.

“That’s it?” she cried. “That’s the wall? That’s a breeze! We’ll be caught up to the third-place team in no time!”

Together, Derek and Tanisha quickly scaled the wall. They jumped off onto a massive, cushioned landing pad.

“I see the third-place team, they’re not too far ahead!” Derek yelled. “We can catch up to them on the trail!”

They took off running down the trail, and soon they were within reach of the third-place team. But then they went around the bend to the final obstacle. All the teams paused and stood in awe of the mother wall, a forty-foot-tall, forward-leaning wall.

Tanisha gulped. She stood there, frozen with fear, as the other teams grabbed ropes and started pulling themselves up the wall.

Derek grabbed a rope too and was about to climb when he realized that Tanisha hadn’t moved. “T, are you OK?” he called.

“I can’t do it, Derek!” Tanisha screamed to her partner. “I’m afraid of heights. That wall is just too tall!”

“I’m scared of this wall too!” Derek shouted back.

“What are you talking about? You had no problem climbing that big wall at the gym!” Tanisha said.

“Yeah, because I was trying to hurry up and get it over with,” Derek explained. “I’ve been intimidated this whole competition. But we’ve worked hard to get here, and we still have a chance to get third place. The other teams are struggling! Win or lose, we do it together.”

Tanisha shook her head and stared up at the wall. It loomed high above her. But then she remembered what Janet had taught her in the gym.

“You’re right,” Tanisha finally replied. “I might be scared, but let’s do this!”

Derek and Tanisha both grabbed a rope and began making their way up the wall. Tanisha’s nerves were getting the best of her, but she tried to focus on the wall, her hands, and her feet as she climbed upward. Derek cheered her on as they climbed.

“I’m right here with you!” he called.

Finally they both made it to the top of the wall and looked back down at the wall behind them. They’d come a long way. On the other side, the third-place team had just landed.

Tanisha and Derek nodded at each other, then held each other’s hand as they climbed over the top and jumped down. They landed, screaming, on the pad below.

“We did it!” Tanisha cheered. “I can’t believe it!”

“It’s not over yet! We’ve got a half-mile run to go,” Derek said. “Let’s catch up to the other teams and win this thing!”