Academic Olympics

**Chase's POV**

I was trying to fall asleep using my backpack as a pillow when Calla bugged me. I'd spent the entire night coughing with a really sore throat and I couldn't fall asleep, so I was exhausted to say the least. It was also a Monday, a rainy one at that, so I wasn't in the best of moods.

Bree was trying to keep me company by telling me all about some boy she liked, while Adam and Leo were trying to sneak the answers for their next test out of their teacher's suitcase.

"Good morning!" Calla said cheerfully, skipping over to us. She sat down right next to Bree. "Wow, you look tired."

"Yeah, I know. You need something?" I asked. I wasn't trying to be rude, but I seriously wasn't feeling well.

"Well, I was going to ask you for a favor…" I groaned, turning my head so I couldn't see her.

"Too tired. No favors." I mumbled into my backpack.

"It's not until tomorrow at the earliest and you might actually enjoy it." She replied. I raised my head.

"Yeah?" I asked.

"Okay, have either of you two ever heard of the Academic Olympics?" Both Bree and I shook our heads. "Okay, so it's like a battle of the brains and it's board wide. Teams of two from every school do mini quiz shows against each other. The winning team gets five grand for their school, and twenty-five hundred dollars each for personal use."

"That sounds cool." I said, sitting up. Calla nodded, an excited smile on her face.

"Yeah, but we've never won. Welkerville always beats us in the finals and this year I want to crush them." She said that with a little bit of venom in her voice. "Anyway, will you be my partner for it? PLEASE?"

"I don't know…" I trailed off as she looked at me with big, pleading eyes. I sighed, unable to refuse her. "Fine. I'll do it."

"Great!" Calla jumped up. "The first match is tomorrow right after school. I took the week off from work and already signed you up. We're against Riverdale High first."

"Wait, you already signed me up?" I asked. Calla nodded. "How'd you know I was going to say yes?"

"Because if you did say no, I wouldn't talk to you for a week, and you'd miss me." She replied.

"And I would miss you why?" I asked. Calla frowned in confusion.

"Because I'm awesome." She said it like it should have been obvious.

"Oh, right. I almost forgot." I joked. Calla rolled her eyes.

"Oh yeah, have you seen Leo? He borrowed my IPod to play Angry Pigeons yesterday and he hasn't given back." She said. I was about to reply when we all heard a teacher yell down the hallway.

"LEO DOOLEY AND ADAM DAVENPORT! JUST WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING GOING THROUGH MY THINGS?!" I mentally face palmed. Calla nodded thoughtfully.

"Detention room it is. See you guys later!" She ran off to get her IPod. Bree looked at me, a mischievous smile on her face.

"Do you have to crush on the crazy girls?" she asked. I looked at her.

"Calla isn't crazy." I defended her. Bree kept smiling until what she said hit me. "Hold on! I do NOT have a crush on her."

Bree stayed quiet, but her eyebrows raised in disbelief. I glared at her. "I don't." I repeated.

"Sure you don't Chase. I believe you." She lied. "But if you ever ask her out, get on Jaden's good side. You know how overly protective he is of her." With that last thought, Bree stood up and started to walk away.

"I'm not going to…oh forget it." I really didn't feel like yelling today.

**Calla's POV**

"It's about time." I muttered as the lab rats plus Leo walked into the gym. I ran over to them.

"We go on in about three minutes." I told Chase, getting more pumped by the second. It was my third year doing this and I always loved any chance to show off my intelligence.

"Cool, so how does this work?" Chase asked.

"Alright, we'll be asked a total of fifteen questions. Seven each and a tie breaker if it's a tie." I explained. "It could be a question about anything. From the alphabet to rocket science. Anything."

"Got it. Let's go." Chase's voice sounded worse than this mornings. He was probably coming down with a cold. The rain didn't help.

"Are you guys here to wish us luck?" I asked the others. They all nodded.

"Hey, so I've got a question. You guys just need to get seven out of fifteen right?" Adam asked.

"No, we're only asked seven questions unless it's a tie. Then we're asked an eighth." I explained. Adam still looked confused.

"Wait, so do you need fifteen out of eight right, or fifteen out of seven right?" he asked. I stared at him, but before I could give a sarcastic response (which is my primary response to a stupid question) we were called on stage.

"Contestants, please make your way to the podiums." The announcer called. I grabbed Chase's arm and pulled him up onto the stage. It was set up with three podiums. One on each side of the stage and one in the center for the announcer. Behind that was a TV screen that would light up green if we were right and red if we were wrong.

"You're really excited about this, aren't you?" Chase asked, trying to calm me down.

"Yeah, well…I sort of need the money." I blushed a little.

"Why? Mr. Davenport pays you, right?" Chase asked.

"It's a long story, but Jaden was trying to teach me how to drive, and I hit a stop sign, and now I have to pay for damages to the car and the sign before I can try for my license. And my monthly pay check from Mr. Davenport won't cover it."

"Wait, you hit…" Chase was cut off by the announcer.

"Alright, welcome to the annual Academic Olympics. I'm your host, Ted Berkley. Representing the home team is Mission Creek's team, Calla Parker and Chase Davenport!" I waved shyly at the crowd. "And representing the away team is Riverdale are Daniel Hale and Molly Simmons."

The other opponents had been partners since about six years ago, back when they were in grade six. It was their last year and I could tell they were desperate to win.

"Alright, we'll start with Mission Creek as they are the home team. Calla, Chase, are you ready?" Ted looked at us. I nodded eagerly.

"Bring it." Chase challenged. Ted smiled.

"Alright, first question. Where does the name Mackenzie origin from?" he asked. I hit the buzzer immediately.

"It's of Gaelic origin." I replied. The TV screen lit up a pale green and I grinned.

"Point Mission Creek." Ted nodded at me, then turned to the other team.

"How'd you know that?" Chase asked.

"Me and my friends used to check up random names to see what they mean for fun. The app we used also happened to tell us the origin and I just happened to remember Mackenzie." I whispered to him. The other team got their question right and it was back to us.

"Okay, question number two. Who created the earliest laser?" I didn't know the answer, but Chase did.

"It was Archimedes." He replied calmly. The screen lit up again. I grinned. There was no way we were going to lose this. Ted asked the other team a question. They got it right.

"What is the most common four letter word used in crossword puzzles? Is it A) chef B) area or C) note?"

"It's area!" Chase replied before going into a coughing fit. The announcer didn't notice the coughing as the screen lit up green.

"You okay?" I asked. Chase nodded then reached for my water bottle.

"May I?" he asked.

"Keep it." He smiled gratefully and downed what was left of the water. By that point Ted had turned back to us. The score was 3-3.

"What is the number seven in Japanese?" he asked. I smiled.

"Ha-chee." I replied. Ted nodded as the screen went green. The other team got their question wrong and I grinned. All we needed was three more to win!

We got the next three pretty easily and we got pas the first round. Just two more to go. "Way to go guys." Leo congratulated us. I smiled.

"Okay, hold up." Chase stopped me. "You really hit a stop sign?"

"Huh?" the others were confused, so I was forced to repeat the whole hit a stop sign story to them.

"Okay, but how did you miss the stop sign? It's big and red and impossible to miss." Adam told me. I glared at him.

"One, people miss stop signs all the time." I informed him.

"Yeah, but not everyone hits them." Bree smirked.

"Well, there was this cat. And I like cats, so I didn't want to hit it…"

"So you hit the stop sign?" Chase looked at me. I nodded, smiling.

"Exactly!" I replied. At least HE understood. It's not like I hurt anyone either.

**Chase's POV**

"Hey wake up Chase! It's time for school!" A loud banging on my capsule woke me up. I opened my eyes to see Adam's face peering into my capsule. I pushed open the capsule door.

"You know it's creepy…" I stopped short when my voice came out in a hoarse whisper. "What the hell?"

"Why are you whispering?" My brother asked. I glared at him.

"Not trying to." My voice wouldn't get louder. Bree came walking in at that moment, already ready to go to school.

"You guys coming?" she asked impatiently. I ignored her and grabbed a water bottle from the cooler Calla had brought down. She'd been complaining about the lack of food and drinks, so she'd taken matters into her own hands. Most of it was filled with pop and the occasional box of ice cream. But there were some waters in there too. I chugged it all in one gulp.

"Chase can't talk." Adam told her.

"What?" Bree questioned. I glared at Adam.

"I can talk just…oh damn it!" My voice was still out of it. Bree laughed.

"Looks like someone lost their voice." She teased. I glared at her. "Oh come on, don't look like that. It's not the big a deal."

"Tell that to Calla." I muttered. Bree looked at me.

"Oh crap. The contest. Um, I'll call her and tell her that you can't make it."

"Then who's going to compete for me?" I asked.

**Calla's POV**

"WHAT?!" I demanded. "You've got to be kidding me! I am not going on stage with Adam!"

"Why not?" Adam asked. I smiled at Adam.

"What's the square root of a hundred?" I asked.

"A rectangle." He replied. I looked at Chase and Bree.

"Need I explain?" I asked. Chase sighed.

"Sorry Cal." He DID sound horrible. And I guess I couldn't blame him for getting sick, but did he really have to stick me with Adam?

"You hate me. You must really hate." I sighed. "Look, why can't Bree come on stage with me? Or Leo?"

"Because Leo took the blame for Adam and his prank and he's in detention, and the teams have to be a guy and a girl each. Two girls aren't allowed."

"I'll get Jay to…no, that could be worse." I muttered, trying to come up with a better idea. I gave up, glaring at Adam. I pointed at him and narrowed my eyes dangerously.

"You don't hit the buzzer. You don't speak. I'll do all the work. Do NOT mess this up for me or I swear you'll be paying me that five thousand dollars. Am I understood?" Adam shrank back as I was talking. Apparently, I was pretty scary when I was mad.

"Yes ma'am." He replied. I nodded.

"Good." I grabbed his arm and dragged him on stage while Bree went to explain the change to Ted. Meanwhile, Emily Sanders, the girl contestant from Welkerville came over, a cocky smirk on her face.

"Well hello Calla." She said in her absolutely ANNOYING British accent. I faked a smile.

"Hello Emily." I greeted coldly. Emily looked at Adam.

"You must be her partner. I'm told your name is Chase?" She held out her hand. Adam fist bumped her.

"Nah, it's Adam. My brother is sick." He replied. "Lost his voice."

"Oh, poor boy." Emily said, wiping her hand on her shirt as if Adam was a walking germ. She had this disgusted look on her face. "So, what's your grade point average Adam?"

"Umm, not sure. But I did get straight Cs this semester." I slammed my head onto the podium. Was it possible for a bolt of lightning to come out of the sky, blast through the roof and put me out of my misery? I really hoped so.

"Oh, well then." Emily said, a little surprised. She smiled at me.

"Well then. Playing with a disadvantage? Seems a little cocky for someone who's never won before." Emily smiled at me cruelly.

"Yeah, well I didn't want to make it impossible for you to win this year. I mean, I had to play fair. Right?" I said through gritted teeth.

"Oh okay then." Emily walked away, still smiling. I slammed my head back down on the podium.

"Adam?" I asked.

"Yeah?" He looked at me curiously.

"Kill me."

xXx

"Okay, welcome to the Academic Olympics Finals! I'm your host, Ted Berkley! Representing Welkerville are reigning champions Emily and James Sanders!" the crowd applauded for the two siblings. "And representing Mission Creek are Calla Parker and replacing his sick brother, Adam Davenport." Silence. Like usual.

"We'll start with Welkerville." Ted continued. "Alright, what is the atomic number of silver?"

"It's 47." James replied quickly. Ted nodded as the screen turned green. He turned to us.

"Mission Creek, what are the four organs in a plant?"

Adam opened his mouth, but I beat him to it. "Roots, stem, leaves, and flower."

"Correct." I turned to Adam.

"What did I say about speaking?" I asked.

"Not to." He replied, a little downcast. I nodded, too focused on winning to care.

"Exactly, but just out of curiosity, what were you going to say?" I asked.

"That only humans have organs and they look like pianos." I shook my head.

"Okay, be quiet. Please and thank you." I turned back as the question came to us.

"Mission Creek, you have a right angle triangle. The shortest side is three centimeters and the second shortest is 4 centimeters. How long is the longest side?" Ted asked. I smiled; math was my strongest point.

"Five centimeters." I said with only a second's thought. Ted asked Welkerville a question and Emily got it right. He turned back to us.

"According to Hamlet, what is the question?" he asked. I smiled, glad that Jessica had forced me to take that drama class last year.

"To be or not to be. That is the question." I quoted as the screen lit up green.

"Correct." He asked another question and Emily got it right. Then he turned to us.

"What sport involves hitting with a ball with a large hooked bat?" he asked.

"Hurly."I replied. He nodded. He asked us the rest of the questions and both of our teams got them both right. Crap that meant a tie breaker. I always lost at the tie breaker.

"Okay Adam, this is a special question. Anyone can answer, so shut up. If you guess wrong, they get the point by default."

"Got it." He said. Ted smiled at the crowd.

"Alright, tie breaker tie. This is for all the chips! As of September 2013, who is the world's fattest man?"

My mind completely went black. All I could think about were sumo wrestlers in china and I didn't know the names of any of them. I was going to cry, except for the fact that Emily and James were stuck. Adam raised up his hand.

"Adam! No!" I hissed, but it was too late.

"Mission Creek?" he asked. I lay my head on the podium, dying inside.

"It's Paul Mason." He answered.

"That is…correct." Ted replied, a smile in his voice. My head shot up.

"What?" I demanded. Emily and James looked just as surprised.

"What?" they exclaimed. Adam grinned happily.

"Congratulations Mission Creek. You've won." Ted said. I squealed and hug Adam. "And that ends our Academic Olympics. See you all next time."

"H-h-h-how…what…how did you know that?" I asked, still shocked.

"The dude can eat a hundred pies. He's my hero." Was the reply. I laughed and skipped over to Emily to mock her.

**Chase's POV**

"Hey boys. Here you go!" Calla came skipping into the lab, ice cream in hand. Ever since the competition, she was in the best mood I'd ever seen. She'd even offered to tutor Adam for free.

"Thanks." I took the strawberry one while Adam grabbed the mint one.

"Hey your voice sounds better." Calla grinned, sitting down next to me.

"Feels better too." I smiled back. "So, did you pay off the bills?"

"Yep, and I still have another three hundred bucks, so Bree and I am going to go shopping this weekend."

"Cool. Can we come?" Adam asked. Calla shrugged.

"Sure, if you want to listen to our girl problems." She replied.

"Sweet!" Adam cheered.