~ The clipboard lady hustled the team through the passage and out toward the stage. The stadium style seating formed a half circle around the stage, the rows of chairs already packed with people. The noise in the studio was bordering on overwhelming, and Jaden's thudding heartbeat did nothing to help him.
Before he was clear of the cover of the passageway, Jaden paused for half a beat to check for possible escape routes. His eyes found three doors, all of which were clearly labeled as exits, plus the two halls leading from the left and right sides of the stage. There was also the thin fabric wall that made up the background for the stage. He was fairly confident that if worst came to worst, a quick slash with a knife would create yet another handy way out.
Despite his elevated respiration and heart rate, Jaden still had the distinct feeling that the team was not in any immediate danger and he was fairly confident in that impression. He glanced at Andrew and found his teammate's eyes to be casually sweeping the crowd and studio area. It may have looked like nothing more than muted interest, but Jaden knew that Andrew wasn't missing a single thing. That was a comfort.
Jaden took three deep breaths and ordered himself to relax. As usual, his body obeyed him. He felt the tension in the muscles of his shoulders and neck ease. His heart quieted.
The clipboard lady directed them to stand behind a long counter that was situated at an angle to the audience. Across the stage was another counter identical to theirs. On the front of each the name of the show was emblazoned in shining letters. That Sounds About Right.
The first thing that Jaden did was reach for the two big, palm-sized, red and green buttons directly in front of him to see what they did. Takyle, who was standing next to him in front of her own buttons, caught his hand half way there.
"No. Leave it," she ordered firmly. From her tone of voice Jaden half expected her to pull out a spray bottle and squirt some water in his face as well, but she didn't. He looked up in time to see the team they would be going up against enter from the opposite side of the stage. His mouth dropped open. It was the back-stabbing, illogical, and freakishly aggressive Team 5.
"What the hell?" he demanded, angrily. Due to the noise of the crowd, he didn't think that anyone heard him except for Takyle.
"Chill, Jaden. This doesn't change anything," she warned.
"Like hell it doesn't! They stabbed Andrew! They shouldn't even still be in the frigging race!"
"There is no rule that says you'll never be pitted against another team," she reminded him in a fierce mutter. "They were trying to win, and so are we. They did nothing technically wrong. If you're angry, then use that to beat them in this task."
"Yes, because rage-fueled game show contestants always win," the voice in Jaden's mind retorted sarcastically. He glared across the stage at the other team, but none of them were looking his way. The fact that his death stare was lost on them made him a little bit madder. Someone laid a hand on his shoulder and he angrily whipped his head around to see what they wanted.
Andrew stood behind him, with half a smile painting his lips. He leaned a little closer.
"As flattering as your righteous indignation on my behalf is, Jay, can I give you a word of advice?" Jaden nodded silently, feeling his anger begin to simmer away under the humor in Andrew's eyes. Andrew lowered his voice one more notch, as if what he was about to divulge was of the utmost secrecy.
"Being angry isn't going to help anything. Pretend that they're just another obstacle in this race and move on. They don't matter." Jaden stared into Andrew's eyes for a moment more, then finally nodded.
"Alright. I'm sorry." Andrew shook his head.
"Don't apologize; you didn't do anything wrong. Just help me win this thing, ok?"
"You got it," promised Jaden, and he meant it.
Takyle had moved down to the end to give Andrew room to talk to Jaden, and after that short conversation, she remained where she was, leaving Andrew in the middle. Jaden banished what remained of his anger from his mind, and once again practiced breathing to regain his calm. Andrew noticed and waved his hands in front of himself, illustrating the flows of energy. He began to drone in a horrible nasal monotone.
"That's right, balance your chi. Breathe the negative energy out, let it escape. Now draw the positive energy into your core being. Feel the forces of the energy invigorating and awakening you. Feel the good health expanding outward. Once more together now."
Jaden laughed aloud at the voice. Apparently Andrew held some power over his rage because it was now not much more than a memory. He did, in fact, feel invigorated. He felt ready to take on whatever this stage of the competition had to offer.
Andrew smiled at him and nodded.
"We've got this in the bag, buddy." ~
3 comments:
Jaden: Do not push the red button.
Are there chairs anywhere, just in case the crowd starts chanting "Jer-ry! Jer-ry! Jer-ry!"? Something's bound to go down, and there can be only one, and by one, I mean 6.
In hindsight, I hope the number of hyperlinks in this comment does not trip the spam filter. In either case, I'll stay here and ponder why Firefox's spell checker thinks that the words "hyperlink", "spam", and "Firefox" are all misspelled.
I find it exceptionally amusing that Firefox thinks that "Firefox" is a misspelling.
*ponders*
the red button is the trip for the trap door directly under Jay's feet, trap door leads to two-story outhouse in secret passage.
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