The Gollywhopper Games by Jody Feldman Read Free Book Online Page A

three.”
    One off! Who…Bianca? How did she make it?Gil almost fell off his chair.
    “Number zero nine four three one.”
    The genius girl with the overprotective mom.
    “Number two four six eight two.”
    Bingo! Gil didn’t remember getting to his feet and didn’t know how he got to the stage. All he knew was he was up there. He did it. HE DID IT!
    Gil found himself turning in circles, shaking hands, hugging Bianca, getting hugs from the other girls, back-patting Rocky, not caring that he was such a cheater. He high-fived a brown-haired girl and a guy with curly hair who followed him up there.
    Curly Guy started making a beeline for Bianca, but a man in a green vest stopped him. Another green-vested person herded Gil and Bianca to seats behind a long table on one side of the stage next to Thorn, Rocky, and Genius Girl. The remaining five contestants sat at a table on the other side of the stage.
    Bert Golliwop thanked everyone still at their desks and instructed them to pick up a signed Skorch CD and one hundred dollars in cash as they exited.
    One hundred dollars? That would probably mean nothing to Thorn, but if Gil could come away with one hundred dollars in cash? Jackpot!
    Mr. Golliwop addressed the wave of reporters and TV cameras that rolled toward the stage. “Let me introduce you to our survivors.” From the cards in his hand, he read off the names of the five kids to his right. “And to my left, Thornton Dewitt-Formey, Rocky Titus, Lavinia Plodder, Bianca LaBlanc, and…” He quick-turned his head at Gil then turned back. “Gil Goodson,” he said, his voice a half note higher.
    “Excuse me,” he said, picking up a glass of water. “I think I may have swallowed a bug.”
    A few people laughed, but Gil just smiled.
    Mr. Golliwop cleared his throat. “All right now. We’ll take fifteen minutes for questions from the press, then let these kids go. It’s been a long day.” Bert Golliwop’s stare zeroed in on a local reporter who had been particularly nasty to Gil’s family in the past. “And, please, ask general questions that can and will be answered by all our contestants.”
    The local reporter gave a slight nod back. “Howold are each of you?” he yelled out.
    Bert Golliwop exhaled before he cleared his throat. “We’ll begin with the young lady to my far right.”
    All ten answered. Lights shone in their eyes, TV cameras pointed toward their faces, and photographers clicked away. The questions came fast and furious.
    “Where do you live?”
    “Describe your feelings in one word.”
    “Do you think you’ll get any sleep tonight?”
    “What will you do if you win it all?”
    Gil fell into step, hoping the questions would remain easy, and they did.
    When the press conference ended, Mr. Golliwop came from behind his podium and faced the ten of them. “Those of you who don’t already have hotel accommodations in town, please see my assistant over there. We’ll make arrangements. Also see her if you need extra tickets for additional family members. And try to get a good night’s sleep. You need to be at Golly headquarters tomorrow morning by nine o’clock, with parent or guardian, and dressedcomfortably for competition.” He looked at Bianca’s shoes. “You might want to rethink those high heels, young lady.”
    Bianca laughed.
    “Now I want each of you to look at the others at your table. The five of you need to become best friends because you’re now a team, and you’ll be competing against the other five. That’s all I can tell you. Before you leave, take a minute and introduce yourselves.”
    They stood and formed a little circle, but Gil didn’t listen to the introductions. Instead he studied his team.
    Bianca. Bianca was great. Bianca made him smile. And maybe she knew more than it seemed. Somehow she’d made it on stage.
    Lavinia was the biggest question mark. Gil hoped her mother was cautious because she wanted to protect a genius-sized brain and not because she was a