Chapter 1 IF you want it so bad mocked Hollis why don’t you take it Ollie Evander couldn’t believe his rotten luck For starters Hollis had stolen his flyer Ollie had jumped up and down try ing to grab it back from him but every time he got close Hollis yanked it away As if that weren’t bad enough Hollis had pinned him to the sticky popcorn-covered floor of Slamdown Town Arena Ollie struggled to speak under his annoying scratch that infuriating older brother’s girth Can’t you just go get your own he groaned Ollie had first noticed the stack of neon-blue flyers on the side of the ticket counter slamdown town arena new wrestler tryouts this week only two enter the ring only one exits
He had pointed them out to his best friend Tamiko Tanaka who immediately dared him to try out A dare was a dare So he snagged one off the pile and pinky-promised that he’d be first in line and the first one signed to Slamdown Town But then Tamiko had run off to grab snacks from the concession counter and Ollie’s jerkface brother had swooped in and started well being a jerkface brother Go get my own But I want this one And you were so nice to hand-deliver it to me Besides they wouldn’t let some ten year-old kid wrestle anyway said Hollis Especially not one as pea-size as you First off I’ll be eleven in two days grunted Ollie And secondly at least I’m not pea-brained Ollie’s blond shaggy hair fell over his eyes He tried to push Hollis off him but failed He didn’t know how much more he could take You know I think I’ll take this flyer for myself Who knows Maybe I’ll try out Sure They won’t hire an eleven-year-old but a thirteen year-old with a disgusting hair monster above his lip totally stands a chance said Ollie still straining to speak Hollis smiled and stroked his patchy lip hair I think it makes me look cultured No It makes you look like a But Ollie’s mind blanked He had never been great when it came to comebacks Smack talk was more Tamiko’s thing What’s taking her so long thought Ollie He mustered all his strength to push Hollis off him again but failed again Well he guessed strength wasn’t really his thing either Saturdays weren’t supposed to be spent wrestling 2
and smack-talking his brother They were supposed to be spent watching wrestling Real wrestling Something he and his broth er used to watch together all the time If he didn’t find a way out of this grapple soon he might miss the first match said a familiar voice And he hadn’t ever missed a match Why don’t you pick on someone your own size Hollis Finally Ollie turned an eighth of an inch it was all he could muster under the circumstances to find Tamiko stand ing over them Her hair was a familiar tangled mess She wore her wrinkled Slamdown Town official tee And she had only one sock on with a big hole that went from her ankle all the way up to her kneecap He wondered if she always had only one sock on Ollie hadn’t seen his friend from this angle before You know Like a hippo Tamiko went on her voice casual Or a baby giraffe Those things are bigger than you think In her right arm she held a stack of sour strips a super slushie brimming with sugar and nachos doused in cheese In her other hand as always she held her phone Tamiko was always playing games on her phone Last month it was Ninja Kitten and before that Postcard Detective This month’s mobile game was Jewel Heist an addictive-but simple game where you tap-tap-tapped away to uncover hidden treasure In every game she played Tamiko held the first second and third highest scores She could play and win while carrying on a conversation or taking a math exam or in this case bal ancing a tower of snacks 3
She was that good By the way Ollie I think I got enough snacks to get us through the first match She cradled her armful of food to her chest a strand of cheese marring the white of her tee with a vivid orange stripe But we’ll definitely need to make another run at intermission Oh joy grunted Hollis pulling his torso off Ollie at the sound of the word snacks Ollie seized the opportunity to roll out from under him It’s the second member of the baby bri gade What’s on today’s agenda Let me guess Naptime and sippy cups Ollie stood carefully and checked his shins for bruising I’m free he gasped How long were you under asked Tamiko ignoring Hollis Too long Ollie took several deep breaths to regulate his breathing as recommended by his favorite online video series on calming meditation And too close to Hollis’s butt it looked like Tamiko’s up per lip quivered in distaste I’m shocked you held on to your sanity Hey Tamiko Those nachos look heavy said Hollis as he lumbered toward her and grabbed a chip right out of the tray Lemme help you make it a little easier to carry Hollis popped the best saltiest most cheese-drenched chip entirely in his mouth Hey Get your sweaty paws off my snacks yelled Tamiko pulling the chips away as fast as she could Her sudden move ment sent a blob of gooey cheese soaring into the air It hovered 4
