people to choose from, Henry didnât think it would be too humiliating to be picked last for the shelter-building teams, but this wasnât how he wanted to start his new era of dominating the camp.
âStu,â said Max, âpick a number between one and ten.â
âOne.â
âOne?â
âYes, sir.â
âYou realize that if somebody else picks two, they get all of the numbers between two and ten, right?â
Stu nodded.
âHenry, pick a number between one and ten.â
âTwo.â
Stu cursed.
âRandy, pick a number between one and ten.â
âTwo.â
âWas he allowed to pick the same number?â asked Erik.
âNo, he disqualified himself. Erik, pick a number between one and ten.â
âFive.â
âExcellent choice. But the number was one. Stu and Henry, youâre the team captains. Henry, make your first and only selection.â
âRandy.â
Max glared at him. âWith all due respect, I think we can all agree that Randy is not your best possible option. Please explain your reasoning.â
âHeâs my best friend,â said Henry.
âAnd that automatically makes him the best shelter-builder?â
âNo,â said Henry, thankful that he had blurted out Randyâs name before he stopped to seriously consider who might be best at the task, which would have plunged him into a moral quandary about the loyalty of friendship versus the end goal to be achieved. He wanted to win, but he wasnât going to dump Randy to help him achieve that goal. Only a total jerk would do that. He was a nerd, not a jerk.
Max nodded. âIn a survival situation, it is often more important to have people who are trustworthy than people who are competent. You donât want to share a shelter with somebody who will try to feed you to whatever might be trying to eat you. Well done.â
âThank you, sir.â
âStu? Your pick.â
âAw, man.â Stu looked back and forth between Erik and Jackie. âI feel like Erik is probably strongerââ
â Probably stronger?â asked Erik.
âBut Jackie would take up less room in the shelter, so we wouldnât have to make the shelter quite as big. Then again, Jackieâs hair would be more likely to stain the pillows, unless we use leaves for pillows, in which case he would just be staining the leaves the same color that they already are.â
â Probably stronger?â Erik repeated.
âHey, itâs not like Iâve seen you two arm wrestle,â said Stu.
âMake your pick,â said Max.
âOkay, the person I choose for my team isâ¦umm⦠Jackie. â
Jackie beamed.
ââ¦Stay in line,â Stu continued, âbecause I pick Erik.â
âAw, dude,â said Jackie. âThat wasnât a cool way to do it.â
âYeah, youâre right. I change my pick to Jackie.â
âYou donât get to change your pick,â said Max.
âOkay, good.â
âJackie, since you were picked last, you will be given the most important task. You are now the sabotage crew. At certain brief intervals, you will be allowed to destroy the hard work that your fellow campers have done.â
â Sweet !â
âHereâs how this is going to work,â said Max. âYou will have one hour to build a shelter. The team that does the best job of constructing a shelter in which you could spend the night and not die is the winner.â
âWhat do we win?â asked Henry.
âYou win the gift of potentially not being dead. Also, the losing team has to make lunch. The competition beginsâ¦now!â
Erik whispered something to Stu and they immediately took off running. What did Erik know that Henry didnât? Was there a Home Depot nearby?
Randy held the injured bird, wrapped in a blue cloth, and gently stroked the top of its head with his thumb. âWe could
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