teammates,
looking cool and casual, but as I glanced over at him, I saw him
give me a subtle thumbs-up.
I brought it to the judging stand and laid it
flat to be judged. The judge pulled out his magnifying glass and
began to pore over my finished painting. He took so long to study
it that I was sure he was going to find fault, and my stomach
dropped. Had I missed something? Had I dripped into the wrong box?
I watched him, holding my breath.
He straightened, looked at me, and then
nodded. "Good job." And he held out my disk.
I bounced with excitement and hugged him.
"Thank you! Thank you!" I grabbed the disk and dashed to Liam, and
on impulse, hugged him too.
Liam seemed surprised by that, but after a
moment, he hugged me back. The other teams clapped politely, but I
could tell they were nervous that we had already finished.
"Let's go outside and read this," Liam told
me, whispering in my ear.
We grabbed our bags and headed outside, and I
flipped over the clue. "Make your way to the Shelbourne Dublin.
Bring all disks with you so you may cross the finish line." I
looked up at Liam. "The Shelbourne Dublin? It sounds like a
hotel."
"I know where that is," Liam told me. "I've
stayed there before."
"You have?"
He nodded, slinging my backpack over his
shoulder. "On tour. Come on."
We made it to the Shelbourne Dublin a short
time later, though we had to stop and ask for directions twice. I
nearly chewed my nails off in anxiety as Liam navigated the streets
of Ireland, but he didn’t get lost once and listened intently to my
directions.
In the front of the large building, I could
see The World Races flag and the cameramen milling about. No teams
waited outside - I didn't blame them. Why hang out on the street
when you can take a break in the nice comfy hotel? And I was
suddenly exhausted. We parked the car, and then Liam and I were
racing for the finish line. The tape had been broken already, which
meant we weren't first, but we didn't care.
We bounded past the finish and waited for
Chip to announce our place.
"Black team," Chip said in a grave voice.
"You are team….number five."
I gave a happy squeal of excitement, even
though I'd known we were at least five, considering we'd left five
teams back at the last challenge. And to my surprise, Liam reached
down and grabbed me into a hug, lifting me into the air.
And I laughed. Today? We were safe.
CHAPTER FIVE
"I have to say…I'm not exactly unhappy to
have Katy as a partner. She's a tough one, despite the pigtails. I
think the others underestimate just how strong she is because she
looks so small and cute. And she kisses like a fiend." — Liam
Brogan, Paris Leg of The World Races
Everyone lingered in the lobby of the hotel.
It wasn't that we particularly wanted to hang around. All the
racers were exhausted from the constant flight-hopping and then
heading straight to the challenges, not to mention the constant
nerves when you thought you were in last place. I was wiped, Liam
was wiped, everyone was wiped. And yet, we were all still in the
lobby.
No one had the money for a hotel room.
Rooms were just a bit over two hundred a
night, and we'd been given twenty dollars for the Greenland leg,
and a hundred for the Ireland leg. Considering that we liked
eating, we had to save some money for food and drink. Even two
teams pooling their money together couldn't afford one room, as the
price we’d been quoted was over two hundred and twenty a night. No
one was quite willing - yet - to fork over most of their money to
split one double room between six people. No one wanted to be that
third couple that didn't get to sleep on a bed.
So we hung out in the lobby, our two bucket
chairs scooted close together, and watched the others come in for
the race. Brodie and Tesla had come in fourth, one spot ahead of
us. They now sat in the bar of the hotel, eating dinner and
flirting. It was like my brother hadn't even noticed I was
there.
I glanced over at Liam to see if he
looking cool and casual, but as I glanced over at him, I saw him
give me a subtle thumbs-up.
I brought it to the judging stand and laid it
flat to be judged. The judge pulled out his magnifying glass and
began to pore over my finished painting. He took so long to study
it that I was sure he was going to find fault, and my stomach
dropped. Had I missed something? Had I dripped into the wrong box?
I watched him, holding my breath.
He straightened, looked at me, and then
nodded. "Good job." And he held out my disk.
I bounced with excitement and hugged him.
"Thank you! Thank you!" I grabbed the disk and dashed to Liam, and
on impulse, hugged him too.
Liam seemed surprised by that, but after a
moment, he hugged me back. The other teams clapped politely, but I
could tell they were nervous that we had already finished.
"Let's go outside and read this," Liam told
me, whispering in my ear.
We grabbed our bags and headed outside, and I
flipped over the clue. "Make your way to the Shelbourne Dublin.
Bring all disks with you so you may cross the finish line." I
looked up at Liam. "The Shelbourne Dublin? It sounds like a
hotel."
"I know where that is," Liam told me. "I've
stayed there before."
"You have?"
He nodded, slinging my backpack over his
shoulder. "On tour. Come on."
We made it to the Shelbourne Dublin a short
time later, though we had to stop and ask for directions twice. I
nearly chewed my nails off in anxiety as Liam navigated the streets
of Ireland, but he didn’t get lost once and listened intently to my
directions.
In the front of the large building, I could
see The World Races flag and the cameramen milling about. No teams
waited outside - I didn't blame them. Why hang out on the street
when you can take a break in the nice comfy hotel? And I was
suddenly exhausted. We parked the car, and then Liam and I were
racing for the finish line. The tape had been broken already, which
meant we weren't first, but we didn't care.
We bounded past the finish and waited for
Chip to announce our place.
"Black team," Chip said in a grave voice.
"You are team….number five."
I gave a happy squeal of excitement, even
though I'd known we were at least five, considering we'd left five
teams back at the last challenge. And to my surprise, Liam reached
down and grabbed me into a hug, lifting me into the air.
And I laughed. Today? We were safe.
CHAPTER FIVE
"I have to say…I'm not exactly unhappy to
have Katy as a partner. She's a tough one, despite the pigtails. I
think the others underestimate just how strong she is because she
looks so small and cute. And she kisses like a fiend." — Liam
Brogan, Paris Leg of The World Races
Everyone lingered in the lobby of the hotel.
It wasn't that we particularly wanted to hang around. All the
racers were exhausted from the constant flight-hopping and then
heading straight to the challenges, not to mention the constant
nerves when you thought you were in last place. I was wiped, Liam
was wiped, everyone was wiped. And yet, we were all still in the
lobby.
No one had the money for a hotel room.
Rooms were just a bit over two hundred a
night, and we'd been given twenty dollars for the Greenland leg,
and a hundred for the Ireland leg. Considering that we liked
eating, we had to save some money for food and drink. Even two
teams pooling their money together couldn't afford one room, as the
price we’d been quoted was over two hundred and twenty a night. No
one was quite willing - yet - to fork over most of their money to
split one double room between six people. No one wanted to be that
third couple that didn't get to sleep on a bed.
So we hung out in the lobby, our two bucket
chairs scooted close together, and watched the others come in for
the race. Brodie and Tesla had come in fourth, one spot ahead of
us. They now sat in the bar of the hotel, eating dinner and
flirting. It was like my brother hadn't even noticed I was
there.
I glanced over at Liam to see if he
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