Chapter Eleven - Becca #2
I start up the Metro, and we head back towards the main street.
The sidewalks are already packed with people, a bunch of them dressed in costumes and alien-themed attire.
There’s a couple dressed like Sigourney Weaver and the Alien—complete with an alien baby popping out of the stomach—and we pass another guy that’s dressed like Marvin the Martian from the old cartoons.
“Dude, check out that guy.” Lucky leans forward, pointing across the street where there’s a guy on some kind of modified stilts, making him appear way taller than he is.
His entire body is painted bright green—except for the tiny silver Speedo he wears, and he’s carrying a sign that says, “The taller the alien, the bigger the probe.”
“Ew, that’s gross,” I say, averting my gaze. “It’s way too early in the day for that.”
Lucky grins. “So tell me, Becca. What is the appropriate hour for speedo-gazing?”
“How about the half hour after never.” I roll my eyes. “What do you think we’re in for today?”
“Not sure.” Lucky shrugs. “But we better be ready for anything. That being said,” he bends down and pulls out his vlogging camera. “Want me to grab some b-roll footage?”
I nod, my hands tight on the steering wheel. Lucky switches the camera on and rolls down the window, capturing footage of the crowded sidewalk and the various costume get-ups.
In no time at all, we’re pulling up to the UFO center, a fairly nondescript beige building.
There’s a giant blue sign with a flying saucer on it and the words “UFO Museum and Research Center,” but otherwise, the building is pretty unremarkable.
It looks like the other teams are already there and waiting out front.
Lucky flips the camera around to face me. “So, Becca. It’s Challenge Day. How ya feeling?”
“Ready to win!” I say, a little more loudly than I intend, peeling my lips back into what I hope is a winning smile. I flash a thumbs up and reach for the camera. “What about you?”
Lucky looks around and then whispers, “Can you keep a secret?”
I tip the camera so that it appears like the camera has shaken its head.
“We’re totally going to KILL IT!” He roars the last two words directly into the camera lens and then breaks into this ridiculous dance of flailing limbs and hip gyrations. The entire Metro is shaking, and I laugh, keeping the camera focused on him.
Outside, the other teams are staring at us. “You see that, Holly G?” Lucky turns to me. “We’re already making them sweat.”
“I doubt that,” I argue, my camera-ready smile already fading from my face. I turn off the car and take a deep breath. “You ready?”
Lucky digs through his bag. “Almost.” He swipes around the bottom and pulls out a thick black headband with a small silver contraption attached to it.
“What is that?”
“It’s a GoPro camera,” Lucky says, pulling the headband on and using the visor mirror to adjust the camera so it’s sitting directly in the middle of his forehead. When he faces me again, I see the tiny lens.
“That looks ridiculous.”
“Yes, but we’ll get some awesome footage this way. I use it for my videos all the time.”
“Of course, you do.” I laugh. “Carry on, then.”
Lucky salutes me with a grin, and we both step out into the bright sunlight and walk over to where the rest of the finalists are waiting.
“Look what the cat dragged in,” Ziven booms, coming up to give Lucky one of those back-pounding bro hugs, then flashing me a wide grin.
“You again,” I groan, which only makes his smile grow wider.
I scan the rest of the finalists. Ross is sitting on the ground with his knees tucked up to his chest and a PSP in his hand.
Skai and Evie are standing away from the rest of the group, talking, while Skai gives her teammate a rueful scowl.
Iris and Sean are laughing about something, and they seem to be getting along really well. I make my way over to them.
“Hey Becca!” Iris lifts a hand to wave.
“Hey,” I say, smiling at both her and Sean. “You guys ready?”
Sean rocks back on his heel, doing a little quick step. “So ready!” Iris laughs at him, her cheeks a rosy pink.
“What’s up with that?” I ask, indicating Skai and Evie.
Iris lets out a little sigh. “I’m not sure. I haven’t really had a chance to talk much with them, but I think Skai is upset about being partnered up with Ross.”
I eye the gamer, oblivious to anything except the enemy he’s currently battling on the screen, his head bobbing every time he makes a kill. “I can’t say I blame her,” I say. “The guy’s completely out of it.”
“Never underestimate people, Holly G,” Lucky says, coming up behind me and throwing an arm over my shoulder. “They might just surprise you.”
He pulls me close and my knees wobble a little at the contact, my mind all too quick to remind me of our morning snuggle.
It’s just the heat, I tell myself.
But deep down, I know the warmth overwhelming me has nothing at all to do with the blazing sun. I swallow and try to focus on the conversation.
Sean nods. “Ross is one of the top gamers in the nation. He could probably kick all our asses in strategy and problem-solving. Plus, his channel is huge. When it comes to the popular votes—he’s definitely one to look out for.”
There isn’t time to say anything else because the doors to the UFO museum swing open, and Mr. Dozer comes waltzing through.
Several other people from Starlight follow him, including the camera crews.
Tony hefts his camera onto his shoulder as he moves into position near us.
Lucky withdraws his arm but stays close by me.
A twinge of disappointment zips through me. Focus, Bex. Focus.
I’m already starting to glisten in the thick heat, but Dozer is wearing his usual suit and shows no signs of sweat sparkle.
“Welcome to Roswell, New Mexico, Finalists!” He pauses expectantly, so we all oblige him with a semi-enthusiastic round of applause. “Today is the day of your first challenge.”
He smiles so widely, I fear his two front teeth—which are starting to resemble pieces of square candy the longer I look at them—are going to pop out of his gums.
“Behind me is the iconic Roswell UFO Museum and Research Center. Thousands of tourists flock here every year to learn all about alien activity and to search for answers to the unknown.” Dozer lowers his voice for added dramatic effect.
“Inside, you’ll find numerous exhibits explaining the history of what became known as ‘The Roswell Incident’ and other encounters of another kind.
You’ll have thirty minutes to go through the museum and soak in as much information as you can.
Then you’ll come back here, and we’ll begin the challenge. Does everyone understand?”
Is that it? I’m not sure what I expected, but this catches me a little off-guard. I look at Lucky, but his eyes are focused and his game face is on.
“Ready, steady . . . 1 . . . 2 . . . 3 . . . GO!” Mr. Dozer shouts, and everyone takes off, shoving towards the double door leading inside.
The crisp air conditioner feels amazing, and I almost pause to just relish in the coolness, but Lucky’s waving at me to hurry up, so I jog over to the first exhibit, which is dedicated to eyewitness testimonies of the crash in 1947.
There’s a lot of information, but I try to speed-read as much as possible before jumping to the next.
“What do you think the challenge is?” I whisper to Lucky.
“No clue,” he says, unsmiling.
I admit Focused Lucky weirds me out a little bit, but I go back to scanning the information.
The UFO museum is bigger than it looks from the outside, and it's filled to the brim with artifacts and information—there's even an entire section dedicated to Star Wars and other space pop culture phenomena.
There's simply no way to process it all, but I do my best—along with the other finalists who are darting back and forth like rats in a maze.
When time is called, we all head back outside. The Starlight people have been busy, transforming the parking lot into what looks like some makeshift game show.
There is a thick red line painted across the pavement, and several yards away, they’ve set up four podiums, each with its own buzzer.
I swallow. Lucky is fidgeting beside me, rolling his shoulders and head back and forth as we’re ushered into place behind the red line with the rest of the finalists.
A man with a headset counts down and then points to Dozer as the Starlight Agency’s cameras swing to face him for the livestream.
"Welcome, viewers!" Mr. Dozer booms. "Our finalists have had thirty minutes inside the iconic Roswell UFO Museum and Research Center, and now it's time to put their knowledge to the test!" His head swivels back towards us, and he sweeps his arm out to indicate the podiums.
"I'll be asking questions about the information you viewed inside the museum.
If you know the answer, you or your teammate will race to your team's coordinating buzzer.
Whichever team is the first to hit their buzzer will get the chance to answer.
If you get the answer correct, you get a point.
If you get the answer wrong, you lose a point and it goes to the next team.
The first team to ten wins. Does everyone understand? "
It seems very straightforward and easy. In fact, I'm a little surprised. I'd assumed the challenges would be . . . well, super challenging. But trivia? I can handle that.
"Let's begin.” Dozer pulls out a stack of cards from the inner pocket of his jacket—I still can't figure out how he's not dying of heat exhaustion—and reads from the top. "Question #1: In what month and year did ‘The Roswell Incident’ take place?"
Lucky lunges forward, dashing toward our team buzzer before I even have time to process the question. Ziven and Skai are trailing Lucky by mere inches.
Lucky slams his hand on our team buzzer exactly one second before Ziven gets to his. I let out a whoop and then clap my hand over my mouth. If Lucky doesn't know the answer, we'll be in the negative. Please know the answer, please know the answer, please know the answer.
"Ah, Mr. DeLucca!" Dozer says. "Can you please tell me what year ‘The Roswell Incident’ took place?”
"That would be July 1947," he says confidently. "Final answer."
Dozer pauses for a moment and then booms, “Correct! One point for Lucky and Becca!"
The other finalists grumble, but I clap my hands. "Yes!"
Lucky jogs back over to me and I hold up my hand.
"Nice one, partner!" I tell him.
He gives me both a high five and a sheepish grin. "Beauty and brains, what can I say?"
To that, I snort.
Dozer calls the teams to attention again. "Question #2! What was the name of the rancher who was an eyewitness to the event and even removed debris from the supposed crash site?"
This time, there's not an instant surge toward the buzzers. Iris and Sean are whispering feverishly to each other, while Ziven and Evie are just looking at each other blankly. I can't see Skai and Ross from my place on the red line, but neither of them are moving toward the podiums.
"Got anything, Holly G?" Lucky asks.
I shake my head. "No, I don't—OH!"
Out of nowhere, the name floats into my thoughts clear as day. The very last exhibit I read before they called time was all about eyewitness testimony and its reliability.
"I think I know who it is!" I squeak.
Lucky shoves me forward. "What are you waiting for then, go!"
I take off towards the podium and slam my hand on the buzzer. "Mac Brazel!" I shout before Dozer even has time to ask me the question again.
His eyebrows shoot up, but then he laughs, the sound so loud I jump. "Well, well, Ms. Evans! Eager are we?"
"Sorry," I say, giving him a little shrug and a smile. "I wanted to get it out before I forgot."
"Mac Brazel, you say?" Mr. Dozer peers at the answer card in his hand. "That is . . . CORRECT!"
I jump up and down, adrenaline coursing through me.
"Hell yeah, Holly G!" Lucky yells from behind the line. I jog back towards him and receive my own high five this time.
The next half hour is a flurry of questions, racing, squeals, and grumbling. Lucky and I do surprisingly well, but by the time we get to the last question, we're only leading by one point. Iris and Sean and Ziven and Evie are tied for second place.
Mr. Dozer flips to the last card in his hand. "Annnnnd . . . the final question isssssss . . . After the Air Force rescinded their initial statement that a flying disk had been recovered, what did they claim the debris from the site actually was?"
I know the answer immediately, but so does nearly everyone else.
"Go, go, go!" I yell as Lucky makes a mad dash for our team buzzer. "GOOOO!"
I suck in a breath right as his fingertips press down on the button—a mere second after Sean. Lucky swears, though he's smiling. Does anything phase him?
Sean presses his lips together as Mr. Dozer repeats the question for him. "The answer is . . ." He pauses, and I see the words evaporate in his mind. He has one of those faces that is easy to read. Iris must see it, too. I hear her gasp from beside me.
"Um . . ." Sean tries. "I know this. It had something to do with weather . . . a weather rod?"
It takes everything I have not to bust out into a happy dance. He got it wrong!
"No, I'm sorry, that's incorrect." Dozer turns to Lucky. "Mr. DeLucca, you reached your buzzer second. Can you tell me what the Air Force claimed the debris was from?"
"Yes, as a matter of fact, I can,” Lucky says, matching Dozer's ridiculous accent with one of his own. "They claimed it was from a weather balloon."
"That's correct!" Dozer declares.
I run towards Lucky with my hands in the air. "We did it! We won!" I shout.
He meets me in the middle, breaking out into his happy dance again. I burst out in laughter. After the car fiasco, it feels nice to be back on top. We might stand a chance of winning this thing if we can keep this streak going.
A throat clears behind us, interrupting our celebration. "Um, excuse me," Mr. Dozer's face is amused. "If you're quite finished, it's time to begin the challenge."
"But we just did the challenge." Lucky's eyebrows are scrunched together.
My face, too, is lined in confusion.
Mr. Dozer chuckles as if we just told him a joke. "That was merely the preliminary to determine the order.
"What?" I'm still not sure I'm understanding. "The whole trivia game wasn't the challenge?"
Dozer shakes his head. "I'm afraid not."
"So, what is the challenge, then?"
A Starlight official walks up to Dozer with four unmarked envelopes and hands them to him. He waves Lucky and I forward, holding out the envelopes.
"Choose one," he says.