He’s actually going to go along with this?

My thoughts were confirmed when I saw the smirk on his face. Uh oh. He’s got an idea. And by the looks of it, it’s not a really encouraging one.

“You hear that, Xiaoli? He’s going to decide!” Lin sneered, waving another Campbell 2030 spoon in my face.

“I heard, I’m not deaf,” I muttered, and inched away irritably.

I watched Cricket as he took a seat, completely doing this at his own pace.

“Well, are you going to announce it?”

Oh, so Miss Spoon Ninja was getting antsy.

“Oh, I sure am,” Cricket said, rubbing his hands together slowly. “I’m sure it’s going to be very productive for the both of you.”

Silence reigned over the room for a while.

“Just SAY it!” we both yelled at him in unison, and Cricket just brushed ‘dust’ off his coat sleeve.

“You’re going to compete at chess.”

Hah…just perfect.