Two is Company (House of Anubis)

Chapter 87: The Lion, The Mascot, and The Dodgeball Tournament

Anubis House's morale, which had been boosted by the last minute and admittedly paltry victory over Mut House, was already beginning to dip. There was still no sign of KT, and Jerome was insisting he was too badly injured to play in the final.

Truthfully, Eddie had to concede that Jerome looked pretty busted: there was a welt on his temple the size of a ping-pong ball and, according to Alfie and Joy, he'd puked in one of the trash barrels that dotted the school corridors. He must have gotten slammed pretty hard by the last lob of dodgeballs.

Even so, with KT off dilly-dallying somewhere and Alfie already filling her spot, they couldn't play. Not without Jerome. Eddie had already tugged Joy off to the side to beg for her help, but she'd refused on the grounds that she very much liked being alive.

"Eddie, if I went out there it'd be suicide," she said firmly, leaving him no room to argue. "No way."

That left Kira with her stupid thumb, Willow, and Fabian. Obviously, his first choice would have been his sister. She was good— not the best shot, but she could outlast just about anyone at school when they used to play, dipping and diving out of the way of the foam ammunition aimed at her. So of course she had to go and find herself with a sprained finger. He thought about the physical dangers they'd all been put in over the past few months and shuddered, schluffing off the eerie memory of the blade bearing down on him. There were worse injuries to sustain than a sprain.

With Kira and Joy out, that meant he had a choice between Fabian and Willow, neither of whom was exactly a tempting teammate. Willow would probably just end up frolicking around the court in an interpretive dance of some kind, while Fabian... well, he might be able to dodge a few balls, but he wasn't exactly what anyone would call an athlete by any stretch.

He just had to hope that Jerome would reconsider or that perhaps the others could be convinced to let Kira play without giving her a hard time about her hand. A rousing speech might do the trick.

"Guys, gather 'round!" he ordered, having long given up trying to make them actually huddle. With put-upon sighs, they shuffled over to him. "Look, alright," Eddie began, "What we lack in presentation, we make up for in tenacity!"

"Did you just Google that word?" Mara muttered under her breath, and Eddie wasn't really sure if the jab was meant to be light-hearted or not.

"No," he answered neutrally. He had, of course, a few minutes before while he was planning the speech. "But I'm right, aren't I?"

"Yes," Jerome replied through gritted teeth, "but I care more about my head than I do about winning dodgeball. I already told you I'm out."

"Jerry, c'mon—" Eddie tried, hoping his face didn't give away his frustration.

"No!" he interjected, just as firmly as Joy had; it was no wonder they were suddenly getting along so well. "I'm out."

Patricia hesitated before putting a hand on his shoulder. "Look, don't worry," she said and cast an unsubtle look at Kira, who was still buried in her phone. She sighed. "KT will make it."

No, she wouldn't, and to a certain extent, Eddie couldn't really blame her. He knew at the end of the day that the mystery of how to stop the Great Evil that loomed ahead of them was more important than a dodgeball tournament, but it was still important. To him and Kira, at least. He thought that at least KT might see that.

"Look, Isis House... they are bigger. They're stronger; they've got the advantage." Eddie didn't need to say it out loud— everyone knew he meant Benji. Still, one person didn't make or break a team. "But together, we will fight to the bitter end," he added hopefully, and he watched something stir in his housemates' faces. "Not just for us, okay? But for the future generations of Anubis House, so they can walk into these games with their heads held high and say, 'I am Anubis!' and have it be something to be proud of, not ashamed of! Who's with me?!"