9 The Contest

Nine. The contest? HARRIS RUSHED TO THE BATHROOM. When he got there, he was stunned to see a chair propped up against the the door, wedged under the doorknob. Harris pulled the chair away and flung the door open. He found Zeke inside, hovering back and forth nervously. "Harris!" Zeke cried. "I couldn't open the door."

"That's because someone propped a chair up against it out here," Harris explained. "And I think we both know who did it." "I can't understand why Jeremy would go to so much trouble to cheat just to win the contest," Zeke said. "I want to win, too, but cheating? What do you even get for winning?"

"The top three get a small medal, and the overall winner also gets a get-out-of-homework-free pass to use once." "That's it?" Zeke asked. They both laughed. "Well, there's bragging rights, too. We've got to stop him!" said Harris. The two friends ran back to the auditorium, with Harris's robot legs clanking and Zeke's tentacles flapping.

Backstage, they caught up with Roxy and told her what Jeremy had done. "We have to stop him before the contest starts!" said Roxy. Harris, Zeke, and Roxy found Jeremy. "You've been trying to ruin my costume all day! You tried to spill juice on it earlier," Zeke blurted out.

"And then you tried to drop flour on it. And you locked Zeke in the bathroom when your first plan failed," Harris added. Jeremy pulled off the head of his monster costume and smiled. "Who... me? You have no proof!" he said. "Attention, contestants!" came an announcement over the backstage loudspeaker. "The contest is about to begin. Please come to the stage."

"Excuse me," said Jeremy, slipping his monster head back on. "I've got a contest to win!" Then he walked toward the stage. "What are we going to do now?" asked Harris. "I've got an idea to stop him," said Roxy. "Follow me." Roxy, Harris, and Zeke ran onto the stage and over to the judges' table. The judges were teachers in the school, including Mr. Mulvaney.