Magic Mansion by Jordan Price (best fiction books to read .txt) 📕

thinking the performer was still facing forward even as they turned their body to the side. The Red Team’s cabinet had been painted with aggressive, graffiti-like strokes of red, black and white. It looked modern and fresh, and somehow even a bit threatening.

“Teams,” Monty said, “why don’t you tell us a little bit about your project?”

Iain directed the cameras to focus on Sue, then said, “Go.”

“Well, Monty, what Gold Team made is a traditional Zig-Zag Cabinet piece.” She seemed at a loss for words to describe it, compared to the balls-out audacity of the Red Team’s creation. Then she added, “It’s very well made.”

“And that accuracy will be put to the test in just a few moments. So tell me, Sue, which team member would you say was your most valuable asset in this particular leg of the challenge?”

“Who else but the Math Wizard?” Sue beamed at Bev, and the rest of the team murmured their agreement and patted Bev on the shoulders.

“Very good, Gold Team. Well done.” Monty turned to Red Team, and the cameras shifted. “Kevin, what was the concept behind the Red Team’s cabinet?”

“Yo, check it out. Dis ass-kickin’, mind-trippin’ box gonna blow y’all away—and if you think it just looks badass, you gonna find out when you see it in action…it is badass. Inside and out.”

“A bold assertion, Red Team. And who would you say was the team member most responsible for the success of your project?”

“Aw, that’s easy.” Kevin Kazan crossed his massive arms, ensuring his biceps bulged, smiled wide and said, “That’d be me.”

Three faces fell. Behind the camera, Iain motioned for them to bring their dismay up a few notches…not that they needed his direction to do so.

Jia was the first to find her voice. “No way.”

“How can you…?” Fabian spluttered.

John pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed.

“What’s that, Red Team?” Monty said. “You don’t agree?”

“No,” Fabian said. “I do not. I was the one who drew up the plans. I was the one who supervised the construction.”

“And don’t forget the Professor,” Jia said. “He made an important contribution too. All Kevin did was paint the damn thing. And even then, he only did the fun part and left all the boring detail work to me.”

“What you forget,” Kevin said smugly, “is that Fabian made his plans because I inspired him to draw them up. And the Professor got his idea from something I said. A team ain’t nothing without a good leader…and who’s the leader of this team?”

Jia crossed her arms, clamped her jaw shut, and said nothing. But her glare was as sharp as a circular saw.

“Well, Red Team,” Monty said without any particular regret, “your leader has spoken. Too bad you’re not in agreement about who deserves all the accolades for building the challenge cabinet…because the player who was named by your team leader is eligible for much more than just praise.”

Jia’s eyes narrowed. Fabian shook his head in disgust. John sighed…again.

“Math Wizard, Kevin Kazan, please step forward.”

Even with her new lowlights and a palate of eye makeup chosen for her by the Stylist to the Stars, Bev looked totally middle-aged and frumpy as she stepped up to the tape mark on the floor beside swaggering Kevin Kazan in his red satin track suit and glittering gold jewelry. But she had truly outdone herself in the challenge, and her team had unanimously heaped praise upon her, so she held her head high, and she beamed.

“Now that you’ve created your Zig Zag cabinets,” Monty told them, “it’s time to put them through their paces. One member of your team will step inside, while the other team members insert the blades and slide out the center piece. But here’s the twist.”

Kevin turned to the Red Team and gave them an elaborately gloating look. Sue nudged Ricardo in the ribs.

“You probably have a certain team member who’d be perfect for this challenge. Someone spry. Someone flexible. Unfortunately, the opposing team is going to select which of you performs inside the cabinet. And once the cabinet has been opened up to its most widely-spread position, our team of carpenters is going to measure the distance between the farthest edges.

“The box that opens the widest wins.”

Bev turned and looked at the pair of cabinets, and then raked her eyes over the opposing team. No doubt a tickertape of figures was running through her brain. Was she as good at calculating everyone’s waistlines as she was their height? Ricardo didn’t doubt it. She’d probably never even given a Christmas sweater the wrong size, unless she’d bought it with the intention of it being something to “grow into.” And even then, she’d be able to calculate the exact day by which the thing would be a perfect fit.

“Kevin Kazan, Math Wizard, the two of you will be offered a choice. Immunity from participating in the challenge, or a thousand dollars. Consider your decision carefu—”

“Immunity,” Bev blurted out, without even being asked. Everyone looked at her. Iain shrugged and made a “keep going” motion. “I don’t want to compete, Monty. Any other member of my team would be better at the task than me. I don’t care about the money—I want my team to win. I want immunity.”

“The Gold Team magician knows what she wants,” Monty said. “And so, Kevin, what do you say? Immunity, or a cool grand?”

Kevin thought for a good, long time. Was he just cherishing the feel of all the cameras pointed directly in his face, Ricardo wondered, or were there really pros and cons to consider? Or, was he just pissed off because he didn’t really care about either of those rewards…but if he’d cited Fabian, the portliest member of the team, for his contribution, Fabian would have been able to opt out, leaving Red Team with a much better chance of winning the challenge. Kevin pondered whatever it was he was pondering for a good long moment, then he gave a disgusted half-shrug, and said, “I’ll take the cash.”

___

“Well,” Fabian said