For Real(35)

“Slowly,” I say, nodding to the water pan. Even inclining my head makes it splash.

After a while, Will convinces Greg to go ahead of us with the camera, effectively clearing a path for us. We pass massive white sacks full of spices, tables piled high with produce, crates filled with unrefrigerated eggs, and cookware dangling from hooks. Many of the stalls are selling things I don’t even recognize. There’s an overwhelming smell of seafood and spices and smoke and sweat. It’s all pretty amazing, and I wish I weren’t carrying this stupid water pan so I could actually look around.

Finally, Taufik pauses at a produce stall and holds up a baseball-sized object that looks kind of like a round, green pinecone. “Srikaya,” he announces.

“Awesome,” Will says. “Claire, where’s the money?”

“Crap. It’s in my back pocket.”

“Can Taufik get it out for you?”

I don’t really want a random stranger sticking his hands in my jeans. “I can get it. Stay really still …”

Painstakingly slowly, I reach behind me and try to tug the rupiahs out of my damp pocket. I’m almost in the clear when someone knocks my arm from behind, and I lurch forward, dumping the entire tray of water down Will’s front. I hear a gasp and a giggle behind me, and I whirl around to see Philadelphia and Blake. “Oh gosh, I’m so sorry,” Philadelphia gushes, making her best innocent face. “It’s so crowded in here!” Bizarrely, her eye makeup still looks perfect, even after swimming. Maybe it’s tattooed on.

I feel my face go hot—she obviously hit us on purpose—but I know I can’t afford to waste time by losing my temper. What she did is probably against the rules, but it’s not like I have any way to report her. “Come on, let’s refill this,” I say to Will through gritted teeth. As soon as Philadelphia and Blake pass us, concentrating on their pan of water, I pay for the weird green fruit and stuff it into my pack. They move right past the stall without stopping, so they probably still don’t know what they’re looking for. I think about bumping them back, but that’s not the kind of racer I want to be. I don’t want to win by playing dirty, unless it involves Samir.

We push through the crowd to the entrance, Taufik and Greg at our heels, and the woman in print refills our tray. Just as we’re about to head back inside, Miranda and Aidan sprint up, damp and out of breath. “Hey,” my sister pants. “God, our driver got so lost on the way here.” She looks down at my wet clothes. “I take it this isn’t your first tray of water.”

“Nope. But it helps if you get your cameraman to go in front of you. And watch out for Blake and Philadelphia; they’ll try to slam into you on purpose.”

“Thanks.” She holds out her instruction card. “Do you know what any of these words mean?”

I pull our srikaya out of my pack. “This is the first one. We don’t know about the others yet.”

“Come on, Claire,” Will urges.

Miranda looks slightly annoyed, but she says, “Go ahead. Good luck.”

We trundle back into the market, and Taufik steers us down a different aisle, this one lined with enormous tubs of seafood on ice. Fish with the heads and scales on have always creeped me out a little, but these are arranged so nicely that they’re actually kind of pretty. The floor is slippery with half-melted ice and slime, and the fishy smell is overwhelming. “We’re going to reek for the rest of our lives,” I say.

I expect Will to laugh and agree, but he has a frustrated look on his face and barely responds. “What’s the matter?” I ask.

He shrugs a little, and the water pan tips dangerously. “I just don’t think you should be giving hints to other teams,” he says. “It kind of defeats the whole purpose of the race, you know?”

I get that cold, twisty feeling in my stomach that always happens when someone I care about is mad at me. “But … she’s not ‘other teams.’ She’s my sister.”

“Claire, she’s not your partner anymore.”

“But she’s the whole reason I’m here. I have to help her beat Samir. I promised her I would, no matter what.”

“We haven’t seen Samir all day. He’s probably way at the back of the pack. Miranda doesn’t need your help beating him right now.”

“Well, yeah. But people form alliances on race shows all the time. What’s the big deal if I have an alliance with Miranda?”

“Alliances help both teams. It’s not like she’s done anything for us.”

“She gave us her cab after the first challenge!”

“Yeah, but that wasn’t exactly a sacrifice. It’s not like she needed it anymore. Plus, that guy was the worst driver ever.”

Taufik calls out “Ikan asin!” and points at a large basket of crusty dried fish that look like they’ve been pounded flat with a mallet, eyes and all. I seriously do not want those inside my pack, but I smile and call, “Thank you! One quarter kilo!” Very precariously, I manage to pass him some money.

As Taufik haggles with the fishmonger, Will says, “Look, I’m not telling you to freeze your sister out or anything. But you have to race for yourself. Think about how you’re going to look to the viewers if you keep helping her instead of trying to win.”