For Real(61)

“Hi, Claire,” she says. “What I need from you is a wish that has to do with love or romance. It can be anything you want, but the more specific you are, the more exciting it’ll be for our viewers. For example, if there’s another racer you’re interested in, now would be a great time to mention it. Do you need a minute to think about it?”

“No,” I tell her. “I know what I want to say.”

“Great. The camera’s rolling, so go ahead whenever you’re ready.”

I look straight into the lens. “I wish that Will Divine and I can be a real couple once this race is over,” I say, loud and clear. “He’s the most amazing guy I’ve ever met, and he seems to like me, too. I want him to be my boyfriend.” It’s the first time I’ve voiced that thought out loud, and it feels terrifying and wonderful in equal measures.

The producer beams at me. “That’s perfect, Claire. You’re all set. Go ahead and send Will up.”

Will’s gone for a lot longer than I was. He and the producer seem to be having a heated discussion, but even when I edge closer, I can’t hear what they’re saying. Finally, the producer hands him a pink envelope, and he climbs back down. “What took you so long?” I ask.

“Oh, nothing. She just wasn’t happy with how I phrased my wish at first.”

He tears open our instructions, but I’m not quite ready to be done with this topic yet, even though I can see Tawny and Troy making their way up the hill. “What did you wish for?” I push, hoping it was about me.

He gives me a mysterious smile. “If I told you, it wouldn’t come true.”

“I don’t think that rule applies when you’ve already said it out loud.”

“If you’re so sure, why don’t you tell me what you wished for?”

“Fine,” I say. “I wished for the power to turn anything I wanted into cheese.”

He laughs. “That was your wish about love and romance?”

“Maybe. Cheese is very romantic.”

“I’ll tell you my wish when you tell me your real one.”

I’m right on the brink of doing it, but I’m suddenly not sure if I should—I don’t want to say too much too fast and risk scaring him away. Our new dynamic feels fragile as an eggshell, and I’m worried I might break it if I squeeze too hard. So I just shrug and say, “I’ll tell you later.”

“Same goes for me, then.” Will pulls out our next instructions, and I’m a little disappointed that he didn’t try harder to weasel my wish out of me.

Drive yourselves to the Ancient Stadium in Corinth, where you will run a relay race using golden apples, one of the symbols of Aphrodite. You must travel up and down the field four times, passing off your golden apple each time. The first team member will begin with the apple under his or her chin. After the first lap, the apple must be passed to the second team member’s chin. For the third lap, the first team member must hold the apple between his or her knees, and for the final lap, the apple must be passed to the second team member’s knees. You may not touch the apple with your hands at any time. If you drop your apple, you will incur a three-minute penalty, during which you must sit down and remain silent.

“Now they really are just trying to make us look stupid,” Will says as we start our descent.

“I don’t know, I think it sounds kind of fun,” I say. Then again, I’m so giggly and buoyant right now that picking dead flies out of a kiddie pool with tweezers would probably sound fun.

I expect the stadium to be a structure with walls, like a football stadium, but it turns out to be a wide, flat field surrounded by scrubby trees. In the middle of the grass, Miranda and Zora are doing hilarious ducklike waddles with golden apples clenched between their knees as a crowd of locals cheers them on. At the stadium gate, a man who’s about as wide as he is tall hands us our “golden apple,” which is made of plastic and is lighter and more slippery than a real apple. He also hands me another pink envelope, but instead of the regular logo that’s usually printed on the front, this heart-map is circled in red and slashed through with a line. Inside are two hot pink cards and an explanation.

Attention, racers! This challenge is a HEARTBREAKER! If you spot a team waiting out a penalty during the relay, you may swap your own partner for either penalized racer, who will become your new partner for the rest of this leg of the race. You must start the relay over with your new partner. Each person may initiate only one swap. Are you cruel enough to break your partner’s heart?

Well, this clearly doesn’t apply to me. Why would I want to switch partners when I have Will? “You’re not going to trade me in for Philadelphia, are you?” I ask jokingly as I hand him his card, and he laughs and rolls his eyes. I’m pleased to discover that thinking about her doesn’t make me feel the slightest bit insecure anymore. I tuck my Heartbreaker card into my back pocket and forget about it.

The field is divided into lanes, with little Venus-on-a-clamshell statues marking the boundary lines. Each lane also has a referee with a whistle and a red flag. We pick a lane, and Will asks, “You want to go first?”

“Sure.” I tuck the apple under my chin, and I’m off.

My neck starts to sweat against the plastic almost immediately, and the apple threatens to slip, so I slow from a run to a smoother speed-walk. Will trots along next to me, cheering me on. I’m only about a quarter of the way across the field when I hear the shriek of a whistle. “Who has a penalty?” I ask, careful not to move my chin too much.