Page 46 of Losing Sleep
“Bracket? I thought we’d just face off. Then I’d lose and get to call it a night.”
“What do you think this is? Amateur hour?” Brad called from the doorway, holding a notebook above his head. “This is a double elimination tournament of epic-ness guaranteed to fill your evening with hours of entertainment as we determine racing superiority.”
Brad walked to the couch, shoved Alex’s legs out of the way, and sat. He then held up the notebook, showing me a complicated graph that was barely legible.
“Everyone races at least twice. That way we won’t have any whiners blaming bad luck or a difficult course.” He looked pointedly at his brother before continuing. “This is a battle to the end. Winner takes all: bragging rights until the next cabin trip.”
“Great. Can I compete in the first two races?” I asked, covering a yawn. Now that I was warm, exhaustion was settling into my bones, and the siren call of my bed grew louder.
“Sorry, but race order has already been determined based on random selection. Don’t want anyone crying foul.” Brad handed me the notebook but refused to make eye contact. Something felt fishy about the whole setup.
I glanced at the sheet, and in bold strokes, everyone’s names were written, with my brackets both conveniently listed last.
“How are both of my races at the end?” I directed the question at Brad but glanced up to find Tory entering the basement, a guilty expression on her face that she quickly hid with a yawn and a stretch.
“Just lucky! It means you have time to brainstorm your strategy before your races.” Brad took the notebook, turning away from me and rambling about the first bracket.
If I was a betting woman, I’d bet there was nothing random about this bracket. However, since I’d been downstairs waging a sock war, I had no way to prove it. It had seemed odd that Grey was so insistent I stay downstairs. Was it just because he thought I’d bail on the tournament? Or was something else at play?
I looked between Grey and Tory, trying to find evidence of their plotting but coming up empty. I wouldn’t put it past the two of them to conspire against me, but without proof, my options were to either back out or pray the races ended quickly. Deciding all I had to lose was a bit more sleep, I settled into my seat and prepared to watch the races.
“First up, Tory and Trent. Let’s test this relationship and see who’s the better driver,” Brad said in his best announcer voice, eyebrows waggling in invitation.
Tory turned on the TV and started the gaming console, familiar cartoon racing characters filling the screen. Trent and Tory selected their avatars and settled on the floor, shoulders bumping.
“I hope you’re ready to eat my dust,” Tory said sweetly.
Trent just snorted.
The race began, and the two were off. Trent kept quiet, intensity radiating off him as he drove, wheeling around corners and using every advantage he could to slow Tory. Tory, on the other hand, was loud. Trash-talking as she passed Trent, bumping his shoulder when she happened to fall behind. The race quickly finished with a triumphant shout from Tory and a groan from Trent.
“Victory!” Tory stood, shaking her hips in victory as she handed the controller to Brad for the next race.
Trent shook his head, grumbling something about Tory having an unfair advantage before he walked to the bean bag in the corner and pulled out his phone.
The tournament continued, the racers sitting on the floor while the rest of us watched from the couches and bean bag. Trash-talking and friendly jostling filled each race. When it was finally my turn, I was pitted against Tory for the first race.
I quickly proved my ineptitude, struggling to turn corners and hit the correct buttons.
“I know wandering does not equate to being lost, but to win the race you have to go forward,” Grey teased as I got spun around and drove in the wrong direction for a moment before finally getting turned back around.
“Watch it,” I gritted back, attempting to stay on the racetrack and not fall off into a pool of water.
My struggle did not stop Tory from egging me on, talking about how I was going down. Even though her victory had been guaranteed, she still cheered when she crossed the finish line for the third and final time, beating me by more than a lap.
“That’s right! Who’s the champion? Oh, that would be me.” Tory pointed to herself with both thumbs and did a shimmy dance as she strutted to the couch and sat down.
“All right, that was…entertaining,” Brad said, recording the results of the latest match in his notebook.
“I think the word you’re looking for is painful,” I said, trying not to let my frustration show. I didn’t play video games because, to put it gently, I sucked. Growing up, I hadn’t had access to a console—we definitely couldn’t have afforded one. Instead, I’d spent hours listening to my mom’s old tapes and CDs or playing outside. If this was classic rock trivia, I’d be dominating.
“Get ready for the final match! We’re almost ready for the next round.” Brad waved the notebook with enthusiasm.
So far, only Trent had been eliminated from racing in round two. He’d gone up against Brad in his second race and lost by a hair. His reaction had been to throw down the controller and stalk off into The Cave. He’d yet to come back. I was slightly envious of his chance to go to bed.
“I can save you the trouble of watching another race. I guarantee I’ll lose this round too,” I said on a yawn. A look at my phone made me flinch as I realized it was well after midnight. The lack of sleep on this trip was going to kill me.
“And deprive me of going up against your impressive skills? I don’t think so!” Grey stretched out on the floor next to me, holding the controller Tory had been using.
