“Nah. Remember how he helped our team win the Little League championship?”

“He had to do that! His mother made him play!”

“Yeah, but he could have dropped that fly ball on purpose. It was the biggest catch of the whole season. That’s got to count for something.”

“Says you. I say he’s my least favorite person in our whole class.”

Derek sighed. “Never mind him. Let’s make him eat his words, huh?”

“Right!” Vijay said, giving Derek a smile. “And when we win the first prize trophy, we will bring it to class and put it right on his desk, so he can see it up close!”

If Derek had been nervous before, when he got to the cafeteria and saw all the kids who were going to be their competition, he really started to sweat.

Harry Chen was there with his guitar—Derek had heard him play once in the music room, and he was incredible. Daisy Hargrove had been taking voice lessons since she was five years old—she’d already played two leads in musicals at the local community theater. Eva Katz was in her toe shoes, ready to show everybody her ballet moves. All these kids seemed calm and ready, primed to do their best.

Could Derek and Vijay stand up to the competition?

And where was Sam?

When Mrs. Seymour came downstairs and called for the first three acts to follow her upstairs, it was seven fifteen. The show was supposed to have started at seven, but these kinds of shows always started late.

A good thing too—because where was Sam? “He can’t have forgotten about it,” Derek said aloud.

Vijay knew exactly whom Derek was talking about. “We don’t know Sam that well. Maybe he just decided not to come. Or chickened out, like Gary.”

“I still say he’ll be here.”

“And if he’s not? What do we do then? We’re listed as going on fifteenth. I’m thinking that’s in about forty-five minutes, right? If he’s not here in fifteen, I suggest we tell Mrs. Seymour. She’ll know what to do.”

“Maybe she’ll let us go last or something,” Derek said hopefully.

“Or something… ,” Vijay echoed, his voice trailing off to a whisper.

“Mi, mi, mi, miiii… mi, mi, mi!” sang Daisy Hargrove, warming up her voice.

Wow, thought Derek. She sure can hit a high note.…

Eva Katz did a few pirouettes, and Harry Chen tuned up his guitar, playing some amazing riffs just to warm up his fingers.

“Show-offs, all of them,” Vijay muttered. But neither he nor Derek got up to practice any of their dance moves.

No one knew what kind of act they were about to perform. Derek and Vijay had kept it a complete secret. The only thing anyone knew about it was that the song “Thriller” was involved—and even that was only because it had to be listed in the program.