Sam took off with a wave, and the two boys watched the rest of the talent show.

When it was over, Mrs. Seymour came out onstage to announce the winners.

“You were soooo great!” Eva Katz whispered to Daisy Hargrove as they stood next to Derek and Vijay. “I’m sure you’re going to win!”

“No, I’m sure you are,” Daisy whispered back. “I mean, you were incredible!”

“You too!”

“You too!”

The two girls hugged and held hands, staring up at Mrs. Seymour, who was squinting in the light of Sally’s spotlight. “Our third place winner is… Eva Katz!”

Everyone applauded, and many in the crowd stood up and whooped as Eva hugged Daisy yet again, this time with a tear in her eye, and proceeded to walk down the aisle, waving at the crowd on her way to pick up her trophy.

“Wasn’t she amazing?” Mrs. Seymour asked the crowd, which responded with more cheers.

“She won the last two years in a row,” Daisy muttered. “It’s about time someone else had a turn.”

“Second place goes to… Harry Chen!” Mrs. Seymour announced. “Wasn’t he wonderful? Let’s hear it for him, everyone!”

The crowd cheered Harry loudly. Daisy, however, seemed anxious. She wore a confused look on her face, in spite of her plastered-on smile. Derek understood how she felt. With Eva out of the way, Daisy must have assumed she was either second or first. Now second was gone. Which surely meant she would nail the ultimate prize.

Right?

Vijay gripped Derek’s arm. “Here it comes!” he murmured, unable to contain his excitement.

Derek wished his friend would tone it down a little. After all, there were twenty other contestants who might come out on top. He and Vijay had gotten to hear only a few. And Daisy hadn’t even been mentioned yet.

“Our first place this year ended up in a tie!” Mrs. Seymour announced delightedly. “Yes! We have two winners—both very different, and both equally worthy! First, Daisy Hargrove!”

Daisy screamed, both hands to her cheeks, and practically ran down the aisle to grab her trophy. Everyone applauded, but the show wasn’t quite over—not yet.

“And our other first-place winner—or should I say ‘winners’—are Derek Jeter, Vijay Patel—and their surprise guest, Sam Rockwell, for ‘Thriller’! Wasn’t it thrilling?”

“Yes!!! I knew it! I knew it! Didn’t I tell you, Derek?”

“You called it, Vij!” Derek couldn’t believe they’d won. His cheeks felt numb—in fact, his whole body felt like it was floating!

The rest was more or less a blur. They were serenaded by cheers all the way down the aisle and up onto the stage. Mrs. Seymour handed the two of them a trophy that looked just like an Oscar. “And where is Sam?” she asked Derek as he stood next to her in front of the mic.