eyes with eyeliner so they look tough,” Alice said.
“So, Margo will just lose on her own?” I asked hopefully.
“We don’t have to count on it,” Bri said. “Since Margo has already started snooping around, trying to swipe our designs, we’ll just make it easy for her to cheat. Each designer has their own room where the other designers aren’t supposed to go. While we work, we’re totally isolated. If we leave the door unlocked, and maybe drop a few hints about being away for awhile, and rig up a video camera so we make sure to catch her, we’ve got her.”
“You want her to cheat?” I asked.
“If she copies Bri’s idea, probably the two of them will tie,” Juliet said. “The other designer YaoYao is good, but she isn’t as good as Bri. If Bri and Margo tie, we’ll force Margo to forfeit the win and give it to Bri.”
“Or else we’ll show the video of her cheating,” Alice added.
“So by tempting Margo to cheat, you’re basically making sure Bri will win?”
“Perfect, isn’t it?” Juliet asked.
I exchanged a look with Pippa, who now picked at her sandwich nervously. Didn’t they realize they were planning to cheat in order to catch a cheater? Pips knew. I could see the worry clearly on her face. Maybe she’d thought more about what I’d said about blackmail after all.
“Maybe we should just let Margo lose on her own, like Sadie said,” Pippa finally said.
“You can’t just wait for everything to work out on its own,” Alice said. “Sometimes you have to take things into your own hands.”
“I’m just not sure cheating is the right — ”
Alice made an exasperated sound. “What? I suppose you two think we should just pray about it?”
Pips flinched at the sarcasm in Alice’s voice. Grant was wrong. The moment had come and I had absolutely no idea what to say. The silence crackled with tension.
Finally, Pips sighed. “What do you want Sadie and me to do?”
Bri clapped her hands and made a little squeal of happiness. “I knew you’d come through. Come to the show.Snap some photos. Document the moment of misery for Margo, and maybe we’ll send her an album. You know, so she doesn’t forget that cheating doesn’t pay.”
The matching triumphant expressions on my friends’ faces made the tea sandwiches gurgle in my stomach. I couldn’t look at Pips, not now.
“I’ll be back,” I said, hurrying out of the room and down the stairs.
As I headed for the back door, wanting some air, I passed the living room where Grant sat, watching something on his iPad. I heard a familiar voice.
“The device tests for a genetic strain of cancer,” the man said.
I moved closer to see if it really was Tyler on screen.
Grant glanced up, saw me, and motioned to the space on the couch next to him. “Tyler gave the interview, and your Dad passed the footage on to me …”
The reporter who’d grilled Tyler on the church steps steepled her fingers. “You’re working with a mediator in order to secure your patent, is that right?”
Tyler sat straight and still, his expression mild. “Yes. Karl and I have a difference of opinion on how the device, which is now in preliminary stages, should be tailored. He feels we should test adults, to prescreen for the possibility of the gene in their children. In his opinion, when a mother and father have a high likelihood of passing on the gene, families should adopt or not have children at all instead of subjecting a child to the possibility of this cancer. I had always plannedto test children. Studies have begun to show that proactive use of hormones at an early age can effectively ‘shut off’ the gene, stopping the cancer.”
I leaned forward, my interest peaked, as the reporter asked the question I wanted to know. “Why don’t doctors treat all children with the potential gene?”
“Cost, mostly,” Tyler answered. “And the hormones aren’t harmless. Like any other treatment, complications are possible.”
The reporter
“So, Margo will just lose on her own?” I asked hopefully.
“We don’t have to count on it,” Bri said. “Since Margo has already started snooping around, trying to swipe our designs, we’ll just make it easy for her to cheat. Each designer has their own room where the other designers aren’t supposed to go. While we work, we’re totally isolated. If we leave the door unlocked, and maybe drop a few hints about being away for awhile, and rig up a video camera so we make sure to catch her, we’ve got her.”
“You want her to cheat?” I asked.
“If she copies Bri’s idea, probably the two of them will tie,” Juliet said. “The other designer YaoYao is good, but she isn’t as good as Bri. If Bri and Margo tie, we’ll force Margo to forfeit the win and give it to Bri.”
“Or else we’ll show the video of her cheating,” Alice added.
“So by tempting Margo to cheat, you’re basically making sure Bri will win?”
“Perfect, isn’t it?” Juliet asked.
I exchanged a look with Pippa, who now picked at her sandwich nervously. Didn’t they realize they were planning to cheat in order to catch a cheater? Pips knew. I could see the worry clearly on her face. Maybe she’d thought more about what I’d said about blackmail after all.
“Maybe we should just let Margo lose on her own, like Sadie said,” Pippa finally said.
“You can’t just wait for everything to work out on its own,” Alice said. “Sometimes you have to take things into your own hands.”
“I’m just not sure cheating is the right — ”
Alice made an exasperated sound. “What? I suppose you two think we should just pray about it?”
Pips flinched at the sarcasm in Alice’s voice. Grant was wrong. The moment had come and I had absolutely no idea what to say. The silence crackled with tension.
Finally, Pips sighed. “What do you want Sadie and me to do?”
Bri clapped her hands and made a little squeal of happiness. “I knew you’d come through. Come to the show.Snap some photos. Document the moment of misery for Margo, and maybe we’ll send her an album. You know, so she doesn’t forget that cheating doesn’t pay.”
The matching triumphant expressions on my friends’ faces made the tea sandwiches gurgle in my stomach. I couldn’t look at Pips, not now.
“I’ll be back,” I said, hurrying out of the room and down the stairs.
As I headed for the back door, wanting some air, I passed the living room where Grant sat, watching something on his iPad. I heard a familiar voice.
“The device tests for a genetic strain of cancer,” the man said.
I moved closer to see if it really was Tyler on screen.
Grant glanced up, saw me, and motioned to the space on the couch next to him. “Tyler gave the interview, and your Dad passed the footage on to me …”
The reporter who’d grilled Tyler on the church steps steepled her fingers. “You’re working with a mediator in order to secure your patent, is that right?”
Tyler sat straight and still, his expression mild. “Yes. Karl and I have a difference of opinion on how the device, which is now in preliminary stages, should be tailored. He feels we should test adults, to prescreen for the possibility of the gene in their children. In his opinion, when a mother and father have a high likelihood of passing on the gene, families should adopt or not have children at all instead of subjecting a child to the possibility of this cancer. I had always plannedto test children. Studies have begun to show that proactive use of hormones at an early age can effectively ‘shut off’ the gene, stopping the cancer.”
I leaned forward, my interest peaked, as the reporter asked the question I wanted to know. “Why don’t doctors treat all children with the potential gene?”
“Cost, mostly,” Tyler answered. “And the hormones aren’t harmless. Like any other treatment, complications are possible.”
The reporter
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