Page 123 of Alice Chen's Reality Check
We continue climbing, but it’s slow going, at least for me. Chase loves hitting the climbing gym with his friends, so of course he’s scaling the wall easily, even now. But without the green handholds, I’m strugglingto keep up. We’re falling farther and farther behind, and if Ava and Noah beat us to the next milestone, we’re toast.
“Chase!” I shout. “Stop waiting for me! You need to get to the next milestone before Ava and Noah!”
Chase hangs off the wall to throw me a quick salute, then starts scrambling up. He’s fast, even faster than Ava and Noah, and with a strategic jump, he’s able to get to the second milestone just seconds before Noah. Chase spins the wheel, and their blue handholds disappear into the wall—and more handholds appear on our route.
“Did it, babe!”
“Nice work,” I call up. “Keep going!”
It’s taking all my concentration to continue scaling the wall. I force myself up, willing my hands to keep grabbing each ledge and pulling myself up, pushing with my legs. My arms are shaking now, and I can feel the harness digging painfully into me.
“Babe! Need help?” Chase calls down. He’s clinging to the side of the volcano, perfectly at home dangling high above the ground. For a second, I consider letting him come back down to give me a hand. But it’s too risky and our strategy is working. I don’t need help. I just have to push through.
“I’m good,” I yell, despite being the furthest thing from good. For the millionth time in this competition, I wish I’d taken up weightlifting, or done push-ups in the teacher’s lounge, or something. I force myself to think of my mother. Of that fucking olive oil. Climb, Alice, climb.
Noah and Ava are right behind me, and I can’t slow down for even a single second.
Every one of my muscles is screaming, but I grit my teeth and heave myself up. But I don’t have it in me to go any farther. I tell myself to move, but I just can’t. It’s like my body’s stopped taking directions.
If I want to win, I have to do what I hate most. I have to rely on someone else.
“Chase!” I yell. “Help me up!”
“I got you,” Chase calls, and he reaches out a hand. I take it, and hehoists me up that one last stretch.
Together, we stand up straight. The summit is actually a huge platform that rings the glowing mouth of the volcano. I didn’t realize this space was so big from down below. It’s easily thirty feet wide, which is just enough space to accommodate all the production crew, the cameras and dollies, and the climbing equipment. A giant crane towers over us, and we’re surrounded by fake foliage. There’s even a very fake-looking rock formation behind us forming the backdrop for this scene. Lit tiki torches ring the area, their fire giving everything an ethereal glow.
This is it. We’re at the top. We did it.
Confetti cannons blast all around us. We’re showered with colorful, glittering confetti.
“We won!” Chase yells, slinging an arm around my neck.
It doesn’t feel real.
I can hardly believe that I’m seconds away from winning the money and figuring out what happened. My mind flashes to my mom, and I can just see the shock and then relief and pride on her face when I tell her the news. I imagine going out with Cindy and Tara for hotpot to celebrate and taking a hiatus from my job so that I can spend the whole year taking care of my mom. And neither of us will have to worry about money as we binge K-dramas and chug down expensive bone-broth soup.
Chase keeps yelling “We won!” over and over until I hug him back, and then we’re jumping up and down, shouting and cheering and laughing. Leah flashes me a thumbs-up from the sidelines. I look around for Lex. I know they’re on the job right now, but I want to share this moment with them.
But Lex is nowhere to be seen.
Lex should’ve been back by now. They said they’d see me at the finish line. As I scan the faces of the crew, more carefully this time, I still don’t see them. If they’re not here, then something must be wrong. What if something bad happened to Lex on their way to open Anton’s locker?
Is this how Daniel felt when my bungee cord stopped working on the bridge? It was easy to brush off the danger when it was just me, but being on the other side, knowing that someone I care about might be hurt—it’s a terrible feeling. I search the crowd of crew members again, desperate to see Lex’s sardonic smile. I need to make sure Lex is okay.
I’m going into full panic mode over Lex’s disappearance when Dawn Taylor starts clapping.
“Congratulations, Alice and Chase. The two of you have been through hell to get here,” Dawn Taylor says, sweeping a hand over the volcano. “But I’m afraid your trials aren’t over yet.”
Of course. Things just can’t be easy.
“As you know, the theme of this finale is Treachery.” Dawn Taylor waves a hand over the bubbling volcano. “And I’ve decided that there can only be one winner in my inferno. The first person to throw their partner into the volcano wins…and gets one million dollars!”
They can’t change the rules on us now, can they? Did the fine print ever guarantee two winners? This has to be a test. We’re being tested on our loyalty to each other.
I glance at Chase, who’s looking at Dawn Taylor with a puzzled expression. I can practically see the gears turning in his head as he makes sense of what she’s saying. Then he breaks into a smile.
“Oh, I get it,” Chase says cheerfully. He takes both of my hands, looking me in the eye. The cameras focus on him as he speaks. “Alice, I love you. I really screwed up with you, and I told myself that I’d make it up to you someday. It looks like that day has come. The money’s all yours, babe.”
