There was Tidye "Coach" Stokes, of course she'd be captain. I had a brief moment of happiness when I saw Jemisha Suftie's name; I knew she had been training all her life for this opportunity. I remembered Miri Lunette talking about one day landing an interview in the Neopian Times, but I barely remembered Nat Eyser or Raya Valensi.

But my name - Caldwell Price - was not there. I stared hard at the paper posted in the locker rooms of Neopia Central's newest gym, where tryouts had been held the week before, hoping that I was only seeing things.

Finally, I sighed, turned and stepped out of the locker rooms, grabbing my gym bag unceremoniously as I went. I tried to tell myself that there was always next year. Or maybe I simply hadn't trained enough, even though I had been training in the hopes that Neopia Central would finally make it to the Altador Cup.

As I passed by the Yooyuball ground, I felt someone grab my arm and whisper something that made me halt in my tracks.

"Hey, I can get you on Team Neopia Central. I've got a plan."

I whipped around to see who it was...

The gym was crowded, of course, but surely I would’ve seen the Neopian who had approached me - if not directly behind me, possibly racing through the crowd. I scanned the masses to see if anyone was looking my way, but no one was paying an iota of attention to me.

I rubbed my eyes and shook my head, clearly so unwell from these results and how hard I’d been pushing myself lately that I’d resorted to hearing things.

With a sigh, I turned to head home, placing my paws snuggly in my pocket. That was when I felt something that wasn’t there before.

I paused and pulled it out, turning it over in the fluorescent light of the locker room.

It was a piece of paper. Unfurling it revealed hastily scrawled handwriting that read, “Meet me behind the Kadoatery tonight at midnight. Tell no one.”

A lump formed in my throat. Maybe I hadn’t been hearing things. That voice in my ear was real and, whoever it was, they were trying to be discreet.

I looked around to make sure no one was watching me. The room was full of disappointed Neopians who were stuck in their own little world, just as I had been.

I placed the note back in my pocket and made the journey back to my Neohome.

***

Hours had passed—painfully slowly—but it eventually reached a quarter til midnight, so I began the short walk to the Neopian Plaza in the bright moonlight.

I did my best to stay calm, but even deep breathing wasn’t cutting it. I could feel my heart racing, hearing it pound in my ears in the silence of the night.

“I deserved a spot on the team,” I whispered to myself, trying my best to ground myself with reassurance. “Whoever is meeting me tonight knows it too - Caldwell Price deserved a spot on Team Neopia Central.”

As I approached the Kadoatery, I could make out a figure leaning up against a tree behind the building. With an attempt at a cool, collected saunter, I approached.

They closed the distance and, as soon as they stepped into the light of the moon…

“Jemisha?” I asked, my attempt at confidence vanishing immediately. “You’re the one who sent the note?”

She pressed a finger to her lips and looked toward the Kadoatery. Several Kadoaties were crying inside, but otherwise, the plaza was deserted.

“I’m sorry for frightening you,” she whispered. “I couldn’t risk talking to you at the gym.”

“Why not?”

Instead of answering, Jemisha reached into her bag and handed me a folded piece of paper. I opened it and found a list of scores from the Team Neopia Central tryouts. My name was near the top.

I blinked and read it again.

According to the sheet, I had scored higher than Nat and Raya in nearly every category.

“This has to be wrong,” I said.

“It isn’t,” Jemisha replied. “I saw Coach Stokes write down the scores myself. You made the team, Caldwell.”

My heart leaped before suspicion dragged it back down again. “Then why wasn’t my name on the roster?”

“Because someone changed it.”

Jemisha pulled out another sheet. This one showed the official team list. The same list was posted at the gym, but beneath Raya’s name, faint marks were still visible where another name had been erased.

My name.

I stared at the paper until the letters blurred.

“Coach doesn’t know I have these,” Jemisha continued. “I found them in the rubbish bin outside her office. Someone wanted the original scores destroyed.”

“Who?”

“I don’t know yet, but I know where we can find out.” Her expression hardened. “The final roster had to be submitted through the Altador Cup committee’s new registration system. Every change is recorded, including the account that made it.”

“So we check the system and prove my name was removed...”

Jemisha nodded, but she didn’t look relieved.

“There’s one problem,” she said. “The only computer with access to the registration records is inside Coach Stokes’s office.”

I swallowed. “Which is locked.”

“Usually.”

She held up a small silver key.

Before I could ask how she had gotten it, the Kadoaties inside suddenly fell silent.

Every single one of them.

Jemisha’s eyes widened. She grabbed my paw and pulled me behind the tree just as footsteps sounded on the path.

A figure emerged from the darkness wearing a Team Neopia Central jacket.

Jemisha leaned close to my ear.

“Whatever happens,” she whispered, “do not let them see the score sheet...”