Tubs was the closest thing to a brick wall Elliot had ever run into (other than the brick wall he had run into a week ago when he forgot to watch where he was going). Now Elliot sat on the ground with the pillowcase flag in his hand.
"I said give me the flag, or else," Tubs snarled.
Elliot gripped the flag tighter. He wouldn't back down, no matter what Tubs threatened. "Or else what?" he asked.
Tubs frowned. "Or else I'll lose. Duh!"
Elliot rolled his eyes and got ready to run again. Tubs reached for the flag, but Elliot crawled between his widespread legs. Tubs kept bending lower to catch Elliot but ended up with his head behind his knees, then rolled into a somersault that left him flat on the ground.
Elliot leapt to his feet and ran toward his and Cami's base. "I've got it!" he yelled. "I've got it!"
Tubs crashed through the woods behind him, calling Elliot's name. At first he had laughed as he yelled for Elliot to slow down. Then his voice became angrier as he said, "Seriously. Give me the flag. I hate losing!"
"Me too!" Elliot answered. He wasn't far from their base now. He was easily going to win, and Cami hadn't done one thing to help. So he had beaten Tubs on his own!
Elliot ran into the clearing where their flag was still hidden. Then he stopped.
Cami had told him at least 120 million times over the winter that she had taken up paper-mache as a hobby. (Okay, maybe not quite that many times. But it was at least twice.) She had explained that this craft was as simple as dipping strips of paper in watered-down glue and putting them on a frame in whatever shapes she wanted. Then she had invited him over to her house to try it. "When it dries, you can paint it however you want!" she had said.
But Elliot had never wanted to try it. And he couldn't think of a single reason why he might ever want to in the future. Even if his life depended on it, he wouldn't have anything to do with Cami's paper-mache. So she told him that was fine, she would do her project without him.
And right now, beneath their hidden flag was their "guard." It was Cami's paper-mache project and was almost guaranteed to ruin his life once and for all.
It was a life-size version of him.
The worst part was that she had done a pretty good job. He had to get right up to its paper-mached face to know it wasn't really him.
"What do you think?" Cami bounced on her heels excitedly.
"Um." That was all he could think of to say. If he had ever known any other words, he couldn't think of even one.
"It's cool, right? I worked on it all winter and just finished it a week ago. I've been waiting for the perfect time to show it to you."
How could she possibly think this was the perfect time? And why did she have to carry that thing out in public? Everyone who saw it would know it was supposed to be him.
Behind Elliot, Tubs crashed into the clearing. He stopped right beside Elliot when he saw the paper-mache doll.
"You've got to be kidding," Tubs said.
Elliot closed his eyes. This was it. The beginning of the end (or the end of the beginning). The point when he wouldn't mind so much if the entire universe folded in half and squished him flat. Now Tubs would tease him and Cami about liking each other. Or sing rhymes using their names. Or make kissing noises when they walked by.
"I really don't believe it," Tubs added, walking closer.
"Do you like it?" Cami asked.
"It's so cool!" Tubs said. "I mean, whatever makes Elliot such a dork all the time, you really understood that when you made this. Great job!"
Elliot frowned. That might've been a compliment to Cami, but it wasn't to him.
Cami gestured at the doll. "What do you think?"
"It doesn't look anything like me," he said. "My hair is dark blond, not light brown, and my eyes aren't purple."
She giggled. "Yeah, but they're cooler that way."
"And I don't have a goofy, crooked smile," he continued.
"Sure you do," Cami said. "But this is my first try with life-size humans. Mostly I've been doing creature crafts."