Bonus story : More than just colleagues : Part 14 : The Challenge

The following Saturday, Aldric arrived at Patrick's house at nine fifty-seven and discovered that Lucas had taken his proposal much more seriously than anyone had imagined. A large sheet of paper had been attached to the glass door leading to the garden. At the top, written in black marker, were the words: MOVING OLYMPICS: EDITION 1. Several lines had been drawn underneath to list the events, the teams, and a scoring system whose logic still seemed partially unfinished.

Emma was already standing in front of the sheet with a coffee in her hand.

"He actually made a rulebook."

"That seems appropriate for a competition."

"Of course you're going to take his side."

Lucas appeared from the garden with a whistle around his neck.

"I knew you'd understand."

Patrick walked behind him carrying a crate.

"Don't encourage him."

Lucas placed a hand over his heart.

"None of you have any respect for organization."

Four events had been listed: speed furniture assembly, identifying objects while blindfolded, cardboard box throwing, and building a fort. A fifth line had been left blank.

"Why hasn't the last event been defined?"

"I wanted to keep it a surprise."

Patrick stopped.

"I bet you don't even know what it is..."

"Exactly."

Karim arrived at that moment with Yanis, who was carrying a sports bag.

"When do we start?" the boy asked.

Lucas raised a finger.

"When everyone's here."

Karim looked around.

"Everyone is here."

"Perfect."

Patrick placed the crate on the terrace. Inside were several items: a small IKEA shelf that had yet to be assembled, opaque glasses, several cardboard boxes, wooden boards, blankets, and a few clamps.

"Did you seriously spend your entire week preparing this?" Emma asked.

"Only a few hours."

Lucas took out his phone and checked a note.

"First event: assemble an IKEA piece of furniture as fast as possible. Second: identify ten objects while blindfolded. Third: cardboard box throwing. Fourth: build the best fort with the materials available. And the fifth event... Surprise quiz."

"That's your big surprise? I was afraid you were going to suggest a race around the neighborhood," Emma said.

"I thought about it."

"I was right to be worried..."

"What scoring system have you planned?" Aldric asked.

"Finally, someone is asking the important questions."

Lucas explained that each event would award five points for first place, three for second, and one for third. In the event of a tie, one additional point would be awarded to both teams involved.

"This system heavily favors first place," Aldric said.

"That's the point of a competition."

"But a team that performs consistently could be disadvantaged compared to a team that achieves a single major victory."

"We haven't even started yet and you're already analyzing the scoring system..."

"We're keeping Lucas's system. Otherwise, we'll spend the entire morning establishing an official rulebook," Patrick said.

"Very well," Aldric replied.

"Now, the teams."

Lucas pointed at Patrick.

"Patrick with Emma. Karim with me. And Aldric with Yanis."

"I get to play too?" Yanis asked.

"Obviously," Lucas replied. "Someone has to keep an eye on Aldric."

"We're together!"

"It's an honor."

"We're going to win!"

Yanis held out his hand toward him.

"He wants you to give him a high five," Emma explained.

Aldric raised his hand and slapped the boy's palm. Yanis smiled even wider before moving closer to him.

"Wait. Why those two?" Patrick asked.

"Because if I put him with one of you, it won't be balanced anymore. He can practically carry a wardrobe by himself, he memorizes the rules after reading them once, and he turns every game into a military operation."

"And you're adding Yanis to his team?" Karim asked.

"He needs a teammate."

Yanis crossed his arms with the utmost seriousness.

"I'm strong."

Karim smiled.

"I didn't say anything."

"We will still need to organize ourselves properly," Aldric said.

"Okay."

"And listen to the rules before we begin. And not assume that we'll win before we know what the events are."

"Okay... but we're still going to win."

"We'll do our best."

Lucas clapped his hands.

"Perfect. Then it's settled."

The first event began. Patrick had chosen an identical small IKEA shelf for each team. The pieces had been divided into three boxes, with the instructions placed beside them. Lucas immediately grabbed the manual.

"Easy."

Karim looked at the screws.

"Read first."

"I'm already looking."

Patrick and Emma opened their box. Patrick began identifying the boards while Emma sorted the screws. Meanwhile, Aldric sat down in front of his materials with Yanis beside him.

"What do I do?"

"We'll read the instructions first."

"All of them?"

"Yes."

"Even the easy pages?"

"Especially if they seem easy."

Aldric went through the entire manual, showing him the different steps. The boy followed his finger across the illustrations and occasionally asked a question when he didn't understand the purpose of a piece.

"You're wasting time," Lucas said.

"We're reducing the risk of error," Aldric replied.

"We're reducing the risk of error," Yanis repeated.

"He already has an apprentice..."

Patrick took out his phone.

"Ready?"

Everyone got into position.

"Three, two, one... go."

Lucas grabbed two boards.

"This goes here."

Karim stopped him.

"No."

"Yes."

"You've got them the wrong way around."

Lucas looked at the diagram.

"Oh."

On the other side, Emma sorted each screw by length while Patrick assembled the boards. Aldric placed the manual to his right and turned to Yanis.

"We're going to prepare all the pieces before we start. Find me four screws with this number."

Yanis immediately leaned over the small piles of screws.

"These?"

Aldric examined one.

"Exactly. We need four."

Yanis counted them one by one before lining them up in front of him.

"Four."

"Very good. Now, two dowels of this type."

The boy began searching for them. Aldric started assembling the shelf while Yanis prepared the pieces needed for the next step. Whenever they needed a new screw or dowel, the boy checked the manual before looking for it.

"This one?"

"Too long."

Yanis put it back and picked up another.

"This one?"

"Correct."

Each piece was prepared before being attached, with Yanis handing Aldric whatever he needed.

"They're already halfway done," Lucas said.

Karim tightened a screw.

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"Focus."

"I am focused."

"You've been watching them for thirty seconds."

Lucas returned to his work. He tried to attach a shelf upside down, and Karim stopped him once again.

"No."

Lucas put down the tool.

"Why do you always notice everything?"

"Because I'm looking at our furniture."

Meanwhile, Yanis checked the manual and pointed to a piece.

"Now it's this one."

"Yes."

Yanis smiled proudly.

"I knew it."

"You followed the instructions correctly."

"Are we going to finish first?"

"If we continue without making any mistakes, it's possible."

Yanis prepared the final screws while Aldric installed the top shelf. A few moments later, Aldric tightened the last fitting.

"Finished!" Yanis exclaimed.

He immediately threw both arms into the air. Aldric checked the stability of the shelf while Yanis leaned down beside him to imitate him.

Patrick looked at his phone.

"Nine minutes and thirty-seven seconds."

"Seriously?..." Lucas said.

"We won!"

"The event isn't over yet for the other teams."

"But we're first."

"For the moment, yes."

Yanis's smile widened even further.

Aldric gently shook the shelf.

"One fitting still needs to be tightened."

"He even checks it after he's finished!..." Lucas said.

"Which one?" Yanis asked.

Aldric showed him the fitting.

"This one."

Emma and Patrick finished a little over two minutes later. Karim and Lucas came in last. Yanis looked at the three shelves before raising his hand toward Aldric.

"We really came first!"

Aldric slapped his palm against the boy's.

"Yes."

"Dad! We won!"

Karim looked at his own shelf, which was still unfinished, then at his son.

"I noticed."

Lucas stared at the scoreboard.

"All right. Next event."

"You refuse to talk about the result?" Karim asked.

"Absolutely."

The second event began. Lucas had placed ten objects inside a bag. Each participant had to wear opaque glasses and identify as many objects as possible using only their sense of touch.

Emma went first for her team, and Patrick placed the glasses over her eyes.

"Can you see anything?"

"Nothing."

Lucas waved a hand in front of her face.

"How many fingers?"

"Keep going and the first object I'm going to grab will be your hand."

Lucas immediately pulled it away.

"She can't see anything, but she's still dangerous."

Patrick smiled.

"Can we start?"

Emma reached into the bag and identified the sponge, the spoon, and the tennis ball. She hesitated more when she pulled out the adjustable wrench, turning it several times between her fingers.

"A tool."

"Which one?" Patrick asked.

Emma traced the shape of the metal with her fingertips. She eventually found the correct answer and continued until her time ran out, managing to identify seven objects in total.

Lucas went next for his team. He started extremely well, identifying the hammer, the remote control, and the roll of tape. His confidence grew with every correct answer, and he even began naming the objects before he had finished examining them. Then Karim handed him the packet of pasta. Lucas shook it beside his ear before squeezing it between his hands.

"Cereal."

Karim shook his head.

"No."

Lucas shook the packet again.

"Rice."

"No."

"Candy?"

Lucas continued shaking the packet.

"Can I get a hint?"

"No," Patrick said.

"Is it food?"

"You're not allowed to ask questions either."

"So yes."

He finally answered "pasta" a few seconds before his time ran out and finished with eight correct answers. It was Aldric's turn next, and Lucas placed the glasses over his eyes.

"This time, no physical advantage."

"Tactile recognition also depends on experience."

"Stop trying to scare me."

The first object was placed in his hands.

"Hammer."

It had taken him less than a second. Lucas immediately handed him the next one.

"Sponge."

The ball was placed in his hands next. Aldric ran his fingertips over its surface.

"A ball made of a soft material. Probably intended for a sport."

Lucas raised a finger.

"You have to say tennis."

Aldric briefly examined the surface again.

"Tennis ball."

Patrick burst out laughing as Lucas was already handing him the next object. Aldric identified the adjustable wrench, followed by the remote control. When he received the packet of pasta, he weighed it in his hand, pressed the packaging, then shook it once.

"Dry pasta."

"How does he know that?" Lucas asked.

Aldric continued examining it.

"Long shape. Probably spaghetti."

Emma burst out laughing as Lucas was already reaching for the glasses.

"No. That's enough."

"The time isn't over."

Patrick checked his phone.

"He has seventeen seconds left."

Aldric also identified the brush and the final screwdriver, finishing the event with ten correct answers out of ten.

Lucas looked at the scoreboard.

"I'm starting to regret the teams."

Karim gave him a pat on the shoulder.

"It was your idea."

The third event began. Three cardboard boxes had been prepared, each filled with fabric. The objective was to throw the box as far as possible without it flipping over. Since only one person from each team could make the throw, the teammates had to choose who would represent them.

Patrick picked up his team's box and quickly looked over the rules.

"Why that last rule?"

Lucas shrugged.

"Because otherwise Aldric will probably send it into the neighbor's yard."

Aldric examined the box.

"I can control my strength."

"That's exactly what someone capable of sending it into the neighbor's yard would say."

Emma was already laughing when Patrick stepped behind the line. He threw first for his team, and his box traveled a respectable distance before sliding across the grass.

Lucas looked at where it had landed.

"Not bad."

"Thanks."

Karim then picked up his team's box.

"Wait. Why you?"

"Because I'm better than you."

"I don't like it when you do that."

Karim calmly stepped behind the line, adjusted his grip, and threw. The box flew much farther than Patrick's before landing flat.

"Okay. Since when can you do that?"

"I work as a mover."

"So do I!"

"Yes..."

Then it was the final team's turn. Yanis picked up the box and lifted it with both hands.

"Can I throw it?"

"Of course," Aldric replied. "But only one person can throw for our team."

Yanis looked at the box he was holding, then at his father's, which had landed much farther away in the garden. He handed the box to Aldric.

"You."

"Are you certain?"

"Yes."

Lucas smiled.

"Giving up already?"

Yanis shook his head vigorously.

"No. I want to win."

Karim burst out laughing.

"That's my boy."

"We have to beat Dad."

"We'll try."

"Not try. We have to win."

"The result cannot be guaranteed before the event."

"Then we have to try really hard."

"That phrasing is more acceptable."

Emma smiled as Yanis moved to stand beside Aldric. Aldric studied the box, the direction of the wind, and the distance separating him from the fence.

Yanis immediately looked up at the branches of the trees. He watched them move for a few seconds before pointing in one direction.

"It's going that way."

Aldric followed his gaze.

"Correct."

"Then you have to throw a little toward the other side?"

"Slightly."

"Are you seriously analyzing the wind to throw a cardboard box?" Lucas asked.

"We want to win," Yanis replied.

Emma burst out laughing.

"I think he found the perfect partner."

"It's a cardboard box, not a military projectile," Lucas protested.

Aldric turned his attention back to the area in front of him.

"Every thrown object has a trajectory."

"Exactly," Yanis said.

Patrick looked at Karim.

"He learns fast."

"Way too fast."

Aldric stepped behind the line and threw. The box passed Patrick's mark and then Karim's, but rotated in the air before landing on one edge.

Yanis's smile disappeared.

"Oh no..."

Lucas immediately threw his arms into the air.

"Invalid!"

Aldric examined the box.

"It did not complete a full rotation."

"It didn't flip over!" Yanis shouted.

"It landed on its side," Lucas argued.

"But it went farther than Dad's!"

Karim immediately raised his hands.

"I'm staying out of this discussion. My ranking depends on the result."

Patrick picked up the rules while Yanis moved closer to him to await the verdict.

The fourth event caused even more discussion. Patrick had gathered several blankets, lightweight boards, cushions, chairs, and clamps. Each team had twenty minutes to build the best fort possible in the garden. Lucas explained that three criteria would be judged: stability, comfort, and appearance.

"Who's judging?" Emma asked.

Lucas pointed at Yanis.

"Me?..."

Karim looked at him.

"You have to be impartial."

"I know."

"He's obviously going to choose Aldric," Lucas whispered.

Yanis heard him.

"No."

"See? He's already getting defensive."

Aldric crouched beside Yanis.

"We'll establish a plan first."

Patrick and Emma decided to build a structure between two chairs, reinforced with several clamps. Emma focused on making the inside comfortable, placing cushions on the ground while Patrick reinforced the roof.

Lucas and Karim started with far more ambition. Lucas wanted to build a fortress using four chairs and several boards.

"We only have twenty minutes," Karim said.

"Exactly. We have to be ambitious."

"Ambitious isn't the same as unrealistic."

"Trust me."

Karim sighed.

Aldric, for his part, explained to Yanis that a good structure first required a stable foundation. They used a table as the central element, added two chairs at the front, and stretched a blanket between several support points. Aldric let Yanis arrange the cushions and choose the decorations.

"We should put this there," the boy suggested, pointing to a red blanket.

"Why?"

"Because it looks like a banner."

"Good idea."

They attached the blanket above the entrance while Lucas watched them.

"They even have a banner."

Karim, who was still reinforcing their roof, did not even look up.

"Focus."

A few minutes before the end, part of Lucas's fort collapsed when one of the boards slipped. Emma burst out laughing as Lucas rushed to catch the blanket before it fell completely.

"No one saw anything."

Patrick looked at the half-collapsed structure.

"Everyone saw."

"We'll fix it."

Karim shook his head.

"I told you the base was bad."

"Not the time."

Time eventually ran out, and Yanis went around to each fort with a notebook Lucas had given him. He entered Patrick and Emma's first, sat down inside, and examined the different features.

"Comfortable," he said.

"Thank you," Emma replied.

Yanis then shook the structure to test its strength.

"Solid too."

Patrick nodded as the boy wrote something in his notebook. Yanis then moved on to Lucas and Karim's fort. The outside looked impressive, but part of the roof sagged when he stepped inside.

Yanis looked up.

"It's moving."

"That's intentional," Lucas said.

Yanis stepped back out, giving the roof one last look before heading toward Aldric's fort. The inside was smaller, but the structure was stable. Several cushions formed a seat, and the red blanket hung above the entrance.

"It has a banner."

Lucas threw his arms into the air.

"I knew that was going to count."

Once the inspection was over, Yanis checked his notebook several times before announcing his results: Patrick and Emma won the comfort category, Aldric won the stability category, while Lucas and Karim took first place for appearance.

"We won appearance?..."

Yanis nodded.

"It looks like a castle."

Karim looked at their nearly collapsed structure.

"A very fragile castle."

Lucas gave him a pat on the shoulder.

"But a magnificent one."

Since each team had won a different category, no one could determine how many points the event should actually be worth. Patrick turned toward Lucas.

"What do your rules say?"

"Nothing," Lucas replied.

Emma burst out laughing.

"Excellent."

"We could award three points to each team since they each won one category," Aldric said.

Lucas shook his head.

"No. That reduces my lead."

"What do you suggest, then?" Karim asked.

"A vote."

Patrick pointed at Yanis.

"He just voted."

Lucas sighed.

"Fine. Three points each."

The final event was the surprise quiz. Lucas had prepared fifteen questions about their work, movies, the group's habits, and some general knowledge. For the very first question, he asked them which item he forgot most often at the depot.

Everyone answered almost simultaneously.

"Your gloves."

Lucas looked at his cards.

"Okay. That one was too easy."

The second question was about the exact number of coffees Patrick drank during a workday. Aldric answered three, while Karim said four.

"Between three and four depending on the length of the day."

Patrick smiled.

"I'll accept that."

Lucas looked at Aldric.

"That wasn't one of the possible answers."

"Yet it's more accurate."

"One number."

Patrick thought for a few seconds.

"Four."

Karim smiled.

"Thank you."

Another question asked which food Emma almost always removed when there was too much of it in a dish. Aldric answered immediately.

"Raw onions."

Emma turned toward him.

"You noticed that?"

"Yes."

Karim then correctly answered a question about the movie they had watched at Lucas's apartment, while Lucas himself chose the wrong answer.

"How can you not remember?" Patrick asked.

"I was focused on Aldric's commentary."

Aldric frowned slightly.

"It wasn't constant."

Emma burst out laughing.

"It was almost constant."

The quiz eventually turned into a series of discussions in which everyone challenged Lucas's answers, mainly because some of the questions were far too vague. When he asked which member of the group was "most likely to survive a zombie apocalypse," everyone pointed at Aldric.

Aldric looked around at them.

"Based on what criteria?"

Patrick answered without hesitation.

"All of them."

Lucas wrote five points next to Aldric's name.

"There. At least that question is settled."

By the time they finally finished all fifteen questions, no one knew exactly who had won. Aldric was in the lead according to some calculations, but Lucas insisted that the fort-building event should be worth more points. Karim argued that some of the quiz answers had been awarded arbitrarily, while Emma declared that she refused to participate in a serious discussion about a championship in which one of the events involved throwing cardboard boxes across a garden.

Patrick finally placed the score sheet on the table.

"We're stopping here."

"But we need a winner... For the glory, remember?" Lucas said.

Karim picked up a bottle of water.

"We can share the glory."

"Fine. It's a tie for everyone..."

Aldric looked at the score sheet.

"The results do not indicate a tie."

Lucas grabbed the paper and turned it face down on the table.

"Now they do."

Emma burst out laughing.

They gathered around the table. Patrick had prepared sandwiches, Karim had brought several salads left over from the previous barbecue, and Emma took a dessert out of her bag. Lucas opened several bags of chips, claiming that a sporting event always required appropriate food.

Yanis had decided to keep the fort until the evening and had already moved several toys inside. Patrick handed out the plates.

"In the end, it wasn't that bad."

"So you admit my idea was excellent."

"I said 'not that bad.'"

"Same thing."

The meal lasted several hours. They talked about the events again, mostly to make fun of each other's mistakes. Lucas repeatedly denied having tried to cheat when he moved the cardboard-box throwing line before Karim's turn.

"I saw you," Patrick said.

"I was adjusting the line."

"With your foot."

"It was badly positioned."

"Strangely enough, you moved it in your direction," Patrick said.

"Coincidence."

Emma burst out laughing.

"Of course."

"Anyway, it didn't change the result..."

"It's still cheating," Yanis said.

"I'm alone against everyone..."

Aldric watched Lucas continue defending his supposed victory, Patrick dismantling each of his arguments, Karim only intervening when a comment could make Lucas's case worse, and Emma laughing at their exchanges. Yanis, meanwhile, had retrieved the score sheet and was trying to recalculate the points.

On Sunday evening, Aldric had just finished dinner when a notification appeared on his phone. The Extreme Moversgroup chat had been relatively quiet all day, apart from a few pictures Lucas had sent to remind the others of his imaginary victory at the Olympics. In one of them, he had even added the word CHAMPION in front of his username.

This time, however, the new message was different.

Patrick: Be ready tomorrow. Big move.

Lucas: How big?

Patrick: Very big.

Lucas: That absolutely does not answer my question.

Karim: Got it.

Aldric: I'll be ready.

Lucas: Telling him that was a mistake. He's going to show up at 6 a.m. with a battle plan.

Aldric started typing a reply, hesitated, then deleted his message. In the end, he simply selected a thumbs-up reaction.