amazing organization the world has ever known. I can’t fail now, especially when I’m so close! I may not have super strength, X-ray vision, or any real tangible power like traditional heroes, but if they could just meet me, they’d see what a smart, strong, kick-ass contribution to the team I would be. They’d have to. I JUST KNOW IT.
Warrior Nation is rumored to have a giant headquarters hidden underneath the city, with entrances scattered throughout Chicago so heroes can safely escape into the underground lair that spans the Loop. The final internship round is to try and find one of the secret passageways. Which is no small feat! People have been looking for these entrances for years. In the past couple weeks, I have personally visited each and every theorized entrance, only to turn up empty-handed. And time is running out. But I won’t give up. I won’t!
I take a seat next to Demi, who has successfully managed to keep the pups comfortable. They crowd around her, happily slobbering on her bare chestnut legs like she’s the best human to have ever lived. She definitely has the whole dog-whisperer thing down, which will come in handy, since she wants to be a vet someday. “So, where are you headed, anyway?” she asks, stroking an enthusiastic pug. “Since you hijacked our walk and all.”
“Well, since you’re wondering…” As a golden retriever tail fans my face, I pull out my Warrior Nation guidebook—or grail diary, as I like to call it—to check my notes. “North Avenue Beach.”
My grail diary is absolutely bulging with Post-its and scraps of paper; I can only close it with a leather cord I wrap around the outside. This isn’t some cheap “ultimate fan” hero book written by a novice and sold at Walmart—no, it’s a lifetime-in-the-making collection of Warrior Nation specs, lore, charts, and drawings. Every hero throughout the decades, every fan theory worth its salt, is cataloged in these pages, and I’m going to use them to my benefit. Last night I read on WarriorHunt.usa—one of my favorite WarNat fansites—that there’s a hidden HQ entrance somewhere near the North Avenue boathouse, which is where I’m headed today. I doubt Warrior Nation would place an escape route in such a visible, touristy area, but I have to check it out, just to cross it off my list. I couldn’t live with myself if this DID turn out to be the one rumor that was true.
Demi shakes her head, pulling her locs up into a ponytail. “Nope, too far. I’m almost out of water, and I need to take these dogs home, anyway, since my next walk is starting in forty minutes.”
“How many walks are you doing today?” I ask.
She looks up, mentally reviewing her schedule. “Ten. Fifty dogs total.”
“Fifty?!”
“Yeah. Veterinary school isn’t going to pay for itself.”
I laugh, though I shouldn’t be surprised she’s tripled her dog-walking business now that school’s out. Demi is the most ambitious person I know, myself not included. We’ve been battling it out for valedictorian ever since freshman year, trying to one-up each other by adding on new clubs and academic organizations to lead. It wasn’t until sophomore year, when we were running against each other as president for National Honor Society, that we decided to ditch the rivalry because we’d be more powerful as allies. It was like two supervillains teaming up for ultimate domination, and I loved it. She’s been my best friend ever since, even if she is currently in the lead for valedictorian by one-tenth of a point. Don’t worry, there’s still all of senior year for me to beat her.
“Okay, well, thanks for totally abandoning me in my moment of need,” I joke, petting the bulldog’s wrinkly head.
“Oh, please.” She rolls her eyes. “If Warrior Nation doesn’t pick you for this internship, I’m sure you’ll pester them to death with an angry letter campaign, just like you did when the academic decathlon timed out your final math equation.”
“They were in the wrong and they knew it!” I shout while Demi rounds up her canine friends.
“Text me if you find anything!” she calls as the dogs pull her back up the trail. I wave, happy that she came with me this far. Demi may not be a WarNat, but she gets prestige when she sees it. We’ve both been working on our college application essays since eighth grade, and landing this internship would put me over the top at any university. But that’s not why I’m doing