Marlo’s Secret First Place — Every evening before the championship supper, Marlo polished the giant cup until his nose looked bendy in it. Read the full story →
Every evening before the championship supper, Marlo polished the giant cup until his nose looked bendy in it. He had set himself a private challenge: tuck one tiny good-luck note somewhere no grown-up would find. The trophy hall smelled like lemon wax and hot popcorn, and the gold bats on the wall seemed to wink.
Until one day, the paper slipped from his pocket and slid under the trophy base with a skritch. Because of that, Marlo lifted the cup an inch. Because of that, the loose nameplate flipped over, showing last year’s winners had signed the back: For whoever needs a boost. Marlo grinned. “Oh, that is excellent trouble.”
He copied the message onto three napkins and hid them where nervous players would reach: inside the ribbon box, under the score pencils, beside the little baseball on the cup. By awards time, nobody knew why everyone stood taller. Next time you spot the shiny 1st place cup, see if you can guess where Marlo hid the kindest mischief.
