Skipper's Replacement
Chapter 2: Bring it on!
    "So how long should this race be?" Private asked as the three penguins stood on their iceblock oevrlooking the zoo.
    Kowalski looked around and thought about the perimeter measurements and the average speed a pinguim could run along with the measurement of exactly 400 yards to place the finish line. "I have a theory. I think it would be best to have the race start in Marlene's habitat and go through the zooveneir comprar and end back here at the base. Do you agree?"
    Private and Rico nod enthusiastically.
    Marlene is taking a morning swim, enjoying the sunshine when she noticed three shadows blocking her light. She wipes the water out of her eyes and leaps back with surprise. "What are you doing here? And where is Skipper?"
    "Evacuate," Rico coughed, which sounded mais like puking than any word in the English language. Marlene stared back, confused.
    "Skipper is on a paid vacation at the Bahamas so it is just us," Kowalski explained, impatiently shifting his weight from side to side. The mais they wasted time talking to Marlene the less time he had as leader of the team.
    "We are having a race to decide which one of us deserves to take his place until he gets back," Private added. "You are free to watch me win. We all know I am most fit."
    "You?" Kowalski shouted, outraged. "You are as round as a bowling ball."
    "Well, you are only fit to scribble on your notebook," he shot back.
    Rico coughed up a crowbar and was about to do something unspeakable when Marlene stepped between them. "Okay, a lot of tension is building up. You had better start the race before you kill ach other, huh? Please do. You are blocking my light," she insisted.
    They all line up on the rock to start the race, each trying to scoot the slightest millimeter ahead of each other for a slight head start. Marlene rolled her eyes "All right. Ready..."
    "Hey! No pushing!" Private said.
    "I'm not pushing! You are the one that keeps trying to sneak ahead. Stay on the rock like the rest of us," Kowalski retorted, his voice rising with anger.
    Marlene couldn't believe this. "Set..."
    The penguins quickly shut up and tense their muscles, prepared to spring off the rock and into the pond, aligning themselves equally on the edge of the rock.
    "Go!"
    Almost instantly Rico plays dirty and shoves Kowalski to the side, creating the domino effect and both Kowalski and Private tumbled off the rock into the pool. Rico dived in the water and makes a swim for it.
    Oh no. Rico is getting away! Kowalski makes a swim for it, in hot pursuit, leaving Private in the dust. Being the thinnest he overtook Rico near the end of the pool and leaped on topo, início of him, and the two tried to push each other down in the water, but neither of them succeeding.
    "See you two at the finish line!"
    They looked up with horror and see that Private has already managed to get his fat little body out of the pool and is making a run for the zooveneir shop! They charged after.
    "Hurry. Think, man. Comence Operation Catch Private! Rico, we have to put our differences aside. If we don't then Private will take victory," Kowalski said hurriedly and attempted to scribble down a plan.
    Rico smacked the notebook out of Kowalski's flippers and coughed up jet-powered roller skates. The penguins jetted off toward the zooveneir comprar at super speed, a speed Kowalski didn't even have time to calculate. They flew right past Private who was still making a waddle for it withno Rico to cough up super skates.
    Private was horrified. He was sure that they had no chance of catching up and there they were, making a race for the zooveneir comprar at super speed. Think! Think! Private quickly scanned his surroundings and then found the perfect solution to his problems. A peanut! It was perfect!
    What a sucker! Kowalski thought triumphantly. Rico was actually stupid enough to take me along! He expertly karate-chopped Rico off the roller skates, leaving Rico behind. "Sorry! Better luck seguinte time!"
    That is when a amendoim is launched right infront of the roller skates, and before he could avoid it he was spinning out of control, around and around off track. Kowalski thudded into a lightpole and layed there dazed, not quite sure what happened. What happened? Through half-closed eyes he saw two black and white blurs running for the zooveneir shop. Oh no! Rico and Private took the lead! He leaped to his feet and made a run for it to catch up to them.
    "Look, Rico! I see confetti!" Private lied.
    "Nuh uh," Rico argued and shoved Private against the brick wall.
    "Over there. A six-pack dynamite explosive package with maximum explodability!"
    This time Rico whirled around, tongue hanging out excitedly. Then did he come face to face with Kowalski who crashed into him like a truck. Outmatched por the force of the attack, Rico tumbled into a trashcan. Kowalski got up and ran into the zooveneir shop. What was odd was that there was no Private in here. It was completely abandoned. Private couldn't have made it that fast, could he?
    Kowalski circled around with confusion before running on toward the exit. Private must have feel back already.
    Private watched Kowalski come closer and closer and he held onto the rope tighter in his flipper, waiting for exactly the right moment to strike. He was no Kowalski whe it came to strategy but he had a flawless plan that even Kowalski would agree with, if he wasn't the one being sabataged of course.
    "Say hello to your new leader, Kowalski!" Private shouted and pulled the rope, sending a whole shelf of Marlene lontra bonecas hurling down to an unsuspecting Kowalski.
    "NOOOOOOO!" Kowalski's shriek was cut off por the army of toys that buried the pinguim like a dog would bury a bone. Private, smiling to himself, hopped over the toys and continue to run for it. Then, he stopped and looked back, sudenly not having the energy to keep on. He looked over at the pile of toys where poor Kowalski was trapped and helpless.
    All you have to do is run for the finish line and the position of leader will be yours, Private thought. It made sense, but it just didn't feel right. Go on! Run! Don't save Kowalski now. He's done for. Picturing poor Kowalski was just too much. Private doubled back toward the iple of stuffed toys and began rummaging through them to find his teammate who he was about to abandon. He touched something rather soft and realized he found a flipper. "Kowalski. I'm here."
    "Go on...without me!"
    That was probably a good idea, but he shoved it aside and pulled Kowalski with all his might until he was free from his Marlene doll prison. Kowalski thought about running for it, but Private just risked his own victory to save him. How could he do that to innocent Private?
    "Okay. We still need to finish the race so how about to make it fair we both start running at the same time. Then we each get the same start and advantages from this point on. May the best pinguim win," Kowalski said and Private agreed.
    They made a run for it only to find out that Rico already dived into their base, winning the race. They slowed down, horrified and disappointed that neither of them won.
    "Oh no. We're too late," Private mumbled.
    They trailed themselves abck to the base to a very cheerful Rico who had coughed up some sparklers and was running around the base with them. "Kaboom! Kaboom!"
    "Right. You did win," Kowalski admitted resentfully. "But perhaps that isn't enough."
    Rico stopped his victory parade and looked at Kowalski until the sparklers dimmed out. So did Private.
    "Is a leader really to be determined por how fast they run? It should be on how well one can take leadership in a bad situation and in a mission, and how assertive they can be when they have to be," Kowalski explained. "So, perhaps there should be mais to the test? There are many skills. One contest isn't enough." Kowalski knew he wouldn't be saying this if he won the race, but there had to be some way to save him from being under Rico's leadership. The words came out of his mouth easily, and to his own satisfaction Private agreed, probably thinking the same thing since they both didn't want to admit defeat.
    "Kowalski is right that this isn't right. We will do one mais contest," Private said. "I know we made the deal before the race, but it isn't right. We need another chance."
    Rico completely disagreed, but said nothing against it.
    Kowalski wrote down Rico's victory under the racing contest category and thought about it for a moment. "I know. We are going to compete for mathematics. Clearly the smartest is most capable for the position, correct?"    
    "But you have to win that one," Private whined. "It has to be something in which none of us have any special talent."
    "Actually I do have a theory," Kowalski suggested. "I have studied the human race for many years and I have figured out that when they elect a leader they have a dance competition."
    "Huh?" Private and Rico questioned in unison.
    "Yes," Kowalski continued. "That is what they do. They all go on the televisão and they have three judges to judge how they did, and whoever the judges like best becomes the ruler of the human race. I am confident in my theory. I am pretty sure the human race has been performing this act for centuries even back to the 19th century."
    "Then it must work," Private confirmed. "I guess we will have to if that is how we elect a leader."
    The three did high fives, each slapping each others' flippers slightly harder than usual. If they had to tap dance their way to victory, that was exactly what they would do.