"Welcome, one and all, to the O Games!"

The last Friday in August had arrived, and with it the age-old annual Odd Squad tradition. A general feeling of excitement pervaded the air as every Odd Squad agent chattered amongst themselves in hushed, anticipating tones about who and what this year's contestants and challenges would be. Even Olive had caught the infectious mood of the day. After nearly a month of spending her days in the Odd Squad gym and working after hours in order to avoid everyone, it was rather nice to join in the festivities for a change.

Until she saw who was ringing the bells this year. A stupid, chipper grin on his face, there stood her former partner, clad in a ridiculously large green-trimmed gold toga, reverently ringing the memory bells. Olive bowed her head like everyone else, but inside she was tense, angered. Yet another special privilege from being Ms. O's personal adviser and favorite agent, she thought with no small amount of disgust.

Ochenta, the previous year's winner, was called up to the Thingieth to draw the numbers of this year's five contestants, but Olive had her eyes trained on Oscar. For the most part he was watching the selection process, though every now and then glancing at Ms. O, who was standing off to the side, to communicate with a hand or face signal. Once he glanced in Olive's direction, and she quickly looked away before he could catch her eye. It's not polite to stare, she reminded herself, not even when it's someone you loathe. But she had seen enough. It was clear that he looked to Ms. O like a little lost puppy, following her every move, never mind that—

"Agent Sixty-Three!"

Olive blinked, snapping back to attention. She had forgotten all about the actual O Games. Had her number just been called?

Ochenta held up a red ball. "Agent Olive?" she called. "That's you. You're our final contestant."

Olive opened her mouth and closed it again. A pathway had been parted through the crowd for her and every agent was watching her expectantly.

Am I really competing in the O Games this year?

Almost surreally, she stepped forward and made her way to the platform, where the other four contestants—Orchid, Oz, O'Donnell, and Odell—were already waiting. Feeling all eyes on her, Olive managed a weak smile that dimmed when her sensitive ears caught Oren murmuring to Olaf and the other agents near him:

"Imagine that. Olive has to compete in the O Games the same year her former partner gets to announce it. Boy, this oughta be good," he snickered.

Olive felt a hot flush creeping up her face, but before she had time to ponder the rude remark, Ms. O had clicked the Remote-Controlinator, transporting all seven participants to the O Games Arena. Though she remembered what was going to happen from previous years watching the games, she was still shocked to discover herself standing on a marble pedestal, clad in bronze and copper armor, her corkscrew ponytail transformed into an elegant yet functional braided bun.

It was at that moment that, as she looked over at her competition likewise inspecting themselves, Olive realized something. Out of all five contestants, she was the only one who'd had an extensive background in sports. And, quite by accident, she'd just spent the last month training for this day. Meaning she actually had a fighting chance.

With that realization came another. Since no one was left to watch when I stopped the pienado, I've never really proven myself to the rest of the squad. I've just been a follower, either Oscar's partner or Todd's tagalong. But if I win the O Games today, she decided, I'll show everyone that I can stand on my own two feet.

Olive felt herself straighten up taller and hold her chin high, a gleam in her eye and a determined grin on her face.

Let's go.

* * * * *

XXXXX

* * * * *

"—and the rest," Otto jumped in, "is history."

Olive smiled. "I won, yes. O'Donnell was eliminated after the 500-meter pudding toss when she kept splattering pudding everywhere while trying to throw. Then again, we all splattered pudding everywhere and on each other."

"I got pictures, too," Oscar added with a wink.

Giving him a playful punch in the arm, Olive stuck her tongue out at him (which made both Otto and Oscar laugh, much to her annoyance) and went on. "The next event was curling, so Ms. O put us in teams of two for that one. Oz and I got the most shots, and Orchid and Odell were both eliminated since they kept arguing with each other instead of competing. So then for the final event, Oz and I went head-to-head in Invisible Tug-of-War."

Otto frowned. "Wait, but how did that work? Wasn't he invisible by then?"

Olive gave Oscar a meaningful glance, and he looked away sheepishly. "No, not yet," Olive answered, her expression thoughtful. "But I suppose you could say Oscar piqued his interest in the Invisible-inator gadget—"

"It's not my fault Oz loved all of my gadgets!" Oscar protested. Seeing Otto's confusion, he explained, "The rope he and Olive used for Invisible Tug-Of-War hadn't been turned invisible yet, because I'd only just invented the gadget the day before. Ms. O wanted me to show it off by turning the rope invisible right before the event started. And after the games, while Olive was Ms. O for the day, Oz came to the Lab and checked out the gadget so he'd have it 'just in case'. I didn't know he got his gadgets all mixed up!"

"Whoa, whoa! Steady, Oscar!" Olive laughed, putting a kindly hand on his shoulder. "You're right, it's not your fault. Plus, Oz likes being invisible now, remember?"

Oscar smiled with relief. "Oh yeah, heh, I forgot."

As the two of them shared their moment, Otto couldn't help watching with a few mixed feelings. His initial shock and anger had long since faded after hearing their tumultuous tale; remembering how irritated Olive had always acted around Oscar in his first eight months at Odd Squad, Otto found himself more than a little awed at how much things had changed for them over the past few years. But at the same time, he couldn't help feeling a bit of resentment towards his friends. Olive was his partner, after all, and possibly the closest friend he'd ever had—though lately he'd come to see her as more of an older sister—so the idea of sharing her wasn't all that appealing. Even if it was with another good friend. Mentally Otto cringed. He had to stop thinking about this. "So, when do I come in the story?" he asked.

"Oh! Right." Their moment interrupted, Olive composed herself and turned back to Otto. "Like I was saying, I think the O Games was really a turning point for me. I started working during regular hours again, instead of hiding, and I finally felt confident of myself and my ability to solve cases. Other agents began to see me for who I really was."

"They also saw how serious you'd gotten," Oscar pointed out.

"Yeah, like you left me any choice," Olive retorted. Then the smile faded from her face, and Otto thought she looked kind of sad. "It's true, though. Otto, you always said I'm so serious, and...well, between Todd and my feud with Oscar, there's your reason. It's because of having you as a partner that I ever loosened up at all." She sighed. "Most of the time I don't really like thinking about those four months alone."

This time it was Oscar's turn to pat her on the shoulder. "Me neither, heh." He looked up at Otto and picked up the story. "Anyhow, after the O Games, I couldn't help watching Olive. She did look more confident, the most I'd ever seen her, and she made more friends. Everything I'd seen in her when I first met her had come true. But every day, I missed her more than ever..."

* * * * *

XXXXX

* * * * *

"Whatcha working on, Oscar?"

The scientist glanced up at the squad's newest Tube Operator. "Oh, hey there, O'Malley!" Oscar set down the gadget he was building and explained, "It's supposed to turn tropical fruit into farm animals. Haven't given it a name yet, though, since I got interrupted when Agent Oz turned on a Black-Hole-inator in Ms. O's office and I had to go fix it, heh."

O'Malley stepped forward inquisitively and peered at the gadget. "Hmm. Is it supposed to look like a goat?"

"A what?"

He picked it up and hefted it, and the gadget made a weird noise. "What about sound like a goat? Or feel like a goat?"

"Well, I—sure?"

O'Malley gave him a look, then thrust the gadget under Oscar's nose. "Then why does it smell like coconuts?"

Oscar sniffed it. "W-well, I mean, a coconut is a tropical fruit. So there's n-nothing wrong with that, haha!"

"Hmm." A little disinterested, O'Malley set the gadget down and picked up a nearby jar of yellowish pills. "And what are these?"

"Oh, those! They're a pill you can take and it'll turn into whatever food you want in your mouth! See, I read Charlie and the Chocolate Factory a few weeks ago, and I thought it would be a great idea to invent a pill similar to the chewing gum that Willy Wonka has. Except, y'know, without turning anyone into a blueberry. Plus, with Thanksgiving coming up this Monday—"

"Cool! Can I try one?"

Oscar stopped and furrowed his brow. "Mm, I dunno. There's only twelve pills left, and I don't really want to waste them because I haven't given one to Ms. O to try yet—"

"No, there's not," O'Malley interrupted, peering into the jar. "There's only eight left, see?"

"Really?" Oscar took the jar from him and counted. "Huh, sure enough," he muttered, puzzled. "That's funny, I could've sworn I counted them this morning and there were twelve...I did count them before helping Maintenance change out the water in the heating pipes for orange juice, now didn't I...?"

By the time he looked up again, O'Malley had already wandered off, probably to start his next shift. With a shrug, Oscar set down the jar and focused his attentions on his gadget again.

And that's when, out of the corner of his eye, he saw her.

She was standing by the ball room with two much older agents, Oda and Odalis, laughing about something funny one of them had said. Though the three of them were all the way across the foyer, Oscar could tell that she was, for the first time since August, truly happy. Her face would glow in a way that could light up any room, her cheeks would turn rosy, and her gorgeous golden-brown eyes would squint a little but not enough to hide their twinkle. The perfect recall made him suddenly sad, with an overwhelming sense of longing.

Stop it, Oscar. It's been two months. You're not getting her back, and that's that. Now get back to work before Ms. O finds you being lazy and makes you come in on Thanksgiving Day. Heaving a heavy sigh, Oscar tried to push Olive out of his mind and focus on his new gadget.

Which meant he didn't see Octavia and Oz, both covered in feathers, run down the stairs and over to their desks. He didn't see them brush each other off and throw the feathers in a nearby wastebasket. He didn't see Oz deftly throw an arm around his partner's shoulder and wink at her, or hear Octavia's giggle as she gave him a peck on the forehead. He didn't see their blushes as they pulled apart and briskly walked towards the Tube Lobby, discreetly holding hands.

He didn't know that was the last time anyone at Odd Squad would ever see Agent Oz.

Neither did Octavia and Oz know that, in just a few short hours, their carefree and open relationship with each other would change forever.

* * * * *

Thanksgiving Day came and went. Halloween Night came and went. Remembrance Day came and went. Pretty soon October and November had flown by, and after what had seemed an eon to Olive, the first day of December 2013 rolled around. Because it was a Sunday, Ms. O set out a sign-up sheet for agents to volunteer to put up Christmas decorations that day, instead of making it required like she normally did. To their credit, most of the squad signed up, anyhow. Olive was one of these agents. So were Oda and Odalis.

So was Oscar.

Olive had to admit she'd winced upon seeing his name on the sheet. Nevertheless she tried to convince herself that she was over him. Oscar was just another agent at Odd Squad, just another co-worker. Any feelings she'd had were long since faded and gone. Right?

Oh, who am I kidding? she thought after bristling at the sight of him dragging a gigantic Christmas tree up the stairs, hurrying to keep up with Ms. O. I can't say I don't have any feelings if I'm still going to get angry at the sight of him.

She glanced over at her desk, where four little yellow pills were hidden in a small drawer compartment. Or if I'm going to take something he made and keep it for myself. Even that thought made her angry all over again, so Olive shook her head and focused back on her task—which was balancing herself on a tall stepladder while hanging a garland above the South Control Room. "How're you doing on your end, Oda?" she called, trying to ignore how much her arms were beginning to hurt.

"Almost done...got it!" Brushing her hands together, the little mouse of a girl clambered down her own stepladder and rushed over to where Odalis was holding Olive's to keep it steady. "Here, I'll toss it up! Catch!"

Reaching down a hand, Olive caught the airborne spool of metal wiring with ease, subsequently managing to unwind a strand and tie it to the garland with only one hand. That done, she looped the wire around an iron beam and secured it with a knot, then dropped her tired arms and slid down the ladder. "Phew, finally done!" she remarked, admiring their handiwork.

"Yeah, a gazillion feet of scratchy evergreen garland later," Odalis added, making the girls laugh. It was true, though: hanging holiday garland all along the foyer balcony had been no easy task. It was times like these when Olive really felt lucky to have two good friends like Oda and Odalis. After winning the O Games three months ago, they had been the ones to congratulate and get to know her the most, and it had been them who'd really helped pull her out of her slump. Sometimes Oda took her down to Club 24 for a girl's night out after work, other times Odalis shot hoops with her down in the gym, and often times the three of them would help each other out on each of their assigned cases. As the weeks went by, Olive grew closer to them, but not once did she ever open up about her struggles with Todd and with Oscar. Yet somehow, she sensed Oda and Odalis understood. Somehow they knew that all she needed were a couple someones to help her cope with her newfound loneliness. And for the first time since joining Odd Squad, she understood what it meant to have friends. Not partners, not manipulators, not crushes, just friends.

Before she could ponder it any further, however, her reverie was interrupted by a loud holler of, "AGENT OLIVE! IN MY OFFICE! NOW!"

Olive looked at Oda and Odalis in bemusement. "A case? On a volunteer day?"

Her friends shrugged. "Maybe it's something else," Oda suggested.

"Could be," Odalis agreed. "Go on ahead and see what the boss wants. Oda and I can put away the stepladders ourselves."

"You sure?" Olive asked skeptically. "They're pretty heavy."

"It's fine," Oda reassured her. "We're just taking them back down to the Boiler Rooms. No big deal."

Now it was Olive's turn to shrug. "Okay, if you say so." Leaving her friends to drag the ladders away, she briskly headed towards the stairs, no less bemused. What could Ms. O possibly want me for when it's not an official work day? she wondered. Or when most of the Christmas decorations have already been put up?

Then the worst possible scenario occurred to her. Oh, no. Does it have anything to do with Oscar...?

* * * * *

Naturally, with all these questions circling through her mind, the very last thing Olive expected to see when she sat down in the octagon chair was a photo of a recruit boy who clearly did not know how to take a picture. "Who's this?" Olive asked, curling her lip a little as she looked back up at Ms. O.

The boss gave her a genuine smile. "Your new partner."