By the end of the school day, the students had gotten out. Sofia exited the building and headed the stables.

"Good luck tomorrow, Sofia," Doug called to her.

"Thanks," Sofia smiled skittishly.

Doug, Martin, and Earl could tell that Sofia was a little nervous.

"Sofia, is everything okay?" Earl asked.

"Not really—Hugo keeps getting hiccups, and they keep getting in the way," Sofia admitted.

"Hiccups?" Martin asked. "How does it keep happening?"

"I don't know," Sofia replied. "He said they started last night—he never told me why, but he can't stop."

"Has he tried drinking water?" Martin asked.

"Three times, and it didn't help," Sofia sighed.

"Maybe we can help," Doug offered. "Let's go see if he's on the course."

Sofia and the boys went to see if Hugo was on the course. He was at the stables, sitting in the saddle and still hiccupping.

"How goes it, Hugo?" Sofia asked.

"Hic! Not so good, Sofie," Hugo frowned. "These hiccups are driving me crazy."

"We can help," Earl offered. "Have you tried holding your breath?"

"No, I haven't, but I'll try," Hugo said. He breathed in and held his breath for as long as he could—and his face turned purple.

"Hugo, breathe! You're turning purple!" Sofia gasped.

Hugo released his breath, and the purple from his face faded—and it seemed like the hiccups were gone. "It worked, Earl," he beamed. "No more—hic!" He groaned in annoyance.

"It was a good idea," Doug shrugged. "Why don't you try hanging upside down?"

"It's worth a—hic—try," Hugo said. He got down from Electra and did a handstand. "It seems to be working."

Suddenly, there was a big trumpet fanfare, and two people were flying by on their horses.

"They're here," Martin gasped.

"They who?" Sofia asked.

"Squire Lionel and Squire Gus—the Senior Knights," Doug replied.

"What are they doing here?" Hugo asked. "The championship race is tomorrow."

"They must've come a day early to practice on the course," Earl surmised.

Lionel and Gus came by and landed their horses. Sofia and Hugo noticed that these guys were bigger and tougher than Vaughan and Vance.

"They don't look any less tough than Vaughan and Vance," Hugo remarked.

Lionel and Gus went over to Sofia and the boys.

"You two are the Corinthian Sports School derby team?" Lionel asked.

"That's us," Sofia nodded.

Gus and Lionel noticed that Hugo was doing a handstand.

"Now why are we hanging upside down?" Gus asked.

"The little guy has hiccups, and we're trying to help him get rid of them," Martin replied.

"Hiccups?" Lionel smirked. "That should make it easier for us to win the championship race."

"It's always easy for us to win the championships, Lionel—we win every year," Gus joined in.

Sofia didn't like how Gus and Lionel were making fun of Hugo. "You know, you guys may be the best riders around, but you're the worst sports!" she snapped. "Where did you get your sportsmanship, from the bottom of a skunk's tail?"

All the boys were shocked at this, and Lionel and Gus were hurt that they had just been burned by a little girl—but they weren't willing to let these guys know it.

"Gus, do you here that?" Lionel asked.

"Yes, I hear our coach calling us," Gus nodded. "Let's get a move on!"

Gus and Lionel quickly got on their horses and flew away.

"Wow, Sofia, where did that come from?" Doug asked.

"It just came to me," Sofia shrugged.

"You're definitely not the helpless princess you used to be—now you're standing up to bullies," Hugo smiled.

"But who's that?" Martin asked.

Another rider was flying by on a flying horse.

"That looks like Axel," Sofia surmised.

"Axel?" Earl asked.

"My big brother," Hugo said. "He's a student at Ever Realm Academy, so he can be trained to rule our kingdom."

Axel landed his horse and came over. "Hi there," he waved. Then he noticed that his little brother was doing a handstand. "Why are we hanging upside down?"

"Hiccups," Hugo replied.

"Again?" Axel asked.

"He started hiccupping at the same time as practice this morning," Sofia said.

"But they should be gone by now," Hugo said, getting back on his feet. "Sofia burned the Senior Knights, asking if their sportsmanship came from a skunk."

"My goodness—that's a mean remark coming from such a sweet girl," Axel remarked.

"Well, I'm not as little as I used to be," Sofia smiled. "I have to at least try to stand up to a bully."

"That's my girl," Hugo smiled. He realized that his hiccups were gone. "I guess both hanging upside down and hearing Sofia insult the Senior Knights helped get rid of my hiccups."

"There you go," Axel smiled.

"Ready to get back to practicing?" Sofia asked.

"Ready," Hugo smiled. But then he let out a big hiccup. "Oh, here we go again."

"How does this keep happening?" Axel asked.

"What causes hiccups in the first place?" Sofia asked.

"I studied about causes of hiccups," Martin said. "Something could be bothering your throat or your tummy. Eating too quickly can also do it, which is why it's a good idea to chew your food properly."

"Well, I did eat—hic—quickly last night," Hugo recalled.

"But not this morning," Axel reminded him.

"Sometimes you can get hiccups when you're nervous or excited," Martin continued.

Hugo blushed at that, and everyone noticed that he was red in the face. Now Sofia and Axel knew what was going on.

"Oh, I think I understand now," Axel realized. "You must be nervous about tomorrow's championship race."

Hugo couldn't really lie to his brother and friends. "I can't lie—I really am nervous," he admitted. "What if the slingshot—hic—doesn't help us beat the Senior Knights?"

"I'm sure it will, but those hiccups are sure to stand in the way," Axel told him.

"Don't I know it?" Hugo asked dryly. "Hic! I haven't been able to fling—hic—Sofia properly." But then he noticed that Sofia was gone. "Hey, where is Sofia?"

Everyone noticed that Sofia had disappeared. Suddenly, Sofia came up from behind Minimus, talking in her most manly voice, "Hello, you demonic little demons! I'm a Senior Knight, and I'm better than all of you! Oh, but don't take it personally—I'm better than everybody. Yes, I am!"

That made everyone smile, including Hugo, who seemed to be giggling.

"I'mma win the flying derby championships, like I do every year because I'm better than you!" Sofia playfully boasted, still talking in a manly voice.

Hugo was so amused by Sofia's impression of a Senior Knight that he cannot resist playing along. "I don't think so," he playfully scoffed. "I bet I'm ten times faster than you."

"Then prove it," Sofia told him in her manly voice. "I'll race you to the fountain and back."

"You're on," Hugo smirked playfully.

Sofia and Hugo each got on their horses and lined up at the stables, and then they took off into the sky. Sofia reached the fountain first, and she flew back to the stables. Hugo flew around the fountain and caught up to Sofia at the stables.

"That was too easy—I'm ten times faster than you," Sofia playfully teased in her manly voice. She stood up on Minimus and started dancing around. "Look at me—my victory dance! Shake it like you got ants in your pants! A B C! 1 2 3! My ego is bigger than a small country!" She jumped off her horse and landed on her feet.

Everyone was so amused by Sofia's impression of a Senior Knight that they all started laughing. Hugo was laughing so hard that he slipped out of the saddle and fell to the ground, still laughing.

"Hugo, are you okay?" Sofia asked.

"Am I okay?" Hugo asked, still giggling. "That's the first time I fell off a horse since I was two—not including the time your evil copy made me fall off Electra since that wasn't even my fault."

"I guess the only way to get you to fall off a horse is to make you laugh yourself silly," Axel chuckled, helping his little brother get on his feet. "I bet it made the hiccups go away."

"Wow, Sofia, you really got the hiccups out of me—thanks," Hugo smiled.

"No problem," Sofia smiled.

Suddenly, the clocktower started chiming.

"It's getting late," Axel said. "You and Sofia can practice first thing in the morning before the race."

"Fair enough," Sofia nodded.

"Okay," Hugo said. He and Axel went off to their coach. "I'll see you in the morning, Sofie."

"Okay," Sofia waved.

That night at Hugo's palace, he and Axel were just about ready for bed.

"Well, tomorrow is the big day," Hugo remarked.

"That's why you need a good night sleep," Axel told him. "In fact, I think I know how to keep you relaxed." He opened a bedside drawer and took out a bottle of foot lotion. He squeezed a little lotion in his palm and rubbed his hands together. Then he went to the end of Hugo's bed and rubbed the lotion on his little brother's foot, making him giggle.

"Hey, that tickles," giggled Hugo.

"Good because maybe it'll keep the hiccups out of you," Axel chuckled. He continued to rub Hugo's toes, making him giggle.

Garrick came in and was happy to see that Axel was helping Hugo. "Well, it's nice to see that you're helping your brother," he told Axel.

"Well, I can't risk letting him get hiccups before the big race," Axel declared.

"Fair enough," Garrick smiled. He turned to Hugo and asked, "How do you feel, champ?"

"Better, Dad," Hugo replied.

"Good," Garrick smiled. "Well, now that you're feeling better, you'd best get some sleep."

"Okay," Hugo said.

Axel rubbed his hands with a cloth and crawled into his own bed.

"Good night, boys," Garrick said.

"Good night, Dad," the brothers chorused.

As soon as Garrick closed the door, the boys fell asleep.