Top This!

Courtney Vincent's cousin Hannah moves to Odyssey from near Philadelphia. Erica Clark notices that Courtney has changed her hair and clothes and acts differently around Hannah. The cousins seem friendly, but even their ordinary conversation turns into comparison: Hannah's new house may be larger than Courtney's, while Courtney proudly answers news of Hannah's successful volleyball team by announcing that she was its most valuable player.

At their church youth group's meeting, Courtney reports that she is organizing a bake sale to raise money for camp. Hannah immediately suggests a car wash that may earn even more. The group welcomes the idea and lets Hannah organize it. Courtney says she approves, but the new plan quietly becomes a challenge she feels compelled to beat.

The rivalry grows quickly. When Hannah recruits eight helpers, Courtney expands her bake sale, asks Erica to make more caramel bars, creates more advertising, and starts earlier. Both fundraisers succeed. Hannah then organizes door-to-door yard work, while Courtney stays up making crafts to sell. Other teens stage a marathon softball game. What began as a good cause becomes a contest in which Courtney keeps adding projects simply because Hannah keeps raising money.

Meanwhile, Odyssey 105 is losing listeners to a rival station. Manager Casey Parker abruptly changes the format to twenty-four-hour polka, driving Cryin' Bryan Dern to rebel on the air. Dern locks himself in the studio, rejects the polkas, and claims to have taken over the station. As he remains awake for days, his strange broadcasts attract the entire town. The apparent siege is actually a ratings hoax devised by Dern and supported by management, but its success traps him in an exhausting stunt. Casey immediately wants an even bigger idea to top it.

Courtney's own effort becomes just as unreasonable. She organizes a five-mile run and begins training even though she can barely finish a short practice. Jack sees that she has baked, advertised, crafted, organized, and run herself ragged. When she says it is all for a good cause, he asks whether she is truly serving the youth group or merely trying to top Hannah.

Courtney admits that the competition began when they were little. Born only three months apart, they have been compared over everything from first words and first steps to dolls, clothes, and achievements. Courtney has already raised more than five hundred dollars, yet she expects Hannah to surpass her, which will make Courtney attempt something larger again. Though the cousins behave like friends, the constant rivalry has kept them from becoming close.

Jack explains that endless competition makes people lose sight of both others and themselves. One of the cousins must end it, and Courtney can make the first move by letting Hannah win. The idea feels strange until Courtney realizes that losing will not truly hurt her.

Hannah soon arrives thrilled that her projects have raised almost four hundred fifty dollars. Courtney begins to announce her higher total, then stops. She simply says her group also raised quite a bit and accepts Hannah's invitation to celebrate with ice cream. Courtney even asks Jack to make Hannah's cone a little taller. For the first time, she chooses friendship over topping her cousin.