Finn, who couldn’t avoid passing next to her on his way to join the others.
“Hey, Finn,” she said, as if they knew each other.
He stopped. “Hey.”
“I’m Jez.”
“That’s an unusual name.”
“Short for Jezebel. It’s from the Bible.” She wasn’t proud of this. “My mother. You know how that goes.”
“Lawrence Finnegan Whitman. My parents actually thought they’d call me Larry. Larry! Can you imagine? I switched it to Finn in third grade, though it’s not much better.” He couldn’t stop his mouth from talking. He told himself, Shut up !, but he kept on going. “And then all the fish jokes started coming. Fin, this. Fin, that.”
“What’s your sport?”
It was as if she hadn’t heard him. He felt relieved. “Soccer. Yours?”
“Spectator. I came to watch.”
Her eyes were gray with green specks, like imperfect jewels.
“Have we met?” he asked.
“I don’t think so.”
“But you knew my name.”
“I know all about you.” The way she said it bothered Finn. “Because of the Magic Kingdom!”
she explained. “You’re my favorite Disney host.”
Finn felt awkward and uncomfortable. What was he supposed to say to that? He was saved by the public address system. Players were supposed to find their teams. Finn wanted to catch up with his fellow DHIs.
“Well,” he said, “I gotta go.”
“There’s a Girl Scout car wash tomorrow,” she said casually, like an afterthought. When she laughed, it sounded almost—musical. “You could come by if you want.”
“Yeah…maybe…”
“It’s at Dangerous Dan’s.”
Finn hurried up the stairs and past the snack bar.
He found the others in a sour-smelling locker room marked VISITORS B. Backpacks, athletic bags, and smelly shoes surrounded them. Finn and Maybeck organized plastic chairs into a circle.
Philby said, “Willa and I have made some progress.”
Finn felt a wrenching in his gut. The deeper they went, the more he feared they were in danger.
Philby glanced toward the door. Now Finn did too, because, like Philby, he thought he felt something coming from there: a slight chill. A familiar chill.
“Are we going to talk about last night?” Charlene asked, clearly unsettled.
“What’s to talk about?” Maybeck said. “We were visited by Maleficent, a witch with green skin and black tights, who brought the ambient temperature down to about five below zero.” He spoke with so much sarcasm that no one dared bring the subject up again.
Finn told Philby, “The games are starting. We’ve got to hurry. Have you got anything?”
Philby explained, “The first clue in the fable is sun. There are plenty of suns in the park. But supposedly the ride with the biggest sun is It’s a Small World. I think we should start there.”
“Start what ?” Charlene asked.
“Looking for clues.”
“What kind of clues?” she persisted.
“I’m not sure we’ll know until we find one.”
“Does anybody else hear how ridiculous this sounds?” Maybeck asked.
Finn said, “We’re going to end up in the park tonight, like it or not. We might as well have a plan.”
Willa spoke up. “We should all go to bed early, right at eight, as the park closes. Agreed?”
Maybeck snorted. “You guys are crazy. You know that?”
Finn said, “We need all of us , Maybeck.” He felt awash with a sudden wave of cold again.
Not as strong as at the teepee, but not normal. He lowered his voice. “I think we’re done here.”
The others suddenly felt the cold as well. Maybeck’s smugness fell from his face. He said,
“Okay, I’ll be there.”
“But what about the green—thing, person, woman?” Charlene asked.
Maybeck answered. He’d lost his sarcasm. “Listen, we’d better stay alert. Not only when we’re in the park.” He added cautiously in a whisper, “Are we so sure this crossing over thing is a one-way street? If we can cross over to there, who says they can’t cross over to here?”
15
“F inn, are you sure
“Hey, Finn,” she said, as if they knew each other.
He stopped. “Hey.”
“I’m Jez.”
“That’s an unusual name.”
“Short for Jezebel. It’s from the Bible.” She wasn’t proud of this. “My mother. You know how that goes.”
“Lawrence Finnegan Whitman. My parents actually thought they’d call me Larry. Larry! Can you imagine? I switched it to Finn in third grade, though it’s not much better.” He couldn’t stop his mouth from talking. He told himself, Shut up !, but he kept on going. “And then all the fish jokes started coming. Fin, this. Fin, that.”
“What’s your sport?”
It was as if she hadn’t heard him. He felt relieved. “Soccer. Yours?”
“Spectator. I came to watch.”
Her eyes were gray with green specks, like imperfect jewels.
“Have we met?” he asked.
“I don’t think so.”
“But you knew my name.”
“I know all about you.” The way she said it bothered Finn. “Because of the Magic Kingdom!”
she explained. “You’re my favorite Disney host.”
Finn felt awkward and uncomfortable. What was he supposed to say to that? He was saved by the public address system. Players were supposed to find their teams. Finn wanted to catch up with his fellow DHIs.
“Well,” he said, “I gotta go.”
“There’s a Girl Scout car wash tomorrow,” she said casually, like an afterthought. When she laughed, it sounded almost—musical. “You could come by if you want.”
“Yeah…maybe…”
“It’s at Dangerous Dan’s.”
Finn hurried up the stairs and past the snack bar.
He found the others in a sour-smelling locker room marked VISITORS B. Backpacks, athletic bags, and smelly shoes surrounded them. Finn and Maybeck organized plastic chairs into a circle.
Philby said, “Willa and I have made some progress.”
Finn felt a wrenching in his gut. The deeper they went, the more he feared they were in danger.
Philby glanced toward the door. Now Finn did too, because, like Philby, he thought he felt something coming from there: a slight chill. A familiar chill.
“Are we going to talk about last night?” Charlene asked, clearly unsettled.
“What’s to talk about?” Maybeck said. “We were visited by Maleficent, a witch with green skin and black tights, who brought the ambient temperature down to about five below zero.” He spoke with so much sarcasm that no one dared bring the subject up again.
Finn told Philby, “The games are starting. We’ve got to hurry. Have you got anything?”
Philby explained, “The first clue in the fable is sun. There are plenty of suns in the park. But supposedly the ride with the biggest sun is It’s a Small World. I think we should start there.”
“Start what ?” Charlene asked.
“Looking for clues.”
“What kind of clues?” she persisted.
“I’m not sure we’ll know until we find one.”
“Does anybody else hear how ridiculous this sounds?” Maybeck asked.
Finn said, “We’re going to end up in the park tonight, like it or not. We might as well have a plan.”
Willa spoke up. “We should all go to bed early, right at eight, as the park closes. Agreed?”
Maybeck snorted. “You guys are crazy. You know that?”
Finn said, “We need all of us , Maybeck.” He felt awash with a sudden wave of cold again.
Not as strong as at the teepee, but not normal. He lowered his voice. “I think we’re done here.”
The others suddenly felt the cold as well. Maybeck’s smugness fell from his face. He said,
“Okay, I’ll be there.”
“But what about the green—thing, person, woman?” Charlene asked.
Maybeck answered. He’d lost his sarcasm. “Listen, we’d better stay alert. Not only when we’re in the park.” He added cautiously in a whisper, “Are we so sure this crossing over thing is a one-way street? If we can cross over to there, who says they can’t cross over to here?”
15
“F inn, are you sure
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