up, looking like a flock of drowning giants only able to get one arm above the water. It must have been an old pier that had rotted away. Seagulls glided by. One hovered for a moment, as if frozen, and then drifted away. The sea must not be far. I wondered why the gulls would stay here in the cold when they could fly to summer.
The door slid open and then shut. I looked at Danny and saw no magic, no rust inside him. He was completely normal. He handed me a big woolly jumper.
“You must be freezing.” His words made little puffs of condensation.
I was. I put the jumper on. “Great view. New York City is so big.”
“That’s New Jersey over there.”
“Is that a different city?”
Danny looked at me oddly. “Yes.”
“Huh.” It didn’t look very different. Grey and brown buildings. Hardly any trees. Beside the water, on the New York City side, people rode bicycles and jogged and took their tiny dogs for walks at the end of long leashes that from this distance looked more like kite strings. On the highway beside them, trucks and cars zoomed by. I could hear the rumble of the traffic, punctuated by the sudden squeal of horns and brakes and then by the bit of song that meant Danny’s phone was ringing.
He pulled it out, examined the screen, pressed a button, put it back in his pocket.
“How come you didn’t answer it?”
“Huh? Oh, it was a friend of mine. Don’t feel like talking to them right now.”
“How could you tell who it was?” I asked.
Danny raised an eyebrow—clearly, he thought it was a dumb question. “I can see the name of the person calling.”
“Then how come you didn’t know it was me when I called you? Didn’t my name show up?” I slipped my hands up into the sleeves of the jumper. It was freezing.
“Er, no.” Danny stared at me as if he was trying to figure me out. “That wasn’t your phone, was it?”
“No, of course not. I’ve never owned a phone.”
Danny laughed. “I can tell.”
“What time is it?” I asked, wondering how Tom and Jay-Tee were doing.
“Quarter to two.”
“Huh.”
“Do you know how long you’ll be staying here?”
I shook my head. “I guess it depends on what happens with that old man. I can’t go back to Sydney until he’s gone or lets me past or something.”
“You could always take a plane, you know.”
I hadn’t thought of that. How much would that cost? Plane rides were expensive, weren’t they? I took in Danny’s apartment. So big, such a huge television. He had a lot of money now. All of it from his dead magic father. Esmeralda had money, too. I wasn’t used to a life where money solved problems; I was used to money—or, rather, not having any— being the problem.
Sarafina never had enough. She worked lots of different jobs—barmaid, under-the-counter accountant, fruit picker, maths coach—anything she could find. Sometimes I helped, too. When we didn’t have money we’d make instant noodles go a long way or live off the land, find wild grub. Not something you could do in a big city.
Danny and Esmeralda were both casual about money, as if it was there to pluck from the air. Apparently, it was: I’d seen Jay-Tee make money appear in her hand where there’d been nothing.
“I’d pay for the ticket,” Danny said, as if he were offering to buy me a newspaper.
I shook my head. It wouldn’t make any difference. “He’d still be on the other side of the door trying to get through. We have to figure out what do with him on this side. Maybe there’ll be clues or someone here who knows what to do. It’s a big city—I can’t be the only magic one. Esmeralda had some decent ideas.” I shifted my feet. They were starting to go blue and tingle again.
“Do you like being in Sydney with your grandmother?”
I considered this. “I get to see my mum. And it’s nice being with Jay-Tee and Tom. I don’t trust Esmeralda, but so far it’s been okay. I just have to stay alert. Anyways, it’s warm there. Summer.”
Danny slid the door open.
The door slid open and then shut. I looked at Danny and saw no magic, no rust inside him. He was completely normal. He handed me a big woolly jumper.
“You must be freezing.” His words made little puffs of condensation.
I was. I put the jumper on. “Great view. New York City is so big.”
“That’s New Jersey over there.”
“Is that a different city?”
Danny looked at me oddly. “Yes.”
“Huh.” It didn’t look very different. Grey and brown buildings. Hardly any trees. Beside the water, on the New York City side, people rode bicycles and jogged and took their tiny dogs for walks at the end of long leashes that from this distance looked more like kite strings. On the highway beside them, trucks and cars zoomed by. I could hear the rumble of the traffic, punctuated by the sudden squeal of horns and brakes and then by the bit of song that meant Danny’s phone was ringing.
He pulled it out, examined the screen, pressed a button, put it back in his pocket.
“How come you didn’t answer it?”
“Huh? Oh, it was a friend of mine. Don’t feel like talking to them right now.”
“How could you tell who it was?” I asked.
Danny raised an eyebrow—clearly, he thought it was a dumb question. “I can see the name of the person calling.”
“Then how come you didn’t know it was me when I called you? Didn’t my name show up?” I slipped my hands up into the sleeves of the jumper. It was freezing.
“Er, no.” Danny stared at me as if he was trying to figure me out. “That wasn’t your phone, was it?”
“No, of course not. I’ve never owned a phone.”
Danny laughed. “I can tell.”
“What time is it?” I asked, wondering how Tom and Jay-Tee were doing.
“Quarter to two.”
“Huh.”
“Do you know how long you’ll be staying here?”
I shook my head. “I guess it depends on what happens with that old man. I can’t go back to Sydney until he’s gone or lets me past or something.”
“You could always take a plane, you know.”
I hadn’t thought of that. How much would that cost? Plane rides were expensive, weren’t they? I took in Danny’s apartment. So big, such a huge television. He had a lot of money now. All of it from his dead magic father. Esmeralda had money, too. I wasn’t used to a life where money solved problems; I was used to money—or, rather, not having any— being the problem.
Sarafina never had enough. She worked lots of different jobs—barmaid, under-the-counter accountant, fruit picker, maths coach—anything she could find. Sometimes I helped, too. When we didn’t have money we’d make instant noodles go a long way or live off the land, find wild grub. Not something you could do in a big city.
Danny and Esmeralda were both casual about money, as if it was there to pluck from the air. Apparently, it was: I’d seen Jay-Tee make money appear in her hand where there’d been nothing.
“I’d pay for the ticket,” Danny said, as if he were offering to buy me a newspaper.
I shook my head. It wouldn’t make any difference. “He’d still be on the other side of the door trying to get through. We have to figure out what do with him on this side. Maybe there’ll be clues or someone here who knows what to do. It’s a big city—I can’t be the only magic one. Esmeralda had some decent ideas.” I shifted my feet. They were starting to go blue and tingle again.
“Do you like being in Sydney with your grandmother?”
I considered this. “I get to see my mum. And it’s nice being with Jay-Tee and Tom. I don’t trust Esmeralda, but so far it’s been okay. I just have to stay alert. Anyways, it’s warm there. Summer.”
Danny slid the door open.
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