Arcade and the Fiery Metal Tester

by Rashad Jennings

  I reached out to pet Flames’s feathers. Sure enough, the little guy was gaining his color!

  “That’s DOPE! Wait till Zoe sees this!”

  At the sound of her name, big sis walked in the bathroom. “You guys should really learn to lock a door behind you. Any knucklehead could have come in here.”

  I laughed. “Yep. You’re proof.”

  Zoe thumped me on the back of the head.

  “Zoe, check this out! What color do you think Flames is?”

  Zoe crossed her arms and tilted her head. “He’s shrimp-colored.” She held her arm next to Flames, matching his wings to a bracelet she was wearing. “A perfect match to this pink bracelet.”

  Flames squawked at Zoe and pecked at the sandwich bag full of shrimp. I pulled out another piece and held it in my palm. Flames devoured it.

  “You know, Arcade, he’s getting bigger. He’s going to need more food each day. I don’t think our budget can handle buying much more shrimp.”

  “And I’m moving to Florida, so he won’t be able to stay here much longer,” Doug said.

  Zoe’s head snapped around. “You’re moving to FLORIDA?”

  “I’m moving to Florida. Unless someone can find me a way out of it.”

  And for the first time, Zoe asked me a question that was the exact opposite of any she’d asked before when it came to the Triple T.

  “Arcade, can your token do anything?”

  I shook my head. “It’s as cold as ice.”

  * * *

  My whole family took Doug to the airport the next Thursday night. Hardly a word was spoken the entire car ride.

  The loudspeaker boomed its final warning:

  “Flight 623 to Miami, Florida will be boarding in thirty minutes. Any passengers not yet through the security checkpoint should make their way through now.”

  Doug and I stood there, stunned. “I can’t believe this is happening.” Anger and sadness boiled up inside of me.

  How am I going to get through this year without Doug?

  “Yeah, man, and I really wanted to take that math test tomorrow.” Doug chuckled and poked me with his elbow. But then tears started to flow. He covered his face and breathed deeply in and out. I did the same.

  “Don’t worry, Doug,” I said, my voice cracking with emotion. “If there’s any way to get you back here, I’ll find it.”

  Doug reached over and shoved something into my hand.

  “Here’s the key to the greenstone. The realtor lady said she’s coming to put some new locks on it in a few days. I’ll text you when for sure. Until then, Flames can have the run of the place.”

  I grabbed the key. “Thanks, Doug. You’re the best. I’ll miss y—” But I couldn’t finish. It was just too painful to see my best friend go.

  “Yeah. I’ll miss you too.”

  “Doug, your security wand awaits.” My dad picked Doug’s super stuffed backpack up off the floor and handed it to him. Then, he put his hands on both of Doug’s shoulders and closed his eyes.

  “Lord, watch over our friend Doug. Help him adjust to his new home. Give him great friends who will support him and appreciate his sense of humor. Give him peace and understanding about the big changes ahead. And above all, Lord, give him great food! We trust you with his life. Amen.”

  I couldn’t even look up. Tears fell and splashed on the floor. All of a sudden, airports were my least favorite place in the whole world.

  And this one was super hot!

  “We’re gonna go hang out over here at the coffee kiosk,” Dad said. “You guys can walk Doug over to security.”

  Mom stepped forward and gave Doug a big hug. “Keep in touch,” she said. She had tears in her eyes as she left with Dad.

  I walked over to the security line with my sister and my best friend.

  “Bye, Doug,” I said, but he didn’t repeat me this time.

  “I’m not sayin’ it,” Doug said. “Cause I’m comin’ back.”

  Zoe gave Doug a hug. “If you need anything, call, text, email, whatever.”

  “I won’t need anything. Aunt Tianna has everything. She’s got a fancy place full of furniture you can’t sit on and towels you can’t use.”

  Then, Zoe’s red, puffy eyes grew wide as she put a hand on my shoulder. “Arcade, I really wish I didn’t have to say this right now, but your token is blinding me.”

  I tried to look down at the Triple T, but it shined so bright I had to shield my eyes.

  Of course! That’s why I’m so hot!

  I took the pulsing token in my hand. “Show me a home for Doug. Somewhere we can be together!” And as soon as I spoke those words, Doug’s backpack began to glow red! Two pipes shot out from the bottom of the backpack and started spewing yellow and orange glitter, surrounding Doug in a colorful cloud.

  “Arcade!” Doug shouted out from the orange and yellow mist. “I gotta get through security or I’ll miss my flight!”

  “Uh-oh.” Zoe reached out and gripped my arm. “Where are we off to this time?”

  Doug jumped out of the cloud, shaking glitter from his hair. “Security will never let me through with a flaming jet pack!”

  I shook my head. “I don’t think you’re headed for Florida just yet. This little metal tester might show us your new home!”

  “It’s going to show us my new home?”

  “That’s what I said. Somewhere we can be together.”

  “Arcade, what did you say to it?” Zoe moved in close and shoved us over to a corner, next to a monitor showing flight arrivals and departures. The writing blurred and then it also turned to glitter. The monitor enlarged and became elevator doors. Airport travelers scurried by us like none of this was happening.

  The golden coin slot popped out, just as Doug’s jet pack began to lift him off the ground. He grabbed me and held on tight. “I have a bad feeling about this!”

  I reached for my token, pulled it off the chain, and glanced over at Zoe. “We all go in, and we all return, with everything we brought with us. We’ll be as careful as anything and we won’t talk to a living soul.”

  Zoe threw up her hands. “Throw it in.”

  I grinned and deposited the coin in the slot. The doors opened. When we walked in, we were immediately covered in puffy suits. And helmets.

  Wait . . . these aren’t helmets . . . they’re . . .

  “Space suits!” Doug yelled. Well, he yelled as much as he could with a voice muffled by his . . .

  SPACE SUIT?!?

  The doors closed. Doug’s jet pack spewed out more glitter. A voice over the speaker began to count down . . .

  “10 . . . 9 . . . 8 . . .”

  “Arcade, where are we going?!?”

  “I have no idea. But you hate heights. So at least we’re counting down instead of up, right?” Doug didn’t look the least bit relieved.

  “7 . . . 6 . . . 5 . . . 4 . . .”

  Zoe, who was outfitted in a shrimpy-pink colored SPACE SUIT, jumped in between me and Doug and linked arms. “Oh, we’re counting down all right. But we’re going up. So you boys better brace yourselves.”

  “AHHHHHHHH! I don’t wanna go! I’m a food dude, not an astronaut!”

  “3 . . . 2 . . . 1 . . . we have ignition . . .”

  “IGNITION!” we all shouted.

  The elevator began to rumble and shake. The noise was deafening! I tried to cover my ears, but my head was in a SPACE SUIT.

  “THIS . . . IS . . . DOOOOOOOOOOPE . . . . . .”

  Blastoff!

  Chapter 19

  Moon Walk

  We’re all laying on the floor, looking up. The elevator stops, and now, we’re . . . floating up.

  “Grab something!” Zoe yells.

  “What? The ceiling?” I reach up and brace for impact. But then I just float there, weightless, in the middle of the elevator.

  “Arcade, where on earth did you take us?” Doug is doing out-of-control barrel rolls in the elevator.

  My heart starts to pound. I can’t believ
e what I’m about to say. “Um, I don’t think we’re on earth anymore, bro.”

  I’ve studied a little bit about space. And I’ve watched enough movies to know that when an astronaut floats away into space, he floats away FOREVER.

  If these doors open and we really are in space . . .

  I glance over at Zoe, who is turning a cartwheel. “Hey, Zoe! You’re finally coordinated!”

  Zoe glares at me through her fogged-up face shield. “NOT FUNNY, Arcade! I’m not TRYING to do this!”

  “Oh. That’s too bad, then.”

  “Get over here and help me!”

  As much as I want to let my sister just flip there a while, I float over and steady her. And that’s when I notice all three of us are tethered to a hook inside the elevator.

  Whew, that’s a relief!

  The doors open. And we all drop to the floor.

  “Oof!” I sit there in a heap and assess the damage to my body. “That didn’t hurt as much as I thought it would. Where are we?”

  I stand, take a floaty, semi-weightless step toward the doors, and peer out.

  “Well, what do you see?” Doug asks, with a slight tremor in his voice.

  “We’re definitely sitting on some kind of planetary surface. Wanna take a look around?” Doug and Zoe have plastered themselves to the back corners of the elevator.

  “Are there edges?” Doug holds on tighter to his tether.

  I tap my foot on the ground. “Not that I can see.”

  “I’m not sure we should go out there, Arcade. If we’re in space, we won’t be able to breathe.”

  I take a big breath in and let it out. “I’m thinking we have air in these suits, Zoe. What do you think you’re breathing right now?”

  “Yes, but how? I mean, what are we connected to? What if it runs out?”

  “What are we connected to? And you think I ask ridiculous questions? Have we EVER known what we’re connected to? Look around, Zoe. This elevator doesn’t have any cables.”

  Zoe takes a step forward. “You’re right. This whole thing is insane.” She turns to Doug. “I guess we should go explore.” She grabs Doug by the shoulder and they follow me out.

  As we walk, we are kicking up a powder-like dust. The land is barren.

  “The sky is so dark.” Zoe stares at her shrimp-colored gloves. “How can I see myself when it’s so dark?” She reaches down and runs her glove through the dust. Then she stands up and rubs it around in her palms. She glances at me, then falls onto her behind, pointing to the sky. “Arcade! LOOK!”

  I turn and look to the sky. I fall too. “Doug, LOOK!”

  Doug turns. And, yes, he falls too.

  We’re staring at a beautiful, blue planet. Well, not the whole thing. About three-quarters of it. There are swirls of white surrounding it, and between the swirls, we can see a continent.

  Doug holds a finger up in the air. “Hey, is that Florida? Because if it is, it’s gonna take me a lot longer to get there now.”

  We all stare in awe. I turn to Zoe. “We’re on the moon, Zoe!”

  “Good observation, Copernicus.”

  “Why do you think the token brought us here? I asked it to take us somewhere we could be together.”

  “Oh, we’re together, all right. And that promise you made about not talking to another living soul is not going to be hard to keep, either.”

  “Arcade, I think I see New York too! I can see Florida and New York at the SAME TIME.” Doug is in his own little world. His finger can’t stop circling the blue planet in the sky.

  “I asked the token to show us Doug’s new home.”

  “Yep.” Zoe gestures toward the earth. “There it is. Maybe you should be just a teeny bit more specific next time.”

  “But his new home can’t be Florida. It just can’t.”

  Doug stands and starts picking things up from the ground, examining them. Zoe scoots a little closer to me. “Arcade, do you remember when Dad told us we were going to move to New York City?”

  A knot forms in my stomach. “Yeah. I hated that day. Derek and I ran out to the woods and tried to come up with a plan for me to stay.”

  “Did it work?”

  “Well, duh, no. Because, well . . . here we are.” I pointed to earth. “I mean, there we are.”

  “And do you totally hate living in New York City?”

  I shrug. “No. I mean, I miss Derek, and some things about Virginia, but it’s not so bad. Kinda fun sometimes, actually.”

  “Sounds like Florida might be better for Doug, don’t you think? He’ll have family there who can take care of him. That’s better than living by himself with a squawking flamingo.”

  It feels like someone reaches in and squeezes that knot in my stomach. “But he’s my best friend, Zoe. He likes me no matter what. It’s not fair that I have to lose him right when we’re starting middle school.”

  Zoe gives me a shove.

  “What’s that for?”

  “I can’t believe what I’m hearing! It’s not fair to you? What about Doug? It doesn’t sound like you’re thinking about him at all. Wow. I never knew you were this self-absorbed.”

  “SELF-ABSORBED? Says the girl who can’t be away from a mirror for more than five minutes.”

  Zoe gets up and brushes dust off herself. “Fine. Don’t listen to me.” She goes over and begins helping Doug with his collection.

  I stare up at the earth. And for some reason, Mr. Dooley’s words pop into my brain.

  ALWAYS PAY ATTENTION WHEN YOU ARE BEING TESTED!

  Is this a test? If so, I’m not doing so well.

  As soon as that thought hits me, something else almost does. It shoots in from outer space, looking like a small meteorite. “Watch out, Zoe!” I push her out of the way, just as the burning object lands at my feet.

  “It’s the token,” I whisper in shock and disbelief.

  Zoe and I stand there, staring at the smoldering piece of gold. “Guess it’s time to go,” she says. There’s not an ounce of excitement in her voice. She begins to glide-walk back to the elevator.

  Doug approaches me with a smile. “I got what I need.” He leaps over to the elevator.

  I pick up the token, and it immediately burns a hole in my space glove. I glide-run as fast as I can back to the elevator, where the golden coin slot is waiting. Zoe is looking down at the ground, her arms crossed. I throw the token in.

  Chapter 20

  Burning Through the Atmosphere

  “Here, I got you a moon rock!” Doug holds out a gray lump and drops it in my hand. “And I got me one too.” He winks. “It’ll be our little secret.”

  Okay, this is cool.

  “And I got one more.” He holds it out for me to look at.

  “Who’s that one for?”

  “It’s for Gram. Can you give it to her for me? I’m really going to miss her.”

  Of course, you will. Hey, wait a minute . . .

  “How can they take you away from your grandma? She needs to see you on a regular basis. It will be good for her health. And you need to see her too. That would be the best thing for both of you.”

  Doug rolls his rock around in his palm. “Well, sure, but how are we going to convince—”

  I put my hand out. “I don’t know. But we’ll figure it out. I’ll talk to my parents. They’ll have some ideas. Maybe they can talk to your social worker. Or maybe . . . hey! I got it! I can’t believe I didn’t think of this before.”

  “Think of what before?” Zoe asks.

  “We can adopt Doug. He can live with us! And then he can see his grandma whenever he wants.”

  “Adopt Doug?” Zoe asks with her eyebrows raised. “Good luck convincing Mom and Dad.”

  “Why not? They love Doug. And remember what Dad said about me finding someone in the city who’s been stricken by misfortune? Well, here he is!” I put my arm around Doug.

  “Here he is?” Doug points to himself.

  “Yeah. Here you are.”

  We burn throu
gh the atmosphere with something we haven’t had since we left for the moon. Hope.

  * * *

  “The floor is HOT!” Doug jumps up and down. Flames shoot up from all four corners of the elevator. Sweat rivers rush down our foreheads. “I don’t think this elevator has a heat shield! WE’RE TOAST!”

  A smoke alarm sounds from some unknown location. It beeps and blares, sending shockwaves from my eardrums to my temples. I try to cover my ears, but I can’t reach them because they’re inside the stupid space suit.

  “What happens next?” Zoe asks. “Splash down?”

  “Let’s hope not,” I say. “Doug has a flight to catch.”

  * * *

  “Flight 623, now boarding.”

  Doug and I stood there, staring at each other. “Bro, you better go through security.” Then I pulled him in by the shoulders and whispered, “We’ll get you back here, soon. Just have hope.” I gave him a playful shove toward the security line. I watched as he ran through the queue, toward the security agent near the arch.

  She said something to Doug, he shook his head, she gestured him through . . . and he set off the alarm.

  As another agent waved him back, I ran over to the side of the security line. “Doug! The rock!”

  Doug reached into his pocket and pulled out the little space souvenir. “I’m sorry, sir. I forgot I have this moon rock.” He walked over and put it in a bin on the conveyor. “Could be radioactive. After all, it just burned through the atmosphere.”

  “A moon rock, huh?” The man went over and took a look. “That’s nice. My boy collects rocks too. He also has a great imagination. Just burned through the atmosphere,” the man said chuckling and shaking his head. “Okay, let’s try this again.” The man escorted Doug back through the security arch. This time there were no alarms. Doug ran over to the conveyor and retrieved his backpack and his space rock. He held it up. “See you soon, bro!”

  Yeah, Doug. Maybe soon you’ll be my real brother.

  Chapter 21

  #FAILZ

  School the next day was the worst. I was late, because it took longer to feed Flames without Doug. And the “Homeroom Greeter,” Wiley Overton, in the first chair next to the door, was not a welcoming sight.