Arcade and the Fiery Metal Tester

by Rashad Jennings

  When he said that, a bolt of heat shot from my token.

  “. . . and middle school is a lot harder than elementary school.”

  “Yes, it is.”

  “But you’re still Arcade Livingston! You have all the same interests and talents and great character traits that you had last year. The world needs more caring people like you, so don’t let the challenges and setbacks throw you off track, okay? Keep digging in.”

  “Okay. Thanks, Mr. Dooley.” I turned and walked back through the middle of the classroom. On my way, I spotted even more kids with extra papers under their tests!

  “What’s with the extra paper,” I whispered to one of the Tolleys.

  He tapped his pencil on his desk. “Scratch paper.”

  I returned to my desk in the back row. We had twenty minutes left of test time. Wiley Overton got up and turned his paper in.

  That’s odd.

  “Thank you, Wiley,” Mr. Dooley said. “You may read a book now.” Wiley went back to his desk and, instead of pulling out a book to read, he brought out a sketch pad and some drawing pencils.

  The Tolleys finished way before me too. In fact, half the class seemed to finish at about the same time, leaving Bailey, Amber, Carlos, Scratchy, and me working away until the break bell.

  When I turned my test in on my way out, Mr. Dooley was playing with the lock on his desk drawer. “There’s bark in it or something,” I heard him say to himself. Then he looked up at me and reached out to take my test. “Mr. Livingston, make sure to stop by my office before you leave school today. My brother Patrick sent a package for you.”

  “Patrick? From the Empire Fish Market?”

  “Precisely. He told me that you and your friends LOVE shrimp. He found that quirky, yet refreshing, so he sent you a ten-pound bag.”

  * * *

  The next day, we got our tests back. I got a C plus. Not my best work. But I didn’t study nearly as much as I could have. Instead, the night before, I got distracted reading a book from the library about foster adoption.

  “SOME OF YOU EXCELLED ON THIS TEST, WHILE OTHERS . . .” Mr. Dooley hung his head and pretended to cry, “. . . WILL NEED TO MAKE STUDYING A PRIORITY NEXT TIME.”

  The bell rang for the next period. I gathered my things up to leave. As I passed desks, I saw multiple As written on the top of people’s scan sheets. There were even As on the Tolleys’s tests!

  “Hey, Scratch, what did you get on the math test?”

  He held his test up for me to see. “B plus. There were a couple of stumpers on here.” Of all the kids I know, Scratchy is the best at math, so the fact that the Tolleys beat him had me scratching my head.

  Something’s up.

  I summoned a bit of courage and walked over to Wiley on my way out. “Hey, Wiley.”

  He tipped his head to me. “Yeah?”

  “How’d you do on the math test?”

  “I did pretty good.” He held it up so I could see. It was an A minus. “How about you?”

  “C plus. Guess I need to make studying a priority.”

  Wiley gave me a funny stare. “Maybe. Maybe not. You gotta do what works to get through, you know?” Then he patted his backpack and walked out the door.

  Chapter 29

  Flamingos Everywhere!

  “Doug, I think there’s a cheating ring going on at school.” Doug and I were having our weekly face chat while I sat outside my house on that chilly October afternoon.

  “You think there’s a cheating ring going on at school?”

  “Yeah, dude. That’s what I said.”

  “Who’s smart enough to run a cheating ring? And if they’re that smart, why cheat?” Doug munched away on some potato chips as he talked. “Any news on your family adopting me? My aunt follows me around the house with a vacuum all the time.”

  I laughed. “Well, you do leave a trail of crumbs wherever you go. I’ve been reading up on adoption, and my parents are still thinking about it. They called your social worker so they can get more information. They have an appointment in a couple of weeks to talk about options.”

  “A couple of weeks? I don’t think I can take it much longer.”

  I touched my token and remembered Zoe’s speech about staying strong when all I wanted to do was run and hide. “Yes, you can. This trial will build your character.”

  “But my gram called. She’s really sick this time. Arcade, what if she . . . you know. What if I don’t get a chance to see her again?”

  “I’ll see what I can do to speed things up.”

  “Thanks, Arcade. Have you gone anywhere cool with your token lately?”

  “Nope. I think it’s punishing me for losing Loopy.”

  “Hey, the Loopster is out there, and he’ll find you. He’s cool like that.”

  “I hope.”

  “How’s Flames?”

  “He’s getting bigger and messier. I’ve tried a couple times to take him outside, but he starts squawking, and I have to bring him in. And we might have to repaint your bathroom. I’ll spare you the gross details.”

  “You should take him to the Ramble. Lots of squawking out there with those birds. No one would notice.”

  “That’s an adventurous idea. I’ll run it by Zoe. Her fun goal was to watch birds in the Ramble. Ha! She could flamingo-sit.”

  “Something tells me that’s NOT what Zoe meant.”

  “True. But that is what she said.”

  * * *

  On Monday, I spotted my flamingo backpack at school! At least it looked a lot like mine. It was hanging on the shoulder of a kid named Aiden Pickett. He wasn’t in my homeroom, but I knew he had Dooley for math class because I saw him there the day I went in after school to pick up the shrimp packet.

  I decided to do a little digging. I ran up to Aiden. “Hey.”

  “Hey. You’re name’s Arcade, right?”

  I smiled. “That’s me.”

  He nodded. “Cool. I want to thank you for making MS 230 a much better place to be.”

  “Uh, thanks. I guess. I mean, have we met before?”

  He shook his head. “No. But everyone knows you. You like to help people. And you’re really making a difference here.” Aiden waved to a buddy across the hall. “Hey, Preston! Wait up!” Then he looked back at me. “See ya, Arcade! Keep up the good work!” Then he laughed and sped off, the flamingo backpack jumping up and down as he ran.

  * * *

  On Tuesday, I saw the backpack again! It was sitting in the middle of a girls’ lunch table. I walked up to get a closer look. “Hi, Arcade.” They started to giggle. “You’re the bomb,” one of them said.

  Awkward!

  I got out of there fast!

  * * *

  On Wednesday and Thursday, I watched as the backpack skipped around to other groups on campus.

  Is there a new flamingo backpack fad that everyone knows about but me?

  Something smelled . . . shrimpy.

  Reagan Cooper, who was assigned to another homeroom, walked up next to me, crossed her arms, and glared at a couple of boys who sat on the grass, next to a flamingo backpack.

  She narrowed her eyes. “They’re ALL cheaters, Arcade.”

  “Cheaters?”

  She tapped her foot. “Yeah. And it’s about time they got busted.” Then she stomped off.

  Chapter 30

  The Crown

  The late October air turned cold, so I dug out my warm hoodie for the Thursday morning walk to school. As soon as I stepped outside, I regretted wearing shorts.

  “Brrrr! It hasn’t been this cold since we moved here,” I said to Zoe, who was texting Michael Tolley to see if he wanted to ride the subway with her to school that morning.

  I looked over her shoulder. “Anything from Loopy?”

  “No. I’m sorry, Arcade.”

  We had been searching high and low for Loopy every day after school for a month. Scratchy and Carlos had driven miles in the park, even over to the Upper East Side. Zoe and I had walked all the
Upper West Side neighborhoods between Central Park and Riverside Park. We had even downloaded the files from the memory cards we took out of our head cams the day Loopy disappeared. All we found were the same scenes we both saw that day. Wiley throwing a rock, Wiley punching some kids, and then . . . nothing.

  Zoe pulled her thick, pink, cable-knit sweater up to cover her neck from the wind. “But check this out. He’s gaining followers.” She handed me her phone.

  “How did he get 435 followers?”

  “Who knows? You have a weird dog. People follow weird.” She grinned. “But at least we know he’s still out there, right?”

  Right then, Carlos and Scratchy came rolling by. “Hey, we thought we’d come down your street and see if you wanted a ride to school. Wanna climb on back?” Scratchy pointed his thumb over his shoulder.

  “Sure!” I ran down the steps of our brownstone and got ready to ride with Scratchy.

  “Hey! Wait ONE minute!” Zoe put her hand out. “There’s a new post! But . . . this can’t be!”

  “What can’t be?” I motioned for Carlos and Scratchy to wait a minute and I ran back up the steps to look at Zoe’s phone. @LoopDogNYC had posted two new pictures! It was his furry legs all right, and they were running up some stairs. I swiped to the next picture. It was a sign hanging on a wall, with a drawing of the Statue of Liberty. Next to the drawing it said “128 steps to the top of the Pedestal!”

  “Loopy’s on Liberty Island!” I yelled down to my friends.

  “WHAT? That’s RAD! Let’s go get him!”

  “You bet!” I yelled.

  “Arcade, you can’t! You have school.”

  “But Zoe, he’s been gone for a month!”

  “I know, but you just can’t skip schoo—”

  Just then the fiery metal tester hanging around my neck sizzled into action.

  * * *

  Orange glitter swirled down from the trees that had begun changing into their fall colors, and it fell on our shoulders. Carlos brushed some off with his hand. “What is this stuff? I’ve lived in New York City my whole life. We’ve never had orange snow before.”

  Scratchy’s eyes popped out of his head. “Oh, man! Arcade! Are we going traveling? Anything but a plane, buddy! Anything but a plane!” He laughed.

  I thought of the time Scratchy traveled with me through the elevator doors and he ended up having to fly a plane over the Statue of Liberty.

  “Traveling?” Carlos asked. “Where are we going? I’ll get my handicap access map.”

  “You won’t need it where we’re going, Carlos. We’re totally skipping the subway.” He looked confused as I pulled the now scorching Triple T Token out from under my shirt. A few flames shot out from the middle.

  “What IS THAT?” Carlos’s eyes were fixed on my chest.

  Zoe came down from the steps. “It’s a little thing that causes a whole lot of trouble.”

  “She means excitement,” I said. “And I think we’re gonna get Loopy back today!” Golden elevator doors rose from the sidewalk at the bottom of our brownstone steps.

  “Here’s the portable elevator you’ve always wanted, Carlos.”

  Carlos’s jaw dropped open.

  I pulled the token from the chain and clasped it between my palms.

  Remember to be specific.

  “Take us to the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty . . .” I began, glancing over at Carlos, who was looking down at his wheels, concern all over his face, “. . . and let Carlos go everywhere we go.”

  A golden coin slot, shaped like the Statue of Liberty’s torch, rose up from the ground, right in front of the doors. I flipped the token up into the air. It turned around and around before finding its way like it always did into the slot. I pulled my hands apart. The doors opened.

  “Here we go!” I yelled. “This is better than the subway elevators, Carlos. I promise!”

  “RADICAL!” Scratchy revved his scooter and rode it in.

  “You’re going to freeze in those shorts, Arcade!” Zoe wrapped herself up in her puffy jacket and stepped in.

  But Carlos held up. “You know we . . . uhhh . . . got a . . . uhhh . . . a test in Dooley’s today, right?”

  I swiped a hand in the air. “No worries. We’ll be back in plenty of time. Come on, this will be fun.” I ran over behind Carlos’s chair and pushed him in.

  * * *

  “My phone still works, for now.” Zoe said. “Look! He’s posted another picture.” She showed it to me. It was a different sign. This time it said “67 steps to the top of the Pedestal.”

  “Here’s a Statue of Liberty fact, you guys.” I read the small print on the sign in Loopy’s post. “In very strong winds, the Statue of Liberty can sway three inches, while her torch can sway almost six inches.”

  “Let’s hope it’s not windy then,” Zoe said, snatching her phone back.

  The elevator stayed still this time, but loud sloshing sounds came blaring from the speakers. Then a horn. It sounded low and long, like it was coming from a ferry.

  “Water! Nice,” Carlos said. “I like to swim.”

  But I asked for the pedestal. Please let us be on the pedestal when this thing opens.

  Ding!

  I closed my eyes.

  * * *

  “We made it, Arcade! Whatever you said did the trick!” Zoe runs from the elevator, looking . . . a little younger?

  We’re not on the pedestal . . . we’re in the pedestal. “I think it’s through those doors,” I say as I lead the group out of the elevator. I turn to Scratchy. “You better leave your wheels here.” Scratchy nods.

  And then something crazy happens. Carlos must think I’m talking to him, because he STANDS UP and says, “OKAY!”

  “WHAT DID YOU JUST DO, CARLOS!?!” The shock of what I’m seeing has me talking like Dooley.

  Carlos is standing there, his mouth wide open, his arms in the air. “What’s going on, Arcade? This is UNBELIEVABLE!” His voice is a little higher and less crackly than it was a few minutes ago.

  “Arcade! Look at us!” Scratchy examines his arms and then wraps his fingers around his upper leg. “We shrunk or something.”

  I jump up and down a little. Yeah, I’m lighter and quicker! Am I younger?

  Zoe runs back in the elevator to get us. “Are you guys coming? Loopy’s not going to wait arou—” She looks at me and Scratchy and starts to laugh. “You’re little kids again! This is hilarious!” Then she looks at Carlos and her eyes bug out. “What? You’re standing!”

  Carlos walks around in a circle. “And now I’m walking! Man, this is a CRAZY DAY!”

  Zoe looks down at her phone and frowns. “Uh-oh, it’s fading to glitter, but here’s one more post from Loopy!” She hands it over so I can see just before it disappears. It’s a picture of a sign, and it says “26 steps to the Pedestal!”

  “Come on! He’s almost here!” My friends and I run out of the golden elevator and outside to the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty.

  We’re met by a concrete barrier, which is helpful because it keeps us from falling down to the bottom of the Statue of Liberty. I stare out over the water, toward the New York City skyline. The cold breeze whips right through me and sends a chill all the way down to my toes.

  “Whoa. That’s DOPE!” It’s the opposite view from when I was on top of the Empire State Building. The Statue of Liberty looked so small from over there. But from here . . .

  I throw my head back and stare up at the turquoise statue. I can see her left elbow and the book she’s holding.

  Even the Statue of Liberty reads.

  “This thing is huge!” Scratchy is also leaning back, looking at the statue. “You think we could go up there? To the crown?”

  “Probably. I mean, Carlos is walking, so I’m thinking we can do pretty much anything we want right now. But we gotta find Loopy first!”

  A security person with a smile on her face comes over to greet us. “Hey, kids, are you enjoying the view?” She points to my shorts. “Aren
’t you cold?” Then she laughs. “Never mind. I’m sure you’re not. Little kids are never cold.” She takes a look left, then right. “Have you lost your parents? Or are you on a school field trip?”

  I reach into my shorts pocket and pull out a picture of Loopy. “Actually, we’re looking for my dog. We think he came up here. Can you help us find him?”

  I show her the picture. She gives me a funny look. “Your dog? Honey, no dogs are allowed up here.” But then her eyes get big when she looks a little closer. “Hey, I know that dog!”

  “You do? Is he here?” Zoe, Scratchy, and Carlos crowd around me.

  She frowns. “No, like I said. Dogs aren’t allowed. But this dog . . . this little guy managed to ride the ferry over and he snuck up here one day. We tried to catch him but he was too quick! He was wearing a little camera or something on his head.”

  “Yes! That’s HIM! That’s Loopy! What day was that?”

  She crunched her eyebrows together. “Oh, that was about three years ago! It happened the first week I was working here. Weirdest thing ever. I’ll never forget it. We searched the whole island and alerted the ferry boat drivers, but no one ever spotted him again.”

  “THREE YEARS AGO?”

  Zoe put her hand on my shoulder and pulled me back a step. The security girl put her hand on her hip. “Are you okay?” Then she looked around. “Who did you say you were here with?”

  “He’s fine.” Zoe chuckles. “We know dogs aren’t allowed. He’s putting together a story for his English class about a dog who visits the Statue of Liberty. My brother gets carried away sometimes.” Zoe tilts her head and rolls her eyes.

  The woman nods. “Oh, okay. Well, hey, if it helps your story any, our security cameras got pictures of that dog up in the crown! That would be fun to put in a story. Do you have crown tickets?”

  Zoe pulls something out of her backpack and hands it to the woman. “Are these crown tickets?”

  The woman looks at the stack of papers and smiles. “Why yes, they are! Let me show you the way to the staircase. You’ll have to leave your backpacks here, though. Only people and cameras are allowed.”