“What?” asked the Kid.
“You cheated. When you did all the crazy dangerous stuff you did, it was like a little kid still thinking that they have training wheels on their bike when they don’t really. They think they’re doing great, and then they realize they actually don’t have the extra wheels, and they fall over. You did all that stuff when you weren’t scared. Doing dangerous stuff even when it scares you? That’s way more impressive than doing it when it doesn’t.”
The Kid thought about that. And then nodded. “Well, that’s fair.”
“This isn’t about you and your fear. It’s about my grandfather. It’s about the old team. It’s about doing the right thing even if it scares you. And I know a little something about that.”
She was staring at the Kid hard, and noticed she was up on her knees so that she could make direct eye contact with him. She had no idea when she’d moved to that position, but she thought it had been a smart decision. She didn’t feel like being looked down on anymore anyway.
The Kid seemed to be seriously considering her words, and she really appreciated that. It was a relief to have someone actually consider what you were saying. He shook his head. “I don’t know,” he said slowly. “It’s tough. It would be cool to see Catherine and Benedict again….I don’t want to let them down. Their opinions always mattered to me.” He sighed again. “I just don’t know….And there’s no way Doris is going to…I mean, if you’re going to do this, you need everyone. The whole team.”
He wasn’t saying no exactly.
“Did you get a letter?” asked Sebastian.
“A letter?”
“From Alistair.”
“Yeah,” he said carefully. “Yeah, I did. It was strange. It’s somewhere at my place. I mean, I can at least tell you where it is, and my piece of the map. That’ll help, right?” he said, thinking about it.
“Sure,” said Evie. It would help. But that wasn’t the point.
“Not the answer you wanted. I’m sorry. I’m confused. Your energy, man. It’s so…so…”
“Intense?” asked Sebastian. Evie looked over at Sebastian. He shrugged at her. She rolled her eyes. Okay, she knew she could be a bit much at times. She didn’t care. But she knew.
“Well, yeah,” said the Kid. “That too. I was going to say ‘so Alistair.’ ”
“Really?” asked Evie. She wasn’t going to cry; she wasn’t going to cry. Okay, maybe a little, but if she did cry, that would be okay. It was a comforting thing, to be compared to her grandfather.
“That man could talk me into anything.”
Evie wiped away a tear. Wait a minute. “Does that mean…?”
The Kid held up his hand. “No, no, don’t get that sparky look in your eyes. No! I…well, maybe.”
“Maybe! That’s great!” Suddenly she was full of energy again. “That’s all we need for now. Oh, trust me, Jason. When you actually get to talk to Catherine again, and Benedict…and by the way, Benedict wasn’t interested in helping until he read the letter, so I bet the letter will help you…It’ll make you want to come along!”
The Kid laughed. “Yeah, we’ll see.” Then he looked down at his hand still covering the microphone. “We still have a little problem, regardless.”
“Oh right. You’re a prisoner,” she said.
“We hear it’s a really good contract. No way of breaking it,” added Sebastian.
“None of us knows what to do. If only we’d had Annalise to negotiate for us, to read it over first, but…”
“Annalise has left the country!” exclaimed Evie.
“She has?” asked the Kid.
“Yes! I forgot. She represented some of the other actors here too, didn’t she?” Evie said.
The Kid leaned in. “Evie, Annalise represented all of us.”
“Whoever did this to you planned it really carefully,” said Sebastian thoughtfully. “Made sure you didn’t have an agent to look over the contract before you signed it.”
“And how bad of Annalise to desert you like that,” added Evie, “just for some money and a fabulous lifestyle in the south of France. And to desert Orson, too!”
“She deserted Orson?” asked the Kid, looking at the dog in Sebastian’s lap and appearing as upset as Evie was at the news.
“Yes! I’m sorry, but I don’t think I like your agent very much.”
“It’s okay. I never did either. But she got the job done. I was always jealous of performers with nice agents who actually seemed to like them. But getting an agent is hard and…Anyway, that’s not the point! The point is, how on earth do I get out of this contract?” asked the Kid.
“I have no idea.” She felt conflicted. On the one hand this was delaying them from getting to her grandfather. They could, in theory, just get the Kid’s map and letter, as the Kid himself had suggested. But on the other hand there had to be a reason why her grandfather wanted the whole team together. And it wasn’t only that. She wanted the whole team together.
“Maybe the team has an idea,” she replied.
“Well,” said the Kid. “That is what the team’s for.”
“So…do you want our help?” asked Evie with hope.
“I’ll be honest. I don’t care much about the contract. I don’t care if I get sued, or even if I don’t get another acting job. I still have the stunt-car stuff. Plus I can afford it. But I’m worried about the others. I can’t abandon them. You know?” he said.
Evie nodded. She did know. She couldn’t abandon her grandfather, and who was she to ask someone to abandon others in trouble?
“Okay. It seems to me that first we need to try to figure out this contract problem for your friends. How hard can it be? Let’s make this a team effort!” She smiled. “You in?”
The Kid smiled back. “Oh, I’m in.”
She knew these curved passageways inside and out, every bolt, every scratch, every heavy piece of metal. But it was the tin echo that was most powerfully familiar to her. Like hearing a song from a moment in your life that you’d almost forgotten about, and then everything comes rushing back in very unexpectedly.
Doris understood this well. No, she wasn’t a performer, but she’d worked long enough behind the scenes now that when a new version of an old show went up, the first time she heard the beginning chords of the music, she would instantly recall the production from many years before. She wondered sometimes if the singers got confused, performing the same piece but differently. All the emotions.
But the sensation of hearing this echo always surprised her. No matter how often she came down here. At least twice a season, she came to make sure everything was still holding together. And she’d been working for this company now for eight years. But the echo only held that one association for her. An association that was so old, such a distant memory. Almost a dream.
A nightmare?
Not entirely. Most of it had been good, if hard work. But some of it had been very difficult. And saying goodbye to some people—almost impossible.
She shook her head. What was with her train of thought today? There was something off. Not a sense of nostalgia but an immediate urgency that she wasn’t used to. She laughed to herself and sighed a bit as she tightened the bolt before her with her adjustable wrench—an anniversary gift from Mia, with Doris’s name engraved on it.
This feeling. It didn’t mean anything. Well, it meant something. It meant she was feeling a little sad, a bit low. But that was because Jack had decided not to come home for spring break, instead choosing to go on a road trip with his friends. No more need for Mom. A new chapter was starting in his life.
A new chapter was starting in her life.
A new chapter.
She finished tightening the bolt and looked up the passageway. She could see the white throw cloths and the glint of brass and copper around the corner.
/>
Maybe it was the letter. Maybe that’s what was getting to her. Why had Alistair had to remind her of a life that didn’t feel like hers anymore? Why couldn’t he have left her alone?
She didn’t want to go back and reread the book. She wanted to turn the page. Keep moving forward.
She pulled out a handkerchief and wiped her hands, looking around, feeling satisfied. Or trying to, at least. She could pretend as well as the performers onstage. Even to herself.
With a nod she turned and made her way back to the ladder and up and out. No time to dwell in the past.
Time for the next chapter.
The silence that greeted Sebastian and Evie upon their return to the Explorers Society was not entirely what Sebastian had been expecting. And he certainly had no idea what to do with it when they stepped through the door into their suite with the Kid. It was almost like someone had pressed pause on a movie. No one moved, no one said anything. Come on, Evie, he thought, this is one of the things you’re good at. Breaking silences.
But even she didn’t seem to know what to say.
In the end it was the Kid who broke it.
“This is awkward,” he said with a grin.
“Yes,” replied Benedict.
The Kid laughed. “Aw, Ben, as chill as ever. Come on, man, give me a hug.” And the Kid walked over to Benedict and put his arms around him. The hug was returned, but not before Benedict said:
“You know I dislike ‘Ben.’ ”
“Oh, I know,” replied the Kid, giving Benedict one last pat on the back before breaking their hug.
“Hi, Jason,” said Catherine, extending her hand.
The Kid took it, and they shook. “Catherine, it’s great to see you.”
“Hmm” was her reply.
“I, uh, suppose you’ll want to know where we went?” asked Evie, stepping into the room.
“Indeed,” replied Benedict.
“You’re okay, though,” said Catherine, looking at Evie carefully. Evie nodded. A moment seemed to pass between them, but what that was, Sebastian wasn’t entirely sure.
“What happened?” asked Benedict.
The magnitude of the question kind of overwhelmed Sebastian. “I…need to sit,” he said.
He walked through the group and down the stairs to the couch and flopped onto it. His head was swimming. And not just from all the activity. He was just so exhausted by everything. He wasn’t sure he could handle any of this anymore.
“So,” said Benedict, sitting on the other end of the couch while the others grabbed chairs. “Tell us what happened.”
Sebastian looked to Evie, and in that excellent mind-reading way, Evie knew she was the appointed storyteller. She explained about Mr. M’s return. About accidentally coming across the Kid. And about the house that was actually a set for a TV show. That all the actors had been locked into contracts that wouldn’t let them leave. That the Kid didn’t care if he got into trouble, but he couldn’t even think of leaving without helping the other actors first. Not that he was sure yet if he was going to come help Evie and Sebastian. But they had to free the actors, basically. Regardless.
She paused for a moment. And then said, “I guess that’s ‘the end’ to the story.”
“Very well,” said Catherine, leaning back.
“Wow, you kids have been through a lot,” said the Kid, looking very impressed.
“That’s nothing,” said Evie. “That’s only a small bit.” And she smiled.
Sebastian didn’t, though. He thought about everything he’d experienced since the beginning. About seeing Mr. M again this afternoon. It had all brought the very real and very dangerous part of the accidental adventure into sharp focus. It didn’t make him feel all warm and fuzzy, or even proud. Yes, sometimes it had been fun, he couldn’t deny that. But right now it all just stressed him out. If he’d been through all that already, what else was to come? Would it be worse? Could he handle it?
“So,” said Benedict, “how do we save these actors?”
“Good question,” said the Kid. “I’d ask Annalise to look over the contract, but…she’s gone.”
“Could another agent at the agency do it for us?” asked Evie.
“Yes, but that would mean waiting until tomorrow because the office is closed now,” he replied.
“Good point,” said Evie.
“What’s the rush?” asked Sebastian. Surely a quiet simple evening in wouldn’t be the worst thing after a day like they’d had.
“Every moment that passes, my grandfather could be in more trouble. You know that, Sebastian,” said Evie, looking at him in disbelief. “So the sooner we solve the actors’ problem, the sooner we get back to my grandfather’s.”
“Yes, of course, you’re right,” he said. She was right. But he was very tired and not exactly thinking as straight as he normally did. So. They needed an agent ASAP. Or someone agent-like. Or someone who could just read over a contract. How hard could it be to read over a contract? “I could try,” he said. Or rather, his mouth said it. His brain was pretty startled to hear it. Then again, it was half-asleep.
“What?” asked Benedict.
“I can look at a contract. A contract is just a series of instructions about what you can and can’t do. I imagine it would be pretty straightforward to see if there are any spots where the logic doesn’t add up.” He didn’t feel that sure of himself, but he didn’t not feel sure of himself either.
“I have a copy of it in my email. Let me pull it up,” said the Kid, walking over to the computer in the corner and sitting down.
“Perfect!” said Evie, giving Sebastian a smile. He appreciated her confidence in him. But at the same time he really didn’t want to let the team down. He’d never actually done something like this before, after all.
“Here you go, man. Good luck!” said the Kid, standing and letting Sebastian take his place.
They all huddled around Sebastian, watching him read the screen. Too close, much too close. Just focus on the task at hand. Forget about everyone around you, he told himself. It was easier to say than do.
“Okay, well. I mean, okay. It’s all written out here,” he said, skimming the paragraphs. “Jason, did you know that you aren’t actually allowed to go beyond a three-mile radius of the set?” he asked.
“I did.”
“Did you know there were cameras inside the cars monitoring you? And that they keep track of wherever you go?”
“What?” asked the Kid, looking closely where Sebastian was pointing. “We might be in trouble, then. I covered my own microphone, but if they hid one somewhere in the car as well, then…whoever is in charge probably knows what’s going on. Probably heard our conversation in the garage.”
“I was thinking that too,” said Sebastian. “But really, they’re probably not that worried. It doesn’t matter what our plan is. There’s very little any of us can do. ‘No one from the outside world can disrupt the integrity of the experiment,’ it says. You actually signed a contract that said you’d be working until stated otherwise—”
“Well, I state otherwise. There!” Evie exclaimed triumphantly.
“By the production company,” continued Sebastian, scrolling to the next page, where the sentence finished. Evie let out a sigh.
“And who is the production company?” asked Catherine.
“Forever Entertainment,” said Sebastian, continuing to scan through the contract. There was nothing, nothing anywhere, that allowed any actor or participant to leave the show except with the permission of the company. It was ridiculous. These performers had essentially signed up to be imprisoned.
Sebastian leaned back, and when he did, he was relieved that everyone else took that as a cue to go sit back down. With space around his body, his brain was able to process things a bit more clearly.
“Th
ere’s really nothing we can do for them?” asked Evie.
“Not that I can see,” replied Sebastian, closing his eyes and thinking hard.
“Not even convincing everyone to leave the project?” she asked.
“They’ll be sued. For a lot of money. And I imagine anyone who would agree to this job in the first place needs the money,” replied Sebastian.
“Not all of us,” said the Kid. “I’m okay leaving the show.”
“What happens if someone gets sick?” asked Evie.
Sebastian leaned forward and scanned through the pages. “Ah, here we go. Evidently a doctor in costume will come on set and administer ‘historically accurate treatments.’ ”
“Well, that’s kind of terrifying,” said Evie.
“Indeed. Treatments from the past were not particularly…humane,” said Benedict.
“Oh! Good news. If you die, you can leave the show. Someone will come and take the body away,” said Sebastian, reading on.
“I don’t think that’s the solution we’re looking for,” said Evie.
“No. No, it’s…not…” Sebastian stopped and thought about it for a moment. About being made to pretend to be a street urchin earlier. Now he understood. Because of the rules of their contract, the actors hadn’t wanted him and Evie to seem to be from the outside world, which would “disrupt the integrity” of the show. They had been “cast” in roles to keep things going and to not get everyone else in trouble. “Huh,” he said out loud.
“Sebastian! I don’t know what you’re thinking, but I think those people would rather be imprisoned on an old-fashioned television show than…not living,” said Evie.
Sebastian turned to her. “Of course. I’m not that ridiculous. No, I was simply thinking how nothing can disrupt the integrity of the experiment.”
“They want to keep the historical accuracy of the show intact,” said Catherine.
“Exactly. That’s the thing. Whoever is filming this wants it all to be as realistic as possible. The story is everything.”
The Quest for the Kid Page 12
