Whoa.
I can see a beautiful green garden outside.
“There’s a garden,” I say.
Penny rolls me out of the way. “Let me see,” she demands, peeking through the tiny door. “Ooh. Abby’s right. We have to go outside!”
“The door is way too small to get through,” I say. I stand up and dust off my jeans. Then I notice a glass table behind us. A glass table that was not there before. “Um, guys? Was that table there a second ago?”
“I don’t know …” Robin says, her brow furrowed. “I don’t think so? But it must have been?”
We hurry over to the table. On it is a small bottle, half-filled with amber-colored liquid. Next to the bottle is a Post-it note that reads: DRINK ME.
Drink me?
Wait a minute. Falling down a hole … a hallway with doors … a garden outside … a key … Drink Me …
This all feels so familiar. I rack my brain to try and remember. I should know most fairy tales by now. My nana read them all to me back when we lived in Chicago. And since then, I’ve reread all the fairy tales that my school library has. That way I’ll be prepared for anywhere that Maryrose sends us.
But I can’t seem to place this one …
Robin scrunches up her face. “Where have I seen that ‘Drink Me’ note before? I know I’ve seen it somewhere.”
“Of course you’ve seen it,” Penny says, shaking her head. “It’s from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland!”
Oh.
OH.
The hole we fell down.
The hallway with locked doors.
The garden outside.
The potion that says DRINK ME.
Oh. My. Goodness.
We’re in Alice in Wonderland!
OMG!” Robin says, her eyes the size of teacups. “You’re right! Are we, like, INSIDE Alice in Wonderland? How cool would that be? So cool! No, that’s impossible. Isn’t it? Maybe it isn’t. Stuff like this happens in movies all the time, right? I have to take a picture!” Robin pulls out her cell phone and aims it at the table.
Ahhh! What do I do now? Do I tell them the truth? How can I? I’m not supposed to tell anyone! But now I have to admit it, don’t I? I look from Robin to Penny. Do I have to explain the whole story? Do I have to tell them about my magic mirror and Maryrose and everything?
I can’t let Robin take pictures, can I? But how do I stop her?
Snap. Snap. Snap, goes Robin’s phone.
I gaze around the hallway. Alice in Wonderland? Could it really be?
I know that Alice in Wonderland is the name of the movie. Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, as Penny called it, is the title of the book. But does that mean I’m in a novel? Sure, it’s old — I think it was written almost two hundred years ago — but it’s still NOT a fairy tale. I only fall into fairy tales. Fairy tales don’t even have real writers. Yes, the Grimm brothers and Hans Christian Andersen wrote the stories down and published them in books, but no one knows where the original fairy tales actually came from.
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland came from an author’s mind. Larry Carlton. No. Larry Carroll. No. Lewis Carroll! That’s it.
“You’re bonkers,” Penny snorts. “We’re in Smithville, just really far down in the ground. We didn’t fall into a story. Wherever we are just has some similarities with the book. People don’t fall into stories. And, Robin, if you brought your phone, can you please stop taking pictures and call someone to come get us?”
“Oh,” Robin says, flushing. “Right.” She looks at her phone. “No signal. Sorry.”
Penny balls her hands into fists. “Great. Just great.”
“You know what, Penny? You’re being kind of mean today,” Robin says.
Today? TODAY? But still. Maybe Robin is finally realizing how awful Penny is. Hallelujah!
“I’m not being mean,” Penny snaps. “I want to get out of here!”
“But how cool would it be?” Robin asks wistfully. “If we really fell into a movie?”
“It was a book before it was a movie,” I say.
“We didn’t fall into a book or a movie !” Penny cries, crossing her arms tightly. “That’s insane! And that book is insane. Have you even read it? The pictures are pretty, but the story doesn’t make any sense.”
“Wait,” I say. “How do you know that the book doesn’t make any sense? You’re not a reader. You only read one book for the school read-a-thon.”
Penny tugs at the base of her ponytail. “I know. And it was Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.”
“Seriously?” I ask.
She squares her shoulders. “Yes. I have an old copy in my room, so I decided I might as well look at it. It’s all bound in leather and has silver-edged pages. An original, maybe? My grandmother got it for me for my eighth birthday. Have you guys read it?”
“I’ve seen all the movies,” Robin says. “I love them! And the teacup ride is my favorite ride at Disney World. I love tea parties. When I was little, I had tea parties all the time. I’ve never read the book, though. Have you, Abby?”
“Of course I read it,” I say quickly. Except not really. I have a copy on my bookshelf, too, and I tried to read it once, but the story is, um, kind of confusing. And I tried to watch the older movie once. But it was really scary. So I turned it off.
This is totally unfair. I would have read the book if I thought there was a possibility that I could fall into it. But I’ve never fallen into a book before. Only fairy tales.
Now what am I going to do? When I fall into a fairy tale, I’ve read the story. So even though my brother and I mess things up, at least I always know what’s supposed to happen.
I feel a pang in my stomach. Oh, Jonah. I miss Jonah. We always go into fairy tales together. Can I do this without him? Can I do this with Penny and Robin? What am I even supposed to do? Maryrose must have sent me here, right? But why?
And where’s Frankie? I need to find Frankie! I can’t let her wander around the story by herself. She’s shy! What if she’s hiding somewhere, crying?
And what happens next? I don’t know because I’ve never read the book!
ARGH.
Robin has seen the movies. So she knows some of the details. But the movies are usually different from the actual stories.
But Penny read the book. She knows what happens in it.
I shiver. No. I can’t do it. I. Can’t. Do. It. I can’t admit to Penny that I don’t know the story. I can’t ask Penny for help.
Maybe I can cobble the story together from pieces I’ve picked up over the years. Hmm. There was definitely something about a tea party and a mean Queen of Hearts. Other than that …
Crumbs. I need to know the story.
I clear my throat. “Penny, I think it would be helpful if we review what happens in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.”
“Why?” she asks. “It’s not like we’re really in a story.”
“I know. But just in case someone … designed this room to look like the one in Alice. Or something. We should know what happens. So we can find Frankie.”
“C’mon, Penny,” Robin says. “Tell us the real story.”
Penny raises an eyebrow. “But Abby knows the story. She says she read it.”
My cheeks heat up. “Right. Except … I … I … I forgot it.”
“You forgot it?” Penny asks, smirking. “How?”
“I don’t know. I just did. Can you tell us the story or not?”
“I’ll tell you the story.” She puts her hands on her hips. “If you admit you never read it.”
Ahhhh. What am I supposed to do here? I need to know the story. “Fine, okay? I never read it.”
Robin’s eyes widen. “But why did you say you did?”
My tongue gets all tied up. “Because … because …”
“Because she’s a show-off,” Penny declares.
“Sorry,” I say, looking at the floor. I guess I was showing off a little. Or at least, I didn’t want Penny to look smarter than
me. I glance back up at Penny. “Happy?”
“Very.” Penny smirks. “Now. There’s this girl named Alice. She’s sitting outside with her sister. They’re reading a book but Alice is bored. Which I totally understand, since most books, including this book, are boring.”
I roll my eyes. I can’t believe Penny read the book and I didn’t. I really can’t.
“And then?” I ask.
“Alice sees a talking white rabbit that says something about being late and, for some reason, Alice thinks it’s a good idea to follow him right down a rabbit hole.”
“She falls down a hole! Just like we did,” Robin says. “Oh wow oh wow oh wow. We’re really in Alice in Wonderland! This is the coolest thing to have ever happened to me!”
I love how excited Robin is. She’s the best. I wish she could come into every story with me.
“But we didn’t follow a talking rabbit,” Penny says. “We followed a talking crazy person named Abby.”
“Oh, for Pete’s sake. You’re the one who wanted to play outside!” I holler.
“Do not blame me for this!” she hollers back.
“Guys,” Robin says, putting her hands up. “Stop fighting!”
“Can you go on with the story?” I mutter.
“Fine,” Penny says, twirling her super-blond ponytail. “So. Where was I? Oh. Right. Alice landed in a weird hallway. There were lots of locked doors and yada, yada, yada, she saw a pretty garden.”
“Like that one,” Robin says, pointing to the tiny doorway.
“Yeah,” Penny says. “And she also saw a key on a table and a note that said ‘Drink Me.’”
“See?” Robin says. “That story sounds just like our story!”
“Yeah,” I say. “Except we didn’t find the key on the table. It was in the door.”
“But maybe that’s because Alice was already here and used the key to open the door,” Robin says.
“There is no real Alice,” Penny says. “We’re not really in a book.”
“Then how do you explain the flying mayonnaise? And the fall down the hole?” Robin asks.
“I don’t know,” Penny says tightly. “There must be some logical explanation.”
“Yes,” Robin says. “The logical explanation is that we’re in Alice in Wonderland. And Alice used the key to open the door.”
Robin is totally right.
Penny rolls her eyes again. “But Alice never uses the key. She drinks the potion and it shrinks her down and she forgets the key on the table. She doesn’t go into the garden until much later in the story. So your explanation makes no sense.”
Oh.
“But if it wasn’t Alice who used the key …” Robin says. “Wait. It was Frankie!”
“You think Frankie drank the potion?” I ask. Is she that brave?
“Yes! She for sure read the book,” Robin says. “She would have known to drink the potion so she’d shrink down, and she used the key to open the door.”
“Then she’s probably in the garden right now!” I say, trying to peer out the tiny doorway.
“Let’s go get her,” Robin says, reaching for the little bottle on the table. “We’ll drink the potion so we can shrink down, too!”
“Guys!” Penny says. “We’re not in Alice in Wonderland! And there is no way I’m drinking from some random bottle of who-knows-what. It could be poison.”
I see Penny’s point. If I were here with Jonah, I would NOT let him drink the potion. But if we don’t do anything, we’ll never find Frankie.
I try to think rationally. “Look,” I say, pointing to the half-empty bottle. “Frankie obviously drank some of the potion already. And she must be okay, or she wouldn’t have been able to open the door. I think we should drink the poison. I mean, potion.”
“You’re both nuts,” Penny says.
“Okay,” I say. “How about one of us tries a TINY sip first? And if that person shrinks, then the rest of us drink it, too. Deal?”
“Deal,” Robin says.
Penny rolls her eyes. “Okay. If it shrinks you instead of poisoning you, I’ll taste it.”
“Fab!” Robin says, and without even hesitating, she picks up the bottle and takes a sip.
“Robin!” I say. “I was supposed to try it first!”
“Sorry. I got excited. But it’s not working,” she says, putting the bottle back on the table.
“Hmm,” I say. “Maybe it takes a few seconds?”
Robin squeals.
“What?” Penny and I ask at the same time.
“I … I …” Robin’s face pinches together. And I realize — she’s shrinking! Oh my goodness. She’s like a balloon that’s losing air. I watch in disbelief as my friend gets smaller and smaller. Her arms are flailing. She’s three feet. Two feet. Is she ever going to stop? What if she disappears?
Finally, the shrinking comes to an end. My best friend Robin is now about the size of a pencil. Her hands are the size of erasers. She’s a miniature Robin, with a tiny reddish ponytail, a tiny orange shirt, tiny blue jeans, tiny sneakers, a tiny FRA necklace, and teeny, tiny freckles.
THIS IS SO WEIRD.
Robin screams. It’s a super high-pitched scream like she just inhaled helium.
“Robin is tiny!” Penny shrieks.
“Teeny tiny!” I add.
Penny shakes her head back and forth and back and forth. “IT WORKED. IT’S REALLY A SHRINKING POTION. Ahhhh! Does that mean … does that mean we’re really in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland? We’re really IN a book?”
“Seems that way,” I say. I can hardly believe it, either. Even after all my fairy tale experience.
I look down at my minuscule friend. “Are you okay, Robin?” I ask.
“I’m better than okay,” Tiny Robin chirps. “I’m terrific. That was the coolest thing ever! I’m itty-bitty! Woo-hoo! The potion was real!”
I laugh. Magic is amazing.
“I just can’t believe it,” Penny says. She kneels down to examine the newly pencil-sized Robin.
I eye the bottle. “What does it taste like?” I ask.
“Like Orange Crush,” Tiny Robin replies. “Fizzy but fruity.”
“Are we really going to drink it?” Penny asks, standing back up. “Maybe we shouldn’t. Who knows what can happen?”
“We’re going to get small,” I say. I am a little nervous. I’ve turned into a beast and a mouse, flown on a magic carpet, and breathed underwater, among other things. But I’ve never been tiny.
“Just drink the potion already!” Tiny Robin cries. “C’mon, guys! Turn small and we’ll go into the garden to look for Frankie. And then we can go to the tea party, too. All those little finger sandwiches. Delish!”
My stomach growls. I am hungry. We never did get to have the spaghetti that Penny’s nanny was making.
“Do you want me to go first?” I ask Penny.
Penny bites her lip. “A does come before P alphabetically.”
I never realized Penny was so … wimpy. Maybe she’s just freaked out. I would be, too, if I had never traveled to fairy tale realms.
“Okay,” I say. “Here goes nothing.” I lift up the bottle and sniff it — and wrinkle my nose. It smells gross. I take a sip. Blech. Orange soda? More like a dirt-and-leaf smoothie.
I quickly swallow some of it down. And wait.
And … hey! I’m shriiiiinnnnkkking! My legs are getting shorter. And now my arms. My body is going down, down, down. Now my head and neck are following. The rest of the world is getting bigger as I get smaller.
Eeeeep!
Then the shrinking stops. I stare down at myself. I’m pencil–sized. So are my clothes.
I have to admit, shrinking was cool.
“Welcome!” Tiny Robin cries, giving me a tiny high five. We’re exactly the same size now. Does that make me Tiny Abby?
The hallway around us looks huge. The glass table looks massive. And Penny looks like a giant.
Ahhhh! Giant Penny! She could squash me with her sneaker in one g
iant step.
“I’m not sure I want to do this,” Penny says, her giant hands shaking.
“Penny, you promised,” Robin says. “We have to find Frankie!”
“You don’t have to shrink,” I say quickly. “You can stay here and wait for us to come back.” To be honest, I’d much rather be on this adventure with just Robin.
Penny narrows her eyes, apparently reading my mind. “Sure. And let you have all the fun with Robin without me? I don’t think so.”
I watch her take a sip of the potion.
In seconds, she’s shrinking down, down, down, until she’s pencil-sized like us.
Tiny Penny looks down at herself and shrieks. Then she squares her shoulder and lifts her chin. “Ready,” she declares.
Robin pushes open the door to outside. She runs out first. I go next, and I fit through easily. Penny follows me out, and the door slams shut behind us.
We’re in the garden.
Wow!” Robin says. “This is the most beautiful garden I’ve ever seen!”
It’s true. The garden is bright green and carefully tended. There are brick paths lined with red roses, and little white benches to sit on. The hedges are in amazing shapes, like boats and animals. The entire garden smells of freshly mowed grass and sweet flowers. I feel like we’re in a dollhouse, or a doll garden. Everything around us is our size. Tiny.
You know who would LOVE this garden? My dog, Prince. He’d be chasing after butterflies and sniffing the tree roots. And eating stuff.
He really likes to eat flowers. The neighbors aren’t his biggest fans.
Maybe it’s better that he’s not here.
I look up at the sky. It’s light blue, and filled with dancing fluffy clouds. Seriously. The clouds are dancing. A pair of clouds shaped like fluffy people are doing what I think is the waltz.
In the distance, I see what looks like a castle. It has turrets and everything. The only weird thing — the castle is all red. “Amazing,” I murmur.
“The garden is okay,” Penny scoffs. “The garden at my summer house is pretty great, too.”
Of course she has a summer house.
Robin is running from flower to flower, sniffing each one. “This is so fab. I can’t wait to go to the tea party! And to meet the Mad Hatter. And the queen! And Alice! Do you think we’ll get to meet Alice? Oh my goodness, we might get to meet Alice!”
Abby in Wonderland (Special Edition) Page 3
