Arcade and the Golden Travel Guide

by Rashad Jennings

  “Humility. Look for humility.”

  “You missed the festivities yesterday. The decorations, the games, the pancakes . . .” Stephan leads us up the small step and inside the large windmill.

  “Pancakes? I missed the pancakes?” Doug’s shoulders droop.

  I pat him on the back. “That’s what the man said, Doug.”

  When we get through the door, we gather in a small area in the center of the room, and Stephan explains how the windmill works.

  “This mill was used to pump water out of the marsh into the river so we could have farmland. Much of Holland is below sea level, you know. We are always fighting the water. Now we have fancy pumps to get rid of the water, but these humble windmills started it all and made it possible for the Dutch to live successful lives.”

  “Humble?” I’m all ears now.

  Stephan grins. “Did I say humble?” He looks up and scratches his cheek. “I suppose I meant simple. Only people can exhibit humility, isn’t that the truth? But I sometimes look at these windmills as old friends who stayed low so our people could be lifted up.”

  I’m stunned. The man said the word humility!

  Stephan sighs. “This windmill you’re standing in has just been restored. It had a cracked cap so the blades couldn’t turn. It took two years for the community to raise the money needed to replace the sail frame structure and the turning system. Yesterday, we powered her up for the first time and celebrated her return during National Mill Day.”

  “And you celebrated with pancakes?” Doug pats his belly.

  “Yes, we did, young man.” Stephan’s eyes gleam. “Say, would you like me to crank her up?”

  “Can you do that?” Zoe bounces on her toes. “I would love to see it.”

  Stephan’s eyes shift left, then right, and then he winks. “Looks like I’m in charge right now. So why not put on a show for my new Virginia friends?”

  He begins the process of getting the blades going. It’s a spectacular sight! Wheels turn, cranking up buckets that slosh water up, and over . . . somewhere.

  “All from the power of wind,” Derek says. “Amazing!”

  “And that . . .” Stephan stands proudly, “is how we were able to farm instead of drown!” He chuckles. “These mills were worth more than gold to us.”

  Something thumps on my chest. It’s gold. And it’s hot.

  Oh, no. I gotta get everyone out of here!

  “Stephan, dude, thank you so much! This windmill is spectacular. We gotta go, though. Our tour guide is waiting . . .”

  “Some tour guide,” Doug says. “We missed the pancakes.”

  “It’s been a pleasure meeting all of you. Ha, I guess I didn’t catch your names.” Stephan leads us out of the windmill. “Come again next year. But come a day earlier!”

  He takes off his cap and waves as the others follow my lead, jogging back to . . . I’m not sure where yet. The token is back on my chain, but where are the doors?

  We walk for a half mile or so, down a road that cuts through the countryside. It’s cool outside, but that blazing token on my chest is making me sweat.

  “Are we stuck in the Netherlands?” Zoe asks. “If so, I’d like to find some tulip fields.”

  “I’d like to find some food,” Doug adds.

  “I agree with Doug.” Celeste pulls off her goofy hat and smiles at him.

  I stare at the road ahead. “Humility . . . humility . . . hmmm.”

  Derek waves a hand in front of my face. “You okay, dog?”

  I stop and turn around to look at the windmill again, its blades turning, making it seem alive.

  What did Stephan say? Ah, yes! It’s simple, but worth more than gold.

  “Guys, I think I’m supposed to fix the windmill.”

  Zoe comes alongside me. “See those blades turning? It’s fixed. I think that token is burning up your brain cells.”

  I shake my head. “No. I’m not supposed to fix that one. I’m supposed to fix the windmill at Forest Games and Golf.”

  All of a sudden, there are tulips in the fields. But they’re not red, yellow, and orange. They are gold. Covered in glitter.

  Celeste gasps and runs out in the middle of them. “Zoe, take a picture of me!”

  Zoe shakes her head. “It won’t work, trust me!” But we all stop for a minute and take in the view—windmills in the background with a field of gold in front. Golden elevator doors rise up from the field, and in front is the coin slot.

  “Do we have to go back so soon?” Celeste asks. “I feel like a better person here.”

  I nod. “Oh, yeah, we gotta go.” I pull the token off the chain and insert it into the slot.

  The doors open and we step in. I can’t wait to get back.

  I have a mission to repair a windmill.

  We landed in Derek’s backyard in mud.

  Where’s that humble windmill now that we need it?

  The sprinkler head was still pumping water sky high, soaking the vegetable garden and patio, and creating lakes and rivers in the grass.

  Somehow Zoe landed with her face in the direct line of the spray, which put her in a mood. “I’m going in to take a shower. I’m soooo DONE here.” She stomped off.

  Celeste ran in after her. But before she did, she gave Derek a look. “You better have this under control before Mom gets home.” Then she checked the time on her phone. “You’ve got one hour.” She put out her hand and swirled it around in the air. “So, just DO what you need to DO!”

  Now that’s the Celeste I know!

  Derek, Doug, and I stood there in the middle of the mayhem. It felt like we were at the water park. And it would have been fun if we were at the water park.

  “I guess we should start by turning the water off.” Derek ran for the side of the house. Doug and I followed. “I can’t remember which knob it is, so let’s just turn them all off.”

  That was a great idea, except for the fact that we turned the water off to the whole house. And Zoe was trying to take a shower.

  Yeeeeaaah. She didn’t talk to us the rest of the night.

  CHAPTER 20

  Midnight Detective Session

  I couldn’t sleep. My mind wouldn’t turn off. I had so many questions in my head—which wasn’t new for me, but now I had just enough information to confuse the sleep right out of me.

  This must be how detectives feel.

  As I snuck out of Derek’s room, I grabbed the golden envelope from my nightstand. I almost kicked Loopy, who was blocking the door. I lifted him and snuggled him up to my neck. “I gotta figure out what to do, Loop.” I tiptoed into the living room, plopped down on the couch in the dark, and bonked heads with something.

  “Owww.” It was Zoe. “Arcade, what are you doing out here in the middle of the night?” Zoe turned on the little lamp on the corner table next to the couch.

  “I couldn’t sleep, and I didn’t want to wake up Derek with all my tossing and turning.”

  She scooted over and threw me a pillow. “Same. Didn’t want to wake Celeste.”

  I crawled over the ottomans and took a place next to her. She had a huge blanket, so I pulled some of it over on me. Loopy crawled up on my lap and promptly fell asleep. “Zoe, do you think it’s time to call Mom and Dad and tell them everything?”

  Zoe thought for a minute. “They’re busy, Arcade. I wouldn’t want to worry them till we know what’s really up. They might make us go back to New York. And I really like hanging out with Celeste.”

  My sister had been having a really hard few weeks in New York. She’s not the kind of person to talk about things unless she’s really concerned or hurting, so I knew things were bad when she confided in me that she hadn’t made any friends at her new high school yet.

  “Do you have a new clue?” Zoe pointed to the gold envelope in my hand.

  “I don’t know. I haven’t had time to look. Too busy breaking sprinklers and traveling to Holland.”

  “You mean, the Netherlands.” Zoe chuckled. “Open
it up. Maybe we’ll get some guidance.”

  I opened the flap and pulled out a folded paper with the number two on it.

  Zoe pulled some of the blanket back her way. “This is kind of fun.”

  “Yeah, except I keep wondering when Mr. B’s gonna jump out of a bush and tackle me again. And I’m confused how I’m supposed to fix his windmill. I just know it’s something I have to do. It’s scary.”

  “Don’t dwell on your fears. Read instead.”

  I unfolded it and read,

  Hole number seven: Where generosity goes, refreshment flows.

  “Hmmm.” Zoe lay back on her pillow and stared at the ceiling. “That’s a great truth. But what’s on hole seven?”

  I closed my eyes tight and tried to remember the course. All I could think of was a run-down shack. But everything was run-down on that course. Just then, my phone buzzed in the pocket of my sweats and I jumped a little.

  “Who’s that?” Zoe sat up and frowned.

  No one should be texting me at this hour.

  I pulled my phone out and tried not to show a reaction as I read the screen.

  Arcade, when you wake up, call me! i couldn’t sleep, so i’ve been thinking of a way to help Mr. B. —Jacey.

  “Is it your secret admirer? Let me see.” Zoe reached for the phone and I handed it over.

  Let the teasing begin.

  It must have been too late or something, because Zoe chose not to give me a hard time.

  “Jacey’s a nice girl. Hey, maybe she can help you with your windmill project . . .”

  The windmill. Of course!

  “. . . but I still don’t know why you’d want to help that mean old guy.”

  I reached up and grabbed the token around my neck. “Me either. I’ve always wanted to help people, but this is different.”

  “Because he’s an enemy?”

  “Yeah. It’s not something that I would normally want to do. But in this case, after following the clues, and seeing that word ‘Humility’ on the windmill, I really believe I’m supposed to forget about how he’s hurt me and do it anyway.”

  “Sounds like God is guiding you.” Zoe pointed to my chest, where the Triple T Token lay right on top of my heart. “And he’s using that token to do it.”

  “I guess. Why do you think that windmill has been broken for so long? How hard can it be to fix something like that? I mean, he’s a business owner. He has money, right?”

  Zoe shrugged. “Maybe it goes deeper than that. He did lose his wife, so maybe he’s too sad to fix things. Or maybe he’s trying to make some type of point. It could be a pride issue.”

  “Pride? How can he take pride in having a broken-down old mini-golf course?”

  Zoe stretched out again. “People are complicated, Arcade. Who knows? I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I’m starting to be like you, with more questions than answers.”

  “Hey, I have answers sometimes. That’s why I read books. To find answers.”

  “Good luck finding an answer to this puzzle in a book.” She pulled the covers off me, waking Loopy, and she turned over on her side. “Good night.”

  Loopy and I crawled over to the other half of the couch, turned off the lamp, and snuggled in. “Zoe, will you go to the bakery with me in the morning to talk to Jacey?”

  “Of course. I have to keep an eye on you two lovebirds.”

  “ZOE, I do not like her!”

  Zoe sat up and stared at me. “Seriously?”

  “You know what I mean. I don’t like like her.”

  “Yeah, right. Good night, Arcade.”

  “ZOE, I DO NOT LIKE LIKE HER.”

  Zoe flopped back down, folded the pillow over her ear, and sang, “GO-O-O-OD NIGHT.”

  CHAPTER 21

  More Bread!

  We need more bread,” I said to Aunt Weeda first thing in the morning. “Can you drop me off at the Bridgeview Bakery on your way to work, please?”

  “I would love to take my favorite nephew to the bakery.” Aunt Weeda hummed a church song as she put together her lunch. For a woman who works as hard as she does, she’s always cheerful. “Can you be ready in ten minutes?” She pulled money out of her wallet and handed me twenty bucks. “Spend all of this, now, you hear?”

  “Thanks! It’s just me and Zoe. Everyone else is still asleep.”

  “How will you get home?”

  Hmmm. I hadn’t thought of that. “It’s only a couple of miles. We can walk. Virginia should look into getting some subways.”

  “You got that right! Okay, then.” Aunt Weeda headed toward her bedroom. “I’ll see you and Zoe in the car in ten minutes.”

  I crawled quietly onto the couch where Zoe was sleeping. I put my mouth right up to her ear.

  “ZOE!”

  She jumped, her arms flailing and her hair flopping around like a huge mop. I fell on my back on the couch, grabbed my stomach, and laughed as quietly as I could to keep from waking anyone else.

  Zoe glared at me. “WHAT?”

  “We’re leaving for the bakery in ten minutes. Better wear one of Celeste’s hats.”

  Jacey bounced over to greet us when we walked through the door of the Bridgeview Bakery. The place was so busy we had to squeeze over into a corner to talk.

  “Business has been booming,” Jacey said. “And my parents have always wanted to give back to the community, so they donate some of their earnings each month to a different charity. This month, they told me that I could pick the charity! Isn’t that exciting?”

  Jacey was wearing a bright yellow T-shirt that accentuated her cheerfulness.

  She went on. “I’ve been reading in the Bible how Jesus said that when we give, our left hand shouldn’t know what our right hand is doing.”

  “Huh? How can that work?” I held out both hands, then put one behind my back and laughed.

  “What he means is,” Zoe added, “it’s best if we do things not expecting credit or reward.”

  “YES!” Jacey made me jump. “And that’s where YOU come in, Arcade! You just happened to call me for a ride home from Forest Games and Golf right when I was thinking of who I could help! That’s no coincidence! I know I’m supposed to be helping Mr. B. And since you’re one of the nicest people I’ve ever met, I thought maybe you’d want to be in on it. I mean, while you’re still here in Virginia. Because I don’t think that’s a coincidence, either. How long are you staying?”

  “About a month.”

  But the token may have other ideas.

  “PERFECT!” Jacey’s eyes widened, and so did her smile. I wondered if she’d already consumed a dozen or so donuts to have this kind of energy in the morning.

  A small table opened up right next to us, so Zoe led us over. “Tell her your idea about the windmill, Arcade.” Zoe leaned back in her chair and gave me a stupid grin.

  I shot her an I don’t like her, Zoe! look.

  Jacey took a seat and leaned in. “The windmill? Tell me!”

  My token heated up a bit, and I glanced over at the bridge mural on the wall. “I was thinking that maybe I could help Mr. B get his windmill fixed and set it upright again. But I wanted to do it without him knowing it was me.”

  “Anonymously.” Jacey grinned and nodded.

  “Yeah. That’s the only way it would work for me.”

  No joke.

  “That’s a FANTASTIC idea! Let’s do it! Do you think Celeste, Derek, and your friend Doug would want in on it too?”

  “Oh, they’re all in.”

  “Great! I wonder where we should start? We would need some paint and tools—”

  “And a small crane to lift it up.” I wished my mechanically inclined friend Scratchy were here. He’d have that thing back up and running in no time.

  “Hmmm.” Jacey leaned her head on her hand. “I feel like I need to go and look at it more closely before we formulate a plan. But we can’t just go sneaking around in there without looking suspicious.”

  “How about we go play a round of golf t
oday?”

  Jacey grimaced. “I told my mom I’d help her out all day.”

  “How about tonight? We could go after dinner. I think it’s Glow Golf night.”

  Now Zoe was leaning in, smiling.

  Stop. It. I glanced at my sister.

  Jacey jumped up. “Let me go and ask my mom. I’ll be right back!”

  She jetted behind the counter, answering a few customer questions along the way.

  I glared at Zoe. “I know what you’re thinking, and I’d rather you not speak right now.”

  She just wiggled her eyebrows up and down.

  Jacey was back in a flash. “Mom said it’s a great idea. And she said she’d drive us! Can we pick you up at eight thirty?”

  “Sure. Let’s do it.”

  “Awesome! It’s a date!”

  Gulp. A . . . DATE!

  “Jacey! Can you come in here and pull the bread out when it’s done? I have to make a delivery in a few minutes.” Mrs. Green wiped her floury hands on her apron as she approached our table. “Great to see you again, Arcade and Zoe. Did you come for more cinnamon bread?”

  I held out the twenty-dollar bill. “You bet. And a few other things. My aunt ordered me to spend the whole thing.”

  “That was kind of her.” Mrs. Green smiled and called back to a worker behind the counter. “Victor, make sure you throw in a few extra donuts for these kids, okay?”

  “Gotcha, Mrs. Green!”

  “Okay, then. I guess I’ll see you kids tonight.” Mrs. Green headed back to the kitchen.

  Jacey stood. “See ya tonight!” Then she took off.

  Zoe smacked me in the forearm. “Yep. It’s a date.”

  CHAPTER 22

  Glow Golf

  The rest of the day dragged along as we worked to clean up the backyard. Doug mowed like a madman. And, because the water was turned off this time, Derek and I were able to fix three broken sprinkler heads. Zoe and Celeste talked and talked while they pulled weeds, and they even planted a few flowers in the pots on Aunt Weeda’s patio. It would have been great to hang out there all night, watching the sun go down and drinking cold lemonade.