Arcade and the Fiery Metal Tester Read online

  “Yeah, but we haven’t done any of the fun stuff. You know, the Statue of Liberty, Times Square . . . and this is the first time I’ve been to the top of the Empire State Building. I haven’t even seen a Broadway show yet, and Dad works on Broadway!”

  Dad dropped his chin. “I’m sorry, Arcade. Your mom and I have been so busy working. I guess we haven’t been the greatest travel guides.”

  The Triple T Token sent a little shock through my body.

  Not now!

  Dad typed in my fun goal: See New York City. “Okay, that’s it. We’re done.”

  “That’s it? No wise speeches? Or famous quotes? How about a story from your youth?” Those things had been a big part of all our goal-setting meetings in the past. I scratched my head. “No prayer?”

  Dad cracked a smile. “Oh, yeah, we’re definitely going to have a prayer.”

  “Oh, good.”

  “And you can do it.”

  “ME?”

  “YEAH.”

  “HERE?”

  “I think it would be great for you to pray for the family.” Mom moved in closer and grabbed my hand and Zoe’s hand. Dad pulled in between Zoe and me. And there we were, getting ready to pray on the top of the Empire State Building!

  They all bowed their heads. I looked around, expecting to see the Triple T woman staring at me. But we were the only ones up there. I bowed my head and cleared my throat. “Um, Lord . . . thank you for my family and for all the new experiences here in New York City. This year, please give us a new way of looking at things. Make Zoe more patient and show me how to have more compassion. And help us have fun while we do it. Amen.”

  Chapter 3

  Falling into Place

  “So, are you two okay getting home? Dad and I have health checkups in an hour.” Mom linked arms with Dad again as we waited for the first set of elevators to take us down to the 86th floor observation deck.

  Reynold waved. “You got lucky, being up here all by yourselves. Come see us again soon!”

  “Are you sure there wasn’t anyone else up here this whole time?” I asked.

  Like an old lady wearing white sweats and a Triple T ball cap?

  Reynold stuck out a lip and shook his head. “Not on top of this building, son. Like I said, everyone who comes up here passes by me.”

  “Okay.” I glanced around, looking for glitter. “Seems kinda weird.”

  Reynold held the doors open as my family entered. “It hardly ever happens, but when it does, I like to call it the Manhattan Miracle. It’s like someone reserved the top of the Empire State Building just for your family today, for some special purpose. I’d start paying real close attention to what happens next.”

  “Thank you, Reynold,” Mom said. “Have a blessed day.”

  The doors closed in front of us. As we descended to the 86th floor, our ears popping, I couldn’t help but wonder what happened to that Triple T lady. And what in the world she meant by “test my metal.”

  * * *

  The view from the 86th floor was awesome too. We couldn’t see as much of Central Park, but there was a nice breeze outside to cool us down just a bit on such a hot day.

  Mom checked her watch. “Oh, dear, we better be on our way. Do you kids want to stay a little longer?”

  I wiped a little sweat drop from my forehead. “Nah. I’m ready to go.”

  “Me too.” Zoe turned and headed toward the elevators. “And don’t worry, Arcade and I will be fine getting home.”

  “Yeah, we’re pretty much experts on the subway. And now, with my new ‘fun’ goal, I guess I need to pay attention to what’s above ground too.”

  “Fair enough,” Dad said. “Do you have rides left on your metro cards?”

  Zoe and I both nodded.

  Dad shook an index finger at us. “But even though you feel comfortable, you need to stay alert. Trouble can be anywhere. Keep an eye on one another and text me when you get home.”

  “I’ll text you,” Zoe said. “Arcade never knows where his phone is.”

  “Yes, I do!”

  “Oh, yeah? Then where is it right now?”

  I reached for the back pocket of my jeans.

  Empty!

  “Hey! I know I put it in there!”

  “Ha!” Zoe held up my phone. “I pickpocketed you five minutes ago!”

  “Give it back, zoo breath!”

  Zoe laughed and handed it over. I slipped it in my back pocket.

  Ding!

  The elevator had arrived to take us down to the bottom floor. We all stepped in and had to crunch in with a crowd.

  “Hey, Mom, what’s the craziest elevator you’ve ever ridden?”

  Mom looked up toward the elevator ceiling. “Hmmmm.” Then she glanced over and gave Dad a funny look. “Must’ve been that time we rode one to Australia.”

  Dad’s eyes widened.

  “You rode one to Australia?” Triple T jumped inside my shirt.

  Mom crunched her eyebrows together. “Oh, did I say to? I meant in. The craziest elevator ride was in Australia.” Then she turned and looked straight ahead. But the look on her face told me there was more to the story. Much more.

  * * *

  “Zoe, I think Mom knows I have the Triple T Token.”

  Zoe and I bobbed and weaved through the crowd on the way to the 50th Street subway station.

  “That’s ridiculous. How could she know?” We stopped at the crosswalk. The red hand blinked away, but the cars were stopped and not going anywhere, so we zigzagged our way around them.

  “Because when she mentioned the elevator in Australia, she had a look. I don’t know. I can’t explain it. I think we should tell her, Zoe. We should tell her everything.”

  We reached the top of the stairs to the subway. “Everything? You want to tell her about the Badger brothers, how they’re after you, and that we left them hanging off the Golden Gate Bridge in 1935? Oh, yeah, and let’s tell her all about the time we traveled halfway around the world to India. I’m sure she won’t mind.”

  “Mom had the token before us. She knows how it works.”

  “Do you know how it works, Arcade?”

  I reached for the token inside my shirt. “Of course not.”

  “Then she probably doesn’t either. I think we should wait a little longer before we talk to her. We need patience, remember?”

  “No, you need patience. I need compas—”

  Right then something ran into me. Something huge.

  “AHHHHHHHHHH!”

  I launched into the air like a flying squirrel, totally missing the last few steps, and landed at the bottom of the stairwell, flat on my face. My glasses flew off my face as my chin hit the ground.

  “ARCADE!” Zoe’s voice echoed through the subway station.

  “Oh . . . uh . . . haha . . . sorry!” was all I heard. And then a bunch of laughter and the pounding of feet on concrete as they ran away.

  “Hey!” Zoe yelled. “Get back here and apologize, you big . . . ugly . . . SACK OF POTATOES!”

  The laughter faded into the distance.

  Zoe put her hand on my back. “Arcade, are you all right?”

  “Uggggggh.”

  “I found your glasses. Here. Thank goodness they’re not broken.”

  I sat up, grabbed the glasses, and jammed them on my face before slowly scooting myself against the wall to make room for the crowds of people passing by. One lady gave me a concerned glance, but I smiled and waved her on.

  “Did you notice what kind of potatoes hit me?” I tried to smile. “Were they Idaho Russets?”

  Zoe wiped a tear from the corner of her eye. “Hey, stop making fun of me when I’m trying to take care of you! He was big. That’s all I could see. And his clothes were brown and lumpy. Like a huge potato sack. So that’s what came out of my mouth. He had a few other people with him.”

  “Smaller potatoes? Like tater tots?”

  Zoe gently punched me in the arm. “Very funny. I didn’t catch any other details.
I was busy watching you fly through the air as they ran by.”

  “Did I look cool at least?”

  Zoe scrunched up her mouth. “Super cool. For a flying dork.”

  I rested my face in my hands. “I hope no one had their phones out taking videos.”

  Zoe put out her hand to pull me up. “I do. Then maybe we could ID those guys. And the video would totally go viral. It was that ridiculous.”

  Still a little woozy, I took a step and kicked my phone across the concrete toward the subway turnstile. I put both arms up in the air. “GOAL!”

  Zoe ran and picked it up. She frowned when she looked at it and handed it back to me. “Sorry. Screen’s cracked.”

  “Oh, man! NOT cool.” I swiped my finger on the screen. “At least it works. For now.”

  A subway car rumbled in the distance. “We better go, Arcade. I think that’s our train.”

  I shoved my phone into my back pocket as Zoe and I approached the side-by-side turnstiles. She swiped her metro card and pushed her way through.

  I reached for my flamingo backpack to grab my metro card.

  Hey, where’s my backpack?

  “C’mon, Arcade, we need to catch this train so we aren’t late for the bus on Eighth!”

  “Uh, Zoe, I’m having a little problem.”

  Zoe threw her head back. “Please, don’t tell me you lost your metro card.”

  “Okay, I won’t tell you that.”

  “Thank heavens.”

  “But I did lose my backpack.”

  “WHAT?”

  “And that had my metro card in it.”

  Zoe charged back through the emergency doors. “Arcade! This is NOT GOOD!!” She grabbed both my shoulders and looked me in the eyes. “When did you last have it?”

  I thought for a minute. “I’m pretty sure it was hanging on my right shoulder when I launched off the subway steps.”

  Zoe’s eyes widened. “Then let’s go back and get it!” She grabbed me by the T-shirt and pulled me back to the scene of the belly flop.

  No flamingo backpack anywhere.

  “I bet THEY took it.” Zoe put a hand on her hip and jutted out her chin.

  “The potato family?”

  “Yes! The big ugly spud and his tater tots! I bet they stole your backpack.”

  I looked around and tried to remember the events leading up to my fall. I was sure I had my backpack hanging off my right shoulder. I stared up toward the top of the stairs. I felt sick to my stomach. “Zoe, I think you’re right! Russet man stole my flamingos!”

  “What else did you have in your backpack?”

  “Snacks. My metro card. A bottle of water. Hey, good news, at least there were no library books.”

  “That’s a miracle.” Zoe wiped her forehead. “Do you have any money in your pockets?”

  “Nah. I always count on you for money.”

  She crossed her arms. “Well, it just so happens that I don’t have any with me today, so it looks like we’ll be walking home.”

  “Walking? But that’s thirty-eight blocks!” I followed Zoe over to the metro card kiosk, where she swiped her card to find out her balance.

  “Great, just like I thought. Only one trip left. I was going to use that for the bus trip home.”

  “So we’re not taking the subway?”

  “Not unless your Triple T Token can get you in. Wait!” she said, before I could even open my mouth, grabbing my wrist with a nervous smile on her face. “Forget I said that.”

  “Can we call Mom and Dad?”

  Zoe shook her head. “They’re at the doctor, remember?”

  “Then I guess we’ll be seeing quite a bit of New York City today.” I wiped some sweat from my forehead. “That should help me with my fun goal at least.”

  “Arcade, walking thirty-eight blocks is NOT FUN!”

  I grinned. “Patience, Zoe, remember?”

  Chapter 4

  A Confusing Way Home

  “At least when we get to 59th we can walk in the park.”

  Before we moved to New York, I thought Central Park was the only park in the city. I found out it isn’t. But it is the biggest. And my favorite.

  I looked up at the sign as we crossed through more traffic. “Hey, Zoe, I thought we were on Seventh Avenue. This says Broadway.”

  We both just stared at the sign for a minute. Zoe scratched her head. “I don’t understand. We didn’t change streets, did we?” She pulled up the GPS app and held her phone toward the sky. “I don’t get it! C’mon, phone, WORK!”

  “Not gonna happen, sweetie,” a lady said as she brushed by Zoe. “Tall buildings block the signal.”

  Zoe’s shoulders drooped. “I guess we’ll walk to the next corner and see where we are.”

  We walked for a bit, passing theater after theater. “Where’s Manhattan Doors playing?” That’s my dad’s show.

  Zoe shrugged. “I have no idea. Dad pointed it out to me once when we were riding in a taxi, but Broadway is a really long street. And it must be crooked or something too, because we can’t seem to find our way off it.”

  We walked a few more blocks, searching for Central Park. I turned around and looked everywhere, trying to find a landmark. “It was a lot easier to see it from the top of the Empire State Building.”

  After a few more minutes of weaving through the crowd, Zoe stopped and held her hands up in the air. “Finally!” She pointed toward Columbus Circle, one of the main entrances to Central Park. “Hey, I think I see Elijah! Let’s go say hi.”

  Elijah is a young, college age guy from Senegal who works as a pedicab tour guide in Central Park. He’s always out there, rain or shine. “It’s my only source of income, so if I miss a day, I may have to miss a meal,” Elijah once told us.

  “Well, hello, Miss Zoe and Mr. Arcade! How is the day treating you so far?”

  Hmmmm. Where do I start?”

  I didn’t have to, because Zoe went off. “We were doing just fine until Arcade got run over by a huge kid in the subway and got his backpack stolen—which happened to have his metro card in it—and of course I don’t have any extra money with me today, so we’re walking all the way to 88th.”

  “Run over? Stolen? Oh, dear, that is quite unfortunate.” Elijah looked me up and down. “Were you hurt?”

  My chin still throbbed. “A little, but I’m okay. Just mad right now. That was my favorite backpack of all time.”

  Elijah chuckled with his low voice. “Oh, yes, black with flamingos. Am I right?”

  “Yeah, that’s the one.”

  Elijah put a finger to his chin. “I remember thinking that a flamingo is an odd bird.”

  “That’s what makes them so interesting,” I said. “Did you know that flamingos turn orange because of the pigment molecules in the food they eat?”

  Elijah shook his head. “I did not know that.”

  “And according to a book I read, they also—”

  Zoe reached over and covered my mouth. “We don’t have time for this today. We have thirty blocks to walk. And flamingos are pink.”

  I pushed Zoe’s hand away. “They’re orange.”

  “Pink.”

  “Orange.”

  Elijah laughed. “I think you are both correct! Would you let me have the honor of taking you home?” Elijah gestured to his pedicab.

  Zoe shook her head. “We can’t pay you, Elijah, and we don’t want to keep you from getting business from someone else.”

  Elijah put a finger to his lips, then dropped his hand down to cover his heart. “Miss Zoe, if I make money today or if I do not make money today, that is up the Lord. But I would not be able to continue my work day in good conscience if I did not take care of my friends who are in need.”

  I looked around at all the other bike tour guides as they held clipboards, explaining to potential customers about the different tour packages, hoping to be hired for a job. Today was a beautiful day in Central Park, but a little hot to be walking. A perfect business day for Elijah.


  “Are you sure, Elijah? There’s a bunch of people around here who look like they have money and need rides.”

  He raised his eyebrows. “Did I not just explain to you about that? Do not worry, my friend.”

  “Well, okay.” Zoe turned to me. “Come on. The sooner he takes us, the sooner he can come back and pick up some business.”

  Elijah smiled and jumped up on the bike seat. “I like how your sister thinks.”

  “Hear that, Arcade? Some people appreciate my thoughts.” Zoe jumped up into the small carriage and gave me the stink-eye as she sat down. And now I had to go sit by her?

  Ugh.

  The hot August sun beat down on the back of my neck and, man, was I thirsty!

  “We can stop by Bethesda Terrace,” Elijah said. “I have a friend there who is a food vendor. He’ll give us some free snow cones.”

  “I’m in!” I jumped in the chariot. I’d sit next to Zoe, the know-it-all, all day if it meant flavored ice on a scorching day like today.

  Elijah beamed back at me, but then frowned. “Are you okay, my friend? You look droopy.”

  “What?” I rested my head on the back of the red bike carriage and closed my eyes. It took me a minute to form words. “I guess I’m . . . just . . . really baking in here!” When I opened my eyes, the swirly pattern on the pedicab cover started to spin like a pinwheel.

  “Brother, you need some water!” Elijah jumped down off his seat. “I will be right back!”

  I held my hand out to stop him. “It’s okay . . . I . . . just need . . . my . . . flamingo . . .”

  Zoe reached over and shook me. “Arcade, what is happening to you?” She put her hand over my heart and immediately pulled it back like she’d just touched a hot stove. “Hey! That crazy thing is blazing again!”

  The Triple T Token had come back to life, hotter than ever!

  “Uh-oh!” I pulled the token out from under my shirt. The thing was smoking! “I guess we know what’s coming next . . .”

  “Fan it! Blow on it! Cool it down!” Zoe waved her hands so wildly she shook the bike carriage.

  I held the token out from my body.

  Glitter swirled up from the floor of Elijah’s pedicab carriage. It heated my face, like the sparks from the campfires we used to build in Virginia. The shiny pieces popped and snapped.