“I think it’s Chip,” Emma Z. insisted, her voice firm. I took a breath to argue with her, and then remembered about how she’d lost her scholarship. I decided not to push it—maybe she needed this win, even if she was incorrect.
“Thecharactersare in graduation outfits?” Bryony asked, looking delighted. “I had no idea! This is the best thing ever!”
“I know!” I said. “So, we’ll get your ears, we’ll do Soarin’…maybe Radiator Springs…” I decided not to suggest the Ferris wheel—just in case we saw Greta and Nora there. Though I was pretty sure that wasn’t going to happen. Enough things had already been different tonight. This was the butterfly effect, right? The tiniest changes rippling out and altering everything. But I wasn’tentirelysure. I suddenly wished that, over the years and all my various schools, I’d paid more attention in physics.
Bryony and I followed behind the Emmas, who were walking three across, despite the fact this meant other people—including Thor—needed to dodge around them.
“Oh!” I said, turning to Bryony, remembering the intel I’d gotten at the end of the night. “It turns out Sheridan is right. There is a celebrity here tonight.”
“There is? Who is it?”
“I’m not sure,” I said, looking around. “But it’s definitely ashe.”
“Well, that narrows things down,” Bryony said, deadpan, and I laughed. “Wait—how did you know that?”
I was saved from having to reply when a guy walked past us, and I realized with a start that I recognized him. “Oh my god!” It was Freddie, from Eton Mess—without a soda in his hand this time.
“What?” Bryony asked, looking at me curiously. “Do you know him?”
“It’s Freddie! He spilled a drink on me!”
“When did he spill a drink on you?” Bryony asked, looking baffled. The Emmas stopped walking as well, and all three of them looked at me, waiting for an answer—and I realized a second too late what I’d done.
“Oh, nothing,” I said quickly. “Never mind. I—don’t know him. I thought it was someone else. From before. Anyway. Let’s see if we can find the Mickey ears!” I started walking fast, silently admonishing myself. I wasn’t used to having to think this carefully before speaking, forgetting that I had knowledge that other people didn’t. I’d just have to be more careful, that was all.
As I passed Freddie, my feet slowed slightly. And before I even knew I’d made a decision, I was changing direction and running toward him. “I’ll catch up with you!” I called to my friends as I hurried after Freddie.
“Wait, what?” I heard Bryony call.
“Hi,” I said, as I got closer to him. “Um. Freddie?”
He stopped short and turned to look at me. “Hi,” he replied, a question in his perfectly accented voice. He took a step toward the side of the path, outside the crush of people. “Have we met?”
I blinked, trying to process this. It was very strange to have him looking at me like he’d never seen me before. There was no jolt of recognition, no sense he remembered me at all. Which of course he didn’t—but it was jarring to realize thatIknew him, but as far as he was concerned, I was just another stranger.
“Um, not really.” I wasn’t sure how to tell him that we’d already met, but it hadn’t happened yet without sounding deluded. “I just…wanted to say hi? And good luck with your show later.” I thought about the girl on the phone, describing the show to her friend—that it was unbelievable and unforgettable. “I know it’s going to go great.”
His face relaxed into a smile, and I felt myself smiling back at him—automatically, like it was a reflex, something you couldn’t stop even if you wanted to. “Really? That’s awfully nice of you to say. Thank you.”
“Sure,” I said. I hoped there would be more—I wanted there to be more—but after a moment, he just gave me a nod, and another smile, and then walked away. I didn’t know how to continue this interaction without coming off like a stalker, so I turned in the other direction, and hurried to catch up with my friends.
The Emmas and Bryony were standing around a kiosk—I assumed the one where Emma had bought her ears—but as I got closer, Bryony shook her head. “They’re all out.”
“What?”
“Sorry about that,” the cast member working at the kiosk said. His name tag readJOHNNY, PROVO, UTAH.
“But didn’t youjusthave some?” I asked, looking at Emma R. She pulled hers out of her bag and held them up as proof.
“I did. Unfortunately, someone just bought the last pair.”
“Are there any other places that have them?” I could feel myself start to get frustrated. Last time around, Bryony and I had looked at a fair number of kiosks. Was it possible that Emma R. bought the last one in the whole park?
Johnny shrugged. “There should be more somewhere. I’m sure you’ll find them. As with anything worth searching for, the quest is part of the journey.”
“Okay, thanks,” Emma R. said, giving him a nod. She turned and walked away from the kiosk with the other Emmas, and Bryony and I started walking behind them.
“That’s such a bummer,” Bryony said with a sigh. “Maybe we could check the kiosk over there—”
