“Yes. Like the film rewound and we just started over again. You know, likeGroundhogDay—”
“Pettigrew’sLoop,”he said at the same time.
I stopped and blinked at him. “What’s that?”
“What’s—You’ve never seenPettigrew’sLoop?” he asked, sounding incredulous.
I shook my head. “I assume it’s about someone stuck in a time loop?”
Freddie nodded. “Yes. But since Bernard Pettigrew is a mailman and, well, English, he’s very attached to his routine and doesn’t realize it for a while. Not until he notices the dates on the mail are unchanging.”
“But you have heard ofGroundhog Day, right?” I’d never heard of his movie, but it seemed like the same concept.
“Of course. It’s a classic.”
“That’s what I kept thinking of—that somehow I’m in aGroundhog Daysituation. And I’m not sure why.” I wasn’t about to tell him thathemight be one of the reasons this was happening.
I looked up at him, fully prepared to see him either laughing or scoffing at me—or worse, eyeing me nervously, like I was someone in the throes of a mental breakdown. But Freddie just looked thoughtful, like he was processing everything I was saying.
“I know this probably sounds impossible. And I know you don’t know me. But I swear I’m telling the truth.” I took a deep breath and made myself ask it. “Do you…believe me?”
Freddie looked off to the side and took a moment before he answered. “I mean, I’ve alwayswantedto believe in something like this,” he said slowly. “I always hoped it would happen to me. Ever since…” He looked down at the T-shirt he was wearing and pointed to it.
“Excalibur?” I asked.
“Excalibur,” he agreed. He cast a quick glance at my fries, and I pushed them across the table to him.
“Be my guest.”
“You’re sure?”
“As long as you’re not going to have an allergic reaction because of the tomatoes in the ketchup. I don’t want that kind of responsibility.”
He took a fry and gave me a smile. “They’re cooked, so I’ll be okay. But thanks for looking out.”
I nodded toward his shirt. “So, you’re just really into the Arthur myth?”
“No, it’s a video game.”
“Excalibur,”I said slowly. This was ringing a bell for some reason. “I think I’ve heard of it. Didn’t it win some kind of video game award?”
Freddie nodded, looking surprised. “Best new game the year it came out. So you’ve played it?”
“No, I just know a lot of random facts.”
He smiled at that. “Well, it’s really great. My brother, Jack, and I were obsessed with it growing up. It starts off pretty grounded—you’re in the real world, just walking around. But that’s your first task—to find your way into the magic world that’s running parallel to the normal world. And when you find the way in, it’s a whole other kingdom. The colors are brighter, the music is better—and it’s magical, literally. It’s this spin on the medieval fantasy world that’s just so fun. And within the game, you’re going on quests and trying to chase down prophecies and collecting Treasure Tokens. It’s the best.”
“It sounds fun.”
“It is,” Freddie said, but his voice was growing more serious. “But it wasn’t just about the game. What Jack and I always talked about was if it could bereal. If this was actually the situation we were in—living our lives like the people in the beginning of the video game. That’s what always consumed me the most. Like what if there was this whole other world, so close, and you could never get to it. Or you didn’t evenrealizeit was there.”
I nodded, processing this, as Freddie finished the last of his burrito.
“So finding out that this is happening to you—it’s like realizing that maybe a tiny bit of that magicispossible. In fact, I really should tell Jack….” He pulled out his phone.
“Uh.” I glanced down at my watch, trying to do the math. “Isn’t it kind of late in the UK? Or…early?”
“Ah,” Freddie said with a nod, doing the same calculation that I just had. “You make a good point. But I can’t wait to tell him. He loved it, too, but not as much as me. I even had anExcaliburposter above my bed.”
