But then, all at once, like puzzle pieces fitting together, I saw the answer. It had been right in front of me this whole time. Tabitha had told me her friends’ names, after all. It was just an accident—the same thing had happened to me, in fact. But it was an accident that would have real consequences and would lead to Tabitha sobbing in a bathroom ninety minutes from now.
“Cass?” I turned to see Emma R. looking at me with concern. “You okay?”
“Yeah,” I said, shaking myself out of this reverie, and giving her a smile I didn’t feel at all. The other Emmas didn’t notice—they were preoccupied with Emma Z.’s phone, both of them clustered around it, whispering in low voices. At least I had solved this mystery. But there was nothing to be done about it now—that would have to wait for another loop. “I should go find Bryony.”
“Okay,” Emma R. said. She looked over with concern at her friends, then back to me. “But I’m sure we’ll see you later, right?”
“Oh, you can count on it.” This was mostly for the other Emmas’ benefit, but they didn’t seem to have heard me—they were still having an intense, whispered conversation. At least I finally knew what they were talking about. I waved at Emma R., then headed back the way I came, feeling like I had made a little progress. I hadn’t fixed anything—yet. But I had an idea of how I might.
“Cass!” Bryony was sitting on the bench with Amy and Carlos, Ms. Mulaney hovering nearby. She jumped up when she saw me. “What the heck!”
“Sorry,” I said quickly, shaking my head. “I…”
“Is everything okay?” She paused and looked at me, her head tilted to the side. “Did you buy a hat?”
“Oh,” I said, pulling it off my head and looking at it. I’d forgotten I was wearing it. “Right. I…saw it and thought—who doesn’t love Baby Yoda, right?”
“It’s actually Grogu,” Carlos pointed out. I saw Amy roll her eyes at that, and Carlos clocked it. “What?”
“Nothing,” Amy said, though I could hear the irritation in her voice. “Did I say anything?”
“You didn’thaveto say anything—”
“Okay?, then,” Ms. Mulaney said, interrupting Amy and Carlos’s bickering. “Well, glad you’re back, Cass. And now I hope you kids can have fun tonight. If you need me, I’ll just be in the chaperone area….” She pointed toward it. And just like I’d known it would, her canvas bag tumbled off her shoulder, and its contents spilled out onto the ground.
Amy and Carlos were still arguing, but Bryony and I bent down to help gather things up. The second I saw the manuscript, I drew in a breath.
I wasn’t sure I’d be able to help Ms. Mulaney—but I knew I had to try.
Luckily, it wasn’t that hard to get Ms. Mulaney’s manuscript. I’d gone through the usual routine—but instead of leaving when she got her phone call, I doubled back behind her. I lurked out of sight, a few paces behind Ms. Mulaney while she had her dream-shattering phone call. Which meant I was there to see her take the manuscript out of her bag, look at it for a long moment—then drop it in the trash can and walk away.
Once I was certain she was gone, I hurried over and scooped it up, glad that it was still bound with its rubber band? and I wasn’t having to chase down loose pages. And then, with the draft ofHurricane Madisonin my hands, I just had to find a place to read it.
I started out at a table by Smokejumpers Grill. But for whatever reason, the area that ?had been really conducive to learning piano was distracting as I was trying to read. I ordered a burger to go—it was getting close to the same time that I always got hungry—and then took the manuscript with me as I headed across the park. I was keeping an eye out to make sure I wouldn’t run into anyone—by this point, it was pretty much second nature. I had a map in my head of where everyone was, and where they were going to be. After this much time, I knew everyone’s loops by heart.
I ended at Radiator Springs Racers. Even with the shorter lines because of Grad Nite, there was still about a half an hour wait. Which was perfect—I could read, and then when I reached the front, I could go on my favorite ride, then do it all over again. And what did it matter if it looked strange that I was by myself? and reading in line? None of these people would remember it.
I opened the manuscript and started to read.
Ifinished the book in three loops, reading it in ?line at Radiator Springs Racers. Every time I made it to the front, I would be surprised that so much time had passed?—I was totally immersed in the world of the story.
It was all about this woman, Madison, an English teacher at an Orange County high school. She was dealing with personal and professional issues at work and with her friends—all as a rare hurricane bears down on the California coast. But then the book just…ended, with the storm getting closer and Madison not having learned all that much. I turned over the last page as I stepped up in line, wondering if I’d missed something. But no—The Endwas there as clear as anything. If I was being honest, I could understand why the agent had passed. It wasreallygood—but it was just unfinished.
“Ready? Single rider?” I looked up at the cast member, who was smiling at me.
“Oh wow,” I said, putting the manuscript back in my bag. “Uh, sure. That was fast.” I could have sworn I’d only been on line for a few minutes.
“It comes in waves,” the cast member said, giving me a smile. “Enjoy your ride.”
“Thanks,” I said, noting the time—10:19 p.m. I gave them a smile as I stepped forward. “I always do.”
The plan was coming together.
I was going into each loop now with a sense of purpose—a different goal I needed to accomplish each time. I’d even taken to buying a notebook from Johnny and a pen—the notebook had the Sleeping Beauty castle on it, the pen had Stitch—so I could write things down. My lists were turning into complicated timelines and graphs, and even though it would have beenreallynice to be able to take these with me, I was doing them often enough that they were getting burned in my brain. Just like the Freddie list, or his song lyrics—at this point, I could have recited both from memory.
But each night, I picked someone new. I parted from Bryony and the Emmas and then fanned out over the park, focused on that night’s goal.
I did one loop where I trailed behind Reagan, Zach, and McKenna, making note of where they spent most of their time, and when they moved to different parts of the park. I had a pretty good idea of what I was going to do to make things right with Reagan, and I noted it on my list.
