Greta and Nora were a bit trickier, if only because they were more observant, both of them spotting me a few times before I learned just when I needed to hang back, look away, keep flying under the radar. But once I figured that out, and I’d been able to get a handle on where they were going and when, I devised my plan for them, too.
Bruce was a little bit harder, ?because seeing ?him always made my heart clench a little. I no longer had a crush on him. But just watching him laughing with his friends, or getting snacks, or waiting on rides, was enough to remind me of what I’d done, and how I hadn’t taken responsibility—yet.
I spent one loop dashing around the park, verifying that people were where they were supposed to be, making the final adjustments to the plan, confirming that the diagrams were all lining up. I was reminded of my dads, the way that they always got before a house was being shown, when they checked and double-checked everything that could possibly go wrong, and made contingency plans for every outcome.
Now, I flipped through my notebook one last time, even though I didn’t need to—I knew these plans by heart. I dropped the notebook into my bag and walked toward Pixar Pier. I crossed the bridge, looking at the lights on the water—it had never, in all these loops, stopped being magical.
I knew that in the green?room, Freddie was preparing to go on. In the bathroom, Tabitha was crying, having already been betrayed by someone she never would have suspected. I knew where Reagan was, and Greta and Nora. I knew where Bryony was. I knew about the Emmas, and Ms. Mulaney. Even Amy and Carlos.
I’d spent so many nights here, it had all led to this.
To the next loop—when I would try and make things better for everyone. When I’d say what I had needed to say for a long time. When I would actually pay off what Sheridan had been saying this whole time—and attempt to give everyone the best night ever.
I knew that I might have missed something—and that maybe I wouldn’t be able to pull it off.
But I was going to try.
Who’s ready to have the best night ever?” Sheridan yelled.
I smiled as I looked around. I was back, once again, at the moment it always began. I suddenly had a new appreciation for the way Sheridan started our night. It was so hopeful, after all. Maybe I should have been following his lead from the beginning—he was the one who’d had it right all along.
And so, for the first time, I took a step closer to him. “Me!” I called ?out. “Best night ever. Let’s go!”
Sheridan smiled at me, surprised, and gave me a nod. “That’s what we like to hear, Cass! Right on.”
“Uh, me too,” Manny said, sounding a little like his thunder had been stolen. He lifted his phone, like he was going to take a selfie, but then just shrugged and walked away. And to my surprise, the people who normally crashed into Bryony simply ran past—the collision never even coming close to happening in this version of things.
?I shook my head as I watched them go. I wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to pull this off, but just knowing that I was going to try was making me feel buoyant. I felt like I was seeing this world, which had become so familiar to me, with new eyes. I took a breath, then let it out.
Tonight.
It would all happen tonight.
I’d prepped as much as I could, even though I hadn’t been able to bring any of my plans in with me. But that was okay. ?They were locked firmly inside my head, and as soon as I could buy a notebook, I’d be able to write them down. I just had to trust that things would work out, and that I’d be able to pull this off.
“So,” Bryony said, smiling at me, “what should we do first?”
“Bryony!” I pulled her into a tight hug.
“Uh. Hi, Cass,” she said, giving my back two pats. “You all right?”
I shook my head and stepped back. “No. I’m not.” Knowing what I wanted to say—and that I should have said this a long time ago—didn’t make the actual saying of it any easier. I took a breath. “I’m so sorry.”
Bryony blinked at me. “What are you talking about? Sorry for what?”
“I—My dads are moving. To Oregon. Tomorrow. And I didn’t tell you.”
“Wait.” Bryony shook her head, like she was trying to catch up. “What?You’re…moving?”
“No!” I said enthusiastically, practically yelling it. “I’m not! Isn’t that great?”
“But…you said…”
“Iwasgoing to be moving,” I clarified. “And I know I never should have gone so far down that road without telling you. But I’m going to talk to my dads. I’m going to tell them that I can’t go again—not when I’d be leaving so much behind. Because I want to stay. I want us to hang out all summer and work together at the Mermaid Café—if they’ll have me. And I don’t want us to lose touch when we go to college. You’re my best friend. You’re so important to me. We can make it work—I know we can. Because I’m done walking away from the things that matter the most.”
“Wow, okay,” Bryony said, looking shell-shocked. A group of laughing seniors ran past us, and we stepped to the side of the path. “Those are—some big revelations. This all just happened? Like, in the last few minutes?”
“Oh no,” I said, shaking my head. “It’s been a long time coming. Also, I’ve been stuck in a time loop. I’ve done this,? like,? a hundred and forty times. Give or take.”
