I opened my eyes and looked over at her, surprised and touched. I couldn’t help but think about the first time we’d been here—when she’d been deliberately trying to make the car rock.
“That’s my bad,” Doug said, chastened. “Sorry.”
?I looked across the car at Greta and Nora. “Even though I can’t change anything, I just need you both to know how sorry I am. How I would do things differently if I could.”
“You can’t?, though, right?” Doug said with a sigh. “The ride only goes one direction.”
“Uh, sure.” I met Greta’s eye, and she gave me a small, tiny smile—letting me feel like, for the first time in a long time, we were on the same page. I reached into the plastic Disney bag and pulled out what I’d bought earlier. I held it out to them. “I know it won’t make up for anything, but I wanted to give you this.”
“Disney trivia!” Nora read off the box, looking delighted.
“I know it’s not going to be as rigorous as our quiz bowl practices, but it’s something.”
“Well, that’s probably a good thing,” Greta said. “I bet you haven’t been keeping up with your training. We’d wipe the floor with you.”
I laughed at that. “I’m sure you would.”
We sat there in silence for a moment. But it didn’t feel charged, or angry—it just felt comfortable.
“So, wait,whatexactly happened?” Doug asked, breaking the silence.
I laughed, but before I could go into specifics, we were heading down to the ground—and I knew this ride was almost over.
“Well, thanks,” Greta said, looking at the box. “This is really nice of you.”
“And if you’re ever back in Phoenix, we could play it?” Nora said.
I nodded, knowing how to spot an olive branch—even one that I didn’t think I ?deserved—when I saw one. “That would be great,” I said, giving them a smile.
We came to a stop, back at the beginning, and the cast member opened the door. As I waited for everyone else to get out, I felt a kind of peace settle over me. Like the energy I’d spent worried about Greta and Nora—either trying to avoid them or avoid thinking about what I’d done—had just dissipated. And I felt calmer and happier now that it was gone.
We all walked out together, heading up the path. “I guess I’ll see you around?” I pulled on my jean jacket—it had gotten to the point of the night where I always needed it.
“See you around,” Greta agreed, and Nora nodded.
“Oh, and come and see Eton Mess,” Doug said. “We’re performing at midnight. Over by Pixar Pier.” A second later, though, he frowned. “But if you do see me, call me Tristram, okay? And pretend that I’m from Hertfordshire.”
“Maybe,” Greta said. She gave him a nod but didn’t sound fully convinced.
“No, you really should,” I said. “It’s going to be a really good performance.”
“Oh, thank you,” Doug said, looking touched. Then he paused. “Wait, how do you know that?”
“It’s just what I hope,” I clarified. “But I’ll for sure see you later, Doug.”
“You will?”
I checked the time, and realized I had to hurry—I was about five minutes behind. “Bye,” I said to all of them?, but mostly Greta and Nora, no offense to Doug. “Take care.”
I turned and walked fast before breaking into a run. I knew he wouldn’t be there forever, after all. And ?I had to talk to my former prom date.
Even though I knew I was running late to find Bruce, I called the Mermaid Café as I dashed across the park. I needed to multitask here—if I waited too long, the restaurant would be closed. And I wanted to be able to tell Bryony the truth about actually applying.
I didn’t think that hearing the happy yells of the seniors behind me, or the music playing over the park’s speakers, was really helping me put forward the best impression. But I made my pitch to the manager I’d been able to get on the phone anyway. I told him I’d email my application as soon as possible—but that Ireallywanted the job. I told him all about my knowledge of facts, which usually didn’t have any practical application—but it really would if the Mermaid wanted to start a quiz night.
The manager seemed intrigued by that, which gave me the confidence to add that if I got the job, I would really love to have the same shifts as Bryony Tsai. He had sounded a little harried—it was a Friday night, after all—but promised that he’d do what he could. I hung up, feeling like it was one more thing I could cross off my list as I dashed toward the Hollywood Lounge.
In my perfect version of this—the one that I’d written out in my plans—I would have already been sitting down, cool and composed, when Bruce showed up. Instead, by the time I reached the dining area, I was sweaty and out of breath, and I could see Bruce starting to walk away.
