“We’re not supposed to wake up Mom when she’s sick,” Milo told Jem.His voice was too loud, and Jem flinched.“That’s why we didn’t wake you up.”
Jem wasn’t sure what climbing around on seats, whispering, and shining a flashlight in someone’s face constituted ifnotwaking someone up, but his brain was moving at about a quarter of its normal speed, so he didn’t think about it too hard.
“If youaresick,” Maeve said, “you should take medicine.That’s what Brigitte does.”
Jem closed his eyes.He tried to talk, and his jaw cracked.Then he tried again.“Do you have any medicine?”
That stumped them for a while.
“Sometimes you feel better after you throw up,” Milo informed him.
“There’s a first aid kit by all the candy,” Maeve said.
It was nice with his eyes shut.Nice and dark.And his body still had that stretched-out feeling, like he might slide right out of the recliner if he weren’t careful.
“I’m hungry,” Milo said.Loudly.
Somehow, Jem got his eyes open again.He considered the blond boy, who was staring at Jem as though this announcement ought to trigger some kind of reaction.And, Jem supposed, it probably should.Maeve had her arms folded across her stomach.For the first time, Jem noticed that the clothes the children were wearing were different from the ones he’d seen them in the day before, which meant that at some point after disappearing from the chalet, they’d changed.That made sense in a way, since their luggage had disappeared with them.From a long way off, he remembered their complaint from the day before that they wanted to see a movie.
His mouth tasted like the inside of a plastic bag, and he had to try to work some moisture in there before he said, “You’re hungry.”
Milo nodded.
“Okay,” Jem said.He levered himself upright in the recliner and glanced around the theater.The flashlights that Maeve and Milo held only illuminated the space around them, and the rest of the room was still lost in shadows.“Who else is here?”
“I don’t know,” Milo said.
“Nobody,” Maeve said.“That’s why it’s the perfect hideout.Did you ever readThe Mysterious Benedict Society?”
“I don’t think so,” Jem said.“What’s it about?”
“It’s about these kids,” Maeve said.“And they’re orphans.And they’re the only ones who can stop Dr.Curtain.”
“Uh huh,” Jem said.He slid to the edge of the recliner.He rested his elbows on his knees.The lightheadedness made him feel like he was lagging, like every movement left his mind scrambling to keep up with his body.
“It’s likeNight at the Museum,” Milo said.
“The Mysterious Benedict Society?”
“No,” Milo said.“The movie theater.”
“Milo got scared,” Maeve said.
“I did not!”
“Yes, you did!You thought the mummy was coming through that door!And you cried!”
“I didn’t cry!”His head whipped around so he was facing Jem.“I didn’t cry!”
“Oh my God,” Jem whispered and put fingers to his head.In a slightly stronger voice, he said, “No more yelling, okay?Milo, it’s okay to get scared and cry.I get scared and cry all the time.Just ask Tean.Maeve—” He was less clear on this part of the conversation, so he settled for “—be nice to your brother.”
Milo waited a fraction of a beat before saying, “I’m really hungry.”
“Got it.We’re going to do something about that right now.”
“Maybe later we can play fetch like Rexy.”
“That sounds good,” Jem said.He got to his feet, caught the back of the recliner to stay upright, and let the world whoosh around him for a few seconds.Then he said, “Here we go.”
