A Grimm Warning (The Land of Stories, #3)(49)
“All right, you can come,” Conner told her. “As long as you promise never to share with another soul anything you’ve found out or anything you might see.”
Bree slowly nodded, smiling the biggest smile ever. “I promise,” she said, and Conner knew he could trust her.
“Good, now let’s sneak out of the airport,” he said.
They peered out of the men’s restroom and glanced at the gate where their principal and schoolmates stood. The five of them were impatiently waiting for Conner and Bree to return before joining the line to board the plane. Mrs. Peters scanned the lounge, trying to see where they had gone. Then she looked down at her watch and Conner and Bree took it as a cue. They held on to their luggage as tightly as they could and bolted out of the bathroom, running down the terminal before she looked up. They followed the exit signs and went into customs.
“We got this—just follow my lead,” Bree said. They got in line, keeping their heads down in case Mrs. Peters came looking for them. When it was Bree’s turn, she walked up to the customs officer in the booth and presented her passport.
“Are you here for business or pleasure?” the officer asked her.
“Pleasure,” Bree said casually. “I’ve come to visit my aunt and see a few shows in the West End.”
She was good at this deception thing. The customs officer stamped her passport and sent Bree on her way. Conner went next, confident he had nothing to worry about.
“Are you here for business or pleasure?” the officer asked him.
“Pleasure,” Conner replied. “I’ve come for the food.”
The customs officer flinched and looked up at him awkwardly. “The food?” he asked.
Bree slapped her hand against her forehead. Conner wanted to put his whole leg in his mouth. Of all the things to say, he’d picked possibly the only thing Great Britain wasn’t known for. Conner panicked, thinking fast.
“You’ve never heard of the Food?” he went on. “They’re only the greatest singing quartet of chefs-turned-tenors on the planet! They have a concert at the Buckinghamshirevilleton Coliseum. Here, let me give you one of their albums.”
Conner reached for his suitcase but the customs officer held up a hand to stop him. “Please don’t,” he said. He stamped Conner’s passport and then sent him on his way, too. Conner had never been so thankful to be perceived as just a stupid kid.
Bree was appalled by Conner’s stunt. “Buckinghamshirevilleton?” she whispered. “Are you out of your mind? How are you supposed to save another dimension when you can’t even get out of an airport?”
“Give me a break—obviously I’m under a lot of pressure!” Conner whispered back.
They made it outside the airport and looked around at the sea of cars, taxis, and buses around the pickup zone.
“How are we going to get to central London?” Bree asked. “Are we old enough to take a taxi by ourselves?”
Conner looked down the curb and saw something that gave him an idea. A large group of obnoxious American teenagers was boarding a bus. They were looked after by only one chaperone that Conner could see and she was practically pulling her hair out trying to manage. “Everyone settle down and get on the bus!” the chaperone screamed. “I have your parents’ phone numbers and I will use them!”
Conner gestured for Bree to follow him. “Keep your head down, I’ve got an idea,” he said. They both looked at the ground and joined the line of students boarding the bus. The line was moving so quickly the chaperone couldn’t keep up with checking the names on her clipboard and finally just gave up. Conner and Bree boarded the bus effortlessly and took a seat in the very back.
“All right, that was a good one,” Bree said. “It almost makes up for Buckinghamshirevilleton.”
“Thanks,” Conner said. “This should get us into the city without a hitch.”
The other teenagers aboard the bus were so busy taunting each other and taking pictures of themselves they didn’t even notice the strangers in the back. The bus pulled away from the airport and headed into town.
“All right, I want to hear the whole story, and don’t skip any details,” Bree said to Conner.
“About what?” he asked.
“Everything I need to know before venturing out on this adventure with you,” she said. “About you, your sister, that goose lady, and this dimension we’re about to save.”
Conner didn’t know where to begin. “Okay, but it’s a long story,” he warned.
“Great,” Bree said. “Long stories are my favorite.”
Conner figured there was no use in keeping anything from her now. He told Bree his and Alex’s whole story, starting with when they were magically transported into the Land of Stories for the first time and ending with their last good-bye when the portal between the two worlds was closed.
Bree hung on every word he said. It felt so therapeutic for Conner to talk to someone about it besides his family. He was very glad Bree had insisted on coming on this new escapade of his, and as Conner knew all too well, adventures were always best when there was someone to share them with.
CHAPTER TEN
THE SOUTH BANK LION
The bus finally arrived in central London and they all went quiet as they took in the first sights of the regal city. London was a multi-cultural maze of pristine buildings and proud tradition. It was difficult to differentiate the landmarks from the non-landmarks as everything was so well kept. Every building looked a hundred years old and brand-new at the same time.