Dreamland Social Club(66)

“You’re making fun of me.”

He sunk down in his chair.

“Fine.” She stood. “Whatever.”

So she went down to the stage—no one but Marcus was there anyway, so what did it matter if she looked dumb?—and then the Human Blockhead explained what he wanted her to do, and she thought she was going to throw up right there on the stage. But when he put the sword down his throat and tapped his chest—the signal they’d agreed upon—Jane climbed up the small step stool that had been put in front of her and took hold of the sword and very, very slowly pulled it up and out. And when she did, she felt strangely victorious.

When the Human Blockhead told her to take a bow, she did.

“Bravo,” Marcus called from the bleachers, and he stood up and clapped, lazily, three times.





They walked past the Anchor on the way home and Jane saw Leo inside. “I’m just going to go say hi,” she said to Marcus, who just said, “Okey-dokey,” and walked off.

She went into the bar and sat next to Leo, who looked up from his crossword puzzle, startled. He said, “Spring has sprung, and so have you.”

She crinkled her nose. “What does that mean?”

“I don’t know.” He sipped his Coke, studying her. “You seem different.”

“I do?”

“Yeah,” he said. “You do. A little gooble gobble magic, maybe?”

“Don’t be stupid.” She was looking at the crossword clues, trying to think of a three-letter word for “Paris to Berlin dir,” whatever that meant.

“I’m just saying.” Leo tapped his paper with his pencil. “It must be a relief. To have finally figured it out.” He tilted his head. “You seem, sort of—I don’t know—happy? No, not that. Sassy?”

“Sassy?” She shook her head. “Me? No way.”

“See, right there.” He pointed at her. “That was some sass.”

“It was not!”

He just shrugged. “Look at this.” He pointed at 18 down’s clue, “Anchor’s job.”

“To sink?” Jane was looking for the right boxes.

“Ha,” Leo said. “But no, five letters.” He pushed the paper aside. “I sort of hate crosswords.”

“Me, too.”

“Where you coming from or going to? You want a Coke?”

“No, I’m good. Coming from sideshow. Going home.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.” She stretched the fingers on her hand. “I pulled a sword out of the Human Blockhead’s mouth.”

He made a clicking sound and pointed at her quickly, like taking a shot. “Sass, I’m telling you.”

“I’m leaving,” she said, rotating on her stool, though she had no intention of going anywhere.

“No,” he said, grabbing her arm. “Stay a few minutes. It’s a big night. Sort of like Christmas Eve.”

“I feel it,” she said, looking around at the couple leaning into the jukebox picking songs, and at the guy by the outside tables who was trying to sell DVDs to the people there, and at Leo’s father, who was polishing up the old cash register. “Something in the air.”

What she couldn’t bring herself to say was that there was something else in the air, bouncy molecules of dread ricocheting around with all the excitement. He just couldn’t feel them. She simply didn’t have the heart to spoil the mood with the word Loki, not when he seemed so happy.

“We have this tradition,” Leo said. “My dad and me.”

“You’re not going to trim a tree, are you?”

“No, but every year since I can remember, he closes the bar a little early on the night before opening day and we watch The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms. Ever see it?”

Jane nodded and said, “It’s pretty bad.”

“But that’s the beauty of it!” he said with an elbow nudge. “I was obsessed when I was little. Now it’s just for old times’ sake. Or something. I don’t even know. I thought it was cool your mom made the beast once, though.”

Jane nodded. “Yeah. Me, too.” She was studying the words around the “anchor’s job” clue and the word popped out. Not a boat anchor but a news anchor. “Recap,” she said, pointing.

“Huh?” Leo said, then he thought for a second and said, “Oh,” and wrote it in. “Yeah, definitely hate crosswords.”

His dad called out, “Drink up, folks, we’re closing early!” and was met by a few lazy groans.





CHAPTER three


THE STORE FOR LEASE BANNER hanging on the Anchor rippled in the wind like a flag. Just down the boardwalk, similar signs—PROPERTY FOR LEASE—wrapped around the gate to Wonderland. Jane and the rest of the Dreamland Social Club stood outside and watched as people walked by, then stopped, midsentence, when they noticed what was going on.

What the feck?

The signs had appeared overnight, as if by magic. Jane knew for certain they had not been there last night.

But there was no mistaking their origins.

Jane looked at the serpent bolt of the logo and swore she heard a hiss. This was all very wrong.

Leo had gone inside to talk to his dad and now came back to report. He said, “They’re trying to mothball the boardwalk.”