by Barbara Dee
17
In Ancient Civs there was another tiny message scrawled in the corner of Zoe’s whiteboard desk:
Zoe, are you there?
She looked around the room; Lucas wasn’t in class. Was he hiding somewhere because he knew that by now she’d read his note to Dara—and figured out that he’d written it, because who else knew that geckoes didn’t blink? That’s what he’d said outside Isaac’s house—she was sure those were his exact words—that day he’d followed her there and sat on the steps and showed her those stupid codes.
She grabbed the Signe pen from her backpack. No, she wrote underneath his question. Then she smudged out her answer and wrote,
Lucas, we need to talk!!!!
Urgently!!!!
After class she grabbed her backpack and raced out the door to find Lucas. She was just about to run down the central staircase, when she nearly crashed into Owen.
“Hello, old friend,” he said.
“Hi,” Zoe said, catching her breath. “I was just leaving!”
“I’m glad I caught you, then. Anything you’d like to chat about?”
“Now?”
“We could go into my office. Take a minute. Close the door, talk in private.”
“About what?”
“No idea?”
She shook her head. Her hair tumbled stupidly into her face.
“Think about it over the weekend,” Owen said pleasantly. “And why don’t you stop by my office on Monday morning before homeroom. Oh, and Zoe? You should probably bring a parent.”
“What if I’d rather not?”
He raised his eyebrows. Immediately she realized that her question had sounded rude. Ack! Shut up, she scolded herself.
“I mean,” she added quickly, “is it necessary? To bring a parent? I’m really fine without one.”
“Then you’re the first kid in history,” Owen replied.
On the way over to Isaac’s, Zoe stopped at a sidewalk grocery for some fresh apples and squash to slice up for the lizards. It occurred to her then that she hadn’t eaten anything since breakfast. But she wasn’t especially hungry, so she just bought a bag of Skittles, nibbling half the bag before she reached Isaac’s brownstone. They tasted comforting, she thought, like normal afternoons. Like The Zoe and Dara Show, although she didn’t want to think about that right now.
At Isaac’s door she stuffed the bag into her hoodie pocket and then headed straight to Iguana #3. And today there was no doubt about it: The little lizard was definitely sick. She was curled up like a teeny cat in the corner of her terrarium. Her eyes looked cloudy and she didn’t seem to be moving.
Zoe ran downstairs to the kitchen. Isaac had left the name and address of the vet by his one and only phone. She found it, and was just about to pick up the phone to dial, when it rang alarmingly.
“Zoe-the-lizard-sitter? Is that you again?”
“Yes?”
“It’s Walker Robbins. From the gallery?” He sighed, making a loud swishing sound in her ear. “Listen, my child, did you get through to Isaac?”
“I tried. I e-mailed him two days ago.”
“Did he answer back? Did he appreciate the seriousness of the situation?”
“Um. I’m not exactly sure.”
“Because the wall is totally down now. I mean, I’m standing here looking at…air. So if you e-mail him or talk to him in the next, oh, five minutes, could you please convey to him that he needs to get his skinny ponytail on the next flight out of the desert and get home to New York immediately?”
Then he hung up.
Zoe could feel her heart start to pick up speed again. How could she tell Isaac anything? He wouldn’t believe her; he’d probably just say that she was reacting emotionally, like some overheated preteen. Meanwhile, the truth was, his perfect little world was a mess, and he was off in the desert somewhere, hiding like a turtle. And leaving her to deal with everything, when she had gigantic problems of her own! Well, she’d e-mail him about the ex-wall later. And of course she’d also e-mail about poor Iguana #3. But she couldn’t wait for a reply. She needed to get Iguana #3 to the vet right away. It could be a matter of—
No. Don’t even think that, she scolded herself. Just concentrate on one thing at a time. Like getting Iguana #3 out of the terrarium. But how was she going to do that? And once she did (assuming she did), how was she going to get the little lizard to the vet?
She needed help, obviously. First she tried her father’s cell. No answer, and anyway the Enchanted Forest job was in New Jersey, so there was no way he could get back to New York in time. Mom had patients all afternoon, so it was no use trying her. Isadora had a cell, but if Zoe called, she’d probably just say, Eww. Warts and salmonella, dahling. Her only hope was Malcolm. He’d give her a hard time about it, but he’d probably come over, especially if she bowed down and pleaded. She called her home phone number, but it just rang and rang. Then she remembered that this was Friday, and Malcolm always had Math Olympiad meetings on Fridays, which meant he wouldn’t be home for at least an hour. And Bella was probably off in the park with Spencer. And even if she wasn’t, the thought of dealing with Spencer right now was more than Zoe could handle.
Then she spotted a familiar-looking book on Isaac’s counter. The Hubbard directory. Of course he’d have one. His kid Willie was in first grade.
Without stopping to think, she grabbed the directory and looked up Lucas Joplin. As she was dialing, it occurred to her that she was calling Signe’s house, but this was an emergency.
“Lucas!” she shouted into the phone. “It’s Zoe. I’m at my pet-sitting job. Remember where that was? Can you get over here this minute?”
“What for?” he asked slowly. “I thought you told me—”
“Just come, okay? Please?” She forced herself to breathe. “One of the iguanas looks funny to me, kind of pale and folded up. I think it’s really sick.”
“So why are you calling me? I’m not a herpetologist. My expertise is in—”
“Codes. I know! But didn’t you say there were lizards all over the place in Guatemala, or wherever you were?”
“Well, yes, there were lizards, Zoe. But there weren’t iguanas. There were skinks and salamanders—”
“OKAY. Whatever there were, do you think you could please just help me with this?”
He paused thoughtfully. “How? You should probably take it to a vet.”
“I’m going to, Lucas. But first I need to get it out of the tank.”
“And that’s why you’re calling me?”
“You’re used to them. Didn’t you tell me they crawled all over you when you were sleeping?”
“Well, sure. But I never touched them. I was asleep. And eventually they crawled off.”
“Oh, never mind!” Zoe exploded. “I’ll do it myself!”
She slammed the receiver down. What did she expect from crazy Lucas, anyway? Of course, she wasn’t done with him yet. There was a whole other conversation they desperately needed to have, about the anonymous notes, among other things. But she couldn’t waste time being angry with him right now. Right now she had to save Iguana #3, and who even knew how much time she had.
She ran back upstairs with her backpack. She unzipped it fast, and dumped her binders and crumpled-up doodles and Prismacolor pencils onto the floor. Isaac would probably have been furious about the mess, but who cared? She’d clean it up later. Down the hall from the lizard rooms was a tiny bathroom. She swiped a fluffy white towel from the wall rack and then walked softly into Iguana #3’s room.
“Okay, little girl,” Zoe crooned, aware she sounded a bit silly, and not caring in the least. “I’m going to take you out very, very gently, and then give you a little ride to the vet in this nice, soft towel. Okay? You trust me? You won’t bite or give me bad diseases?”
She clenched her teeth and slowly inched the towel into the terrarium. When she reached the corner where Iguana #3 was huddled, Zoe opened her hand and gently grasped the lizard, who didn’t res
ist at all. Then she slowly pulled her hand out of the terrarium, and carefully dropped the towel-swaddled lizard into her backpack. She zipped it fast, leaving a tiny hole for air.
Then she strapped on her backpack and headed out the door, clutching the vet’s address in her hand.
The day was cold, the first real autumn weather of the year. Zoe shivered inside her hoodie, zipping it right up to her throat, and pulling the purple hood over her hair. Probably this was the wrong temperature for lizards, she thought. But didn’t it get pretty cold in the tropics at night? Anyway, Iguana #3 was bundled up in the towel. That should keep her warm, Zoe told herself, trying to walk as quickly as she could without jostling the backpack. Which should be squirming, Zoe thought. Why wasn’t it?
Finally she reached the vet’s office, almost five blocks from Isaac’s brownstone. The receptionist smiled up at her when she walked in the door.
“May I help you?” she asked pleasantly.
“It’s an emergency! I’m helping Isaac Wakefield—”
The receptionist immediately got up from her chair and gestured for Zoe to follow her into the back room. A minute later a calm-looking woman with a long brown braid walked in. “You have a lizard? One of Isaac’s?”
Zoe nodded. “You’re the vet?”
“I’m Dr. Kravitz. Where is it?"
“In my backpack. Could you please take her out? I’m a little—”
Dr. Kravitz smiled. “Sure, no problem.”
She walked behind Zoe and unzipped her backpack. Then she pulled out Iguana #3 and carefully placed her on the examining table.
“She won’t eat,” Zoe said. “And she isn’t moving very much. And her color’s funny; I can’t explain it, exactly.”
“Hmm,” said Dr. Kravitz. “How long have you noticed this?”
“A few days.” She watched as the vet touched the lizard’s back. “I don’t know anything about lizards,” Zoe added. “But I have this definite feeling that something’s wrong.”
Dr. Kravitz nodded. “Well, it’s good you came in, then.”
“Then I’m right? You mean she’s really sick?”
“Maybe. We’ll have to see.” Dr. Kravitz crouched down and looked into the lizard’s eyes. “What a pretty girl. Which one’s this?”
Zoe almost said Iguana #3. But she couldn’t. Because suddenly it seemed cruel and wrong that the little lizard didn’t have a name.
“Ruby,” Zoe replied, wondering where on earth she’d gotten that from.
18
Zoe had left all her stuff on Isaac’s floor, so before she could go home, she had to go back to his brownstone. It was a long, chilly walk, somehow longer than when she was carrying Ruby, and she was so drained and shaky that her legs felt like rubber bands. All she wanted to do was sit somewhere and maybe close her eyes for a minute and stop thinking about everything. But it was already four thirty, she was freezing, and she couldn’t waste any more time.
As she got nearer to Isaac’s brownstone, she spotted an unmistakable figure on the front steps. He wasn’t sitting all hunched over, but he was wearing that embarrassing tweed overcoat. Oh, joy, Zoe thought, balling her hands inside her pockets.
Lucas looked up from his book and grinned at her. “So how’s your reptile friend?”
“Not sure,” Zoe answered. “Fingers crossed.”
“Sorry I couldn’t come with you. I was doing extremely important research for my parents. In fact, I cut my afternoon classes to get started. These archeologists have found an ancient Mayan glyph—”
“And you hate touching lizards.”
“Right,” said Lucas, smiling sheepishly. “Sorry.”
Zoe sighed. “Listen, I have to go inside to get my books. You want to come in for a minute and meet everybody?”
He looked alarmed. “You mean the other lizards?”
“Don’t worry, they’re in tanks. And anyway, it’s freezing out.”
“That’s okay. I’m not even cold. I’ll just wait for you here.”
“You sure?”
“I never speak if I’m not.” He lifted his chin defiantly, but it only made him look like a little kid. Like Spencer, almost. Well, she certainly wasn’t going to stand there on the freezing steps arguing with him.
Zoe went upstairs to the iguana room and grabbed her stuff off the floor. Then she peeked out the second-floor window at Lucas. He was sitting all hunched up again, and he was rubbing his arms as if they were numb. Probably with all that traveling he wasn’t used to the cold weather, she thought. He’d definitely need a warmer jacket if he was going to make it through the winter.
And then she had a funny thought: Who would buy it for him? Signe?
She quickly fed and misted the lizards, not bothering to write down any notes. Then she went back outside and sat down next to Lucas on the rough stone step. “Thanks for waiting,” she said softly. For some reason she added, “Want some Skittles?”
“What?”
She took the bag out of her hoodie pocket. “Skittles. I don’t know what the name means. The purple are good but the green are the best.”
“I know what Skittles are, Zoe.”
“Yeah? Well, you can have the rest. I’m not hungry.”
“Thanks,” he said politely. “Okay if I save them for later?”
She shrugged.
Lucas slipped the bag into the enormous pocket of his overcoat and looked down at the stone steps as if they were suddenly extremely fascinating.
“Listen, Lucas,” Zoe said slowly. “I really, really need to talk to you about something. I guess you didn’t see the message on my desk?”
“What desk?”
“In Signe’s room. You know. The number-color desk.”
“What are you talking about?”
“My whiteboard desk. You were just asking me what six was. And seven.”
“Seven what?”
She stared at him. “Oh, great. You’re pretending you don’t know?”
“I’m not pretending anything.”
“Never mind,” Zoe said tiredly. “If you want to play your baby secret agent games, go ahead. That wasn’t what I wanted to talk to you about, anyway.” The icy wind was slapping her hair around, so she tucked it impatiently inside her hood. “All right, so here it is: People are getting these weirdo notes. In their lockers. First they thought it was Ezra, and now they think it’s me.”
“And is it?”
“Of course not, Lucas! It’s you. Right?”
Lucas didn’t answer. He traced a crack in the step with his index finger.
Zoe watched him. “Why would you do a thing like that? No one’s talking to me. They all hate me now.”
“So, what do you care? You have nothing in common with them.”
“How do you even know that?” Before he could answer, she said, “And don’t start telling me I’m brain-damaged, because I don’t want to hear it.”
He looked up. “I didn’t say you were brain-damaged, Zoe. I said—”
“Whatever. A crypto-whatever-genius. It doesn’t matter, okay? We’re not discussing that reading-Zoe business, because it was a totally freak thing. And anyway it’s completely irrelevant.”
He shrugged. “I didn’t mention it, Zoe. You did.”
“Well, never mind, then. Forget I brought it up. And I also don’t want to hear another stupid word about codes. Or ciphers.”
“Fine.” He started tracing the crack again.
“Look, Lucas,” Zoe said quickly. “What I’m trying to say is, I go to school with these kids. It’s hard enough when things are normal, and now they think I’m this crazy anonymous note writer, quoting these—” She waved her arms helplessly. “Dead guys. Everyone thinks I’m spying or threatening them with lizards or something, and now they want to analyze my handwriting. And I think somebody told Owen, because he wants to meet with me. And my parents.”
Lucas looked up at her. “And then what?”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“So you meet with Owen. Why does that even matter to you?”
“Why? Because he’s looking for an excuse to kick me out!”
“And you want to stay at Hubbard? What for? You don’t seem very happy there.”
“I’m not. But where would I go? I’m not like you, traveling all over the world. I need an actual building—” She stopped and shook her head. How did Lucas keep managing to take over this conversation? She was the one doing all the talking. “Listen, that’s not even the point, okay? The point is, why are you doing this to me?”
Lucas folded his arms around his knees. “Those kids aren’t your friends, Zoe. They’re being nasty to you, they’re acting like you’re invisible, and you’re just sitting there letting it happen.”
“That’s not true, okay?” She paused. Then she said, “For your information, I yelled at them in the locker room today.”
“Really? And how did it go?”
“Not…very well.” She decided not to mention Dara’s reaction, because she could imagine his response: See? I told you she wasn’t your best friend.
But Lucas wasn’t asking for details anyway. He beamed at her. “Well, that’s still great, Zoe! You finally stood up for yourself. That’s the main thing.”
Zoe sighed. “I totally don’t understand this, Lucas. You’re happy because I denied writing something that you wrote just to get me in trouble?”
“I wasn’t trying to get you in trouble, Zoe!”
“Of course you were! That’s why you wrote ‘eye of the gecko.'”
“No, no! You’re completely misinterpreting the whole thing. I was just helping you confront those jerks. And it worked!”
“But it didn’t work. And I wasn’t asking you for help. And what’s so great about confronting people all the time? I mean, I don’t want to hurt your feelings, Lucas, but everyone kind of hates you at Hubbard.”
He tilted his chin at her. “Yeah? Well, so what?”
“You don’t even care?”
“Why should I? I’d rather have people respect me, anyway. And at least I know who I am.”
“What’s that supposed…You think I don’t?”