Arcade and the Dazzling Truth Detector

by Rashad Jennings

  I pushed my glasses up on my nose. “No.”

  Elena sighed. “I was afraid of that. I want to pay for a new pair of glasses.”

  “That’s not necessary.” I began walking. Fast. But Elena kept up.

  “No, you don’t understand. I want to be an eye doctor someday! Well, either that, or a missionary. Or, I’ve been thinking of mixing the two—”

  I stopped. Elena flew by and had to back up.

  “Wait, you know what you want to be when you grow up? That’s a hard thing to figure out.”

  “You better believe it!” Doug added. “You should have been there last year when we were trying to figure that out for the career expo! So far, all I know is that I’m working with food.”

  Elena still wouldn’t take her eyes off my glasses. “I’m not going to feel better unless you let me buy you some new glasses.” She reached into her athletic bag and pulled out a pad of sticky notes. Then she took out a pen and scribbled something on it. “Here. This is my phone number, and the other number is our house phone. Call me, or you can have your parents call. I’ll pay for your glasses.”

  I just stared at her. “That’s not necessary. It’s my fault for blocking with my face.”

  She held out the note. I didn’t reach out to grab it. She tried to stick it on my arm, but I stepped back. She tried to stick it to my backpack strap, but I dodged. She attempted to hand it to Doug, but he just threw his hands up. “Aw, no, I’m not gettin’ in the middle of this!”

  Elena crunched her eyebrows together and tilted her head to the side. “You’re a funny kid, Livingston. Why won’t you let me help you?”

  I could tell she had a good heart, but my pride was at stake here.

  She stuck the note on my sweaty forehead. “Call me.”

  The note fell off and fluttered to the ground. I left it there and started walking.

  “Litterbug!” Elena called after me.

  I walked faster. Doug came up alongside. “Man, I never knew you were so stubborn. Why didn’t you just take the note? You don’t have to call.”

  “Can we change the subject? It’s been a long, awful day. And now I have to go to the doctor to make sure I don’t have a deviated septum.”

  “Deviated septum? Sounds gnarly. What’s that?”

  “I have no idea. I’d check a book out about it, but I also have a blocked library card.”

  Doug nodded. “So that’s it! That’s why you’re so grouchy!”

  I glanced over at Doug, annoyed at the way this whole afternoon had turned out. “Let’s change the subject. How was the rest of your day, Doug?”

  Doug looked back over his shoulder. “It . . . was . . . I got a disturbing . . . call . . . um, Arcade, that girl is following us.”

  “What girl?” I asked, knowing exactly what girl he was talking about. I refused to look.

  “Elena Salvatore Castro.”

  “You mean, Elena Salva-DOR Castro?”

  “Yeah. That one.”

  “Let’s get out of the park.” We took the exit from Central Park on 90th and crossed the street.

  “She still there?” I whispered to Doug.

  “Yeeeah.”

  “I’VE GOT ALL DAY, LIVINGSTON!”

  Doug threw his head back and laughed. “This is ridiculous. Can’t you just take the note?”

  “NO.”

  “No?”

  “No.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because I just want to forget about it and her.”

  “I’M GOING TO FOLLOW YOU ALL THE WAY HOME, LIVINGSTON!”

  Doug laughed again. “Okay, well, good luck with that. Whatcha gonna do, man?”

  I picked up my pace. “I don’t know. She’s more stubborn than Zoe, and I didn’t think that was possible.”

  Thankfully Zoe wasn’t meeting us on the way home today. She was going somewhere with Michael Tolley. I’d never live this down if she were here.

  “You gonna let her follow us all the way?” By now, Doug was huffing and puffing, jogging next to me. “She looks like she could outrun us both.”

  “That’s the truth, Doug. We’re gonna have to duck through an alley and try to lose her.” I picked up the pace. “Hey, let’s take that one.” I pointed to a shortcut that Zoe and I sometimes use to get to the subway station. We rounded the turn into the narrow, dark alley.

  Just as we did, Triple T came to life, shining stars of light on the sidewalk and buildings around us!

  “That’s some blinding stuff!” Doug shielded his eyes with his forearm. “What happened to all the glitter? And the fire?”

  “I don’t know. It’s been doing this new light thing lately. Just hang with me, Doug. I think we’re going someplace. Someplace Elena Salvador Castro can’t follow.”

  I pulled my token out of my shirt and the rays of light hit the sidewalk, forming a golden elevator.

  Doug shook his head in disbelief. “Every time this happens, it blows me away!”

  We watched as a sign that said GET TRUTH rose from the ground in front of the elevator doors, and a coin slot appeared right below it.

  “Hey, guys, wait up!”

  I almost jumped out of my shirt when I realized who it was.

  Zoe. With Michael Tolley!

  Noooo!

  “Thought you’d make it all the way home without your big sis?” Zoe’s eyes popped when she saw the elevator. “Oh, no . . .”

  “What IS this?” Michael moved in closer, touching the sign and then the coin slot. I expected him to freak out, like most people do when they first see the elevator. But Michael kept inspecting everything. “Wow! What will New York City think of next?” He walked around the elevator, and then he spotted my token, pulsing light toward the coin slot.

  He pointed. “What is THAT?”

  Zoe said, “That’s, uh, a little hard to explain.”

  “It’s a family secret.” Doug crossed his arms and leaned against the elevator. “Only a few people know about it. You can’t tell anybody. Especially Kevin and Casey.”

  Michael smiled. “I love secrets. What does it do?”

  “That . . . is . . . also hard to explain,” Zoe said.

  “You gotta just go with it.” Doug approached the doors.

  “Go with it?” Michael inspected the elevator again. “Is there a way to get inside?”

  “Oh, yeah.” I turned to Zoe and raised my eyebrows.

  Should I?

  She glanced over at Michael, and then back at me before raising her palms in the air. “Do we have any choice?”

  “ARCADE LIVINGSTON! WAIT UP!”

  Elena.

  “We gotta go. NOW!” I pulled the token from the chain, stepped up to the coin slot, and stared into the GET TRUTH sign.

  “Give me an -est. A WIDE-est!”

  Anything to get me away from the Volleyball Villain!

  CHAPTER 13

  Wide-EST

  I dropped the token in the slot, and immediately made an open-door motion with my hands. The ancient golden doors slowly rolled open.

  “Come on!” I shoved everybody in. “CLOSE!”

  Once again, they rolled. Slowly.

  Sweat streamed down my back, even though it was thirty degrees outside. I took off my glasses to wipe the fog away.

  Zoe pointed to the tape in the middle. “What happened? You get hit in the face?”

  “NO. I hit something with my face.”

  “That’s the same thing.”

  “No, it’s not.”

  “Yes, it is.”

  Okay, maybe she is more stubborn than Elena. Either way, I only need one of them in my life.

  “Check THAT out!” Michael stared up at the gold-domed ceiling. “Where are we going? Rome? London? This ceiling reminds me of St. Paul’s Cathedral.”

  “Is it wide in London?” I asked.

  “Wide?” Michael gave me a puzzled look.

  “Because we’re going someplace wide,” Zoe said.

  The elevator creaked and jo
lted. Michael squinted toward the dome. “Wish I could read those plaques.”

  “Me too.” I adjusted my glasses to see if it would help.

  Nope.

  Maybe I should let Elena buy me some new glasses.

  Nope.

  As soon as the elevator doors open, I feel like I’ve been wrapped in a hot, wet blanket.

  There’s wood under my feet. It’s creaky, like the elevator, and it’s rocking a bit, like the elevator.

  But it’s not an elevator.

  “Canoes! I HATE canoes!” Zoe has hated canoes ever since that one summer when we rented one on the James River, and I purposely rocked it to tip us over. I was surprised how hard it was to get it turned back over. We had to flag down a boat to save us, which took over an hour.

  “Better grab some paddles and stay in the middle so we don’t tip.” Although he’s never been on an Arcade adventure before, Michael is the calm voice of reason. “Where do you think we are, Zoe?”

  There are three benches inside the canoe. Michael takes the one in the back, Zoe sits on the one in front of him, and Doug and I have to squeeze in together on the one in the front. We’re all wearing gold life vests over our coats, which make us pretty thick.

  Monkeys squeal and swing from trees on the shore.

  “Zoe, you think this is a rain forest?” As soon as I say that, I get my answer. It begins to rain. Hard.

  “YES! I think it’s the AMAZON rain forest, and thanks a LOT, Arcade! Now I’m hot and DRENCHED!” Zoe dips her paddle in the water and sends a wave over my head.

  Too bad we’re not wearing our waterproof winter coats.

  “Where we paddlin’ to?” Doug spits rain from his mouth.

  Then I spot it. It’s a glowing message, carved into the wood at the front of the canoe.

  DESTINATION: OTHER SIDE. APPROX. TWENTY-FOUR MILES.

  “Uh, guys? The sign says we’re going to the other side of this . . . is this a river or a lake? Because it’s twenty-four miles to the other side.”

  “That’s wide!” Doug shouts. “Must be a huge lake.”

  “Everybody, pull your paddles out of the water.” Michael’s commands are firm. We do as he tells us. But the canoe keeps moving with the current of the . . .

  “It’s the Amazon RIVER!” Zoe squeals. “It has to be! We’re in a CANOE on the AMAZON RIVER!”

  That jogs a fact from my brain. “That’s right! I’ve read that the Amazon is the world’s widest river.”

  “You read too much!” Zoe pokes me with her paddle. “That’s not possible! Plus, it helps, because now I know why the token brought us here.”

  “Why would you ask it to bring us to a wide place?”

  “He just wanted to get far away from Elena Salvatore Castro.” Doug picks up his paddle to splash me. Like a few more drops are going to get me any wetter than I already am.

  “Salva-DOR! It’s Salva-DOR!” I yell through the rain as we paddle and paddle.

  “Who’s Elena Salvador Castro?” Zoe pokes me again.

  “She’s the girl who hit Arcade in the face with a volleyball,” Doug yells.

  “She didn’t hit me in the face.” I dig my paddle in harder.

  “Ooooooh,” Zoe says. “So that’s how your glasses got broken. The truth always comes out.”

  The mighty Amazon current picks up. Soon we’re no longer paddling across the river, but being pulled down it.

  “Paddle harder, team!” Michael commands. “We have to turn so we can get to the shore.”

  Doug holds his hand above his eyes. “What shore? I can’t see a shore.”

  “It’s there,” I say. “But it might as well be a million miles away.”

  “Who makes a river this wide?” Doug continues to search the area for land.

  “God does!” Michael yells from the back.

  “Yes,” I say, “but for what purpose?”

  Why is the Amazon River an -EST?

  “To hold ALL THE RAIN!” Zoe splashes me again. “Now, PADDLE, ARCADE, OR ELSE!”

  I push my paddle in the water and give it a strong pull, which jerks the canoe to the right. I stand and turn around to talk to Zoe. “There! Are you happy?” The sight of my sister totally drenched in her winter coat and life vest makes me laugh. And then I slip, lose my footing, and fall against Doug.

  “HEY!” Doug catches me, and now he’s laughing too.

  The canoe dips hard to one side.

  And when canoes do that, they tip over.

  The water in the Amazon River is warm, just like the air. And it’s wet, like the air. I’m thankful for the life vests.

  I feel myself being pulled by the river current, so I grab the tipped canoe and hold on.

  “Zoe! Michael! Doug!” I scream but get choked by a wave of warm water that splashes into my mouth.

  “ARCADE! I’m over here!” I spot Doug, hanging onto the front of the tipped canoe.

  “Here!” Michael yells. I turn back and can barely see his hand as he waves it above the back of the canoe.

  “Guys! Where’s Zoe?”

  Oh, no. I’m so sorry, Zoe. I was just having a little fun.

  “ZOE!” I yell at the top of my lungs.

  Nothing.

  I let go of the canoe and swim hard upstream to try to find her. It’s no use. The mighty Amazon pulls me downstream, and all I find is the canoe.

  “Arcade!” Michael shouts. “Stay with the canoe! I’ll find her!”

  “ZOE!” I yell again, feeling helpless.

  And then I see it. A gold bump, stuck in a . . . tree?

  How is a tree in the middle of a river?

  I can’t see her face. I can only pray she’s not stuck under water. I swim as hard as I can, but Michael is a stronger swimmer and reaches her first.

  “Arcade!” Zoe cries. “Over here! I’m over here.”

  I paddle and kick as hard as I can. As I get closer, I see that her hair is caught in the tree branches, and she and Michael are desperately trying to work her free.

  “Hang on, Zoe, I’m coming!” I can’t see the canoe anymore. Doug will have to fend for himself. The rain pounds down so hard that I can’t tell where it ends and where the river begins. I choke, I swim, and, somehow, my broken glasses stay on my face.

  Finally, I reach the tree and grab onto some branches near Zoe.

  “Zoe, I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to tip the canoe.”

  “I know. Just get me out of here.”

  “Okay.” I’m smaller than Michael, so I’m able to squeeze between the branches and pull myself up to the place where Zoe’s hair tie is caught.

  “You should think about a different hairstyle from now on.” I grab on to the tie and pull.

  “Very funn—OUCH! Just cut me loose!”

  “What am I supposed to cut it with?”

  “Here.”

  Michael climbs within an arm’s length of me and hands me a pocketknife.

  “Whoa, that’s convenient!”

  When we get home, I’m getting one of these.

  I wedge myself in between the branches and use both hands to open the knife. Then I grab back on and pull myself closer to Zoe.

  “Hurry, Arcade!”

  The river has risen. The water is now up to Zoe’s chin. Small waves roll over her head. I grip her ponytail . . .

  And the knife slips out of my hand!

  “NOOOOOO!”

  “Did you get it, Arcade?” Zoe spits and chokes, and the next wave totally covers her face.

  “Zoe, hang on, I’ve almost got it.”

  What I don’t tell her or Michael is that the knife is now downstream somewhere with Doug and the canoe.

  Help me, God. This is a huge river, but I know you see us.

  I grab the hair tie with both hands and tug in opposite directions, hoping I can snap it. It happens to Zoe all the time when she’s not even trying! This must be a new one, though, because I can hardly stretch it.

  Come on, token. The testing is over. I’m supposed t
o be getting truth here!

  “Arcade, cut the tie! You can do it!” Michael is holding onto Zoe, trying to keep her head out of the river.

  He’s one of the good guys. That’s the truth.

  And then, my life vest begins to glow.

  I keep hold of the branch with one hand and, with the other, I reach through the vest, under my coat, and find it. The Triple T Token. Hanging on the end of my chain.

  “Back from the mold! It’s about time!”

  I pull it off.

  Do NOT drop it, Arcade!

  It feels sticky in my hand, and it shoots out a laser, straight toward Zoe’s hair. It cuts a hunk off the end of her ponytail.

  “Oops!”

  “What do you mean, oops?” Zoe’s head is above water now.

  I decide this isn’t the time to tell her she won’t be needing a haircut for a while.

  I aim the laser at Zoe’s hair tie. It slices it with ease.

  “I got it, Zoe! I got it!”

  “Yes!” Michael punches his fist in the water.

  “Good job, little bro! I knew you could do it!”

  Zoe, Michael, and I keep holding the branches so we aren’t pulled downstream. Zoe looks around. “Where’s Doug?”

  “DOUG!” All three of us yell at the same time.

  “Over here! By the shore!” Doug shouts even louder than the roar of the river.

  Zoe, Michael, and I swim as fast as we can toward Doug. The river’s current is strong, but we’re stronger, desperate to reach our friend. I can see the wooden canoe laying on its side on the shore next to a golden elevator and coin slot. Doug is thrashing around in the water.

  “Doug, we gotta get to the elevator. Is your foot stuck in a branch?”

  Doug yelps, “Yeah, if a branch has teeth!”

  Teeth?

  Suddenly, I wish I had never read that library book about river monsters.

  Michael pulls himself out of the water. “Zoe, get up on shore. Arcade and I will help Doug.”

  “It’s got my foot in its mouth.” Doug winces. “But I must not taste good ‘cause he hasn’t bit it off yet.”

  I still have the Triple T laser token clenched in my hand. I keep one eye on Doug and another on the coin slot.

  Hang on, elevator. I can’t leave here without Doug.