It was empty.
Yep. This is going to be super weird.
I gestured toward the elevator. “Ladies first.”
She smiled. “Thank you.”
We both walked in and the door closed.
I inhaled, getting ready to ask Elena about the Greece books, but she started in with her own speech first.
“Now, Livingston, I just want to get couple of things straight! I’m not as bad a person as you think I am. I just want to help people. It’s how God made me and I think that’s why I want to be a missionary, or an eye doctor, or both. And even though I’m strong and athletic, I’m NOT a bully and I DON’T think I’m ALL THAT, and it was just an ACCIDENT that I broke your glasses, so it’s not fair that you won’t let me replace them because that’s what decent and honest people do. So you really put me up to the stalking, you know, which I also don’t do, but you gave me no choice, and even though I baked you cookies and gave you movie tickets and cinnamon rolls and socks and books, I need you to know one VERY IMPORTANT THING . . .”
I was in a daze by now.
“W-wh-wha-what?”
Elena stepped back from me, took a deep breath, and let it out.
“No matter what it looks like, I DON’T want to be your girlfriend.” Then she made a motion with her hands, like an umpire does when he calls someone safe at home.
I just stood there.
“WELL? Aren’t you going to say something?” The light from the elevator danced in her eyes. I couldn’t bring myself to say a thing, because what she just said was . . . SO HILARIOUS.
All I could do was laugh. The doubled-over, can’t-breathe, eyes-watering, snot-comes-out-your-nose kind of laugh.
“Hahahahahahahaha! My girlfriend? HAHAHAHAHAHA! I nev . . . I mean, I can’t believe you would think that I would think . . . oh, hahahahahahaha . . .” I looked up at her. “Do you have a tissue?”
Elena Salvador Castro wasn’t laughing. She reached into her crossbody bag and pulled out a fast food napkin. “You’re killing me, Livingston.”
I breathed in and out, trying to calm myself down. I tried to talk again. “Boy, my stomach muscles hurt. I haven’t laughed that hard in a long time.” I pulled my glasses off my face and wiped the tears off them with the napkin. “Thanks for . . . thanks for setting me straight there. I’ve been . . . losing sleep over that one.”
Elena narrowed her eyes at me. “You’re a funny boy, Livingston.” Then she smiled. “Would you like to be friends?” She held out her hand to shake mine.
“Um, well . . . huh? Okay. Sure. I guess.”
She smiled even bigger. “Good. Glad we got that straight.”
It took forever for the elevator to reach the twenty-third floor.
Ding!
The door slid open and I followed Elena down the hallway.
“Hey, Elena, we had a deal! You were going to tell me how you knew about the Greece books.”
She glanced over at me. “Sure. As soon as you’re finished with the appointment and your new glasses are ordered. But I assure you, it wasn’t hard to figure out.”
We opened the glass door that said James Castro, OD. A smiling receptionist greeted us. “Elena, great to see you, as always!” Then she looked at me. “And you must be Arcade Livingston.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
She typed something into her computer. “Right on time. Your parents just emailed over their consent to treat you, so you can go on back. Elena knows the way. Exam room two.”
“How did my parents know about this?” I asked Elena.
“I got their number from someone and asked the office to call them. Remember, you caused me to have to stalk you.”
“Okay. It’s my fault. I get it.”
Elena stopped. “Wow. You’re seeing things more clearly already.” She led me to a chair in an open room. “Your eye chart awaits.”
Whenever I go to the eye doctor, I feel like I’m about to fail a test. When you have 20/400 vision, you have no chance. No chance at all.
I sat down on the chair. Elena handed me a gray piece of plastic with a flat round end. “Keeping your glasses on, cover your left eye with this, and read the smallest line you can on the chart, please.”
“I thought my appointment was with your dad.” I put the plastic over my left eye.
“He’ll be here in a minute. I’m sort of in training. Plus, we’re friends now, so you’re helping me.”
“Oh, I see.”
“Which line?”
“No, I meant, I understand.”
“Oh. What line do you see best?”
I shrugged. “The bottom line, of course.”
“Really?” Elena looked at my glasses up close. “Go on . . .”
“Okay, the first letter is a . . . hmmm . . . yeah. I’m sure it’s an A.”
Elena jumped back. “What? You can see that? I’m so surprised!”
Got lucky on that one.
“And then there’s an E . . . no wait, it’s an R. Yes, definitely an R.”
“Uh . . .”
“Followed by a C, an A, a D, and an E! Hey, Elena, did you know that the bottom line of your dad’s eye chart spells ARCADE?”
Elena grabbed the plastic piece from me. “It does not! You’re such a—”
“Arcade Livingston! Welcome to Castro Optometry.” A nice-looking, middle-aged man stood at the entrance to the room, holding a file folder. He extended his hand. “I’m Dr. Castro. I hear my daughter ruined your glasses.”
“Actually, a volleyball did, sir.”
He nodded. “Ah, yes, well, we have a lot of that going on around here. We’re happy to replace them for you.” He took the glasses off my face and took a wet wipe to them. Then he squinted through them. “How long have you had these glasses, Arcade?”
“Got ‘em when I started fifth grade . . . no wait. Fourth grade. I remember because I wanted them to match my backpack, which was red at the time.”
“So, three years? You know that your eyes can change quite a bit at your age? We may have to make some adjustments to your prescription.” Dr. Castro swung the big, gray “seeing eye” machine—that’s what I call it, at least—over in front of me. The one with all the lenses that they flip back and forth to see which one works best for you.
“Elena, can you help CiCi at the desk? She’s a little behind with recordkeeping.”
Elena popped up from the stool in the corner. “Sure, Dad.” And then she was gone.
Dr. Castro winked at me. “You can relax now. She means well, but she can be a little intense. My job is to make sure you pass the eye exam.”
After a few minutes of me choosing lens one instead of two, and three instead of four, and not being able to decide between four and five, Dr. Castro pulled the seeing eye machine away. He turned on the light, sat across from me on his stool, and crossed his arms.
“I’ve got some great news for you, Arcade. Your eyes haven’t changed at all.”
“Not at all?”
“No. Same prescription as your current glasses.”
“But I’ve been having trouble reading . . . some things.”
“Really? Hmmm. Have you been under any extra stress lately?”
Ya think?
“Just all the normal middle-school stress.”
“Have you been straining your eyes with too much late-night reading or computer usage?”
Or laser beams from a golden arcade token, blinding me temporarily?
“Nothing . . . out of the ordinary . . . for me.”
Dr. Castro flipped his file shut. “Okay then. We’ll blame puberty.”
“As long as we keep that between us, it’s fine with me.”
Dr. Castro laughed. “You want these same frames? I think we have them in stock here. Or you can order a different style to match your backpack.”
I stood up. “Which is black with pink flamingos. Probably best I stick with red.”
Dr. Castro nodded. “Well, that will speed things up quite a bit. I�
��ll put in a rush order and they should be ready by Monday or Tuesday.”
“Thank you, sir.”
“And if you take these glasses to Glenda in our fitting department, she’ll be able to fix them up with some glue and clear tape so they don’t look so . . .”
“Ridiculous?”
“Glasses are never ridiculous, Arcade. I was going to say broken. So they don’t look so broken.” He handed them back to me. “Ask Elena to show you where to go.”
“I will.” I turned to leave.
“Arcade? I just have to say . . .” Dr. Castro started to laugh. “That was a great joke you played on my daughter. I’m going to change row six on my chart to say ARCADE. Elena’s due for her eye exam soon.”
I smiled. “That would be sweet!”
What a cool guy!
CHAPTER 19
The Truth Is . . .
My friend Chondra works at the school library. She told me you were looking for books about Greece. There. Are you satisfied?”
“That’s it? That’s how you knew what books I wanted? I don’t believe you. There has to be more.”
Elena and I walked down the hall to the large room where everyone goes to pick out glasses frames and get them fitted.
“Why should there be more? I ordered the books online, got them same-day delivery, and left them on your doorstep.”
“How did you know which ones to order? I never told Chondra that I wanted specific titles.”
“Well that was as random as could be. I chose the first three that popped up that I could get same-day. Are they books that will be helpful in your research?”
The books! Where are they? Oh, no!
I had been so distracted by the conversation with Ruah that I left them in the hotel room in Reykjavík!
“Oh, um . . . the books? Yes, they were perfect.”
We entered the room and I put my name down on the list to be seen by Glenda. Then we wandered around, looking at all the new frame styles. But Elena wouldn’t get off the subject of the books.
“They were perfect, huh? How so? Did you read them already? I know you’re a big reader.”
I walked from case to case, trying on new frames and checking myself out in the mirror. I tried on a pair of white square frames. “What do you think of these?”
“Which book was the most helpful, Arcade? C’mon, tell me.”
I pulled the frames off my face. “I can’t.”
“Why not?”
“Because I . . . lost them.”
Elena’s mouth dropped open. “You LOST them? Whoa, it’s a good thing they weren’t library books! How does a booklover lose books! That’s unheard of!”
“Oh, I’m getting quite good at it these days. Between Doug and my sister . . .”
“You’re not going to blame your brother and Zoe, are you?”
“How do you know my sister’s name?”
Elena put a hand up. “Stalker.”
“You’re pretty good at that. Have you thought of going into detective work when you grow up?”
“No, I told you, I’m going to be a missionary. Or an eye doctor. Or a mixture of the two. I like the thought of helping people see.”
“So you’re a Christian? Me too.”
“Yeah, I am. And I can’t think of anything more exciting that going to other parts of the world to tell people how wide, how long, how high, and how deep God’s love for them really is.”
I almost dropped the funny white frames. “WHAT did you just say?”
Elena stepped back and crossed her arms “You really need to listen better, Livingston! I was talking about the love of God. If people really knew the truth about His love, then they’d know the truth about themselves, and that would make all the difference in the way they live.”
“What? What truth about themselves?”
“Arcade Livingston?” Glenda had walked over to where we stood by the glasses case. “Looks like you have some frames that need patching up. Come with me.”
Elena smiled and waved as I walked off with Glenda. Then she checked her phone. “Oops, gotta go, Livingston. I’ll see you at school.”
“Wait! Where are you going?”
She gave me a funny look. “Not telling. If you want to find out, you’ll just have to stalk me. And I’m much harder to follow than you are.” She laughed, turned, and disappeared down the hallway.
Just like Ruah!
Glenda held a pair of frames that were exactly like my current broken ones. “Come on over, and we’ll get these fitted for you. I’m sure you are looking forward to seeing things more clearly.”
In more ways than one.
CHAPTER 20
O Mortal
I had a hard time sleeping that night. The truth . . . the truth . . . gotta find the truth . . . yawn . . .
I got up and searched my bookshelf for my Bible. It was hard to find in the midst of all the books about the Amazon River, Iceland, and Greece. Oh, I found it! In the middle of the bookends Mom and Dad bought me.
I opened up to the center. Book of Proverbs.
I squinted and held the book closer. I held the book further back. NO! This can’t be happening! I . . . CAN’T . . . SEE!
“AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!”
“ARCADE! Would you mind? I’m trying to sleep here!”
I was shaking. No, someone was shaking me.
“Arcade! You’re having a nightmare.”
I jolted and sat up in my bed. “Huh? Doug? What are you doing here?”
“I live here! And I’m trying to sleep here too. You’re making it hard with all your screaming.”
I jumped out of bed and turned on the light.
Doug covered his eyes. “Aw, no. Why’d you have to go and do that? I’m wide awake now.”
I fumbled around for my glasses and went over to my bookshelf, carefully scanning the titles. “Where are all the books about the Amazon, Iceland, and Greece? And where is my Bible?”
Doug pulled a Bible out from under his pillow. “I’m sorry. I borrowed it last night. Needed to calm myself about Gram. Is that what the screaming was about?”
“No. I was dreaming that when I opened it, I couldn’t see anything written in it.”
“You’ve had that dream before.”
“And it’s happened in real life now too.”
Doug opened the Bible and handed it to me. “Can you read it now? Here, give it a shot.”
I dropped my eyes on the page and read the first thing I saw.
“‘He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.’ Hmmm. This is the passage Dad wrote to me on my birthday. Well, close, at least. He mentioned that it’s a great passage to ponder.”
Doug took the Bible from me and looked at it, scratching his head. “Mortal, huh? Act justly? Love mercy? I hate to say it, bro, but this is way over my head.”
“Arcade.” A small, tired voice came from the hallway. Zoe was wearing her reindeer onesie, the one with the silly hood, complete with antlers.
“Hey, Rudolph.”
She rubbed her eyes. “Don’t make fun of me when I’m here to check on you. I heard screaming. Were you reading a scary book?”
“Nah,” Doug held the Bible out. “He was trying to read a good book, but he couldn’t, and that was scary. But he’s okay now.”
“Oh. Is that all? Well, can you keep it down? I’m tired, and my circadian rhythm is off since our long day in Iceland. Maybe that’s why you’re having trouble with your eyes, Arcade. Every time we go through those doors, it’s like we’re living in another time zone, and then we come back here, and no time has passed. Our rhythms are fried.”
“No, that’s not what it is, Zoe. Dr. Castro said my prescription hasn’t changed. It can’t be my physical eyes.” I took the Bible from Doug and read Dad’s verse again. “Walk humbly with my God. I wish I could think like God thinks.”
Zoe yawned. “But the Bible says that
God’s thoughts are higher than ours. So how can it be possible to think his thoughts?” She stood and walked toward the door.
“That’s it! I gotta go somewhere high! That’s what Ruah said! And you know what? Elena mentioned it too!”
“The volleyball villain?”
“Yes! And I’m starting to believe what she said is true. It’s no accident that volleyball hit me in the face.”
It was three o’clock in the morning in the dead of winter, but when I said that, Triple T lit the place up. Light beams swirled on the walls and ceiling.
“I knew I shouldn’t have worn my onesie.”
“I could have told you that!” I laughed and watched as golden doors slid down from my ceiling.
I put my arm around my tired friend. “Doug, you can sit this one out if you want.”
He grabbed his pillow off his bed. “Are you kiddin’? Why would I ever do that?”
We all watched as the coin slot appeared, like a golden branch growing up through the floor. A little plaque in the shape of a leaf dangled from the bottom that said GET TRUTH.
I tugged gently, and the token fell right off the chain into my hand. “I’d like to go to the high-EST place, please.” I dropped the token into the pulsing slot.
Doug ran to his bed and grabbed a small blanket this time. “Really, Arcade? Did you have to pick the highest place? You know where that is, don’t you?”
“Yes, and it’s cold.” I turned to Zoe. “Guess the onesie was a good choice after all.”
The elevator doors rolled open, and Zoe and I stepped in. Doug stood outside the elevator, gripping the pillow and blanket like life preservers.
“It’ll be okay, Doug. We always make it back.”
“There’s also not a lot of oxygen up there.”
“There wasn’t any oxygen on the moon when we went.”
“He’s got a point.” Zoe pulled her antler hood up.
I tried not to laugh at the antlers sticking a foot above her head. “Hey, are you admitting that I’m right?”
“No! I just said you have a point. Right on the top of your head.”
I reached over and flicked one of her antlers. The doors began to close.
“Doug, you comin’?”
Arcade and the Dazzling Truth Detector Page 11