Flat Stanley’s Worldwide Adventures #12: Escape to California

by jeff brown

  Stanley caught himself staring at Lily’s feet. “Can I ask you something?” he said hesitantly.

  “Shoot,” said Lily.

  “What happened to your legs?” he asked. “Sorry,” he added quickly.

  “You don’t need to be embarrassed about asking.” She shrugged. “I was born this way. I can’t walk because my legs and my brain don’t talk to each other very well.”

  “Do you ever wish you could walk?”

  Lily smirked. “Do you ever wish you weren’t flat?”

  “Sometimes,” admitted Stanley. “But I don’t really think about it that much anymore. It’s just . . . the way I am.”

  Lily smiled. “Exactly,” she said.

  Stanley was expecting an office building like the one where his father worked. But when they arrived, he found a campus that reminded him more of the University of Texas at Austin, where he had recently visited his friend Eduardo. People were playing Frisbee on a sprawling lawn surrounded by glass buildings.

  They made their way to the biggest building, where Dr. Fox led them through a room filled with people at desks, Ping-Pong tables, and pinball machines. A handful of employees in T-shirts were arguing and scrawling diagrams with Magic Markers on one wall.

  Stanley’s father murmured, “I wish I worked in a place like this.”

  “I wish we lived in a place like this,” Stanley said.

  They came to a desk in the middle of the floor, where a man with a beard was staring intently at something on his computer screen. He sat on a giant inflatable ball. When he looked up and saw Dr. Fox, his face broke into a huge smile.

  “Theo!” he cried, grabbing his old friend in a bear hug. Then he saw Lily and said, “Lily pad!”

  “Hiya, Uncle Jerry!” said Lily, rolling over for a squeeze.

  “Jerry,” said Dr. Fox, “I want you to meet Stanley Lambchop and his father, George.”

  “We’ve been waiting for you!” said Uncle Jerry, pumping Stanley’s hand. “Everyone’s been working around the clock.” He ushered them down the hall to a bank of elevators. Inside, Jerry punched B for basement. “Wait until you see what we’ve come up with!”

  The elevator doors opened onto a laboratory. People in white coats and sneakers were hurrying back and forth, but they all stopped in their tracks when they saw Stanley and Lily.

  “Team!” said Uncle Jerry. “Meet Stanley!”

  Everyone called out welcoming words.

  “Stanley’s just like us,” he said. “He thinks Lily Pad here has a crazy idea. But you know the thing about crazy ideas? They’re the only ones big enough to change the world. That’s why he’s agreed to be part of her plan. So let’s do our part and give Stanley a boost, shall we?”

  Uncle Jerry pressed a button, and a big black screen rose up from a slot in the floor. In front of it hung a glimmering black jumpsuit stretched around a mannequin shaped just like Stanley. The suit covered everything except the eyes, like a ninja costume. Meanwhile, there was webbed fabric connecting the arms to the sides of the legs, almost like the wings of a bat.

  “Coooool,” said Stanley.

  “Introducing the Flat Stanley Flight Suit Version 8.2,” announced Uncle Jerry. “Strong as steel. Waterproof. Lightning-proof. Windproof. Tear-proof. Injury-resistant. Stanley, I think it’s safe to say you’re in for the smoothest flight of your life. But that’s not all.” He pushed another button, and the big screen behind the suit turned bright green. All at once, the suit turned the same shade of green. The board turned blue, and the suit turned blue. Stanley could barely see it against the background. “It’s also self-camouflaging,” Uncle Jerry said excitedly.

  “Stanley the Flat Chameleon!” Lily giggled as she spun around in her chair. “As far as the world knows, I’ll just be a girl in a wheelchair rolling across the water . . . like magic.”

  Stanley couldn’t believe his eyes: his very own superhero suit! “My brother, Arthur, is going to f-freak out!” he stammered.

  Uncle Jerry and his team cheered.

  “Now there’s only one last puzzle piece we need,” Dr. Fox said, throwing an arm around both Stanley and his father. “Next stop, Hollywood.”

  “Why Hollywood?” asked Stanley’s father.

  Stanley couldn’t get any more excited. He’d always wanted to go to Hollywood!

  Lily rubbed her hands together. “Because that’s where our man in show business is.”

  Hollywood, Here We Come

  “I still don’t understand,” Stanley’s father said as they huddled in the back of the van outside the gates of the movie studio. “Why do we have to sneak onto a movie set if we’re visiting someone you know?”

  “Because,” Lily answered with a roll of her eyes, “it’s a surprise.”

  “Okay,” said Dr. Fox, pressing a fake mustache onto his upper lip. “Everybody know their roles?”

  Stanley adjusted his mirrored sunglasses. His father straightened the scarf around his neck. And Lily punched a leather-gloved fist into her other palm. They rolled out of the back of the van.

  Stanley couldn’t help gaping up at the palm trees that lined the sidewalk. As they approached the security booth at the edge of the studio lot, a guard stepped out.

  “I have the famous Flat Stanley Lambchop here to visit the set of Storm Warriors!” announced Stanley’s father in a brassy voice. With his business suit and a scarf around his neck, he looked like a real movie mogul.

  “Is he on the list?” said the guard.

  “The list?” shouted Mr. Lambchop. “My client is the most famous flat kid in the world, and you want to know if he’s on the list?”

  “All right, all right,” said the security guard, throwing up his hands. “But what about the rest of you?”

  “I’m a big agent, mister!” boomed Mr. Lambchop. “I can’t wait to tell your boss you don’t know who I am!”

  Stanley bit his lip to keep from laughing.

  “And I am Stanley’s trainer,” said Dr. Fox in a Russian accent. He was wearing a red tracksuit. His mustache was coming up on one side. “Flat muscles need good exercise.”

  The guard peered down at Lily. She flexed her fists slowly. “I’m da bodyguard,” she grunted.

  The guard rolled his eyes and waved the four of them through.

  “It worked!” whispered Lily. “Now all we have to do is find the set of Storm Warriors!”

  “Who are we looking for, anyway?” whispered Stanley, running to keep up.

  “You’ll see,” said Lily.

  They turned a corner.

  “There it is!” whispered Dr. Fox, pointing to a placard that read STORM WARRIORS beside the entrance to a big warehouse-like building.

  Mr. Lambchop tried the huge sliding door, but it wouldn’t budge. Then Dr. Fox tried. Finally Lily pursed her lips and grabbed the handle, pulling with all her might. The door squeaked open an inch, but that was it.

  “I can fit,” Stanley whispered. “I’ll check things out and report back. Wait here.” He paused. “Whom should I ask for?”

  Dr. Fox said, “You’ll know him when you see him.”

  Stanley said, “But who—”

  Lily held up her hands. “Trust us,” she said.

  Stanley sighed, handed his sunglasses to Lily, and slipped inside. It was very dark. He crept forward.

  “This is the big one, everybody,” a voice announced over a loudspeaker. “Remember, nothing loose on set. Everything tied down? Good. Cue rain.”

  It started pouring. Stanley curled his head down to keep his face dry. How do they make it rain from the ceiling like that? he thought.

  “Lightning and thunder,” boomed the voice.

  The room flashed, and a deafening crash shook Stanley’s whole body.

  “And . . . cue tornado!”

  A powerful swirl of wind suddenly seized the room, and Stanley was pulled into the air. “Whoa!” he yelled.

  A segment of picket fence came flying toward him, and Stanley narrowly slipped through it
s panels. He dodged a fake cow. A couch came up behind him, forcing him to sit.

  Riding through the air on the couch, Stanley saw two men facing off over the spinning center of the tornado! They flipped through the air at each other. One landed a kick in the other’s chest, sending his opponent flying . . . right onto the couch beside Stanley.

  “Stanley-san?” said the stricken warrior in disbelief.

  “CUT!” the loudspeaker voice cried.

  The wind instantly died and so did the rain, thunder, and lightning. Stanley was surprised to find that the couch was actually suspended at the top of a crane. On another crane across the set was the car Stanley had narrowly avoided. And sitting beside him was his old friend, the Japanese movie star Oda Nobu.

  “WHAT IS THAT KID-SHAPED SIGN DOING FLYING AROUND ON SET!” the director’s voice shouted.

  “Stanley-san,” said Oda Nobu as the crane descended to the ground. “What are you doing here?”

  “I was . . . I am . . .” Stanley sputtered. His mind was reeling. Did Lily know Oda Nobu was here? he thought. Is Oda Nobu our connection in show business?

  “Can you come with me?” Stanley gestured for his old friend to follow. At the giant door, he stepped aside and let Oda Nobu pull it open.

  Lily rolled right in, almost barreling over Oda Nobu. She stuck out a hand. “It’s a real pleasure to meet you, Mr. Nobu! I’m a big fan. Stanley’s always talking about you, and we thought we’d bring him down here to say hi. Plus, I knew you were just the man to help us with our plan to change the world!”

  Stanley couldn’t help but laugh. Lily is fearless! he thought.

  “Any friend of Stanley’s is a friend of mine,” said Oda Nobu. “What is this plan of yours?”

  Lily peered around to make sure no one was listening. “We’d like you to hold a live news conference to bring the world’s attention to a daring escape from Alcatraz.”

  “But who would attempt such an escape?” said Oda Nobu.

  Lily sat up straighter. “You’re looking at her!”

  Hitting the Beach

  Less than twenty-four hours remained until the escape. There was only one thing left to do: practice.

  Oda Nobu, Stanley, and Lily huddled in the back of the Fox family’s van as it raced up Highway 1, along the Pacific coast from Los Angeles toward San Francisco. On one wall of the van hung the blueprint of Alcatraz.

  Stanley practiced slipping his head through the slit in the partition to the front seat without Dr. Fox and his father noticing. Lily picked a lock while wearing a blindfold. Oda Nobu went over his script: His agent had informed the networks that both he and his wife, the famed matador Carmen del Junco, would be appearing at Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco to make a “shocking announcement” at exactly 7:15 tomorrow evening. The press was already aflutter with rumors that the international celebrity couple might be breaking up.

  Suddenly the van stopped. Dr. Fox opened the back doors, and sunlight streamed in. Stanley heard the crashing of waves. A sign pointing back in the direction they came read SANTA BARBARA.

  “The beach here is deserted,” Dr. Fox announced. “Stanley, Lily, it’s time for a test flight.”

  Once Stanley squeezed into his flight suit, Oda Nobu looked at him admiringly. “That is the finest ninja suit I have ever seen.”

  Stanley puffed out his chest. “Nice, huh?”

  Stanley sat on the sand while Dr. Fox fiddled with the extra-fine wires that would attach him to the Escapist—also known as the wheelchair Lily was using for her stunt. His suit turned light beige to match the sand. Oda Nobu gasped and announced that he must have one. “Also,” he added, “Carmen could use such a suit for her bullfights. She would be invincible!” Stanley grinned at the thought of bullfighting with Carmen, as he had in Mexico.

  Finally they were ready. Stanley’s father said, “Stanley, I want you to be careful. Lily’s safety is in your hands.”

  Stanley nodded nervously. He hadn’t thought of it that way before, and it made him nervous. After all, it wasn’t so long ago that he’d been terrified of the wind while driving through a wind farm in Texas.

  But then, too, he had put fear aside to help his friends.

  Now it was time to help Lily.

  Up ahead, she slowly rolled to the edge of the water, and Stanley followed. Before them, a giant wave crested and crashed. The white foam licked Stanley’s feet and the bottom of the Escapist’s wheels.

  “Lily,” said Stanley, “you’re going to have to throw me really hard to get me up in the air. It has to be like when my little brother, Arthur, threw me in Australia. Like you’re throwing a boomerang.”

  Lily took his hands. “Stanley,” she said, taking a deep breath, “let’s blow this taco stand.” And she heaved him into the air with all her might.

  Stanley spread out his arms, and the wind found him at once. It was as if he’d been hit by a rocket. “Whoa!” he cried, bursting through one wisp of cloud, and then another. Suddenly he stopped rising and leveled out.

  His suit shimmered pale blue. Stanley felt a small tug on his wires and heard a triumphant squeal from below.

  Stanley looked down. It took him a moment to make them out, but there they were: two tracks of white carving a path through the water. They were the wake created by Lily’s wheels, skimming the surface. He tilted slightly, and the white trails began etching out a circle.

  Lily Fox was kitesurfing, and Stanley was her kite.

  The Great Escape

  The next day, Oda Nobu saw Lily, Stanley, and their fathers off on the last ferry to Alcatraz. Nearby, reporters were already beginning to gather for Oda and Carmen’s “surprise” news conference.

  It was late in the afternoon, and the Bay was choppy. Stanley’s edges fluttered in the wind, and his father held his hand to make sure he didn’t blow away. The red, ghostly outline of the Golden Gate Bridge rose behind them as the ferry plowed toward Alcatraz.

  It was less than two miles to the island, but Stanley thought the distance felt much too great for anyone to cross without a boat.

  Inside the prison, they hung at the back of the group as the tour guide explained how Alcatraz was first used as a prison during the Civil War. But Stanley was too nervous to pay close attention.

  Lily wore all black. Meanwhile, Stanley was wearing his flight suit beneath his clothes. Sweating, he passed mug shot after mug shot of hardened criminals who had served time on the Rock. Stanley imagined what they might say: We never escaped. You won’t either.

  Finally they arrived at the cellblock that Stanley remembered from the blueprint. It was long, narrow, and lined with cells on both sides. Each tiny, broken-down cell contained nothing more than a toilet, a sink, and a small cot.

  And then here it was: the cell in which America’s most notorious gangster, Al “Scarface” Capone, had done his time. The door was open for visitors, just as they expected.

  As the guide spoke about Capone’s years at Alcatraz, Stanley’s father pulled him close and whispered “Good luck.” Dr. Fox kept his eyes on the guide and then gave the hand signal: The guide was looking away. Stanley shimmied out of his baggy clothes and slipped into the cell, wearing nothing but his flight suit. He leaned his body against a back corner, his suit turning pale yellow to match the wall. With a flick of the wrist, Lily backed in behind the screen formed by Stanley’s camouflaged body.

  Dr. Fox leaned against the cell door, gently shutting it. The door locked with a terrible click.

  And then Lily and Stanley were alone.

  Just when Stanley thought he couldn’t wait a second longer, the lights went off, right on schedule. Alcatraz was locked down for the night. The cellblock was now lit only by the eerie red glow of emergency lights.

  Stanley stood and crept to the cell door. In his black, self-camouflaging flight suit, he could barely see his own body in the darkness. He twisted sideways, inserting his head between the bars, and looked up and down the cellblock.

  “All clear,” he w
hispered to Lily. Lily reached down and pulled a spoke from her wheel: the lockpick. She rolled up against the bars, reaching around with one hand to find the lock. Her eyes were shut tight in concentration.

  There was a loud click, and the door swung open with a painful squeal.

  Stanley and Lily froze. After a count of ten, he followed her out of the cell.

  Lily rolled through the deserted prison. Stanley crept ahead of her, peeking around corners. He gave a signal when the coast was clear.

  They were inching along the eastern cellblock when Stanley saw a ray of light down the hall. He held a hand up to Lily, and she rolled to a stop.

  They heard footsteps, and a short, heavy guard with a flashlight turned a corner. He was coming their way!

  Stanley spotted a blanket on a cot in an empty cell. He darted between the bars, grabbed the blanket, and threw it over Lily. Then he threw himself on top of her and tucked his face out of sight.

  The guard’s footsteps slowed, and he ran his beam over them. “Now, who left this chair here?” he murmured to himself. Stanley heard the guard’s heavy footsteps come closer.

  “Well, I might as well rest my weary bones,” the guard said with a sigh.

  Oh no, thought Stanley. He’s going to sit on us!

  Stanley and Lily braced for impact. But just then, the big guard’s walkie-talkie crackled to life. “Barney, where are you? Aren’t you done with your rounds yet?”

  Barney grunted and straightened up. “Yeah, yeah,” he said to himself. “I’m coming.” He ambled down the hall, grumbling as he went.

  When Stanley could no longer hear the guard’s footsteps, he leaped up, threw off the blanket, and turned to give Lily a look of relief. But she was already on the move. He ran to keep up.

  Finally they arrived at the heavy door that would lead them out of the prison, to the outside. It was kept shut by a rusty old lock.