Geeks and the Holy Grail

by Mari Mancusi

  Ashley seemed to mull this over. “I suppose there is that amazing craft shop just off the strip,” she mused. “It carries the most incredible glitter you’ve ever seen. We could get some really cool colors for our avocado centerpieces….”

  “Perfect!” Sophie cried, before she could rethink the matter. She did not want to take Ashley with her on the mission—and she certainly had no interest in glitter shopping while in Vegas—but she also didn’t want to get mauled by a dragon days before her dad’s wedding. Or fail her very first Companion quest, for that matter. She pulled out the Camelot Code paper. “Okay. How do we do this?”

  Nimue pressed her lips together. “I think you just close your eyes,” she instructed. “And think of where you need to go….”

  Ashley beamed. “Oh, I’m thinking of it. Viva Las Vegas. Home sweet home.”

  Sophie closed her eyes. She thought of Vegas. All the bright lights. The castle hotel. Maybe this could actually be fun. Before now she’d never traveled anywhere outside New England. Not like Stu, who had been camping all over the country.

  Oh, Stu, she thought, a heavy weight dropping to her stomach. She imagined him playing video games in his bedroom, not a care in the world—no idea that she was adventuring behind his back.

  I’m so sorry, she thought. Next time, I swear. I won’t leave you behind.

  “Dude. Your mom’s here.”

  Stu looked up from his game, annoyed at the interruption. He’d just launched into the first fight of a super-hard Camelot’s Honor 2 solo dungeon, where Gawain takes on the Green Knight, and he had been planning to spend the entire afternoon fighting his way through. He turned to his stepbrother, Lucas, who was hovering at the doorway of their shared bedroom, and raised an eyebrow. “My mom?” he repeated. “Are you serious?”

  It was a valid question. Mainly because Stu’s mom made it a point to never step foot in his father and stepmother’s house. Back when Stu was young, that meant meeting in a parking lot to do the whole kid-swap thing when it was her week to have him. These days he was expected to ride his bike between houses. Which was a super pain if he wanted to bring anything with him. Sometimes, if it was snowing hard, his dad would show mercy and drop him off or pick him up, but Mom never came here. Especially on a Saturday.

  Which meant something big had to be up.

  Reluctantly, Stu signed out of the game. So much for a drama-free spring break. Suddenly he was almost envious of Sophie and her dress fitting.

  He rose to his feet and followed Lucas downstairs. Lucas pointed to the kitchen, where, sure enough, Stu’s mom sat at the table with Stu’s dad and stepmom. Stu’s heart started beating a little faster. His mom was not only here, she was sharing airspace with the new Mrs. Mallory? Had the Apocalypse happened and he hadn’t noticed?

  “Stu!” his dad cried, looking up. He gestured for him to come over and join them. Stu glanced fleetingly at the front door, wondering if he could make a break for it. But that would only delay the inevitable. And, well, he was a little curious about what was going on.

  He slunk into the kitchen. His stepmom pulled out a chair from the table for him and he sank into it. He looked from parental figure to parental figure. Then he sighed. “Am I in trouble?”

  “Did you do something wrong?” his father shot back, raising his eyebrows.

  “Um…I don’t think so?” Stu racked his brain for something, but came up blank.

  “Oh, stop teasing him,” his mother scolded. She turned to Stu. “No, sweetie. You didn’t do anything wrong. It’s just…I’ve got news.” A smile lit up her face. “Great news!”

  Stu squirmed in his seat. There was something about that smile that concerned him. It looked almost…too happy. And his mom’s eyes were a bit wild and panicked. Whatever this news was, he was guessing it wasn’t necessarily great for everyone.

  And by everyone…he meant himself.

  “What is it?” he asked, fear creeping over him.

  His mother clapped her hands. “I got the job!”

  “What job?”

  “Come on, Stu. You remember? The one I interviewed for. The marine biologist position at UCSD.”

  “Um, congratulations?” Stu said. He vaguely remembered her telling him something about this, but he’d been gaming at the time and admittedly hadn’t paid much attention.

  “Thank you! It really is a dream come true. And there were so many applicants.” His mother shook her head. “I never thought they’d pick me.”

  “That’s great, Mom,” Stu said. She really did look happy. And he knew she’d been down in the dumps since she’d been laid off at the Boston Aquarium. “When do you start?”

  “Well, that’s sort of up to you.”

  “What?”

  “The job is at UCSD, Stu,” his father interjected. “University of California. San Diego.”

  Stu stared from his dad to his mom, not sure, at first, if he’d heard right. California? Like the state of California? Like, the state of California three thousand miles from his actual house?

  “You’re moving to California?” he blurted out.

  His mom beamed. “No, Stu. We are.”

  “Wait, what?”

  His heart started thudding in his chest as his mind raced to understand. Moving to California?

  “I can’t move to California!” he protested. “I’m—I’m…on the soccer team!”

  It was the dumbest reason ever. But all he could think of at the moment.

  His mother gave him a patronizing look. “They have soccer teams in California, Stu,” she assured him. “Not to mention this amazing magnet school I’ve been looking into where you can actually study coding and video-game design. Isn’t that cool?”

  Okay, fine. A school where he could learn game design would be pretty awesome. But if it meant moving to California? No way.

  “Dad,” he tried, turning to his father. They’d had their differences over the years. But surely he couldn’t be agreeing to send his son away….

  But the look on his dad’s face told him it was already decided. “Sorry, kid,” he said, staring down at his hands.

  His stepmother broke in. “Don’t worry, sweetie. You’ll get to come back for the entire summer. And holidays, too! Spring break. You’ll see us so much you’re going to get sick of us,” she declared.

  Stu felt sick, all right. Sick to his stomach.

  “Don’t I even get a say in this?” he demanded. “I mean, it’s my life here!”

  His mother’s smile faltered. “Look, I’m sorry, honey. I know it’s not great timing, being in the middle of the school year and all. But this is a big deal for me. It’s my dream job.”

  Stu looked up at his mom. At the pleading look on her face. As if she was begging him to understand. Something uncomfortable wormed in his stomach.

  “I think it’s great, Mom,” he choked out. “I’m really happy for you. It’s just…kind of a shock.”

  His mother reached out and squeezed his shoulder. “I know, sweetie. And I’m so sorry I had to spring it on you like this. It just all happened so fast. I’m freaking out a little, too!” She gave him a nervous laugh. “Look, I’ll let you digest it all for a bit. Then, when you’re ready, we can talk more.”

  He wanted to say he’d never be ready. But what good would that do? Instead he rose woodenly from his chair and walked out of the kitchen. He could feel his parents’ eyes on him, but he refused to turn around. Mostly so they wouldn’t see the tears slipping down his cheeks.

  California. Was he really moving to California? Away from his home, his stepbrother, the soccer team? And most importantly—Sophie?

  Once outside his parents’ view, he broke into a run, up the stairs, past Lucas. His stepbrother gave him a pitying look—evidently he’d overheard everything—but Stu would have to deal with him later.

  Right now he needed his best friend.

  Sophie opened her eyes. She looked around, prepared to be awed. To see the bright lights and big city of Las Vegas as
seen on TV. But, to her surprise, when her vision did finally clear, the view didn’t look Vegas-y at all. In fact, it looked more outside-of-Stu’s-house-y, if anything.

  Uh-oh.

  “What are we doing here? This isn’t Vegas.”

  She whirled around to find Ashley storming in her direction, the dragon still perched on her shoulder. Sophie winced, realizing what must have happened.

  “I…think I made a mistake,” she stammered.

  “You didn’t think of Vegas?” Ashley looked like she wanted to murder her.

  “I did!” Sophie protested. “And…then I…didn’t. But only like for a microsecond.”

  “Evidently the right microsecond. We’re back home. In Massachusetts,” Ashley spluttered. “With a freaking dragon!”

  The dragon lifted his head from her shoulder and emitted a large burp. Ashley glared at him. “Enough with the gas, dude! Seriously.”

  Sophie rubbed her face with one hand, trying to collect her wits. “Okay, don’t panic,” she said. “We’ll figure this out.”

  “I don’t have time to figure anything out! The wedding is in a week!” Ashley cried. “Avocados need glittering!”

  “And the world needs saving,” Sophie said wearily. “What do you want me to do?”

  “I have no idea! You’re supposed to be the saving-the-world expert here somehow. Though I still don’t understand why.”

  Sophie groaned. “You sure you want to stick with her?” she asked the dragon. “’Cause I promise you I’d be a lot less annoying.”

  The dragon dug his claws into Ashley’s shoulders. Guess that answered that.

  “Ow!” Ashley protested, swatting at the tiny creature. “You so need a manicure, man. Also? I am not annoying. You can ask anyone. Well, except Stu. Stu probably thinks I’m annoying. But then he’s pretty—”

  Sophie stopped short. “Stu!” she exclaimed, hope rising in her. “That’s it!”

  “Huh?”

  “Don’t you get it? Stu is like the pet whisperer. You should see him at the park. The dogs flock to him. Practically knock him down they’re so excited to see him. It’s ridiculous. I have to stand like ten feet away just to avoid having an allergic reaction.”

  “I hate to break it to you, but this guy on my shoulder? So not a dog.”

  “Doesn’t matter. Cat, rabbit, gerbil from Mrs. Wilkerson’s first-grade class? They all love Stu. Maybe the dragon will, too.”

  Her heart started pumping with excitement. If the dragon would agree to go with Stu, then that would let Ashley off the hook. She could go glitter her avocados and Sophie and Stu could continue their excellent adventure as they should have been doing all along.

  “Well, I guess we can try,” Ashley said, looking surprisingly reluctant at the idea. She took a step toward Stu’s house. Sophie jumped in front of her, holding out her hands.

  “Are you crazy? You can’t just walk in there with a dragon! His dad will see!”

  “So what? He’ll just assume it’s some new kind of Hatchimal or something. No big deal.”

  “It will be if the dragon suddenly spits fire on the carpet,” Sophie pointed out. “And the whole house goes up in flames.”

  “So what are we supposed to do, then? Just stand outside and wait for him to come out on his own? The dude’s playing video games. That could take weeks.”

  Sophie considered this for a moment. “Why don’t you take the dragon to my backyard? My dad should still be out bowling with the guys. I’ll get Stu and we’ll meet you there in a minute.”

  “Fine,” Ashley replied. “But don’t be long. I’ve got to get back to the dress shop. Mom’s probably freaking out worried about us. I mean, we did just vanish into thin air. Which,” she added, “would have been way more helpful if it had happened during my history test on Friday. Just saying.”

  “I’ll be SUPER quick. I promise. Now go!”

  And with that, Sophie turned back to Stu’s door, giving Ashley a few moments to hurry down the street and turn the corner. But just as she was about to knock, Sophie felt her phone vibrate. She looked down at the caller ID and laughed. Of course. His timing was impeccable as always.

  I’m at your front door, she texted back. Come let me in! I’ve got amazing news!

  She waited for a moment, hearing Stu’s footsteps clomp down the stairs, before the door swung open, revealing him on the other side. She raised an eyebrow when she caught sight of her friend’s face. He looked…pale. And weirdly miserable.

  “Dude, have you even left the house today?” she demanded, looking him up and down. “Too much gaming is bad for your health, you know. You need some sunshine, stat.”

  “And you need a new wardrobe consultant,” he shot back, eyeing her from head to toe. It was only then that she realized she was still wearing the hideous orange bridesmaid dress. Ugh.

  “Don’t you worry, this is going right back to the store,” she told him. “But first, grab your coat. We’re going to my house.” She grinned excitedly. “There’s someone I need you to meet.”

  Just tell her! Stu screamed silently as they walked toward Sophie’s place to see whoever this mysterious stranger might be. Sophie had lived down the street from Stu for almost his entire life and he’d made the journey from house to house a thousand times over the years. But for some reason this time the trip felt incredibly long—each step painful—as if there were a green-skinned Creeper right on their heels, threatening to blow them to smithereens at a moment’s notice.

  He’d meant to tell her about his mom and the California move the second he opened the door. But she’d said she had amazing news, and she looked really happy for the first time since she found out her dad was getting married. He didn’t have the heart to spoil whatever it was with his crappy announcement.

  So Stu kept his mouth shut and tried to psych himself up for whatever it was Sophie planned to show him—mostly because he knew she would do the same for him were the situation reversed. She had always been there for him, ever since that fateful day in first grade when she’d found him sitting all alone on the swings after no one had picked him for dodgeball. She’d asked him if he’d like to play Minecraft on her iPad and he’d agreed. It had been a match made in gamer heaven ever since.

  He felt a lump form in his throat. How could he just leave her to go to California? How could he leave any of this? His home, Lucas. Even he and his dad had been getting on a lot better since they had soccer to talk about now. But that would all go away when he moved to California, leaving his entire life behind.

  Finally, they reached Sophie’s house. But instead of bringing him inside, she stopped at the side gate to the backyard.

  “Okay.” Her blue eyes sparkled with excitement. “Are you ready for the most amazing sight in the history of sight?”

  “Um, yes? I think so?” What on earth had her so excited? And why was it in the backyard? If she were anyone else, he might have guessed she’d brought home a dog or a cat. But Sophie had always been allergic to furry animals.

  He watched as she practically danced over to the fence. She lifted the latch, then pulled the gate open, making a sweeping gesture in his direction. He stepped forward, a little doubtfully, and his nose caught something funny—some kind of smoky smell. Like a barbecue grill, before you added the meat. Then his ears picked up a small squawking sound. What on earth?

  He stopped in his tracks, his eyes locking on movement in the back of the yard. Then he squinted, unable to comprehend what he was seeing. Mainly because it was impossible. Absolutely impossible.

  And yet…

  “Is that a…dragon?” he spluttered.

  It was a dumb question. Because what else could it be? There, tied to Sophie’s old playscape with a frayed jump rope, was an actual, literal, real-life baby dragon, trying and failing to climb up the slide.

  Stu gaped, his mouth open like a cartoon character’s, as his eyes roved over the tiny creature. It was about the size of a large pigeon, with shiny, crimson-colored scales
, a long tail with a crook at the end, and a spiky ridge traveling down its back.

  “What…Why…How?” he stammered, wondering for a moment if he’d ever be able to speak in full sentences again. But who could blame him? Sophie hadn’t been exaggerating. This was the most amazing thing he’d ever seen in his twelve years on the planet. (And he’d once seen Diagon Alley at Universal Studios. So that was saying something!)

  “Told you,” Sophie declared, looking quite pleased with herself. She held up her phone. “Spring break has been saved by the Camelot Code.”

  “You finally got an assignment? A dragon assignment?”

  She nodded and started running through the series of events that had led to this awesomeness of dragon proportions. Then she stopped—mid-story—to apologize. “I wasn’t sure how long the Code would be good for,” she explained. “So I had to act right then and there in the dress shop.”

  He shrugged. “Totally get it. When destiny comes knocking, you gotta answer.”

  “Yeah, well, destiny can totally bite me next time,” a new voice chimed in. Stu whirled around to see none other than Ashley Jones herself coming out of Sophie’s back door, holding a big plate of raw hamburger in her arms. Which was basically the second-most amazing thing he’d ever seen.

  “Here you go, Spikey,” Ashley cooed as she approached the dragon. “Get your din-din!”

  “Spikey?” Sophie repeated, raising an eyebrow.

  Ashley shrugged, looking down at the eager dragon, who was panting excitedly, his mouth wide open like a baby bird’s. “Well, Spike, actually,” she said. “After my favorite YouTuber. ’Cause they’re both super hot.” She looked at Sophie and Stu expectantly. “Get it? Dragon? Hot?”

  “Um, clever,” Stu managed to agree, his eyes still on the hotness in question as Ashley leaned down and presented the dragon with the plate of meat. In an instant, Spike was face-first in the food, gobbling it down like he’d never eaten before in his life.

  “I grabbed it from your fridge,” Ashley informed Sophie, as if it were no big deal. “I thought maybe he was hungry. And maybe it’ll help with his…digestive issues.”