"In a voice?" I asked, wondering if my my Voice was hopping around. Voice was hopping around.
She shook her head no. "The word was just in my head. I don"t know why."
Once again, Fang and I looked at each other but didn"t say anything. I didn"t know what was on his mind, but I was thinking again about how Angel had been at the School for a few days before we rescued her. Who knows what happened there? What kind of foul, disgusting experiments? Maybe they"d planted a chip in her too.
Or worse.
101.
A few more blocks, and we turned left, walking toward the East River. Inside me, the tension mounted. My breath was coming in short huffs. Every step was bringing us closer to what could be the Inst.i.tute: the place where the secrets of our lives might be revealed, all our questions answered.
And here"s the thing: I wasn"t even sure I wanted my questions answered. What if my mom had given me away on purpose, like Gasman and Angel"s? What if my parents were horrible people? Or what if they were wonderful, fabulous people who didn"t want a freak mutant daughter with thirteen-foot wings? wings? I mean, not knowing almost seemed easier. I mean, not knowing almost seemed easier.
But we walked along, examining each building. Again and again the others looked at me, only to see me shake my head no. We walked down several looong looong blocks, and with each step, I was getting more and more uptight, and so was everyone else. blocks, and with each step, I was getting more and more uptight, and so was everyone else.
"I wonder what the Inst.i.tute is like," Nudge said nervously. "I guess it"s like the School. Will we have to break in? How do they hide the Erasers from all the normal people? What kind of files on us do you think they have? Like actual parent names, you think?"
"For G.o.d"s sake, Nudge, my ears are bleeding!" Iggy said with his usual tact.
Her sweet face shut down, and I put my arm around her shoulders briefly. "I know you"re worried," I said softly. "I am too."
She smiled at me, and then I saw it: 433 East Thirty-first Street.
It was the building from the drawing in my brain.
And if you don"t think that"s that"s a weird sentence, maybe you should reread it. a weird sentence, maybe you should reread it.
The building rose tall, maybe forty-five stories, and had a greenish facade, kind of old-fashioned looking.
"Is this it?" Iggy asked.
"Yep," I said. "Are we ready?"
"Aye, Captain!" Iggy said firmly, and saluted.
I so wished he could see me roll my eyes at him.
We marched up the steps and pushed through revolving doors. Inside, the lobby was all polished wood, bra.s.s, and big tropical plants. The floor was smooth granite tiles.
"Here," said Fang softly, pointing to a large display board behind gla.s.s. It listed all the offices and companies in the building, and their floors and room numbers.
There was no Inst.i.tute for Higher Living. There was no inst.i.tute of any kind.
Because that would have been too easy, right?
I rubbed my forehead, holding back bitter words of disappointment. Inside, I felt like crying and yelling and stomping around, and then getting into a hot shower and crying some more.
Instead, I took a deep breath and tried to think. I looked around. No other office lists anywhere.
At the reception desk, a woman sat behind a laptop computer. A security guard had another desk across the lobby.
"Excuse me," I said politely. "Are there any other companies in this building that aren"t on the board?"
"No." The receptionist looked us over, then went back to typing something incredibly urgent-like her resume for another job. We turned away just as the receptionist made a sound of surprise. Glancing back, I saw that her computer screen had cleared. The pit of my stomach started to hurt.
There"s a pot of gold beneath every rainbow, filled her laptop screen in big red letters. The message broke up into smaller letters that then scrolled across the screen over and over, filling it. filled her laptop screen in big red letters. The message broke up into smaller letters that then scrolled across the screen over and over, filling it.
Pot of gold beneath every rainbow . . . Okay, did leprechauns work here? Was Judy Garland going to burst into song? Why couldn"t I just get some straight information? Because it was a puzzle, a test. I literally gnashed my teeth. Beneath every . . . Hmm.
"Does this building have a bas.e.m.e.nt?" I asked.
The receptionist frowned at me and looked us over again with a harder gaze.
"Who are you?" she asked. "What do you want?" She lifted her chin and caught the eye of the security guard. Were they Erasers? Were they Erasers? They definitely They definitely could could be Erasers. This whole building might be full of despicable wolf men. be Erasers. This whole building might be full of despicable wolf men.
"Never mind," I muttered, pushing the others toward the revolving doors. The security guard was already on our tails, and just as we all got through, I jammed a ballpoint pen into the door channel. The guard was trapped inside one section and started throwing his weight against the gla.s.s.
On the street, we hit the ground running.
102.
My lungs were burning. Know the feeling? About six blocks later, we slowed to a walk. No one seemed to be following us, no cop cars had emerged from the traffic, no sign of Erasers. My head was pounding and it hurt like crazy. I felt like I needed a time-out from life.
With no warning, the Gasman turned and punched a mailbox. "This sucks!" he yelled. "Nothing ever goes right! We get ha.s.sled everywhere! Max"s head is busted, Angel lost Celeste, we"re all hungry-I hate this! I hate everything!"
Stunned, I shut my gaping jaw and went over to him. When I put my hand on his shoulder, he pushed it away. The others crowded around-it was so unusual for Gazzy to break down like this. He was always my little trouper.
c.r.a.p.
The flock was watching me, waiting for me to tell the Gasman to snap out of it, get it together.
Stepping forward, I wrapped my arms around Gazzy, surrounding him. I rested my head against his and just held him tight. I smoothed his light hair with my fingers and felt his narrow back shaking.
"I"m sorry, Gazzy," I murmured. "You"re right. This has really sucked. I know it"s hard sometimes. Listen, what would make you feel better right now?" I swear, if he"d said, Check into the Ritz, Check into the Ritz, I would have done it. I would have done it.
He sniffled and straightened a bit, wiping his face on his grubby sleeve. I resolved to get us new clothes soon. "Cause I was Ms. Bank Card.
"Really?" he said, sounding very small and young.
"Really."
"Well, I just want-I just want to, like, sit down somewhere and eat a lot of food. Not just get food while we"re walking. I want to sit down sit down and and rest rest and and eat. eat."
I looked solemnly into his eyes. "I think that can be arranged."
103.
We ended up back near Central Park, searching for a place to eat. A diner on Fifty-seventh Street looked good, but there was a half-hour wait. Then, off the street inside the park, we saw a restaurant. Millions of tiny blue lights covered the oak trees that surrounded it. The sign said, Parking for Garden Tavern, This Way. Plunked among the trees was a huge building with tons of plate gla.s.s windows overlooking the park. Plunked among the trees was a huge building with tons of plate gla.s.s windows overlooking the park.
Gazzy said excitedly. "This looks great! great!"
It was also the last place on earth I wanted us to go. Too big, too flashy, too expensive, and no doubt full of trendy grown-ups. We were not going to blend. We would not be inconspicuous.
And yet, the Gasman wanted to eat here. And I had promised him pretty much anything he wanted.
"Uh, okay," I said, already feeling dread and anxiety seeping from my pores. Fang pulled open the heavy gla.s.s door, and we stepped inside.
"Whoa," Nudge said, her eyes wide.
From the reception area, we could see three different dining rooms. There was the Prism Room, which was dripping with crystals, basically: chandeliers, candelabras, faceted windows. Door number two led to the Garden Room, which was like a lush, overgrown rainforest, but with tables, chairs, and waiters. The third one was the Castle Room, for those of us who needed to feel regal while we chowed. They all had soaring ceilings with rafters. The Castle Room had an open fireplace big enough to roast a steer.
I was glad to see we weren"t the only kids-though we were were the only ones without a grown-up. the only ones without a grown-up.
"May I help you?" A tall, blond, modelly woman glanced at us, then looked to see who we were with. "Are you waiting for your parents?"
"No," I said. "There"s just us." I smiled. "Can we have a table for six, please? I"m treating everybody with my birthday money." Another lie, another smile.
"Um, okay," said the hostess. She led us to a table in the Castle Room, way back by the kitchen. Since the kitchen would be a useful escape route, if necessary, I didn"t quibble.
She pa.s.sed out large, very fancy menus as we scrambled into our seats. "Jason will be your server today." With one last, uncertain glance, she left us.
"Max, this is so, so great," Nudge said excitedly, clutching her enormous menu. "This is the nicest place we"ve ever eaten!"
Since we"ve Dumpster-dived for lunch on many occasions, this was an understatement.
Fang, Iggy, and I were miserable. Nudge, Gazzy, and Angel were ecstatic.
Actually, the Castle Room would have been neat, if I didn"t hate crowds, sticking out, grown-ups, feeling paranoid, and spending money.
On to the menu. I was relieved to see that they had a kids" section.
"Are you waiting for your parents?" A short, stocky waiter with slicked-back red hair-Jason-was standing next to Iggy.
"No, there"s just us," I said.
He frowned slightly and gave us a once-over. "Ah. Are you ready to order?"
"Anyone know what they want?" I asked.
The Gasman looked up. "How many chicken tenders are on a plate?"
Jason looked almost pained. "I believe there are four."
"I better have two orders, then," said the Gasman. "And this fruit c.o.c.ktail. And two gla.s.ses of milk."
"Two orders for yourself?" Jason clarified.
The Gasman nodded. "With fries. To start."
"I want a hot-fudge sundae," said Angel.
"Real food first," I said. "You need fuel."
"Okay," Angel said agreeably, then blinked and looked up at Jason. "We"re not spoiled rich brats," she said. "We"re just hungry."
Jason started, then his face flushed and he shifted his feet.
"I want this prime rib thing," Angel said, looking at the adult side of the menu. "And all this stuff that goes with it. And a soda. And lemonade."
"The prime rib is sixteen ounces," our waiter said. "It"s a pound pound of meat." of meat."
"Uh-huh," Angel said, wondering what he was getting at.
"She can handle it," I said. "She"s a big eater. Nudge? What do you want?"
"This lasagna primavera," Nudge decided. "I might need two. It comes with salad, right? And bread? Some milk. Okay?" She looked at me, and I nodded.
Jason just stood there-he thought we were pulling his leg. "Two lasagnas?"
"You might want to start writing this stuff down," I suggested. I waited till he had noted their orders, then said, "I"ll start with the shrimp c.o.c.ktail. Then the maple-glazed roast pork loin, with the cabbage and potatoes and everything. The house salad with bleu cheese dressing. And a lemonade and an iced tea."
Jason wrote it all down, as if he were enduring an hour-long eye-poke.
"The lobster bisque," Fang said. "Then the prime rib. A big bottle of water."
"The spaghetti and meatb.a.l.l.s," Iggy said.
"That"s on the children"s menu," our waiter said, sounding tense. "For our patrons twelve and under."
Iggy looked ticked off.
"How about the rack of lamb?" I said quickly. "It comes with potatoes and spinach, and a merlot-rosemary sauce."
"Fine, okay," Iggy said, irritated. "Plus a couple gla.s.ses of milk and some bread."
Jason lowered his pad and looked at us. "This is a great deal of food for just the six of you," he said. "Maybe you"ve overordered."
"I understand your concern," I said, my tension starting to get the better of me. "But it"s okay. Just bring it, please."
"You"ll have to pay for all of it, whether you eat it or not."
"Yeah, that"s usually usually how a restaurant works," I said slowly, with exaggerated patience. how a restaurant works," I said slowly, with exaggerated patience.