Chapter 25
Dizzy, Ana, Travis, and Michelle sat on the curb on Main Street. Ana had an ice cream cone taller than her and was doing her best to keep it from falling.
“So where did you go?” Travis asked Dizzy. Dizzy had remained quiet since the ceremony in front of Main Street Station. “How did you find out about the train station?”
“After Justin and Megan were wrong with our same numbers,” Dizzy began, “I first thought it was because you messed up on the math. But you seemed confident that 33 was right. I realized the 33 we got from the math problem wasn’t only the last number but also the last clue. Then it hit me, Club 33.”
“Isn’t that the exclusive restaurant here?” Travis asked.
“Yep. It’s an unmarked restaurant. No name, no open doors. Just a silver, oval sign that says 33 and a small button with a speaker. I looked closely at the 33 sign and there was one last riddle.”
“And it told you to go to the train station?”
“It was a poem about the final destination being where Walt’s fascination meets Lilly’s representation. Walt was fascinated with trains and I remember seeing the Lilly Belle model train in the station this morning. I thought that had to be the place.”
“Wow. Then what happened?”
“I got to the case, found where to input the combination, then everything went crazy.”
“So what happened with your dad?” Dizzy asked. “And Big Red?”
“I have no idea,” Travis said. “After your mom saw them together they took off running.”
“Your dad and Big Red ran away from my mom?” Dizzy said laughing. The idea of those two big men running away from his tiny mom cracked Dizzy up.
“Yep,” Travis said. “Haven’t seen them since.”
“I was wondering why he wasn’t up on the platform with us.” Dizzy leaned back, taking in the sights and sounds of Main Street. It was a wonderful place to be, but somehow even more so at night. For the first time all day, he was able to enjoy being at Disneyland without thinking about the Quest.
“I still would like to know how Justin and Megan got in front of us with the right combination though,” Travis said, breaking the silence.
“Oh yeah,” Dizzy said. “I forgot about that. How in the world did they get the combination?”
“Why don’t you go ask her?” Ana said. Her face was covered in ice cream and she was pointing to a bench across the street. Megan was sitting alone, looking at Dizzy. Her brother was nowhere to be seen.
“I’ll be right back,” Dizzy said, rising to his feet. He walked across Main Street and smiled at Megan. She smiled back and moved her backpack to the side, leaving Dizzy a place to sit.
“Hi,” he said, sitting down.
“Hi Dizzy,” Megan answered. “I’m really happy for you. You know, winning the Quest and all.”
“Oh, umm. Thanks.” Dizzy didn’t know what to say. Being congratulated on winning by the person you just beat made for an awkward situation. “I was wondering,” he said after a moment, “how did you-“
“Get the combination?” Megan asked, finishing his question. “Well, while you were busy puking on my brother, and thank you for that by the way. He totally had that coming.” She smiled and continued. “I saw that your funny friend had his phone out and was pointing it at the base. When my brother and his friends went to the bathroom, I jumped in line and rode the Tea Cups. I found the clue engraved on the base. During the ride I lied down on my side and copied down the math problem into my Hidden Mickeys book. I knew most of the numbers in the clue already. The only ones I had to check were the storybook benches and the candles for the bear.”
“Us too,” Dizzy said. “Those were the ones we had to ride and find out. But we didn’t see you on Winnie the Pooh or the Storybook ride. When did you get the numbers?”
“As soon as I got off of tea cups I got in line for the Storybook ride. Justin and his friends had returned from the bathroom and I waved for them to join me. They didn’t believe me when I told them I knew how to find the last number. Just like they didn’t believe me when I told them the first clue didn’t mean to go to Tom Sawyer’s Island.”
“So you were the one that told them to go to the Skyway station?”
“Yep. When I saw your face while we were getting on the raft I realized you knew something I didn’t. I took another look at my clue and saw you three running toward Big Thunder Trail. I figured a smart guy like you wouldn’t go running off in the other direction if there wasn’t a good reason. As soon as we got to the island I begged Justin to listen to me. But we spent about twenty minutes on the island and then he tried to act like the Skyway station was his idea. What a jerk.”
Dizzy laughed. He was impressed that she had been the reason Justin and his group had been right on their tail the whole day.
“But we didn’t see you on Winnie the Pooh,” Dizzy said. “We used our Fast Passes after your brother chased us through the line. Where were you?”
“I was already on the ride,” she said smiling. “Justin didn’t want to ride it. He said he was on the lookout for you three and unfortunately for you guys he found you. As soon as I got off the ride we began working on the math problem. When we got the number thirty-three we ran back to Main Street and got in line. I really thought we were going to win.”
“So did I,” Dizzy said. “When we heard Mr. Pegg read your numbers I thought we were toast.”
“I had a feeling the last clue was a little too easy,” Megan said. “But we were running out of time. I wish I would have thought to go check out Club 33. That was really smart of you.”
“Oh, thanks.”
They sat in silence for a few minutes. Dizzy desperately wanted to ask for Megan’s phone number or email address. He wished he was as brave as Travis and could have just gone for it. But he felt that the moment had passed.
Dizzy couldn’t think of anything else to say, so he stood up and stepped down off the sidewalk.
“Well-”
“Umm Dizzy,” Megan asked interrupting him. She looked nervous and unsure of herself for the first time. “I was wondering if…if maybe you wanted to exchange cell phone numbers? Just to maybe chat about Disneyland and stuff?”
“Oh,” Dizzy said, his heart in his throat. “Umm, no. I can’t do that.”
“Oh, I understand.” Megan’s face was red with embarrassment.
“No,” Dizzy said. “No, that’s not what I meant. I meant I don’t have a cell phone.” He thought about the $250,000 prize he was splitting with Travis and smiled. “But I will as soon as I get home. How about we exchange email addresses. I will let you know when I get a cell phone. I mean, if that’s ok.”
“Sure!” Megan said, ripping a page out of her Hidden Mickeys book. She wrote her email address on it and handed it to Dizzy. She then gave him her book and he wrote his email on the inside cover.
“
[email protected],” she said, reading his email address. “That’s cute.”
Dizzy’s face reddened.
“Thank you.”
“I better go,” Megan said. “My mom and dad made my brother go back to our hotel with them. He was being such a jerk to me on that stage after our combination was wrong. My mom actually climbed onto the stage, grabbed him by the ear, and yanked him down the stairs with her. You should have seen it!” She was laughing now.
“I would have liked to!” Dizzy said, laughing as well. “But you know, I had to go and win the Quest and all.” He took a big breath, pretending like he was a super hero who just saved the day.
“Big Quest-winning hot shot, huh?” Megan said laughing. “Just don’t forget us poor losers from high upon your throne.” They both laughed and when they stopped, they stood in an awkward silence.
“Well, Dizzy,” Megan said sticking out her hand. “It was nice to meet you.”
He took her hand in his.
“You too, Megan.”
They shook h
ands. Dizzy would have been happy to stand there until the park closed.
“OK, OK. Break it up you two.” Travis walked in between them, interrupting their hand shake. They all laughed. “I hope you don’t mind me stealing him from you, but apparently the Disneyland head honchos need Mr. Quest here.”
“Sorry,” Dizzy said. “But it looks like I have to run.”
“OK,” Megan said. “You’ll email me, right?”
“I will,” Dizzy said. Dizzy and Travis walked back across Main Street. Dizzy took one more look over his shoulder at Megan, who gave him a quick wave goodbye.
“Well done my friend,” Travis said, patting Dizzy on the back. “Now let’s go collect those prizes!”