Chapter 7
Dizzy rolled over on his couch bed and saw the morning sun peaking in through the window. He yawned and stretched his arms over his head. He looked at the alarm clock on the nearby nightstand and it read 9:15.
“9:15?!” Dizzy yelled, quickly climbing out of bed. “It’s 9:15! Wake up!”
Dizzy couldn’t believe everyone would sleep in on such an important day. He was disappointed he didn’t at least set the alarm clock as a last resort. He looked over at the two beds and found them both empty, the blankets and sheets thrown back. Ana’s pillow was lying on the floor.
It didn’t seem possible to Dizzy. Why would everyone get up and not bother to wake him? Didn’t they know how much he wanted to take part in the Quest? Wouldn’t Ana at least beg everyone to stop and wake Dizzy before leaving?
Dizzy rushed to his backpack, threw on some jeans and his navy Disneyland ‘55 t-shirt, and headed for the door. He swung the door open, ready to start running to the park and collided into Steve carrying a large tray with glasses of orange juice and a plate covered with toast, donuts, and muffins. The tray dropped to the floor, making a loud crash and covering Dizzy and Steve’s pants with juice.
“What in the world was that?” Michelle asked, rushing through the door.
“I’m not really sure,” Steve said, wiping the excess juice off his pants. “I think Dizzy just tried to tackle me.”
“What is everyone doing?” Dizzy asked frantically. “It’s after 9 o’clock! The Quest already started. We are late!”
Steve and Michelle looked at Dizzy.
“It’s not even 8:00 yet,” Steve said, bending down to pick up the pastries on the floor. “We have time.”
Dizzy was confused.
“But my alarm clock said 9:15 when I woke up. And Ana and Travis were gone. I thought everyone ditched me.”
“Yeah, sorry about that,” Travis said, coming out of Steve and Michelle’s room. “I was just having some fun with you. I thought it’d be funny to change the clock to see your reaction.” He smiled at Dizzy. “You did not disappoint.”
“Good one,” Dizzy said sarcastically. He was relieved there was still time and bent down to help Steve clean up the mess.
“Want to come with me to get breakfast?” Steve asked Dizzy. “It will probably be easier to carry with two trays.”
“Sure.”
Dizzy and Steve walked down to the continental breakfast offered by the hotel. There were a few cartons of juice on ice, platters full of donuts, muffins, bagels, and slices of bread, and a few bowls filled with fruit. Dizzy filled five cups with orange juice and grabbed a few apples and bananas, while Steve loaded up on donuts, muffins, and bagels.
On the way back to the room, Steve stopped in front of Dizzy and turned to face him.
“Dizzy, can I ask you something?”
“Sure.”
Dizzy was worried Steve was going to talk to him about his mom, or how he felt about them being together. It was not a conversation he was looking forward to having.
“Do you really know as much about Disneyland as your mom tells me you do?”
The question surprised Dizzy. He looked blankly at Steve, not sure how to answer.
“I…umm….” was all he was able to get out.
“Don’t be modest Dizzy. Answer honestly. Do you know as much about Disneyland as your mom has told me?”
“I have read a lot of books about it,” Dizzy started. “And I read a bunch of stuff online when I can. I would say I know more than most people, if that’s what you are asking.”
“Excellent,” Steve said. “If you need any help today, just have Travis shoot me or your mom a text. I’d give you a good luck high five right now, but I don’t feel like dropping another tray of food all over the place.”
Dizzy laughed as they continued walking back to the room. He was glad Steve didn’t ask him about his mom, because he wasn’t quite sure what he thought about them together. Steve was nice to him and his sister and seemed to treat his mom well. He had also organized and paid for this vacation, something his family wouldn’t have been able to afford without saving money for several years.
When they reached the room, Steve had to knock on the door with his foot, as his hands were too full to use the card key. Michelle answered, holding the door open as they entered.
“Room service,” Steve announced proudly.
“What’s room service?” Ana asked. She was lying on the bed watching a Disney cartoon.
“It’s when you get food delivered to your room,” Travis said. He was reading one of Dizzy’s Disneyland books at the small table near the window. “It’s pretty much the greatest thing ever.”
“It sounds like it!” Ana said excitedly.
They set the trays down on the table. Travis, Ana, and Dizzy crowded around the table to eat, while Steve and Michelle ate on their bed.
“So what do you think the first clue will be?” Michelle asked.
“It could be anything,” Travis answered. “But I hope it's a really hard one.”
“You do?” Dizzy asked. Travis’s comment confused him. He had secretly hoped the first clue would be really easy, so they could start the Quest in the right direction. He didn’t want to think about what would happen if the first clue was too hard and they never even made it to the second.
“Of course,” Travis said. “You should, too.”
“Why?”
“Think about it. If the first clue is really easy, everyone will find the second clue at the same time. There will be huge crowds of people all going to the same place. It will be impossible to pull away and take the lead. Groups will just follow each other like a herd of cattle. But if the first clue is really hard, like an extremely vague phrase or some obscure piece of Disneyland trivia, how many people are going to give up? If the first clue is hard enough, most people will quit and our chances of winning go from 1 in 500 to maybe 1 in 100.”
Dizzy agreed with Travis’s logic, but was worried about the possibility that they would end up being one of the hundreds of groups that gave up, unable to solve the first clue.
“But what if that happens to us?” Dizzy asked after a few moments. “What if we can’t figure out the first clue?”
“Won’t happen,” Travis said, taking the last bite of his donut.
“Why not?”
“We have you.”