Small as an Elephant - Jennifer Richard Jacobson [48]
Sylvie checked her cell reception again. She’d done it about fifteen times, even though there was never a signal.
“I don’t know,” she said.
Jack pulled his fingers through his hair. If he couldn’t even get her to put herself in his shoes, how would he ever convince her to let him go?
“I’d play Monopoly with her,” Sylvie said finally.
“Monopoly?”
“My mom is always trying to get me to play board games with her — especially Monopoly. But it’s so boring, you know? Except, there are some things I like. I like that my mom always tries to land on Indiana Avenue because she went to school in Indiana. And she always licks her finger twice before picking up a Chance card. And she always has to have the shoe.”
“That’s my mom’s favorite, too.”
“So, yeah, Monopoly. That’s the last thing I’d want to do with her before I left.”
Jack wished his one last thing could be something he did with his mom and not something he had to do on his own. But he knew, deep down, that even if he was alone, seeing Lydia would be his Monopoly.
Sylvie offered the grapes again.
“Mudo,” Jack said. He put one in his mouth and sucked on it slowly.
“Mudo?” asked Sylvie.
“It means ‘thank you.’”
“Huh,” said Sylvie. “So, seeing the elephant, seeing Lydia, really means that much to you?”
Jack nodded. “It’s all I have left.”
“But your mom —”
Suddenly, there was a clicking noise.
“The lock!” whispered Sylvie. He’d expected her to sound relieved, but instead she sounded frightened. “Mrs. M.’s opening the lock.”
Jack held his breath, praying that she finally understood.
“Hide!” Sylvie commanded, pulling him toward a stack of boxes behind her.
Hope surged through him. Was she really —?
“Hide!” she said again.
Jack did as he was told and hid behind the pile of boxes —
And not a moment too soon. The heavy vault door swung open.
“Hi, Mrs. Magillicutty!”
“Good heavens!” Mrs. Magillicutty screeched. “Sylvie Winters, what on earth are you doing in here? You scared me half to death! How long —?”
“I came in this morning, looking for you, Mrs. M. I was checking to see if you were in here, and someone shut the door.”
“What do you mean, someone shut the door? I never shut this door. . . . The sales rep, maybe? Or one of the customers? They should all know better. . . . Someday, someone is going to make me permanently close this vault,” she muttered. Then she seemed to remember that Sylvie was there. “You’re all right, though, sweetie, aren’t you?”
“I’m fine, Mrs. M. Just happy to be free!”
Jack wondered if that last bit was for his benefit. Maybe she really did understand.
“What did you need me for in the first place?” Mrs. Magillicutty asked. Her voice sounded farther away, like maybe Sylvie was leading her to the front of the store.
“It was just a silly question about a book. I can’t even remember what it was, exactly,” said Sylvie, who was definitely farther away. “But, Mrs. M., can you take me to school and help explain? I have a test this afternoon. . . .”
Jack waited until he heard the bell jingle over the door, until he could no longer hear Sylvie’s voice. Then he slid out from behind the boxes, went directly to the front door of the store, turned the lock, and slipped out into the sunshine.
If what Sylvie had said was true — that everyone was looking for him — he had to hide immediately. He turned sharply to the left and headed back down behind the buildings on Main Street, following the same route he’d attempted earlier, when Sylvie was chasing him. He knew he shouldn’t stay on the street — not when every kid in Searsport was in school — but where to hide?
Several of the houses on this street had garages, and one or two had a shed. Just pick one, he told himself, before an old lady looks out her window and calls the police. But he couldn’t bring himself to do it. Maybe it was because he’d been trapped in a vault for the past three hours, but hiding out in another confining space was the last thing he wanted to do right now.
The road he was on quickly led to a park — MOSMAN PARK, the sign read — and, although