conga line, right?
Me: And this is your life goal if becoming a magician doesn’t work out?
Ish: No, dude. I was thinking about the conga line, and it made me think about my friend Easton. You know Easton, right?
Me: What about him?
Ish: Once, he was in the mall, and saw this line forming, okay? And he just got into it. Even though he didn’t know what it was for.
Me: That seems like an immense waste of time.
Ish: Right. Especially ’cause it turned out to be a line for little kids to meet Spider-Man, which Easton totally wasn’t into.
Me: What are you getting at?
Ish: It’s like…when people see a line, part of them wants to know what it’s for so much, they’ll get into it just to see. So that conga line thing is brilliant.
Me: Good for them. Maybe they’ll win the reality show.
Ish: Dude. You know what else it reminded me of? That scene in Cass’s play. The one where the Piper guy leads all the kids out of town.
I stopped working and gave Ishmael my full attention.
Ish: Wouldn’t it be cool if the Piper led the whole town to the lava lamp?
Thursday
Not worried I might get into trouble. All that matters is defeating Oswald. Proving myself. So close to making that happen.
Tying up loose ends now. Everyone knows their roles. Plans are down to the minute. Have listened to Oswald’s audio recording multiple times to ensure it’s clear. Luckily, Oswald has great diction. Transferred the file onto two flash drives to be safe.
After work: went to lava lamp with Oswald to make final preparations.
Me: Are you nervous?
Oswald: About what?
Me: That the unveiling might not go according to plan.
Oswald: Things always go according to plan for me, Gideon.
That’s what he thinks.
Can’t stop imagining the look on Oswald’s face when the recording starts, when he knows he’s been bested.
For the first time in his life, he’ll realize he isn’t a god after all.
Friday
Felt I deserved a break. Especially after the blow of getting English paper back with C– written on it. Apparently, Mr. Fiore did not agree “The Death of the Ball Turret Gunner” was meant to be literal, nor did he appreciate my objections: Isn’t poetry meant to be interpreted by the reader?
To get mind off poetry/tomorrow’s event, took Arden to see Hamelin! Afterward, went to dinner with Cass, Owen, and some other theater people. Owen and I held hands underneath the table.
Sofia Russo: You guys are so cute together.
Felt that the comment infringed on my privacy. But also, she’s right.
Saturday
All systems are go.
Event: The Incident
Date: Nov. 4 (Sat.)
The sun was still in the sky when Ishmael and I set out for the town square, but it would be dark soon enough. Dark enough for the lava lamp to have maximum impact. Dark enough that none of Oswald’s people would notice when I slipped over to the sound system—conveniently monitored by Laser—to add my own touch to the evening’s festivities.
Ishmael had taken longer than usual to get ready. “What’s your problem?” I asked, standing in the doorway of his room while he traded one Hawaiian shirt for another.
“I just want everything to be perfect,” he replied. “This is a big night. There are a lot of moving pieces, dude.”
I watched my brother for a long moment. “Ishmael, is it possible I’ve rubbed off on you a little bit over the past few weeks?”
“With the way you’re scheming, I think maybe it’s the other way around.”
My brother and I grinned at each other. He clapped me on the back as we made our way up the basement stairs.
“Aren’t you nervous?” Ishmael asked, as we climbed into the Jeep.
I thought about it for a moment. The usual tension I felt during big moments—certainly during big experiments—wasn’t present. And, in a way, wasn’t this my biggest experiment of all?
“You know, I’m not nervous,” I said.
My plan was going to work. I’d never felt so confident.
* * *
Subject #9, Chief Lisa Kaufman: People started gathering hours before the event was scheduled. Most of my officers ended up at the town square, directing traffic and keeping the peace. At 6:00, I made the call to block off Main Street from vehicle traffic. The crowd was already spilling out of the square.
* * *
At Irving High School, the curtain was about to rise on Hamelin!. I texted Cass.
GH: Ready for tonight?
CR: I’ve never been more readily for anything in my life
CR: *redy
CR: Holy zeus **READY
I relayed the information to Ishmael.
“And Owen’s fine with all this?” he asked,