The Magic Misfits - Neil Patrick Harris Page 0,6

arrived?”

The cheesemonger, a youngish woman with a mouse-brown ponytail pulled up into a net, choked out an apology. But Ridley’s mother wouldn’t let up.

“Next time, I’ll be taking my cheese-business to Murray’s mail order, thank you very much.” Ridley didn’t believe that her mother ever actually had very much cheese-business (I, on the other hand, delight in my weekly order of Gouda, Taleggio, and Camembert), but still, it was embarrassing. What was even more embarrassing was when Mrs. Larsen called to the back of the store. “Come on, Ridley! We have to get to the greengrocers before they run out of brussels sprouts… or was I going to make asparagus? Maybe it was broccoli? Oh, I’m all muddled now.… Ridley! Oh, there you are.… Let’s get moving. Without my cheese, I have to completely rethink dinner.” Ridley wanted to shrink into the floor as she made her way through the crowd.

As she passed the cheesemonger (stop giggling!), she overheard a customer say in a low voice (but not too low), “Bless that woman’s heart. Has to do everything on her own with that husband of hers on the road again. If I had as much on my plate as she does, I’d be yelling at everyone all the time too.”

Ridley frowned. What a bunch of busybodies. She veered the arm of her chair into the customer’s rear end. When they startled and hopped out of the way, Ridley called out, “Excuse you! Some of us have better things to do than gossip the day away!”

By the time she’d made it out to the sidewalk, she regretted saying anything at all. People were looking at her the same way they’d stared at her mother.

After following her mom to the greengrocer and listening to her mutter angrily, Ridley checked her watch. “Is it all right if I go get some air?”

“What’s wrong with this air?” asked Mrs. Larsen.

“I just… need some time to think,” said Ridley.

“Fine… but be home before dark.… Wait—did we pass the grocer already? How did I miss it? I could have sworn… Ridley! Be home before dark, I said, and… keep an eye out for crazed librarians, please!” Her mother gave a half wave as she bustled back the way they’d come.

Ridley wasn’t sure if that last bit was meant to be a joke or an actual warning. Either way, it chafed as she made her way to the agreed-upon meeting place. The Orpheum Theater had been closed for as long as she could remember. The marquee over the formerly grand front entry was lined with light bulbs that hadn’t glowed in years, and the letters that spelled out titles of old films were crooked and looked about ready to crash down to the sidewalk below. Next to the newspaper-covered front door, an alleyway reached toward the back of the building. It was barely wide enough for Ridley’s chair.

Glancing around to make sure no one was watching, she entered the shadows, a chill emanating from the brick walls on either side. At the end of the passage, there was a slight ramp up to a door that was propped open with a broken brick.

Ridley used her door-opening device to open it farther. The space was dark, the air filled with musty dampness. She pushed a button near the top of her right wheel, and a small light illuminated the way forward. As Ridley continued into the shadows, the rear of the giant screen rose up before her, a white panel that was a couple of stories tall. Just behind it, several empty chairs were arranged in a circle—Leila’s doing from the last time the Misfits had met here. “Hello?” Ridley called, making her voice stern. “Anyone there?”

An eerie silence answered her. Something didn’t feel right.

A sputtering of clicks was followed by a burst of illumination upon the rear of the movie screen.

“Surprise!”

Ridley’s friends dashed out from the shadows, each holding a flashlight. She pressed her hand to her mouth, her heart locomoting inside her rib cage. Carter, Leila, Theo, Olly, and Izzy cheered until Ridley couldn’t help but reveal her grin. “Misfits!” she yelled. “It’s not a surprise if we’ve already planned to meet.”

“Oh, shush,” said Leila, the buttons on her jacket jingling like bells. Her smile was wide, her brown eyes beaming. “We’ve been planning for this for a week.” The other Misfits stepped aside and shone their lights upon Leila as she bounded into the circle of chairs. “Ridley Larsen! Congratulations on your victorious return to