CHAPTER THIRTY

When the girls had finished picking out their clothes and bathing suits for the pageant, compliments of Ladybird Hope’s pageant-wear line, Harris showed them around, enjoying his role as beauty queen escort.

“So how did you end up here?”

“Summer internship,” Harris said “My dad’s CEO of The Corporation. Well, he was. He kinda ‘mishandled’ things.” He put mishandled in air quotes.

“Mishandled how?” Adina asked.

“He sort of lost some revenue. The Corporation posted second, third, and fourth quarter losses totaling around forty billion? So, you know, they had to make some sacrifices, let some workers go.”

“How many workers?”

“About forty percent.”

“Forty percent?” Shanti said, incredulous.

“Yeah. Sucked. But the good news is that they worked out a deal with my dad. He got a sweet twenty million in severance, plus a full staff, use of the corporate jet and yacht for three years, and we did not have to unload the house in Bimini, thank God, because, hello? The surfing there? Crazy-good.”

“When I run Shanticeuticals, I will not overexpand, screw over my workers, and run it into the ground,” Shanti whispered to the others.

Jennifer sidled up to Harris. “My mom was one of those forty percent of workers laid off. She got one week of severance, and it definitely wasn’t twenty million. Lost her health care, too. I wouldn’t brag about that, if I were you.”

They were waiting for the elevator when two black shirts passed them by. One of them said something that sounded suspiciously like …

“Tane Ngata!” Adina exclaimed, stretching her arms overhead. Everyone, including the black shirts, turned to stare at her.

“Do you know him? Are you yourself an eco-terrorist?” Harris was in her face.

“What? No! Why would I?” Adina laughed nervously.

“What did you just say?”

“I was doing my vocal exercises. To be ready for the pageant. I do them all the time. Tane Ngatatatattannnnneeeeetane. Just limbers the tongue right up.” She gave him a coy smile.

“Gummi bears!” Tiara pointed wildly to the vending machine in the corner just as the elevator doors opened.

“Our ride’s here,” Harris said.

Tiara glanced toward the machine. “But … gummi bears.”

“Wouldn’t want to mess with those pretty teeth,” he said and ushered them inside.

They rode up in silence.

“What kind of a person doesn’t let you have gummi bears?” Tiara sat on the cot, her fingers worrying the hem of her new MermaidTopia shirt.

“And everyone seemed to know who you meant when you said Tane Ngata.”’

“We may be close to her imaginary BF,” Shanti agreed.

“Maybe not so imaginary after all,” Petra said.

Adina paced in front of her cot. “This is all very, very strange. My journalist’s instincts say there’s something going on.”

“Or maybe that guy, the eco-warrior, is a terrorist,” Miss Ohio said. “Maybe they have him captured for a good reason.”

Tiara sniffled. “I don’t want to do the pageant anymore. I want to make another hut. That was fun. And I want some gummi bears.”

“You can have all the gummi bears you like when we get back,” Petra promised.

“If we get back,” Nicole said, and it made her arms goose pimply despite the heat.

Someone brought them French fries and soda, and the girls dug in. The French fries were heavenly; the soda burned their throats in a good way. It was just like being back home, like before. For a moment, their doubts were cast aside. They tried to enjoy the fact that they’d finally been rescued, just like in all the stories they’d read as girls. The ones that ended happily. They had new clothes and shoes. Their hair smelled of freesia, their skin of vanilla. All the creature comforts of home.

But if everything was fine, why did they feel so wrong?

“Tiara, what’s the matter?” Petra asked. Tiara hadn’t touched her food. “Is this still about the gummi bears?”

“No. It’s just, I have a question. But it’s probably dumb.”

“There are no dumb questions,” Petra said. “Except for some.”

“How come, if they want us to do the pageant, they sent Mary Lou back home? That doesn’t seem fair.”

It was a simple question. The sort of simple question that could completely unravel a complicated argument.

Agent Jones stepped into the tent. “Hello, girls. How’s everything?”

“Fine,” they said.

“Good, good. Say, I’ve been meaning to ask, wasn’t there a Miss Texas with you?”

“Tayl —”

Adina cut Tiara off. “Why do you ask?”

“No reason. There’s always a Miss Texas in the Top Ten. My daughters and I run a pool.” Agent Jones tried to smile and managed only a grimace.

“Will your daughters be watching tomorrow?” Adina pried.

Agent Jones blinked and looked away quickly. “Of course.”

For the high school paper, Adina had covered a student council scandal in which the student body president had sold test answers in order to buy himself a new SUV. When she’d pressed him on the allegations, he’d done the same blinking and looking away. It was the tell of a liar.

“And they’re fifteen and seventeen?” she said, deliberately getting their ages wrong.

“Yep. Fifteen and seventeen.”

When she’d busted the student council president, Adina had felt triumphant — it was a “gotcha!” moment. Now, she felt real fear. This man was not to be trusted, but she didn’t know why or how much danger they might be in.

“Sorry. Miss Texas didn’t make it,” Adina lied. “Spider bite.”

“Well. That’s a real shame.”

Adina yawned for effect. “Whoo. I am sooo tired. We should probably get our beauty sleep. Got a big day tomorrow. Nighty-night, Agent Jones.”

Agent Jones left without saying anything back.

“Something’s not right,” Nicole whispered when they were alone again.

“What’s going on?” Tiara asked.

“Not sure,” Adina said. “But we’re going to find out.”

In the fog, the moon was filmy as an onion’s husk. Down by the dock, the lights shone over the black water. Adina, Petra, Tiara, Nicole, Jennifer, and Shanti huddled in the bushes watching the guards, who were, in turn, watching the area around the volcano’s secret door. The girls had been there for twenty minutes, proposing ways of getting inside, rejecting all of them. They were tired and uneasy and had begun to argue.

Tiara stood and smoothed her dress.

“What are you doing?” Shanti asked. “Do you want to get us killed?”

“No. I just want some gummi bears,” she said, and marched toward the volcano.

“Hold up!” The guards leveled their guns at Tiara. “You can’t be here, miss. It’s restricted.”

Tiara smiled and struck a pageant pose. “Hi. I’m Tiara Destiny Swan. Miss Mississippi. I’m real sorry to bother y’all and everything, but there’s only one thing in the world I want — well, besides world peace and free makeovers for everybody — and that’s some gummi bears. And y’all have a vending machine right inside. Can I pretty, pretty please go get some?” She put her hands together prayer-style.

The guards exchanged glances. Tiara danced around them butterfly-style. “Pretty pretty pretty pretty please? Pretty pretty pretty pretty …”

The guards shrugged at each other. “Sure.”

“Oh, yippee!” Tiara jumped and clapped. She motioned to the girls. “Oh, my friends need to come, too. We’re girls. We travel in packs.”

“Unbelievable,” Petra whispered in awe.

The girls emerged from their hiding place. The guard held up a hand.

“I can’t let all of you inside.”

“You have to let Petra come in because she’s my best friend,” Tiara said.

“And you have to let me in because I have my period,” Adina said.

“And you have to let me and Shanti in or else you’re totally racist.” Nicole glared.

“You have to let me in or I’ll cry,” Jennifer said, working up tears.

“Whoa, whoa, hold on. Look, we have our orders and —”

“Oh my God! Please tell me you have a tampon! I need a tampon!” Adina screeched.

“Okay! Okay! You can go with her.”

Nicole stepped up to the guard. “What about the rest of us, whitey?”

“Westerfeld?” The one guard looked to the other. “Did you read the Corporation pamphlet on racial sensitivity in the workplace?”

“No. I read Sexual Harassment and You: Why Sally Cries When You Touch Her in Meetings.”

“Well, I’m not getting my butt handed to me by corporate.”

The other guard shrugged. “They’re a bunch of girls. How dangerous could they be?”

“Okay. But be quick.” The first guard punched in the code, and try as they might, the girls couldn’t make it out. The doors opened. “Fourth floor.”

“Thanks!” they said, and held their breath as the elevator shot them down.