The awkward bird shoots out the door. Then he takes a few running steps, flaps his wings, and begins to fly low to the ground.

“Catch him, Arcade!” Zoe and I run down the pathway after the flamingo, who finally tires and lands near a bench. I kick into high gear, and as I come closer, he turns to me, and lets out a loud, high-pitched, SQUAWK!

I laugh and grab him up in my arms. “Flames, you gotta get back into the bird house. There are wild animals out here.” I have never held a flamingo, and I hope he won’t try to take a chunk out of my nose with his beak.

Zoe catches up to us, breathing hard. “Unbelievable, Arcade! Leave it to you to go on a bird chase in China.” She stops for a minute and pets the flamingo’s soft, white feathers.

SQUAWK!!!!!

Zoe pulls her hand away and steps back. “Hey, don’t complain to me, bird. You’re the one who escaped your home.” Zoe looks around. “We better put him back, Arcade.”

A few curious kids surround us, and I have to push through them to get back on the path to the aviary. They reach out to pet the flamingo, but I pull him in tight and shake my head. “He’s trembling. We have to get him back to his house.”

Suddenly, I hear a deep voice, yelling something in Chinese. Zoe’s eyes widen as she points behind me. I turn my head to see three adults in zookeeper uniforms, jogging toward me.

“Oh, man, we’re busted!!” I run toward the doors of the aviary, which now look like they’re on fire. Swirling, snapping pieces of orange and red glitter rise up from the ground. I swallow hard.

“NOOOOOOO! Not NOW! I have to get this little guy back . . .”

I feel a clunk on my chest. The Triple T Token has returned. I pick up speed toward the door. The zookeepers’ shouts are louder now. I consider turning around and trying to explain, but what would I say? I don’t speak Chinese! By the time I reach the door to the aviary, a mini tornado of glitter is blocking the entrance. A golden coin slot pokes out through the storm.

“Zoe! The token is calling us back!” The flamingo squawks and hooks his neck around my upper arm, like he’s trying to hang on.

“Arcade! See if you can open the aviary door and throw him in!” Zoe, who is now standing next to me covered in swirling glitter, gestures toward the door.

I reach out as far as I can, but my hand runs into a different kind of door. Golden elevator doors. The coin slot pulses, and the token singes my skin.