“Ouch!” I pull the token from under my shirt with my free hand. “I’m sorry, Flames, I gotta go.” I look into the flamingo’s eyes and, for a second, I think he understands me. “As soon as someone opens the door, you fly in and get back to your family, okay?”

I put him down on the ground, and he’s immediately covered in glitter. “Take care, adventurous one,” I say. I grab the token and it comes off in my hand, just like all the other times.

“Zoe! Are you here?” I can’t see a thing because my glasses are plastered with orange and red glitter. She grabs my hand.

“YES. Let’s go, Arcade! NOW!!!”

I reach out and move my hand around until it bumps into the slot. I drop the token in and the doors, which are now right in front of the aviary, open.

“Hold on!”

Zoe tumbles into the elevator and stays balled up on the ground. I do the same as the doors close and the elevator begins its jack-hammering—UP this time!

*  *  *

It’s a shaky ride. Dusty too. Thankfully the air conditioning is going again, and another pair of icy-cold water bottles rolls around on the floor.

Several minutes later, when the dust finally clears, we’re sitting back in Elijah’s pedicab in Central Park. I recognize him in the distance, purchasing some water bottles from a street vendor. I breathe a sigh of relief, knowing that soon we’ll be relaxing in our brownstone on 88th Street.

But then I hear it.

Squawk! Squawk!

We have a stowaway. All the way from the Beijing Zoo.

Chapter 6
Squawking Bike

Zoe jumped up off the pedicab seat. “Arcade! What was that noise?”

I looked down at my feet. Gulp. Flames the flamingo had his little fluffy neck wrapped around my calf.

“Ummmm . . . that was the sound of this flamingo.” I lifted up my foot to show Zoe.

She grabbed her head with her hands. “NO! No, no, no, no, no! This can’t be happening. We don’t bring things back! That’s not how it works!”

I held a finger up in the air. “Well, there was that one time, after the rodeo, when I found your clown nose in the side pocket of your backpack.”

Zoe closed her eyes while rubbing both her temples. “A squishy red clown nose is NOT a live flamingo!”

I reached down and smoothed the little guy’s feathers. He was shaking, holding on tight to me with his neck. He was still covered with orange glitter, making him look like a grown up, more flamboyant flamingo.

“Aww, he must be so scared. That elevator ride was really bumpy this time.” I reached down, pried him off my leg, and set him on my lap. “It’s okay, buddy. I got you.”

By this time, Elijah was making his way back to the pedicab with the water bottles.