Mr. Dooley nodded. “Yes, Arcade. Patrick Dooley, owner of Empire Fish Market. Come with me. I’ll introduce you.”

*  *  *

“PATRICK, THIS IS ZOE, DOUG, AND ARCADE. DOUG AND ARCADE ARE MY STUDENTS.”

Mr. Dooley pulled a fifty-dollar bill out of his pocket and placed it on the counter. “HOOK THEM UP WITH SOME OF YOUR BEST FISH.”

Patrick, a sunny, smiling guy, yelled from behind the fish counter. “Anything for my favorite brother!”

“Wow, thanks Mr. Dooley,” I said.

“You are welcome, Arcade. Now you all better get in line. This place will be hopping soon. I have an appointment, so I have to run. BUT I’LL SEE YOU TWO BOYS AT SCHOOL IN ONE WEEK!”

And with that, Mr. Dooley opened the door to the fish market. The little bell jingled, and he was gone.

Chapter 11
Boyfriend on Broadway

“Did Mr. Dooley say he’d see us at school? Did he forget that we’re going to middle school?” I picked up the pace to try to catch Zoe, who was speed walking north, away from the fish market.

Doug put a hand to his forehead and squeezed. “I don’t know, Arcade. Maybe we didn’t pass the sixth grade and they forgot to tell us.”

“Nah, I’m sure we passed.”

Zoe stopped and turned to yell back at us. “Pick it up, boys! At this rate, we won’t make it home for dinner!”

Doug and I did our best to catch up, but it wasn’t quite fair. After all, we were the ones carrying the heavy bags of shrimp.

“You think Mr. Dooley’s brother bought our story about why we needed so much shrimp?” Doug lifted the bag up and took a huge whiff.

“Why wouldn’t he believe us? We have a friend visiting from out of town who lives for shrimp and we want to surprise him. That’s the truth!”

“But who’s the friend?” Doug asked.

“Who’s the friend?”

“Yeah, who’s the friend?”

“Who’s splashing around in your bathroom right now?”

“Who’s splashing around in my bathroom right now?”

Zoe stopped and threw her hands up in the air. “BROADWAY! Why can’t we get off Broadway?”

Doug and I stopped, and I pointed to the street signs at the crossing. “It’s 54th and Broadway. We’re making progress! We’ve gone twenty blocks so far.”

Zoe gave me the crazy eyes. “We are NOT making progress! Your token is taking us in circles! We were lost on Broadway two hours ago, remember?”

“Zoe?”

A young man’s voice came from behind me and Doug. Zoe glanced over our shoulders. Her tense face softened immediately.

“Hi, Michael.” Zoe smoothed her hair and straightened her ruffled T-shirt.

Michael Tolley.

Michael Tolley is the older brother of bullies Kevin and Casey Tolley, and they happen to live on our street. And though she’s never admitted it, Zoe has a huge crush on him.