Cover

Dedication

To the joy of our hearts and the future of our world—THE KIDS . . .

As I did with books one and two, I also dedicate to you this third book of

The Coin Slot Chronicles—Arcade and The Fiery Metal Tester.

I trust you’ve already read The Triple T Token and The Golden Travel Guide.

If not, I highly recommend you do. They truly help you begin to understand the

mysterious people, places, and things Arcade experiences. And in this book,

things really begin to heat up! So you might want to read it in a cool place!

I’d like to also dedicate this book to you, the amazing parents, teachers,

librarians, and school administrators. You are truly instrumental in

making my school visits and book signings an absolute pleasure!

Finally, for all who will read my words,

I pray that something in the pages of this third book of

Arcade’s incredible adventures will find its way to the center of your

heart, and that it sets ablaze within you the desire to let nothing keep you

from your great quest of becoming the best version of yourself . . .

Again, happy travels!

Chapter 1
102nd Floor

“Arcade, QUIT pushing the elevator buttons! You don’t have control over them.”

“CHILL, Zoe! I think by now I know what I’m doing.”

“No, you DON’T. This is the Empire State Building, not one of your arcade token adventures.”

I stepped back from the button panel and wrapped my hand around the Triple T Token that was hanging from the gold chain around my neck. It had been in my possession almost six months now—heating up and pulsing whenever it felt like it, taking my friends and me on journeys around the world, into my past, and even into my future! Today, the token kept its cool, hanging there like any medallion would. That was a relief. I stared at the display above the elevator doors.

78, 79, 80 . . .

My older sister, Zoe, and I were on our way up to the top of the Empire State Building to meet our parents. They had left a note for us on the dining room table that hot, August morning:

Zoe and Arcade,

Meet us at 1:00 pm on top of the Empire State Building. Tickets are in the attached envelope. We will have our annual back-to-school goals talk there!

Love, Mom and Dad

And now it was 12:45. Dad always says that on time is late, so our only option was to be early. Especially since we were going to have the dreaded goals talk.

“This is a pretty smooth elevator ride.” Zoe bit her pinkie nail while she drummed her fingers on her bent elbow.

“You nervous?”

“Me?” Zoe pointed her thumb at her chest. “Why should I be nervous?”

“Goals . . . back to school . . . talks with parents . . .”

Ding!

The elevator doors opened. We stepped out and were greeted by a smiling lady whose badge said her name was Marjorie.

“Welcome to the 86th floor.”

I grinned. “Thanks! But doesn’t this building have 102 floors? I’m pretty sure I read that in a fifty-pound coffee table book I checked out from the library.”

Her eyes brightened. “New York City: A Coffee Table Tour?”

“Yeah, that’s the one!” I pointed my index finger toward the sky.

Zoe rolled her eyes.

Marjorie continued. “I have that book at home. It’s a favorite. And you’re quite right, young man. There are 102 floors. What’s your name?”

“Arcade Livingston.” I held my hand out to shake hers. “Nice to meet you, ma’am.”

“Arcade? What a magical name! Follow me, you two. The building narrows here, so you have to change to an elevator in the center to make it all the way to the top.”

“So it’s just like the subway, huh? I love it! Lead the way.”

“Yeah, just like it.” Zoe laughed. “Except we’re above ground. And there are fewer people. And we’re traveling vertically, not horizontally. Other than that, and a handful of other differences, it’s just like the subway.” Zoe cut in front of me, jostling me into the wall of the narrow hallway.

“What I meant was, it’s like the subway because we have to change cars. When are you gonna start thinkin’ like me so we don’t keep having all these arguments?”

Zoe stopped and turned, crossing her arms. “Umm, never?!? And I prefer to call them debates.”

“Of course you do.”

Marjorie led us to a special elevator in the middle of the building. “Here you go, young people. Enjoy the rest of your ride. It’s a beautiful day. You’ll be able to see forever. And make sure you come back and check out the 86th floor open-air observation deck.”

“We’ll do that on the way down. Thank you, ma’am.” I stepped into the elevator car and Zoe followed. The doors closed.

Ding!

I reached for Triple T. It was cool to the touch, just like it had been ever since the middle of June when Zoe and I returned from our cousins Celeste and Derek’s house in Forest, Virginia. Cool was perfect. It had been the hottest summer ever recorded in New York City, and I needed some time to figure things out.

The display above the doors clicked away. 100, 101, 102 . . .

I opened my mouth and tried to yawn. “Are your ears plugged?”

“Huh?” Zoe pressed her finger in front of her ear and wiggled it.

Ding!

“WHOA! That was the quickest elevator ride of my life!” I stepped forward. The doors opened, and this time we were greeted by a smiling gentleman named Reynold.

“Welcome to the top of the Empire State Building! You’re in luck. You’re the only ones up here. That hardly ever happens.”

“Really?” I stepped out of the elevator to have a look around. “This is dope!”

Zoe chewed away on her nail. “Are you sure there’s not a married couple up here? Our parents are supposed to meet us at one o’clock.”

Reynold shook his head. “Haven’t seen ‘em yet. And I see everyone who makes it up here to the top.”

“Hmmm. I wonder if we should wait here for them.” Zoe looked around and took her pink and purple tie-dyed backpack off her shoulders.

Reynold led us toward the enclosed, circular observatory. “Not necessary. Go ahead and enjoy the view. When they arrive, I’ll let them know you’re here.”

“First one who finds the Times Square ball wins!” I yelled, and we both charged in opposite directions.

Zoe headed to the left side of the building, and I went right. No surprise there. I scanned the horizon filled with skyscrapers, water, ferries, and bridges below. I found the Statue of Liberty. It looked like the size of a chess piece!

“Whoa.”

“There’s the Brooklyn Bridge!” Zoe pointed out. I’d been over it in a taxi only once, but there was no mistaking it.

I wanted to keep staring out, but I had a game to win, and from all my study of the geography of Manhattan, I knew I was looking south. Times Square was north from here. I turned and made my way toward the other side of the building so I could beat my sister to the ball.

I raced alongside the windows, focused on the New York City skyline, but before I reached the north end of the observatory, I ran right into a little old woman wearing white sweats and a . . . Triple T ball cap! My mouth hung open. I had seen her only a few times before. And the first time I would never forget. It was at the Ivy Park library right after our move to New York City. That day she gave me the Triple T Token and told me, “Happy travels.”

She sat there, knocked to the ground, her ball cap glowing with gold and silver glitter. “Arcade, you’re getting big.”

I reached out a hand to help her up. “I’m so sorry! I didn’t see you there.”

She stood, brushed herself off, and stared at me.

I looked around. Reynold was nowhere in sight. “How’d you get up here?”

“Elevator,” she said, raising an eyebrow. “Just like the subway.”

I laughed. “I like how you think.”

“I like how you think. That’s why you have the token.”

“Yeeeeaaaahhhhh. About that. I have a LOT of questions for you, like—”

She put her hand on my chest. “Sorry, no time. But I do have to tell you one thing. Things are about to heat up. In all areas. To test your mettle.”

My metal?

“It’s all part of the process.”

Process?

“Trust the tester . . .”

Tester?

“Arcade!” Zoe’s voice echoed in the distance. “I found the ball! I win!” I turned to see Zoe standing by a window in the corner of the observation room. She had her phone out, taking pictures, no doubt to record the moment and have proof that she won.

“No! I hate losing to my sister!”

When I turned back toward the old woman, she was gone.

Chapter 2
#GOALZ

“Arcade! I beat you! I know it looks tiny, but that’s it. The Times Square ball. I win!”

I stood there, gazing out the window, down, down, down at a little glowing ball.

“Arcade?”

Yep, that’s the ball alright.

“Arcade?”

What did she mean, things were going to heat up?

“ARCADE!”

“That is seriously a long way down. Good thing Doug isn’t here.”

Zoe put a hand on her hip. “Aren’t you going to acknowledge that I beat you?”

“Were we in a race? The thin air up here must be messing with your mind.”

Zoe sighed and threw her head back. “You’re impossible.” She took a step back from the window and shielded her eyes from the sun. “It really is a good thing Doug isn’t here.”

Doug Baker is my best friend in New York City. He lives three doors down from our brownstone in Upper West Side Manhattan. Doug lives in a brownstone, too, but it’s painted green. And he’s deathly afraid of heights.

I scanned the northern view of Manhattan. “Wow. Central Park is huge! I can almost see the whole thing.” I squinted and tried to zero in on the area where my new middle school, MS 230, was located, somewhere around W 93rd Street.

“Check it out, there’s the Thanksgiving parade route!” Zoe pointed straight down. I followed her finger to a narrow street that bent sharply next to Macy’s Department Store.

“They carry the big balloons down that street? Amazing.” As I leaned into the window for a closer look, a hand rested on my shoulder.

“Have you ever seen a more spectacular view?” It was Dad, and he had his arm linked with Mom’s.

If only I could tell you about the time on top of that Egyptian pyramid . . .

Mom moved in between Zoe and me and peered out the window. “I’m so proud that you made it here all by yourselves. You’re so grown up! We thought this would be a great place to discuss your goals for the year.”

Gulp.

Dad squeezed in between Mom and me. “But we’re going simple this time. It’s been a stressful year for all of us, and since we know you’ll both do fine in your studies, we’re focusing on two other things: building character and having fun.” Dad glanced at me and raised an eyebrow.

Zoe stepped back from the window, ran both hands through her hair, and frowned. “Wait. No goals about grade point averages? Or trying different kinds of vegetables? Or learning a new skill?” She loves setting those kinds of goals.

“You heard your dad,” Mom said, waving a hand in the air. “Character and fun.”

I heaved a sigh of relief.

Dad stepped back next to Zoe and pulled up a memo app on his phone. “So, let’s talk character. Zoe, what’s a character trait that you would like to strengthen this year?”

“Zoe would like to become less bossy,” I blurted out.

Zoey glared. “And Arcade would like to become more open to correction.”

Mom shook her head. “That’s not how it works. You may not set goals for each other.”

“Yes, but it’s easier that way.” I gave Zoe a side glance and a smirk. She reached over and covered my face with her hand.

“Patience,” Zoe said. “I need to be more patient. With Arcade, of course, but I also struggle waiting for things to fall into place.”

Dad nodded. “And nothing has fallen into place in New York City?”

Zoe bit her lip. “Nothing yet.”

Dad typed out some words on his phone. “Patience for Zoe. Got it.” He looked back up, catching her glance. “And what would you like to do for fun?”

Zoe looked out toward Central Park and smiled. “I’d like to do some bird-watching in the Ramble.”

“Ramble?” I stared out at the city. “What’s that?”

“The Ramble. You know. It’s that section of the park with all the twisty paths. We’ve been through there a couple times. I read that it’s one of the top bird-watching locations in the United States.”

“Sounds boring,” I said.

Zoe pushed me in the shoulder. “It’s NOT boring. In fact, there is quite a bit of adventure to be discovered in the Ramble. I heard there’s a secret cave that’s been closed to the public since the 1920s.”

Hmmm. Secret cave?

Dad typed some more, then put his hand on Zoe’s shoulder. “Great choice, Zoe. I think those two goals will go together nicely.”

Mom stepped up next to me. “So how about you, Arcade? What character trait would you like to work on?”

I leaned my elbows against the window ledge, resting my chin in my hand. “Mom, this sounds a lot like a ‘feelings’ talk. Can’t we just go with a GPA goal?”

“And what’s wrong with feelings?” Zoe put a hand on her hip.

I shivered. “They’re confusing. I like facts.”

“Yeah? Like how many sides are on a stop sign?”

“That’s easy. There’s ten.”

“No. There’s eight.”

“Ten.”

“Really? Arcade, maybe you should focus on feelings more. Your facts are a little wonky.”

“That’s enough, you two.” Dad looked up from his phone and gave me a funny grin. “Hey, how about compassion?”

My token heated up a little. “Compassion?”

“Yes. We already know you’re a kid who likes to help people. So somewhere in that eleven-year-old heart of yours are the seeds of great compassion. Maybe you’d like to grow in that area this year?”

Zoe pulled up the definition of compassion on her phone. “Compassion. A feeling—”

“Oh, here we go with the feelings! I told you—”

Zoe put her phone under my nose. “Ahem . . . a feeling of deep sympathy and sorrow for another who is stricken by misfortune, accompanied by a strong desire to alleviate the suffering.” She looked up at me. “I agree with Dad. Compassion would be a good character goal for you.”

I waited for her to end with a joke. A tease. An insult. Anything.

But there was only silence. With everyone just staring at me.

“Okay! But I don’t know anyone who is . . . what did it say exactly? Stricken by misfortune?”

Dad approached the window and looked out over Manhattan. “Hmmm. I suppose that there might be someone out there in this city who’s been stricken by a little misfortune, don’t you think? And knowing you, son, you’ll run right into them.”

“Yep, knowing you . . .” Zoe snickered.

I elbowed her. “Fine. I’ll take compassion.”

Dad typed “compassion” into his phone.

“And how about the fun goal?” Mom breathed in deep as she took in the view. “Hey, check it out. There’s Rockefeller Center. That’s where they decorate the huge Christmas tree every year.” She draped her arm over Dad’s shoulder. “We should go to the tree lighting this year.”

That gave me a fun goal idea.

“I’d like to experience New York City.”

Zoe looked around. “Uh, duh. We’ve been living here for six months, Arcade.”

“Yeah, but we haven’t done any of the fun stuff. You know, the Statue of Liberty, Times Square . . . and this is the first time I’ve been to the top of the Empire State Building. I haven’t even seen a Broadway show yet, and Dad works on Broadway!”

Dad dropped his chin. “I’m sorry, Arcade. Your mom and I have been so busy working. I guess we haven’t been the greatest travel guides.”

The Triple T Token sent a little shock through my body.

Not now!

Dad typed in my fun goal: See New York City. “Okay, that’s it. We’re done.”

“That’s it? No wise speeches? Or famous quotes? How about a story from your youth?” Those things had been a big part of all our goal-setting meetings in the past. I scratched my head. “No prayer?”

Dad cracked a smile. “Oh, yeah, we’re definitely going to have a prayer.”

“Oh, good.”

“And you can do it.”

“ME?”

“YEAH.”

“HERE?”

“I think it would be great for you to pray for the family.” Mom moved in closer and grabbed my hand and Zoe’s hand. Dad pulled in between Zoe and me. And there we were, getting ready to pray on the top of the Empire State Building!

They all bowed their heads. I looked around, expecting to see the Triple T woman staring at me. But we were the only ones up there. I bowed my head and cleared my throat. “Um, Lord . . . thank you for my family and for all the new experiences here in New York City. This year, please give us a new way of looking at things. Make Zoe more patient and show me how to have more compassion. And help us have fun while we do it. Amen.”

Chapter 3
Falling into Place

“So, are you two okay getting home? Dad and I have health checkups in an hour.” Mom linked arms with Dad again as we waited for the first set of elevators to take us down to the 86th floor observation deck.

Reynold waved. “You got lucky, being up here all by yourselves. Come see us again soon!”

“Are you sure there wasn’t anyone else up here this whole time?” I asked.

Like an old lady wearing white sweats and a Triple T ball cap?

Reynold stuck out a lip and shook his head. “Not on top of this building, son. Like I said, everyone who comes up here passes by me.”

“Okay.” I glanced around, looking for glitter. “Seems kinda weird.”

Reynold held the doors open as my family entered. “It hardly ever happens, but when it does, I like to call it the Manhattan Miracle. It’s like someone reserved the top of the Empire State Building just for your family today, for some special purpose. I’d start paying real close attention to what happens next.”

“Thank you, Reynold,” Mom said. “Have a blessed day.”

The doors closed in front of us. As we descended to the 86th floor, our ears popping, I couldn’t help but wonder what happened to that Triple T lady. And what in the world she meant by “test my metal.”

*  *  *

The view from the 86th floor was awesome too. We couldn’t see as much of Central Park, but there was a nice breeze outside to cool us down just a bit on such a hot day.

Mom checked her watch. “Oh, dear, we better be on our way. Do you kids want to stay a little longer?”

I wiped a little sweat drop from my forehead. “Nah. I’m ready to go.”

“Me too.” Zoe turned and headed toward the elevators. “And don’t worry, Arcade and I will be fine getting home.”

“Yeah, we’re pretty much experts on the subway. And now, with my new ‘fun’ goal, I guess I need to pay attention to what’s above ground too.”

“Fair enough,” Dad said. “Do you have rides left on your metro cards?”

Zoe and I both nodded.

Dad shook an index finger at us. “But even though you feel comfortable, you need to stay alert. Trouble can be anywhere. Keep an eye on one another and text me when you get home.”

“I’ll text you,” Zoe said. “Arcade never knows where his phone is.”

“Yes, I do!”

“Oh, yeah? Then where is it right now?”

I reached for the back pocket of my jeans.

Empty!

“Hey! I know I put it in there!”

“Ha!” Zoe held up my phone. “I pickpocketed you five minutes ago!”

“Give it back, zoo breath!”

Zoe laughed and handed it over. I slipped it in my back pocket.

Ding!

The elevator had arrived to take us down to the bottom floor. We all stepped in and had to crunch in with a crowd.

“Hey, Mom, what’s the craziest elevator you’ve ever ridden?”

Mom looked up toward the elevator ceiling. “Hmmmm.” Then she glanced over and gave Dad a funny look. “Must’ve been that time we rode one to Australia.”

Dad’s eyes widened.

“You rode one to Australia?” Triple T jumped inside my shirt.

Mom crunched her eyebrows together. “Oh, did I say to? I meant in. The craziest elevator ride was in Australia.” Then she turned and looked straight ahead. But the look on her face told me there was more to the story. Much more.

*  *  *

“Zoe, I think Mom knows I have the Triple T Token.”

Zoe and I bobbed and weaved through the crowd on the way to the 50th Street subway station.

“That’s ridiculous. How could she know?” We stopped at the crosswalk. The red hand blinked away, but the cars were stopped and not going anywhere, so we zigzagged our way around them.

“Because when she mentioned the elevator in Australia, she had a look. I don’t know. I can’t explain it. I think we should tell her, Zoe. We should tell her everything.”

We reached the top of the stairs to the subway. “Everything? You want to tell her about the Badger brothers, how they’re after you, and that we left them hanging off the Golden Gate Bridge in 1935? Oh, yeah, and let’s tell her all about the time we traveled halfway around the world to India. I’m sure she won’t mind.”

“Mom had the token before us. She knows how it works.”

“Do you know how it works, Arcade?”

I reached for the token inside my shirt. “Of course not.”

“Then she probably doesn’t either. I think we should wait a little longer before we talk to her. We need patience, remember?”

“No, you need patience. I need compas—”

Right then something ran into me. Something huge.

“AHHHHHHHHHH!”

The Story Continues on BooksBarbecue!

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