When Héctor turned to look at what they were pointing at, he saw that the diner motif was gone, just like that. Had he seen it change? Nope. On the other side of the Room, tucked up against the wall, was the cloudlike bed he had used in one of his early visits. He felt a pull then, like the bed was beckoning him, and he yawned. Which was followed by Juliana yawning, which caused Sal to yawn, too.

The chain reaction nearly looped back to Héctor before he shook his head. “I didn’t realize how tired I was,” he said.

“Me either,” said Sal, who then pointed to the bed again. “So . . . there’s a bed here. A whole bed.”

“There wasn’t even a sound!” exclaimed Juliana. “Isn’t that, like . . . not even scientific?”

“I have a feeling this place cares nothing about science,” said Héctor, and he walked over to the bed and touched it tentatively. “Please stop me from taking a nap right now.”

“Okay, I got one!” announced Juliana. “I need a pony.”

There was silence. A lot of it.

“I really do!” she continued. “It would make me happy, so cough it up, Room. A pony.”

She held her hand out, as if a pony could fit in her palm.

Nothing happened.

Juliana crossed her arms in front of her. “I guess the Room thinks I don’t need a pony. I disagree!”

“Lemme try,” said Sal. They closed their eyes and took a deep breath. “I need . . . a thousand dollars.”

“Okay!” said Héctor. “Go big!”

But much to their collective dismay, no money appeared in the Room.

“Maybe we’re not taking this seriously enough,” said Héctor. “It’s easy to think of things I want, but need?”

“I do need rooms to be cooler,” said Sal. “I always run kinda hot. So . . . could the temperature go lower?”

Within seconds, Héctor felt a noticeable chill in the air. “Oh my God,” he said. “That worked.”

“It’s so weird!” said Sal. “Like, who are we even talking to? Is someone listening to us?”

Héctor ran his hands up and down his arms. “Well, now I need a sweater,” he said.

The booth the trio had been sitting in minutes before was gone. Of course, Héctor never saw it disappear. In its place was a standing coatrack, one that had multiple sweaters—pullovers, a few hoodies, and a thick cardigan—hanging off it.

“You’re kidding me,” he said, and he heard Sal and Juliana gasp once they spotted it, too.

“This is amazing!” said Juliana, who dashed over to the rack and ran her fingers down one of the sleeves. “You basically summoned it.”

Héctor grabbed the black cardigan and slipped his arms into it. It was so soft!

“I can’t believe this,” said Sal, reaching out to touch one of the hoodies. “Except it’s really happening.”