Escape Read online

  That was a lie. But it was also the only way to get out of an awkward breakfast.

  He didn’t wait for them to say it was okay. He walked to the front door. Behind him, he heard his dad say, “You’re too soft on him,” while his mother countered, “Me? You’re the one who refuses to give him structure.”

  He was out the door and down the street as fast as he could go.

  He wasn’t selected that day, or the next day, either.

  He found out halfway through recess that someone named Jade Goldsmith was going to have their dreams come true.

  “There’s still a chance,” Patrick told him.

  But was there? Really?

  There was only one spot left. What were the chances it would go to him?

  Cody couldn’t even respond. He just stared at the announcement on his phone and felt his heart sink slowly into his feet.

  “Come on,” Laura said. “Let’s go, I don’t know, play a game or something. You two are starting to depress me.”

  He let her drag him over to the basketball court, where they shot hoops (or, really, he tried to shoot hoops and just ended up throwing the ball wide). He was so numb he didn’t even hear the bell ring for the end of recess.

  He was so numb, he didn’t hear anything for the rest of the day.

  Which was probably a good thing, because his parents were on a roll when he got home that night.

  He locked himself in his bedroom.

  When he finally fell asleep, staring at his phone screen and hoping for an update that would change his life, he couldn’t even remember if he’d eaten dinner.

  * * *

  “Anything?” Patrick asked when Cody got to school the next morning.

  “No,” Cody said. “You?”

  Patrick shook his head.

  They’d both signed up for the raffle. And they both assumed that the winners would get some sort of notification before it went live on social media … but they weren’t sure of that, either. The winners were entirely hush-hush about the process. Even getting in was as secretive as the place itself.

  “Still time,” Cody pointed out. “They haven’t announced yet.”

  “Totally,” Patrick replied. He hesitated, looking at his feet. “What are you going to do if, you know …”

  “What?”

  “If you don’t get in,” Patrick finished in a rush. He looked sheepishly to Cody. “I mean, I’m sure some of those celebs are going to livestream that whole week. Are you going to watch or … ?”

  Cody hadn’t given it much thought.

  Well, actually, he’d given it a lot of thought, and he didn’t want to be thinking about it at all.

  If he didn’t get in.

  If he didn’t get in, what would he do?

  He’d spent the last three and a half months dreaming of himself there. Dreaming of everything the opportunity would change. It had never just been about getting to be there first, or doing something exclusive. It had been the opportunity to be around people doing amazing things. So amazing that they’d inspire him, or take him along for the ride. To be in a place where even his wildest dreams were a reality—which meant he could find ways to make his dreams a reality in the real world, too. It had been about taking a thousand steps toward his goal of creating his own theme park.

  If he didn’t get in, if all that was taken away from him …

  “I don’t know,” he said. “I’ll probably tune in, I guess.”

  It would kill him to see other people having fun there. It would kill him more to miss out. At least if he was watching a stream, it would sort of feel like he was experiencing it all there with them. Right?

  “I mean, maybe Laura was right,” Patrick ventured. “We’re really getting our hopes up and I’m sure a billion kids registered. It was international, man. We can always pick a weekend and go ourselves. Save up some money. I’ve been mowing lawns and Laura has been babysitting her little cousin. It won’t be the end of the world.”

  Cody looked down.

  Okay, so maybe he wasn’t being totally honest.

  This was about being the first there. It was about feeling special and important, about being around special and important people. He’d always been passed over, always been the quiet nerdy kid most people ignored. He wanted to feel … well, he wanted to feel like he was something. And going to the park after everyone else had had their fun—it didn’t feel the same. He’d still get to see the rides, sure. But that magic wouldn’t be there.

  “Maybe you’re right,” Cody admitted. Maybe it’s time to start accepting reality.

  Depression set in … but before it could get very far, the school bell rang, and Cody and the rest of his classmates shuffled inside.

  His phone buzzed in Mr. Kearns’s class.

  Right in the middle of the quiz. Of course it was in the middle of the quiz.

  He’d set his notifications so his email was a special pattern.

  And this was definitely an email.

  The only email account he had linked to his phone was the one he’d created specifically for updates from the ESCAPE raffle.

  He had only gotten one email from them, and that was just after he’d signed up, as confirmation.

  His hand went to his pocket, but he froze before he pulled out the phone. Mr. Kearns was looking right at him. He didn’t want to push it.

  He pretended to scratch his leg and went back to answering the quiz. But he couldn’t focus.

  His phone buzzed again with another notification.

  Two emails in a row? That can’t be right.

  His hand twitched, but he didn’t reach for his phone. He swore everyone in the class was side-eyeing him, especially Mr. Kearns, could swear they’d all heard the vibration and were just waiting for him to slip up.

  He looked up at the clock on the wall. Only ten minutes until class was over. He could check it in the hall. It would be fine. It would be fine.

  His phone buzzed again.

  Three emails?

  He couldn’t help it. Trying to be as sly as possible, he leaned back and slipped his phone partway from his pocket, just enough to see the notifications screen.

  Three notifications.

  Three emails.

  All from ESCAPE.

  But his privacy settings meant he couldn’t read them until logging in.

  His hand trembled. He looked up at Mr. Kearns. Thankfully his teacher wasn’t looking at him.

  If he was quick …

  He pulled his phone out the whole way and entered his passcode.

  The screen unlocked.

  URGENT! read one.

  OPEN IMMEDIATELY! read the next.

  THIS IS NOT A TEST! read the final one.

  He couldn’t breathe. He couldn’t move. This can’t be real. This can’t be happening.

  He had to know what they said.

  Just as he was about to open a message, his phone buzzed with a fourth email. ANNOUNCING OUR NEWEST WINNER …

  “Cody Baxter!” Mr. Kearns called out.

  Cody jolted in his seat. His phone skidded across the floor facedown. His brain wasn’t computing. Had he just won?

  He scrambled to pick up the phone, but Mr. Kearns was standing at his side, and was much faster. Mr. Kearns grabbed the phone and slipped it in his pocket. Without even looking at the screen.

  “I’ll be keeping this,” Mr. Kearns said. He looked at Cody with real disappointment in his eyes. If Cody wasn’t so nervous and excited, he would have felt bad.

  “Please,” Cody said. He tried to keep his voice down, but he was acutely aware that everyone in the class had given up on focusing on their quiz, and was staring at him. “Can I have it back?”

  Mr. Kearns laughed. “I’m actually kind of shocked you’d ask that. You know phones aren’t allowed in the classroom.”

  “I know, but …” He looked around. Whispered his next words. “I think I won.”

  “Judging by your quiz, I’d have to beg to differ,” Mr. Kearns s
aid. He tapped the quiz with a finger. “Finish this. If you don’t get at least a B, you’ll have detention for the week. And you’ll get your phone back at the end of the day—”

  “But!”

  “Ask again, and you won’t get it back at all.”

  “But you don’t understand, I think I won! I think I’m going to ESCAPE.”

  Mr. Kearns sighed. “Fine. I’m keeping your phone. And I’m going to have a little chat with your parents.”

  Cody opened his mouth to protest, but Mr. Kearns was faster. “Don’t make this worse for yourself, Cody,” he said.

  Cody didn’t say anything.

  Mr. Kearns nodded. He looked at the rest of the class. “Well? I don’t see any moving pencils.”

  Everyone went back to work. Cody just stared at Mr. Kearns’s retreating back.

  Don’t make this worse for yourself, he’d said. How could it get worse than this?

  * * *

  “I can’t believe you got Mr. Kearns mad at you,” Patrick said, almost in awe. “He’s, like, a pacifist or something.” They were walking down the hall between classes, and Patrick and Laura had rushed up to him—apparently, everyone in school was talking about it.

  Laura huffed beside him. “I can’t believe you did that in class. What were you thinking?”

  “I think I got a ticket,” Cody admitted.

  “WHAT?!” Patrick roared.

  People stopped and stared. Laura actually jumped.

  “I mean, are you serious?” Patrick asked, only a little quieter.

  “Yeah,” Cody said. He looked at Laura. His next words were defensive. “I wouldn’t have checked my phone otherwise.”

  “You gotta get it back!” Patrick said. “I’ve heard the links expire after a few hours. You know, in case they accidentally pick a bot or something.”

  “I can’t,” Cody said. “There’s no way Mr. Kearns will give it back. And he’s … he’s calling my parents.”

  “Ugh,” Laura grunted. She hated his parents.

  “Wait, what if you use my phone?” Patrick suggested, completely ignoring Cody’s familial plight. He pulled out his phone. “You can log in to your email and check from here.”

  Cody shook his head. “Can’t. I have one of those gibberish password creators. And I don’t remember the master password.”

  “So what are we going to do?” Patrick asked.

  Cody shrugged.

  “Hope my parents don’t kill me,” Cody said. “And that the link doesn’t expire before then.”

  “It’s going to be a long day,” Patrick mumbled.

  * * *

  It was a long day.

  Cody couldn’t focus in any class. He kept trying to recall his password, but there was no way to remember. The master password was written on a note card. In his bedroom. Without it, he was locked out.

  He wasn’t just trying to focus on remembering his password so he could check his email—though that was definitely the main reason. He was trying to focus on that, and only that, so he could ignore the inevitable confrontation with his parents.

  When the final bell rang, he made his way back to Mr. Kearns’s room.

  Mr. Kearns wasn’t alone.

  Cody’s mom and dad were standing there as well.

  “I have never been more disappointed in you in my entire life,” his mom said—again—as they drove home.

  They lived only a few blocks away, but his parents didn’t let him walk. They also weren’t driving straight home—they circled around town, forcing him to sit and listen as they berated him.

  “I’m sorry,” he said.

  “And all this over a stupid theme park,” his dad said for the hundredth time.

  It isn’t stupid, he wanted to say. “I’m sorry,” he repeated instead.

  “No phone. It’s going away until you’ve earned it.”

  “But!”

  “No!” his dad roared. “We’re done. End of discussion. You’re grounded for the rest of the weekend, too.”

  Cody bit his tongue. He knew grumbling and fighting wouldn’t make it any better.

  He slouched back in his seat and stared out the window as his parents continued to fight—first yelling at him, then at each other when they started throwing blame for being bad parents.

  He was stuck.

  Forever.

  * * *

  It didn’t end when he got home.

  The moment they pulled in the drive and he tried to hide in his room, his dad intercepted him.

  “Oh, no, you don’t,” he said. His dad stormed ahead of him, pounding up the stairs.

  Cody looked to his mom, but she wasn’t any consolation. She just shrugged and walked into the kitchen. Worried, Cody followed his dad up to his bedroom.

  His dad was on a rampage.

  “You can’t!” Cody yelled as his dad ripped down one of his mock-ups for a Tilt-A-Whirl reinvention.

  “Watch me,” his dad replied. He ripped down another drawing. “I’m sick of you wasting your time on this nonsense. From now on, you’re going to be focused on school and nothing else, got it?”

  Cody stared, openmouthed, as he watched his dad rip down more and more of his drawings.

  Tears filled his eyes.

  “Please,” he whispered.

  “Oh, now you’re crying?”

  Cody wiped his tears away. His dad didn’t stop. He didn’t stop until every piece of paper was torn off the walls—even papers that weren’t theme park related—and crumpled on the floor. He eyed the roller coaster models and dioramas. Cody’s heart lurched in fear.

  But his dad must have thought it wasn’t worth the cleanup or hassle. He turned and left without a word, slamming Cody’s door shut behind him.

  Only then did Cody let himself actually cry.

  His dream was over.

  This was reality. And no matter what Mr. Kearns had said, he didn’t want to be a part of it.

  * * *

  Later that night, Cody realized he wasn’t willing to accept this as his reality.

  He kept staring over at the diorama on his desk, the one of an entire theme park he’d made for class. This wasn’t a waste of time.

  This was his life. And he wasn’t going to let anyone get in the way of it.

  Emboldened, he snuck downstairs. His parents had been asleep for hours, and he tiptoed down to the guest room. On the way, he grabbed the secret key from a jewelry box on the kitchen windowsill.

  There was an old desk in the guest room, and when he opened the locked drawer with the key, he found his phone on top of a pile of tax returns and other boring paperwork. His phone was still on.

  It glowed when he opened the drawer.

  A dozen notifications. Most from Patrick, asking if he was still alive. And one more from ESCAPE.

  FINAL CHANCE. YOU HAVE THREE HOURS.

  It was time-stamped over two hours ago.

  Cody’s heart leaped into his chest as he finally, finally, opened the first email.

  His heart didn’t stop leaping, either, as he scanned the message.

  And the next.

  And the next.

  The words weren’t computing. They were like a foreign language. Like trying to read in a dream.

  This couldn’t be real.

  This couldn’t be happening.

  All he caught were the words Congratulations and Winner and Chance of a lifetime!

  And another phrase.

  Confirm your spot before midnight, or miss out forever!

  It was 11:59.

  Hastily, he clicked the link for registration.

  The internet dragged. The site took forever to load.

  “Come on come on come on,” he muttered, tapping his foot impatiently.

  The clock turned.

  Midnight.

  The site loaded.

  Cody Baxter!

  Your reservation has been confirmed!

  Prepare to escape all your worries.

  Prepare to let your wildest dream
s run free.

  Your driver will be outside your residence at 8 a.m. sharp.

  Your adventure is about to begin!

  Cody slumped back. He took a breath for what felt like the first time in hours. Every single part of him shook, and he couldn’t tell if it was shock or excitement.

  He was doing it.

  He was going.

  Tomorrow, he was going to ESCAPE.

  He didn’t sleep at all for the rest of the night. He hid his phone back in the drawer and snuck back upstairs. He had already decided he wasn’t going to tell his parents he’d won. They would never let him go, especially if they knew that he had broken the rules and stolen his phone back. They would never know, because he was leaving, and he honestly didn’t plan on coming back. How he would manage that, he wasn’t certain. He just knew that the moment he got to ESCAPE, all his problems would be solved. They had to be.

  And his parents were one of his biggest problems.

  For the first time in his life, Cody was grateful that his parents didn’t care about him. He stuffed his backpack with clothes and even filled a duffel bag with the leftovers. He snuck out the side door at 7:50.

  He wondered how he was going to manage this, if he’d have to wait in the bushes for his driver to show up.

  But the moment he stepped outside, he saw the sleek black car out front. The driver stepped out. An equally sleek man in a black suit and black sunglasses looked him up and down.

  “Cody Baxter?” the man asked.

  Cody nodded and hurried over to the car. He looked over his shoulder. He hoped his parents didn’t look out the window.

  “Identification?” the man asked.

  Cody fumbled in his pocket and pulled out his school ID. The man looked it over, then handed it back.

  “Get in.”

  Cody narrowed his eyes. He might have been excited, and in a rush from fear of being discovered, but he knew better than to get in the car with a stranger.

  “Do you have identification?” he asked.

  The man’s stoic demeanor split into a grin.

  He reached into his pocket and pulled out his ID. But it wasn’t a driver’s license. It was an ID issued by ESCAPE.