smile.
Chloe bit her lip. âYouâre not mad.â
âI was. But then I listened again and, well ⦠youâre kind of making it better. I thought maybe you could come over sometime, and we could work on it
together
.â
Chloe nodded. âYeah, Iâd like that. I have some ideas for your good guy ⦠Secholit? Is that how youpronounce that? And your bad guy â Darkness â I think we can frighten him up a bit ââ
âWhoa.â Nick stiffened. âHere are the rules. You donât mess with Secholit. You donât mess with Darkness. Here are the other things you may not change.â He handed Chloe a sheet.
She sighed. âWait. No. Like here. I have great ideas for the Safelands. Itâs a desert, with sand, like the riverbank behind our place. Sand is always safe âcause itâs near water.â
âNo! Sand is never safe. You know why?
Itâs near water!
Try being blind and walking near a river. Not smart. Just like climbing trees. Not smart.â
âThatâs always smart! Nobody can see you up in a tree. Nobody laughs at you. This Unknown Forest? That has to be a good place!â
Nick stood. âThis will never work. Chloe, here. Take the original. Make the changes you want, Iâll make the changes I want. Then weâll get together tomorrow and fight about it. Fair?â He handed Chloe the dog-eared sheets she knew so well.
âYeah. I mean, it is your play.â
Midnight came, and Chloe was still hard at work. âA wind funnel. Like the tornado that came through last year. A tornado
inside
a mountain.â She scribbled in the margin. âHow cool would that be?â
Mom knocked and poked in her head. âTo bed. Iâm sorry, but, Chloe, I need you back at Aldoâs. Q tried â heâs a good boy without Grif â but heâs useless. He showed reel two first.â
âHe didnât ⦠No, Mom! I really can help Nick. I think he does need me.â
âYes, he does. Unfortunately, I do too. Turn off the light.â
Chloe grabbed the papers, stuffed them in her backpack, and drifted off into the Unknown Forest.
âNick, I canât come tonight.â Chloe plunked down beside him in the lunchroom. âMom needs me at Aldoâs.â
His face fell. âYeah, I get it.â
âItâs not like I have a choice.â
âSure.â
An awkward silence settled over them. âHere are the changes. There are a whole lot of them, some on every page. Iâm telling you, this could be incredible!â
âRight.â
âHey, Nick!â A boy called from the table behind them â a voice Chloe did not know. âDid you get blinder? How come you need two guide dogs? A quick FYI, they gave you a scarred one!â
Laughter, ugly and cruel, filled Chloeâs ears. âHere,â she whispered. âIâll just leave my ideas in front of you.â
âDonât go,â Nick reached for Chloeâs arm, but sheâd already stood.
âI canât stay.â She turned and walked quickly out of the lunchroom.
Thereâs only one safe place for me
.
CHAPTER
9
W HAT DID YOU DO TO MY SCREENPLAY ?â
Chloe jumped, and the reel she held slipped from her fingers. She lunged for it but caught only the end of the film.
Snap
.
Reel one of
The Vapor
saucered to a clattery stop to the ground. At least the frame of it. She stared at the coil of film in her hands.
âOh no. Nick, do you have any idea â Oh no. Do you think we keep these? Do you know how much this film cost us?â She dropped to her knees and gently hugged the reel.
âWell, too bad for you. Now, maybe, weâre even. You ruined my movie, I ruined yours.â
Chloe stared up. âYou canât keep coming up here â How did I ruin your movie?â
âMom found your version when I got home from school, and while I was out with Dad, she typed