“You’re taking Mickey’s place, right?”
“Yes.”
“But what if they’ve already gotten to him?”
“If they’ve kidnapped and replaced the Cast Member who plays Mickey, then we’ve probably lost already. Mickey’s got to be on our side. Maybe they’re ultimately after him. You’ve seen how the major Cast Members—all the Cast Member princesses, Minnie and Mickey, Goofy, Pluto—always travel around the park with a ‘handler?’” he said. “Guests are made to believe the handler is there to guide the character, manage them, speak for them when necessary. Wayne says they’re actually bodyguards. Even the smallest handler is trained in martial arts. They’ve been around ever since the Overtakers appeared. The Imagineers protect them at all costs. If the parks were ever to lose the Mickey and Minnie who show up after the park closes…”
“Mickey’s a big part of the show.”
“He is the show. His character has obvious powers—powers greater than Maleficent’s, and he has the show itself on his side—it’s written and staged so that he wins. For all we know, Maleficent wanted these additional tech rehearsals—she arranged for them to take place—so she could study and practice how to defeat Mickey, to defeat him in battle. Then, at some point, the plan is to lure the real Mickey, not the Cast Member Mickey, from the Magic Kingdom over here to the show. That wouldn’t be terribly difficult. He steps onto the stage and she defeats him, and the balance of power is shifted forever. We can’t pretend to know the way she thinks. She’s cunning in that way: it’s never as simple as it looks.”
“Sometimes it is,” she said. “Sometimes things are really obvious and really simple.”
“You think?” he said. Was that the traitor speaking? he wondered. “You call scaling a wall while being invisible simple? Do you know how much a person relies on looking down and seeing his or her foot take a toehold, or see her fingers grab a rock? It’s like climbing blind. It’s incredibly hard. That’s why Charlene went first,” he said. “She’s half-monkey.”
Amanda looked hurt. Finn wasn’t sure what he’d said to cause that.
“I wouldn’t let her hear you say that,” Amanda said. “She likes you, you know?”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“She just does.”
“And you know this because?”
“Girls know this stuff, Finn, and we talk about it. And we text about it. And we IM about it. It’s what girls do. You guys do sports and Xbox. We figure out who likes who.”
“Ah….”
“She’s beautiful. You have to admit that. Pretty enough to be on TV or in the movies. And she’s a jock. What’s not to like?”
“I guess.”
“You ought to give it a shot.”
Finn felt the center of his chest turn to stone. Why was Amanda trying to do this?
“Maybe I will,” he said.
“Maybe you should.”
Why was she bringing this up now? Why was she pushing him?
“But I thought…” he said.
“What?”
“About us. Never mind. It’s nothing.”
“You thought what? That we’re something or we’re nothing?”
“I guess so. I don’t know. I guess that’s right. Nothing I guess.” He felt his world implode and didn’t understand any of it. He thought that he and Amanda—after all the hand touching—had something going. He thought they were more than just friends. His heart wouldn’t stand still when he was around her; he got all jumpy and found himself hearing her voice among all the others. He wanted to catch her looking at him. Wanted to see that she was listening when he spoke.
And now this.
“There,” Amanda said.
A blue nylon strap had dropped down from the second backstage level above them. Finn followed it with his eyes and saw it tied to one of the steel stanchions supporting the railing.
“I’m supposed to go first,” he said, “and Charlene and I will pull you up.”
“Whatever.”
He reached out and took her hand in his, but she shook him off and let go. He reached a second time and grabbed hold; the warmth of her arm surprised him. He tried to make eye contact with her, but her eyes were dark and hard and cold. She wouldn’t look at him.
They stepped into the DHI projection shadow and, as they did, he let go of her hand.
He walked. Looking down, he saw some leaves scoot to the side and decided that it had to be her feet shuffling through them. She was right there with him.
He wanted to speak, but didn’t.