The Sasquatch Escape (The Imaginary Veterinary) (16 page)

“Fairy dust?” Pearl whispered.

Dr. Woo tapped her fingers on her desk. Her right index finger was missing. Ben remembered the paper he and Pearl had signed about not blaming Dr. Woo if something crushed, stomped, vaporized, or bit them. Had something bitten off Dr. Woo’s finger?

“Mr. Tabby informed me that you were sent to retrieve the sasquatch,” Dr. Woo said. “Clearly you’ve been successful.”

“Yes,” Ben said. “I’m sorry I didn’t bolt the door. It was my fault it got out.”

“I also understand that you found our missing wyvern hatchling.”

“Yes,” Ben said again. “My grandpa’s cat hurt it. I’m sorry about that, too.”

“Did you say
fairy
dust?” Pearl asked. “Fairies are
real
?”

Dr. Woo didn’t answer that question. Instead, she stifled a yawn. “Excuse me. I’ve had a long journey, and I need to get some sleep.” She leaned back in her chair. “What is it you wished to see me about?”

Pearl looked at Ben. He nodded encouragingly. She scooted to the edge of the box and spat out the following questions at rocket speed. “Who are you? And where is the Imaginary World? And how do you get to it? And how come no one else knows about it? And if dragons really exist, then how come everyone says they don’t? And if there are sasquatches and dragons, then are fairies real? And what about unicorns? ’Cause I’d really like to meet a unicorn. Can I meet a unicorn? And why do you have yellow glitter in your hair? And”—she paused for a millisecond—“can we go to the Imaginary World with you?” She took a long breath, then closed her mouth.

Silence filled the room. Ben could barely keep himself from wiggling as they waited for the doctor’s answers.

Dr. Woo suddenly sat up very straight. “It is always a challenge to keep my hospital a secret, and you two already know more than you should.” Her gentle voice turned dark and serious. Something flashed in her eyes. “I’m not sure what to do about it.”

Were they in trouble? Ben shifted nervously. Was Dr. Woo going to tell his parents that he’d caused that big mess in the senior center? And that he’d captured the Mulberrys with a net? “You don’t have to do anything,” he said. “We won’t tell anyone about the hospital.”

“That’s right,” Pearl said. “And we won’t tell anyone about the sasquatch.”

“Or the hatchling,” Ben said.

“We promise,” Pearl said.

“Yeah, we promise.”

Dr. Woo did not appear convinced by these eager promises, for her brow remained furrowed, her lips pursed. She looked from Ben to Pearl and back to Ben. Ben smiled, trying to look like a boy who always told the truth—not like a boy who
made up stories. What was the doctor thinking? She looked at Pearl again. Pearl smiled, too, the big gap looking like a piece of black licorice stuck between her teeth.

Dr. Woo pressed a button on her desk intercom. “Mr. Tabby? We have a serious breach in security. Do you have any suggestions?”

Mr. Tabby’s voice drifted from the speaker. “We could have the dragon carry them away and leave them somewhere, a mountaintop perhaps, or a deserted island.”

“That is an option,” Dr. Woo said. “But what if they were rescued? They’d still know our secrets.”

“Very true. Hmmmmm.” Mr. Tabby paused for a moment. Ben was about to assure Dr. Woo, once again, that he’d tell no one about the hospital when Mr. Tabby said, “I have a brilliant idea. We could leave them with the cyclops. He’s always hungry.”

“You’ve got a cyclops?” Pearl asked. “That’s so amazing.”

Ben couldn’t believe Pearl was more interested in the fact that Dr. Woo
had
a cyclops than the
fact that she might
feed
the kids to the cyclops. “Uh”—he slid off the boxes, then took a couple of steps backward—“I think we’d better be going.”

“I don’t think feeding them to the cyclops is a good idea,” Dr. Woo told Mr. Tabby. “Too messy.”

“Too messy?” Ben mumbled. How far was that elevator? If he made a run for it, could he get there before Dr. Woo changed her mind?

“And if the children went missing, we’d have to deal with the local police. There must be a better way to handle this situation,” Dr. Woo said.

“Hey,” Pearl said as she also slid off the boxes. “What are you talking about? You don’t need to do anything. Ben and I promised. We
promised
.”

Once again, Dr. Woo’s gaze traveled from Ben to Pearl and back to Ben. “I wonder…” She leaned her elbows on the table. “I wonder…” She tapped her fingers again. “I’ve only done this one other time, but I wonder if…”

Ben took a few more steps backward. He was in the doorway now, his legs poised and ready to bolt
if the dreaded words
feed them to the
came out of Dr. Woo’s mouth.

“Mr. Tabby?” Dr. Woo said.

“Yes?”

“I think I have the solution.” Dr. Woo’s face relaxed. “They seem like nice kids. And it takes skill and cunning to catch a sasquatch. Since they already know too much, and since we could use some extra hands around here…” She smiled. “I will make them my apprentices.”

W
hat?” Pearl said with a gasp. “You want us to be your apprentices? Really? That’s so cool!”

Ben stepped back into the room. “Apprentices?”

“That’s right,” Dr. Woo said.

“I’ll do it!” Pearl cried. “When can I start? Can I start right now?”

Mr. Tabby, who remained on the other end of the intercom, cleared his throat. “Dear me, dear me. Are you certain you want the responsibility of two children? Human children require so much
care. They do not respond well to commands. Their curiosity leads them astray time and time again.”

“They won’t be my responsibility,” Dr. Woo said. “Since you are my assistant, they will be your responsibility.”

“Oh.” Mr. Tabby’s voice turned cold. “More work for me. How
delightful
.” Then the intercom went silent.

Pearl nudged Ben with her elbow. “Can you believe this? Apprentices!”

Ben’s legs wobbled with excitement. Apprentice to a veterinarian for Imaginary creatures? He could hardly believe it. But then he remembered. “I don’t think I can do it,” he said, disappointment settling over him like a rain cloud. “I’m only here for the summer. Then I go back to Los Angeles.”

“I’m not going to Los Angeles,” Pearl said. “I live here. I never go anywhere. I can do it for sure.”

“You can both do it,” Dr. Woo said. “We can make this a summer apprenticeship, to begin with. But you must get permission from your parents.”

“What do we tell them?” Ben asked.

“Tell them that you will be working at Dr. Woo’s Worm Hospital. I will expect you to be here Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. I will expect you to arrive each morning at eight
AM
precisely, and you will leave at three
PM
precisely.” She shuffled through a desk drawer, then slid a piece of paper to the edge of the desk, along with a pen. “But first you must sign the contract of secrecy.”

Another thing to sign? Pearl didn’t argue this time. She signed immediately. Ben leaned over the paper, squinting. “The print is really small. I can’t read any of it.”

Dr. Woo pushed the pen toward Ben. “It simply states that you will not tell anyone that this is actually a hospital for Imaginary creatures. And that anything you see, hear, feel, touch, smell, or taste while working as my apprentice will be kept a secret.”

Ben thought about it. As cool as the apprenticeship sounded, eight o’clock in the morning was really early. He’d never been a morning person. He had two alarms in his bedroom back home just so he wouldn’t be late for school. Monday, Wednesday,
and
Friday were a lot of days. And then there was the whole crushing, shredding, vaporizing thing. “What will we be doing?” he asked, staring at Dr. Woo’s missing finger.

“You’ll be doing whatever needs to be done,” Dr. Woo replied. A few stray pieces of yellow glitter fell from her hair.

“Come on,” Pearl said. “Sign it. What are you waiting for? What else are you going to do all summer? Hang out at the senior center?”

Ben picked up the pen. Had he already broken the contract of secrecy by telling Grandpa Abe he was searching for sasquatches? But his grandfather hadn’t believed him, so no harm had been done. He signed,

Dr. Woo collected the contract and tucked it in
the top desk drawer. Then her expression and voice turned serious again. “There are consequences for breaking the contract,” she told them. “Just so you know.”

Before Ben could ask what kind of consequences, a buzzer sounded and the same nasal voice shot out of the loudspeaker. “Dr. Woo, the hatchling is scheduled for departure.”

“Thank you. I’ll be right there.” Dr. Woo stood. She collected her lab coat from the rack and slid her arms through its white sleeves. Sunlight streamed in through the window, illuminating the scar on her face and casting a shadow that made it look twice as large.

“Are you sending the hatchling back to the Imaginary World?” Pearl asked. “Can we see it before it leaves?”

“Can we say good-bye?” Ben asked.

Dr. Woo gathered her long hair and tied it into a knot at the back of her neck. Then she slid her stethoscope over her head. “Dragon hatchlings
become easily attached to humans. It is best that it not see you.”

Too bad
, Ben thought. He wished he’d taken a picture of the hatchling when he’d found it, before he’d signed that contract of secrecy. Now he’d never see the little sea horse face again.

“Sometimes the hardest part of this job is saying good-bye,” Dr. Woo said, as if reading Ben’s mind. Then she ushered them to the elevator door. “Mr. Tabby will see you to the gate. Good day.”

Mr. Tabby was waiting in the lobby, a pocket watch in his hand. “So? You are going to be apprentices?”

“Maybe,” Ben said. “If we can get permission.”

Mr. Tabby tucked the watch into his vest pocket. “Today is Saturday. The apprenticeship begins on Monday. That gives you one day to get permission.”

“We’ll get it,” Pearl said with a confident nod.

“Follow me. It’s time for you to go home.” The big ring of keys swung from Mr. Tabby’s hand as he
hurried down the driveway, the kids at his heels. “It is beyond my comprehension how Dr. Woo expects me to do my job and babysit you two at the same time.”