Stories from New York #3 (16 page)

Quincy tapped on the glass separating the back area from the front. “Hey, Tom, can you pull over for a minute so we can get out?”

The car came to a stop, and Quincy opened the door. “Come see!” she said.

We got out on the sidewalk, where the whole city seemed to be divided into two worlds.

“This is my favorite place in Manhattan,” Quincy said. “Central Park.”

On one side of the street were big buildings and on the other a paved path led into a world of grass and trees. The park seemed to go on forever. Near the entrance was a line of horse-drawn carriages. There were hot dog vendors and tables set up where you could buy anything from a purse to T-shirts. People were streaming
into the park—joggers, mothers pushing strollers, and couples taking pictures or just walking and holding hands.

“It’s beautiful,” I exclaimed. “I wish we had time to walk through it.”

“We can, if you want,” Quincy said. “They might already be getting set up to start inflating some of the balloons for the parade. Or we can keep driving and see something else. I know you guys have a train to catch. Why don’t you decide? Whatever you want, I’m game.”

I had no idea where to go, but Tally seemed to be about to explode.

“I have a feeling Tally has a suggestion,” Miko said.

“Oh I do, but we should all decide,” Tally said, making a visible effort to control herself.

“Well, anything is fine with me,” Ivy said. “I spent most of my life here. You guys pick.”

Miko and I exchanged a look.

“What do you think, Miko? Are we okay with Tally picking our final stop in New York?”

“Definitely,” Miko said. “I’m sure whatever it is, it will be dramatic.”

After a blur of traffic, a short line, and an awe-inspiring elevator ride, I had to agree that Tally had
made a perfect choice. It was nothing if not dramatic.

We were standing together on the observation deck of the most impressive building in Manhattan. We could see almost the entire island the city was built upon, with the East River running up one side, and the Hudson River on the other. To the south, the Statue of Liberty was clearly visible on its own tiny island and to the north the sun glinted off the top of the Chrysler Building, which glimmered like a jewel against the bright blue sky. The sight was absolutely breathtaking. I realized for the first time just how massive the city really was. It was busier and even more exciting than I’d imagined, and at the same time, it made me feel very small. And a little homesick. Soon it would be time to head to Grand Central to catch the train home. So much had happened in the last three days, I would be sorry to leave the city, but very glad to get home.

“I can’t believe it! The Empire State Building!” Tally said for the twentieth time.

“Why don’t you give me your camera, and I’ll record the four of you saying good-bye from the city,” Quincy suggested.

She had put on a baseball cap and sunglasses, and to my amazement none of the hundreds of people milling around us seemed to realize a movie star was in their midst.

“That would be great!” Miko said, giving Quincy her camera.

We all stood together near the railing.

“Talk loudly,” Quincy said. “The sound will be hard to pick up because it’s so windy up here.”

“You start, Ivy,” I suggested.

“Hi, readers!
4 Girls
here,” Ivy began. “Well, our trip is just about over. We’ve had an amazing couple of days at
City Nation
.”

“I hope our video and articles give you an idea of what it’s like to work at a magazine,” Tally said.

“It has been unbelievable seeing all the work it takes to bring just one issue to the readers,” Miko added.

“I feel like we’ve seen it all, but I know we’ve really had only a tiny glimpse into what goes into publishing a big magazine,” I added. “We had a blast, but we can’t wait to get home!”

“Keep your questions and comments coming,” Ivy said. “You never know who’s going to be reading them.”

Quincy turned the camera around to capture her own image.

“I know I will,” she said. “These
4 Girls
rule!”

Then she panned the camera in a full circle to capture the people around us, the buildings looming up beyond them, and the horizon in the distance.

It was the perfect way to end our trip. A movie star was filming US. We were literally up in the clouds, and the world was spread at our feet. I for one felt like there was nothing we couldn’t do. We had triumphed in New York City. And where would we take
4 Girls
next?

Well, that was up to us. The sky was the limit.

“It’s Spider-Man! Epic!” Kevin yelled, waving his plastic lightsaber wildly in the air, narrowly missing the coffee table, as the sight of a massive, airborne Spider-Man filled the television screen.

I ducked, and Ivy made a protective grab for her mug of steaming cocoa.

“Please excuse my demented brother,” I said to Ivy. “He gets crazy around the holidays.”

“You don’t have to tell me that—I was here on Halloween, remember?” Ivy said, laughing. “Oh look—there’s a shot of Times Square!”

I had watched the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade on television every year since I could remember. But seeing it now, when just the day before I’d been in New York City myself, was more exciting than ever. Times Square was jam-packed with parade-goers, and the sky was filled with massive, brightly colored
balloons, but on television the sheer enormity of the place didn’t fully come through. Now that I had been there, I felt like I was seeing the parade in a whole new way. I felt like part of it all now. I felt excited, and even a little more grown-up.

“Kevin, we were right in that exact place yesterday,” I said, pointing to the television.

“Did you see Spider-Man? Did you see Sonic? Did you see Buzz Lightyear?” Kevin asked, issuing each question in rapid-fire succession.

“They weren’t there yet,” I told my little brother. “They inflated the balloons last night in Central Park. We did see Central Park itself, though.”

“Why would anyone go all the way to New York City and not stay to see Spider-Man?” Kevin asked, shaking his head. “You’re nuts.”

“Maybe,” I replied. “But I’m happy to be home and watching the parade on TV, instead of standing there with all those zillions of people.”

My mother walked in from the kitchen, wiping her hands on a dish towel.

“Do you guys need anything?” she asked.

“It smells incredible in there,” Ivy said. “I’m starting to wish I was having Thanksgiving at your house. My mom used to buy Thanksgiving dinner in the city—getting the turkey all cooked from Fairway Market and her pies already baked from Zabar’s.
Doing it all by herself is a little more challenging than she thought. I was kind of glad to get out of the house this morning!”

“Hey, there she is—there’s your famous friend!” Kevin shouted, pointing at the TV. “And check out the Dr. Wow float! Wow!”

We stopped talking to watch, and Ivy exclaimed excitedly, “Oh my gosh, yes! There she is—there’s Quincy!”

The Dr. Wow float was a quirky reproduction of the little house that was actually a spaceship, where the characters on the show spent most of their time. It was a bright red, wooden structure that leaned slightly to one side and had a sharply peaked roof under which was one tiny window.

Quincy and the actor who played Dr. Wow were on a platform outside the house, both wearing their costumes. The float was escorted by a perky group of baton-twirling majorettes in bright green uniforms and knee-high white boots.

My cell phone began to ring. I glanced at the screen, and hit
ANSWER
and
SPEAKER
at the same time.

“Oh my gosh, are y’all watching this?” a voice shrieked from my phone. “Are y’all seeing the same thing I’m seeing?”

“Yes, it’s Quincy on the Dr. Wow float!” I said. “Ivy’s here, too.”

“And Kevin!” yelled Kevin.

“Hey, everybody—can y’all believe it? We were in a limo with her one day ago!”

“We can believe it,” Ivy said. “Because it really happened. And we have the pictures to prove it.”

As the Dr. Wow float drove by the media stand, there was a close-up shot of Quincy standing and waving, her brilliant smile never wavering. As she came even with the camera she turned and looked at it, giving a half wave, with four fingers spread wide and her thumb tucked underneath. Still looking right into the camera, Quincy winked.

Tally’s shriek came through my phone speaker loud and clear.

“Did you see that? She held up four fingers and winked. That was for us!” Tally yelled.

“Tal, I think she was just waving,” I said as Ivy’s phone began to buzz.

“Got a text from Miko,” Ivy said. “It says, ‘OMG, Quincy totes just gave us a shout-out.’”

“See?” squealed the tiny Tally voice. “Miko agrees!”

“It did sort of look like a message for you guys,” my mom agreed. “Quincy’s just beautiful, isn’t she? I’m so glad to know she’s a nice person in real life. What a story—you girls will be telling it for the rest of your lives!”

A buzzer went off in the kitchen, and my mother quickly headed back in that direction.

On the television, the Dr. Wow float had already passed by the cameras, and the crowd was now focusing on a giant SpongeBob gliding down the street.

“Has Miko said anything else about her parents?” I asked Ivy.

“Not much,” Ivy said. “I pretty much heard the same thing she told you—she got home, told her parents about the design internship, and they went ballistic and told her she’s going to the Music Conservatory for the summer and that’s that.”

I sighed. “Poor Miko,” I said.

“Well, it’s not the worst problem to have in the world,” Ivy pointed out. “She’s got two amazing summer opportunities, both for things she’s really good at and could probably do professionally. The only hard thing is she has to choose one over the other. At least I’m guessing she’d have to choose. I don’t know—maybe there’s a way for her to do both—Garamond might be willing to be flexible.”

“But how do you pick between two things like that?” Tally asked, startling me slightly. I’d forgotten she was still there on the phone.

“I don’t know,” Ivy replied. “We’ll just have to watch and see how she handles it. And learn,
hopefully. ’Cause sooner or later, we’re all going to have to start making choices like that. Like, do we want to go to college? Maybe get a job to help pay for it? Do we want to try getting an internship over the summer, too? Or a summer overseas—maybe the Peace Corps? Or stay at home doing absolutely nothing every summer while we still can? There’s a lot of choices, and high school isn’t as far away as we’d like to think it is.”

“I heard some girls near my locker say that exact same thing right before Thanksgiving break,” I said. “Hey, maybe Miko would let us sort of follow her story for
4 Girls
—I mean not the part about arguing with her parents, obviously, but the other part. How she has these two great opportunities and pursuing one over the other would mean really different things for her life. What is she going to end up choosing? What will it be like?”

“Oh, it’s so dramatic!” Tally breathed.

“I think it’s a great idea,” Ivy told me. “Let’s wait until after break when things have had a chance to settle down for Miko a little, then ask her. I wonder which one she will end up doing.”

“How important a decision is it, I wonder?” I asked. “I mean, if she picks the internship, does that mean she’ll probably end up working as a designer? And if she picks the Music Conservatory, she’ll end
up a violinist? It could affect the outcome of her
entire
life. That’s so much pressure.”

“Miko can handle the pressure,” Ivy said. “But you’re right—the story of it—how it all unfolds and how it ends up—that would be an amazing article for the magazine.”

A small scream came from my phone.

“What was that?” Ivy asked.

“My sister’s beagle has got one of the pumpkin pies,” Tally cried. “I was supposed to be watching him. I gotta go! Buddy, drop it. Drop it!”

“What?” Kevin asked, the sound of Tally’s shriek temporarily diverting him from the sight of the parade.