Allie still pulled away. “Don’t change yourself for me.”
“I’ll change myself anyway I like.”
“It’s still monstrous.”
“Good. That’s how I like it.”
The McGill looked around proudly at his treasure trove. “There are girls’ clothes in here. You could find something nicer to wear.”
“I can’t take off what I’m wearing. It’s what I died in.”
“You can wear something over it.”
Then the McGill spotted a big oak cabinet. “I think there might be something in here,” and with both hands he grabbed the handles and pulled it open ·wide.
Nick had heard the whole conversation between Allie and the McGill, and through it all he counted the seconds until the McGill would leave. When he heard the McGill mention the cabinet, his heart sank. It was just his luck wasn’t it? If the McGill opened the cabinet and saw him, he’d probably hurl the entire thing over the side with Nick still in it. Nick pulled his knees to his chest, tried desperately to hide behind a wedding dress that was hanging there, and closed his eyes.
The cabinet creaked open, and Allie, who was standing a few feet back, saw Nick immediately. She gasped. She couldn’t help it. The McGill, however, standing right in front of the cabinet, had a view of the wedding dress, and not the boy behind it. The McGill turned to Allie, obviously thinking her gasp was about the gown.
Allie forced her eyes away from Nick, so the McGill couldn’t follow her gaze.
The tip of Nick’s shoe was sticking out from under the dress, so Allie approached it, and fluffed the petticoat out a bit, pretending to admire the lacy fabric. It hid the tip of the shoe from view. Thankfully the dress was thick enough to hide Nick’s glow, and the cabinet had a strong camphor stench of mothballs, which overpowered any hint of chocolate in the air.
“I won’t be a monster’s bride,” Allie said, then she grabbed the doors of the cabinet and forced them closed, nearly catching the McGill’s hand in the process. The McGill glared at her. “Who said I’d ask you?” Then he stormed away.
Allie waited until she was sure he was gone, then waited twice that long again before she returned to the cabinet and pulled it open.
“What are you doing in here! Do you know how dangerous it is? If they find out you escaped—”
“They won’t find out. There are hundreds of kids in there—it’s not like they count us all the time.”
“If you’re caught, you’re history.”
“So I won’t get caught.”
Allie looked around. “Did Lief come with you? Is he hiding somewhere else?”
Nick shook his head. “He’s still in there with the others.” Then he smiled.
“It’s a mess in there, I got them all tangled up.”
“How is hiding in here any better than hanging in there?”
“I’m not staying in this cabinet. As soon as I can, I’m getting off this ship, and I’m bringing back help.”
“And exactly how are you going to do that?”
“That’s the part I haven’t figured out yet.”
“I’m the one with the plan,” said Allie. “Escaping now will just screw things up!”
“We’ve been waiting on your ‘plan’ for weeks.”
Weeks, thought Allie. Has it been weeks? “The best plans take time,” she told him.
oked around him. None of the kids who had been near him before were near him now—he was faced with an entire new set of neighbors. In fact everyone was chatting; those who remembered their names were introducing themselves. This was more life than any of these kids had shown for years. Even the screamer, who had pouted ever since Allie forbid him to scream, was happily talking away. Still, while the tangle brought some much needed variety to their dangling existence, it hadn’t freed anyone. Nick had to think—there had to be more he could do. And then, among all the chatty voices he heard one kid ask:
“What time is it?”