The Lonely Lake Monster Read online

  “Victoria, sweetie?” Mrs. Mulberry called. “Would you like to be an apprentice for Dr. Woo?”

  “No.”

  “But Pearl is going to be an apprentice for Dr. Woo.”

  “I don’t care.” Sunlight glinted off Victoria’s blue braces.

  Mrs. Mulberry stomped over to the car. “Listen to me, Victoria Bernice Mulberry. I want to know why Dr. Woo keeps that gate locked and why no one has seen her. And I want to know what really made that growling sound. I think she’s hiding something, and I don’t like it when people try to hide things from me. If you work as her apprentice, then you can help me find out what’s going on.”

  “I don’t want to.”

  “Well, I am your mother and I want you to.” Mrs. Mulberry scrambled back into the driver’s seat. “We’ll go home, and you can change into that pretty pink dress, the one you wore when you accepted the Buttonville Welcome Wagon student-of-the-year award. And then we will demand that Dr. Woo meet you and give you an apprenticeship.”

  Welcome Wagon student of the year? Pearl snorted. More like Welcome Wagon pest of the year.

  As the car drove away, Victoria glared at Pearl as if the whole thing was Pearl’s fault.

  “That is a horrid woman,” Mrs. Petal said. “But you are a wonderful girl.” And she kissed Pearl’s cheek.

  “Come on,” Pearl urged as she pointed at her plastic Dollar Store watch. “It’s almost eight o’clock.”

  4

  The old button factory stood at the edge of town. The ten-story, concrete building loomed behind a wrought-iron fence. Last week, Pearl had watched a giant bird fly toward the factory—a bird that bore an amazing resemblance to a dragon. But at that moment, the only thing flying overhead was a lone pigeon.

  A long gravel driveway led from the entry gate to the factory’s front door. The gate was secured with a chain and padlock. It had been that way ever since the factory closed down.

  Pearl, in her constant search for something to do, had climbed over the fence many times. She’d searched the overgrown grass for stray buttons. Buttons could be found all over Buttonville, thanks to the birds that had snatched them from the factory, year after year, to decorate their nests. The prettiest one Pearl had discovered was shaped like a heart and made from mother-of-pearl. The strangest one looked like a glass eyeball. But Pearl’s trespassing had been outdoors only. Even though there were plenty of broken windows to crawl through, she’d never gone inside the vacant building. It was dark in there, and the wind made an eerie sound as it snaked between cracks in the glass. After a while, she’d lost interest in the old factory. But then she’d met a boy named Ben. And that was when everything changed.

  Ben Silverstein, age ten, had arrived in Buttonville just four days ago. He’d come all the way from Los Angeles, California, to stay with his grandfather, Abe Silverstein. The reason Pearl and Ben had first visited Dr. Woo’s hospital was because Ben had found a dragon hatchling on his bed. His grandfather’s black cat, Barnaby, had captured the little creature. The hatchling’s wing was torn, and green blood oozed from its cat-bite wound. Pearl and Ben had taken it to the hospital for care, and that was when the whole sasquatch adventure began. Ben had earned a Sasquatch Catching certificate and was going to be an apprentice, too. He seemed nice enough, but other kids had seemed nice and then turned out to be mean. Pearl needed more time before she truly knew if Ben was her friend.

  Pearl and her mother crossed the street and headed for the factory’s gate. Ben and his grandfather were already there.

  “Hi, Pearl,” Ben said. He stuck his hands into his pants pockets. They were the kind of jeans that came with a fancy label. And his sneakers were brand-new, without a smudge or a stain. A famous basketball player’s name was stamped on the backs. Shoes like that didn’t come from the Dollar Store.

  “My mom wants to meet Dr. Woo,” Pearl whispered to Ben.

  “My grandfather wants to meet her, too,” Ben whispered back.

  Grandpa Abe leaned on his wooden cane, the summer sun reflecting off his bald head. “So, what do you think about this?” He pointed to the sign that hung from the gate.

  “I think it’s very odd,” Mrs. Petal said after reading the sign. “I don’t know anyone who has a pet worm. Why would Buttonville need a worm hospital?”

  “Buttonville needs a worm hospital as much as I need a hole in my head,” Grandpa Abe said with a chuckle. “But Ben is very excited. Who knew? My grandson, the worm apprentice.”

  “I could barely sleep,” Pearl told Ben. “What do you think we’ll do on our first day?”

  “I don’t know, but I brought some bandages, just in case.” He patted his back pocket. Then he held out his shiny wristwatch. “It’s almost time. Only one more minute.”

  They wrapped their fingers around the bars and stared through the gate. Even though they were the same age, Pearl stood a head taller than Ben. And while her long hair was the color of wheat, Ben’s was dark and cropped super short. “My heart is bouncing around like a Mexican jumping bean,” she said.

  “Mine, too.” He gripped the bars tighter. “I keep thinking about that form we signed. The one that said we could get stomped or crushed.”

  “Shhh,” Pearl warned. “If my mom hears about that form, I’ll never get to be an apprentice.”

  During Ben’s and Pearl’s first visit to the hospital, they’d each signed a form agreeing that they wouldn’t blame Dr. Woo if they got hurt. There’d been a long list of ways this could happen—biting, stomping, crushing, and shredding, to name a few. But Pearl wasn’t worried. She knew how to take care of herself. Ben, however, didn’t look so confident. His forehead glistened with sweat, and he chewed on his lower lip. He looked like he might turn and run.

  “Don’t be scared,” she told him. She pulled two pieces of gum from her pocket, shoved one in her mouth, and offered the other to Ben. He popped it into his mouth. “We’ll be okay.”

  “I’m not scared,” he said, standing as tall as he could. “I just think we should be careful.” He checked his watch again. “It’s eight o’clock.”

  Pearl looked over her shoulder. Mrs. Mulberry’s car was nowhere to be seen. Hopefully, it would take Victoria a very long time to change into her pink dress—long enough for Pearl and Ben to get safely inside the hospital without Mrs. Mulberry bothering Dr. Woo.

  “Look.” Ben nudged Pearl with his elbow. Her gaze rolled down the long driveway and rested on the front door, which was slowly opening.

  A woman stepped out.

  “Dr. Woo,” Pearl whispered.

  5

  There she stood in her white lab coat, her long black hair cascading over her shoulders like a river of ink. She looked down the driveway and waved. Pearl bounced on her flip-flops and waved back. This was it. Her mother would meet Dr. Woo and Ben’s grandfather would meet Dr. Woo and they’d see what a nice person she was. Then Pearl and Ben would go inside and begin their apprenticeships. And it would be the best summer ever.

  Dr. Woo walked with small, graceful steps. A stethoscope hung from her neck, its silver bell sparkling in the sun. No one said a word. The only sound was a quiet crunch, crunch as the soles of the doctor’s shoes pressed into the gravel. When she reached the gate, she pulled a ring of keys from her coat pocket and unlocked the padlock. After the gate swung open, she stepped out.

  “Hello,” she said, her voice calm and soft. “I am Dr. Emerald Woo.” She held out her hand to Mrs. Petal. Her right index finger was missing.

  “Hello. I’m Susan Petal, Pearl’s mother.”

  “And I’m Abe Silverstein, Ben’s grandfather.” Grandpa Abe also shook the doctor’s hand. “Welcome to Buttonville.”

  “Thank you.” A few specks of yellow glitter dotted the doctor’s cheekbones. Pearl remembered the glitter that had fallen from Dr. Woo’s hair during their first visit to her office. She’d told them it was fairy dust.

  “Ben? Pearl? Are you ready to begin?”

  “Yes!” they both s
aid as they hurried through the gateway. But Dr. Woo held up a hand when Grandpa Abe and Mrs. Petal each took a step forward. “I’m sorry, but only employees are allowed on the grounds. Worms are very delicate creatures. They require peace and quiet.”

  “Really?” Mrs. Petal said. “I never knew that.”

  Dr. Woo grabbed the gate. “Good day,” she said.

  “But I thought…” Mrs. Petal frowned. “I mean, I’d like to ask you a few questions.”

  “So would I,” said Grandpa Abe.

  Pearl’s shoulders slumped. What if Dr. Woo gave an answer they didn’t like? Or what if Ben got permission to go inside but Pearl didn’t? She chewed her gum doubly fast.

  “Questions?” Dr. Woo folded her arms. “Very well.”

  “Where are you from?” Mrs. Petal asked.

  “Iceland.”

  Pearl wondered if Dr. Woo was telling the truth about Iceland. After all, she’d lied about the hospital being a place for worms. Maybe she was also lying about where she came from.

  “I’ve never heard of a worm hospital,” Grandpa Abe said. “What will Ben and Pearl be doing?”

  “Cleaning the worm cages, feeding the worms—all things worm-related. Worms are creatures deserving of care just like any other creature.” Dr. Woo raised her eyebrows, as if daring them to question her further. “There are thousands of worms living in the dirt, right here on the hospital grounds. And there are hundreds of thousands more, maybe millions, in Buttonville.”

  “Oh, my, that’s a lot of worms,” Mrs. Petal said.

  “Did you know that there are almost three thousand kinds of worms, and the largest one can grow up to twenty-two feet long?”

  “Twenty-two feet long?” Grandpa Abe chuckled. “Oy gevalt! Who needs a worm that long?”

  Pearl wondered if the twenty-two-foot-long worm was another lie. Or maybe it was one of the Imaginary creatures that Dr. Woo kept in her hospital. Yuck, she thought.

  “We need both big and small worms,” Dr. Woo told Ben’s grandfather with a smile. “Without them, the Known World wouldn’t have such lovely dirt.”

  “Known world?” Grandpa Abe leaned on his cane. “Did you say known world?”

  Dr. Woo stopped smiling. Her expression turned serious. “I didn’t say any such thing. Why would I say known world? That would be a strange thing to say.”

  “I’m pretty sure that’s what you said,” Mrs. Petal confirmed.

  Pearl and Ben shared a look of understanding. They’d heard this term before. While visiting Dr. Woo’s hospital a few days ago, they’d been told that there was a Known World and an Imaginary World. Buttonville and Los Angeles were located in the Known World. How, exactly, you got to the Imaginary World was still a mystery—one that Pearl was determined to solve.

  A white van drove up and parked, and a young man jumped out. “Delivery for Dr. Woo,” he announced, dropping two large boxes on the sidewalk. Then he climbed back into the van and drove off.

  “ ‘Kiwi-flavored jelly beans,’ ” Ben read as he examined the labels.

  “Would you be so kind as to collect those?” Dr. Woo asked, motioning to Ben and Pearl. They each picked up a box.

  Then Dr. Woo shook the ring of keys. “Well, it’s time to begin. The apprentices will be escorted back through the gate at precisely three o’clock.” Dr. Woo closed the gate and snapped the padlock into place.

  “Why do you keep the gate locked?” Grandpa Abe wondered from the other side of the bars.

  “There are only two reasons to lock a gate,” Dr. Woo said, lowering her voice as if she was about to tell a secret. Everyone, even Pearl and Ben, leaned as close as possible to hear. “Reason number one—to keep things in.”

  “What sorts of things?” Grandpa Abe asked.

  Dr. Woo hesitated. “Well… the worms, of course. We don’t want sick worms leaving the hospital before they are cured. Worms are masters of escape.”

  Grandpa Abe’s mouth fell open. Pearl could guess what he was thinking. How can a locked gate stop a worm?

  “That makes total sense,” Pearl said, trying to be helpful to Dr. Woo.

  “It makes no sense,” Ben whispered.

  “Of course it makes no sense,” Pearl whispered back. “But she can’t tell your grandfather about not wanting the sasquatch to escape.”

  “And reason number two?” Mrs. Petal asked the doctor.

  “Reason number two—to keep things out. Things like fishermen and birds. They are the enemies of worms.”

  “Now that makes sense,” Mrs. Petal said with a nod.

  Dr. Woo tucked the key ring into her coat pocket. “Time is of the essence. If the questions are concluded, I would like to get back to the hospital.”

  “Okay by me,” Grandpa Abe said. “See ya later, Ben.”

  Mrs. Petal smiled through the bars at Pearl. “Have a nice time. And be sure to call me if you need anything.”

  Mrs. Petal accepted an offer from Grandpa Abe for a ride back to the Dollar Store. As Pearl and Ben watched the car drive away, they sighed with relief.

  “That was close,” Pearl said as she and Ben hurried to catch up with Dr. Woo, who was already halfway up the drive. The package Pearl carried wasn’t very heavy, even though the label said it contained a thousand fun-sized boxes of jelly beans. “Are you having a party or something?”

  “The jelly beans are for the fairies,” Dr. Woo replied. “They prefer tropical flavors, such as coconut, pineapple, and mango. But kiwi is their favorite.”

  Pearl couldn’t believe it. “Fairies eat candy?”

  “Fairies eat sugar in all its forms. It is their primary source of nourishment.” Yellow glitter drifted from the doctor’s hair. A few flecks landed on Pearl’s box.

  “Can I meet a fairy?” she asked.

  Dr. Woo didn’t respond. She quickened her pace.

  “What are we going to do?” Ben asked as they headed up the hospital’s front steps. “We’re not really going to work with worms, are we?”

  “Of course we’re not going to work with worms,” Pearl said. Then she frowned. “We’re not, right?”

  Still, Dr. Woo said nothing. Was she always this mysterious?

  As they followed the doctor inside, the sound of an engine roared in the distance. Pearl whipped around. Mrs. Mulberry’s car screeched to a stop outside the gate.

  “Yoo-hoo, Dr. Woo!” Mrs. Mulberry called, scrambling from the car. “I’ve brought my daughter to meet you. Yoo—”

  Pearl didn’t waste a second. She dropped the jelly bean box, pushed Ben out of the way, and flung herself at the hospital’s front door. Ben lost his balance and fell as Pearl slammed the door shut. Good riddance, Victoria! Then she slid the dead bolt into place.

  “What did you do that for?” Ben complained as he struggled to his feet.

  “I didn’t mean to push you over. But Victoria Mulberry is trying to steal my apprentice job.”

  “I think I broke my tailbone.” He rubbed his backside. “We haven’t even started and I’m hurt already.”

  “Sorry,” Pearl said. Then she looked around and gasped.

  Dr. Woo had disappeared.

  6

  The hospital lobby was big and empty. Cobwebs crisscrossed the high ceiling. A door marked EMPLOYEES ONLY stood on one side. A door marked IDENTIFICATION ROOM stood on the other side. Both were closed. An elevator waited.

  “Where’d Dr. Woo go?” Pearl asked, stepping over her box of jelly beans.

  “I don’t know,” Ben said. He picked up the other box, which had tumbled from his hands when he fell, and set it on top of Pearl’s.

  “Well, what do we do now?” She didn’t want to do the wrong thing and get into trouble on her first day.

  “Maybe we should wait,” Ben said with a shrug.

  Pearl tapped her feet and popped some bubbles with her gum. Where had the doctor gone? This wasn’t fun. The first day of their apprenticeships was supposed to be fun! “I hate waiting,” she grumbled. “It feels like forever.�
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  “It’s only been a minute,” Ben informed her.

  “A minute can be a very, very long time.” Pearl charged over to the Identification Room door and tried to push it open. “Locked,” she reported. Then she checked the Employees Only door. “This one’s locked, too.” She rapped her knuckles on the door. “Hello? Did you forget about us? Hello?”

  Ben pressed his ear to the Employees Only door. “I don’t hear anything.”

  Pearl knocked louder. “Hello?”

  “Why are you two making such a racket?”

  Both Pearl and Ben gasped, surprised by the voice that came from the other side of the lobby. They whipped around. The Identification Room door had opened and an odd-looking man stood in the doorway.

  A big grin spread across Pearl’s face. “Hi, Mr. Tabby.” Both she and Ben knew him. He’d examined the dragon hatchling when they’d brought it to the hospital. He’d told them it was called a wyvern, a special two-legged dragon that grew a barbed tail. He’d also given them a Sasquatch Catching Kit so they could bring the big hairy beast back to the hospital.

  Pearl thought Mr. Tabby looked like a butler in his perfectly creased black pants, white shirt, plaid vest, and shiny black shoes. Long red hair was pulled into a ponytail, and a red mustache perched beneath his nose—but it was no ordinary mustache. It was waxed into sections and reminded Pearl of a cat’s whiskers. How much time does it take each morning to do that? she wondered.

  “Do those boxes contain kiwi-flavored jelly beans?” he asked. Pearl and Ben nodded. “I’d find it most helpful if you’d set them in the elevator.” Once they’d done this, the doors closed, carrying the boxes upward. The panel above the elevator lit up—floor one, two, three—and stopped on four.

  “What’s on the fourth floor?” Pearl asked. “Is that where the fairies are?”

  Acting as if he hadn’t heard the question, Mr. Tabby sniffed the air. “Do I detect an odor of parakeet?” He sniffed Pearl’s head. “Yes, indeed I do. Known World variety. Male.” His half-moon irises expanded. “Do you own such a creature?”