Page 104 of The Sebastian Guarantee
“Do you hear that?” Shelby called. “I think it’s a helicopter.”
A helicopter?
Shelby jumped to her feet and ran to the window. “It is! And it’s landing next to the school.”
Mid-navigation search, Phoebe dropped her phone into her bag and stared out the window. Dust swirled as bits of earth and dry grass created a hazy whirl around the sports field. The rotor blades stopped moving, and the door opened.
“No way! No freaking way,” she whispered, borrowing Eloise’s words.
“Am I seeing things, or did somebody in a hot dog costume get out of that helicopter?” Eloise asked as she joined her friend at the window.
Phoebe couldn’t answer. She couldn’t do anything but stare out the window, completely gobsmacked.
Amaryllis patted her back. “Looks like your mom came through for you, Phoebe Gale. I have a hunch that helicopter is your ticket to making your dreams come true.”
Chapter21
PHOEBE
Phoebe’s gaze ping-ponged between her mother’s yearbook quote and the helicopter in the middle of a sports field. She closed the yearbook. “Could I . . .” she began, then slid her gaze back to the window and watched as the hot dog danced around the field.
“Could you take the yearbook? Yes, dear, you’re welcome to take it with you,” Amaryllis supplied.
“I’ll return it. I promise.”
Stratlin High’s former principal waved her off. “No need. The school likes to keep one copy of every yearbook it puts out. Funny thing about the year your mother graduated—it appears there are two copies.”
“Two copies,” Phoebe repeated. What were the chances of that? Then again, what were the chances she’d get in her car, end up in Stratlin, mosey on into a diner where a waitress just happened to recognize her, meet Clem and Amaryllis, share the Munch Match algorithm with the world, and then learn that she and her mother had picked the same yearbook quote? She should probably consider picking up a lottery ticket at some point.
So utterly grateful, she squeezed Amaryllis’s hand. “Thank you.” She held the book to her chest. “I feel like I should thank you and Clem for more than just talking with me about my mother and gifting me this yearbook.”
The woman glanced out the window. “I can tell you what you won’t be thanking me for.”
Phoebe’s brows knit together. “And what’s that?”
“If you and your hot dog friend don’t get that chopper off the field in two minutes, you’ll be dealing with the local sheriff.”
“Oh my gosh! Okay,” Phoebe replied on a sharp exhale and snapped into action. She grabbed her tote and waved to the girls. “Thank you for helping me see Munch Match’s true purpose and potential.”
“You’re the coolest nerd girl in the world,” Shelby said.
“Yeah, you go, girl!” Eloise cheered.
“Go girl,” Phoebe repeated. A smile bloomed on her lips. She glanced at the yearbook, getting her mom’s message loud and clear.
But there was no time for gazing at books. There was no doubt that the helicopter was for her. And come hell or high water, she would insist it take her to Denver. Not wasting another second, she tore out of the room. Sprinting down the hallway, she hit the doors with a clatter and bolted toward the field.
The dancing hot dog whirled around. “Hey, Phoebe, what do you think? I wanted to show youmyhot dog costume first,” Tula called.
“I absolutely love it,” she answered. “But what are you doing here? Are you by yourself?”
No helicopter pilot in his right mind would ferry an eight-year-old out of the city, right? Or was this the cherry on top of a crazy-day coincidence sundae? The door to the chopper slid open. Phoebe squinted as surprise number—oh, forget it, she’d lost count at this point—peered out of the aircraft.
“Uncle Rowen?” she called.
“Let’s go.” Tula took her hand. “Your uncle says the cops are on the way, and we gotta hop to it.”
Amaryllis wasn’t kidding.
