Page 91 of The Sebastian Guarantee
“You can’t stay on your own. You’re not quite old enough yet, lass,” his father replied, then tapped the little girl’s nose.
“Mibby, Daddy, I don’t want to listen to adult talk. Can Sebby take me to the Jamboree, please, please, pretty please?” Tula pleaded, batting her eyelashes. “And then he can get me a food truck hot dog, so I can be a hot dog eating a hot dog.”
“I’d be happy to escort Miss Tula the Frankfurter to her event,” Sebastian said, grateful to be with his family.
“Sebastian, you’re a lifesaver,” Mibby cooed. “We’ll catch up with you in a bit.”
Tula took his hand, and the pair started down the path. Baxter Park was hopping. He knew the place well. He, Phoebe, Oscar, and Aria had attended a few summer camps here as kids. But today, the area had been transformed with tents and tables. Food trucks lined the streets adjacent to the open space. Groups of young girls hurried past them in ruby-red T-shirts withTT Denver Jamboreeprinted on the back.
TT Denver Jamboree?
The hairs on the back of his neck stood at attention as he watched a trio of girls a bit older than Tula hurry past them—a trio that looked oddly familiar. But where would he have seen three random girls? Still, a foreboding sensation spider-crawled down his spine.
“They’re selling cookies to go on a trip,” Tula remarked as they passed a sign that readChocolate Chip Cookie Fundraiser for TT Disneyland Trip This Way.“We should buy a box or two.”
“Yeah, sure,” he said to placate his sister. He couldn’t worry about a kids’ trip to a theme park when he had the distinct feeling that he was walking into the lion’s den. On high alert, he peered at the grassy sports fields and basketball courts teeming with girls in groups of three and four standing around small metal and plastic creations. No, not creations, robots.
“Tula, is this the Tech Tweens Denver Jamboree?” he asked, lowering his voice and wishing he’d worn a ball cap and grown a beard as they walked down a grassy strip between the groups of girls.
But his sister didn’t have a second to answer.
A child with golden braids, one of the girls he thought he’d recognized on the path, glanced up and scowled. “I was right. That’s him. That’s the guy. He’s here. Fire up the secret weapon!”
Chapter19
SEBASTIAN
As if he’d accidentally kicked a beehive buzzing with red-faced, red-shirted twelve-year-olds, Sebastian wasn’t about to wait around to see this Tech Tween secret weapon.
He squeezed Tula’s hand. “Come on, let’s get a move on.”
“Why is everybody looking at you like you ate their hot dog?” his sister pressed, then gasped. A disapproving scowl puckered her face. “You haven’t apologized to the Tech Tweens, have you?”
Like a horror movie, an eerie quiet swept the field as girls stared—no, glared—at him.
“I haven’t gotten around to it, T. I’ve been busy,” he replied, feeling every pair of tween eyes locked on him.
His sister’s scowl deepened. “Busy making Phoebe upset?”
His jaw dropped. “How do you know about that?”
“I heard Daddy on the phone with her uncle Rowen. Adults always think they’re sneaky when they talk on the phone, but I heard every word.”
“What did he say?”
“Lots ofuh-huh, uh-huh,” Tula recounted, mimicking her father’s voice. “Then he said, ‘you’re right, nerd,shementioned it could get worse.’”
“Who’s thesheDad was talking about?” Sebastian pressed.
The little hot dog shrugged. “How am I supposed to know?”
“You’re not getting a vibe or a message from another metaphysical plane?”
She tapped her chin. “I see red.”
He glanced at the tween mob amassing around them. “Every T-shirt here is red.”
“That’s all I got, Sebby. Red and flappy,” the child remarked with a take-it-or-leave-it flick of her wrist.
