Page 24

“Cars, mostly. The bus system here kind of sucks. I can’t imagine having a system that just goes everywhere.”

Kat nods with interest. “Cars are great for transporting stuff and multiple people, but they’re so expensive to maintain, and if you go the traditional route of horse and carriage, then you’ve got to have a stable and…”

It takes us a moment to realize we’re talking about two different things—magically powered horseless carriages versus automobiles, and we laugh as we struggle to explain how they work.

Kat asks me about my family, my friends, school, and even D oh, there’s the signal finally. Jenn and Erica must be looking for me. I’ll text them back in a bit.

Wait.

Kat is staring now at the people walking down the aisles—it didn’t register at first, it was just people doing their shopping, but I think about the signal returning and the shirts and jeans people are wearing and—

The door—that’s when I noticed the temperature difference.

“Are we…” Kat wonders, glancing up at the aisle signs.

“I think so,” I say. “Do you think it was the Target entrance?”

“That’s where you came in earlier, right?”

I nod. “So when is it a door and when is it—a gate between worlds?”

Kat pulls out her runebook and draws some gestures before looking around with interest. “I don’t see any other spells or active pieces of magic here,” she says. “It’s definitely not otherspace, and we didn’t teleport…” Her eyes light up in interest. “Let’s try going through again!”

I follow her excited pace back to the doors. The familiar dry heat of Los Angeles envelops me as we push through.

Kat looks back and forth, her eyes growing wider and wider as she takes in the rows of cars parked between the dry brown of the parking meridians and the withering trees that dot the balding soil and the mall’s attempts at landscaping.

She dashes down the sidewalk, her deep evergreen blouse billowing in the wind as she marvels at the cars idling on the corner and the bus rumbling down the street.

The behemoth of the shopping plaza looks as it always does, its cluster of buildings dwarfed by the hulking Target giant in the corner.

Kat races all the way to the flickering electronic billboard on the street corner by the bus stop, watching avidly as it flickers from a Marvel movie ad to the newest Pokémon game.

Kat blinks at the Bulbasaur for a long moment. “Okay,” she says slowly. “Okay!”

I catch up to her, catching her gaze “So. Two worlds.”

“Two worlds,” she repeats. “I guess now it’s time to figure out how to get me home.” She chuckles. “But I’m in no rush.”

“Good,” I say, shaking my head. “Because I don’t have anyone I can consult who would possibly know everything about magic.” Other than fictional magic, that is. I wouldn’t even know where to start.

“I wonder if…” Kat pulls out her runebook and draws another gesture I recognize from her detection spell earlier. “So my magic still works here, and I’m actually seeing…” She raises an eyebrow. “Someone is casting a spell inside Target. Come on! I bet whoever it is knows exactly what is going on.”

She’s already walking back toward the Target with a singular purpose and a commanding presence.

“Kat,” I call out after her.

My anxiety has already started to recede.

If her magic works, she can probably still call her dad, and it’s going to be okay.

There’s obviously a cool magical solution to this problem and a whole new world to explore .

Has it been here this whole time? My mind is going a million miles a minute.

I wonder if there’s a way we can predict when these gates or whatever open and where.

“Kat!” I’m right behind her as she approaches the doors.

She turns around, her hair falling in soft waves around her face, drifting perfectly over her shoulder as she smiles at me. She’s radiant. She’s magical. I can’t believe that I’m going to hang out with her and learn more about her.

I should probably be more worried about the implication that parallel dimensions exist and the fact that magic is real, but she smiles at me and I wonder if I should ask her on another date now, and… oh gosh, I wonder if I can text between universes? My phone plan probably doesn’t cover that.

Kat peers at her runebook and then squints to see inside the store. “Oh, yeah, I see someone in a cravat lurking in the clothing section. That’s definitely not one of your fashions. Let’s go!”

I watch her as she pushes the thick glass door open, walks in, and disappears.