Page 25 of Love at Full Tilt
Neptune’s Bounty
Atalantia, Fableland
Orlando, FL
Name: Ember M.
Clue Number: Finished
Time: 10:30 am
Position 2
Name: Erika K.
Clue Number: Finished
Time: 11:02 am
Position 3
Name: Kaitlyn H.
Clue Number: 3
Time: 8:25 am
Position 4
Name: Britney L.
Clue Number: 3
Time: 8:30 am
Position 5
Name: Jenna M.
Clue Number: 3
Time: 8:32 am
Position 6
Name: Lia B.
Clue Number: 3
Time: 8:40 am
The seafood restaurant Neptune’s Bounty sits at the center of Fableland’s award-winning aquarium, Neptune’s Launch.
It normally has a six-month waitlist, but one of the perks of being in the scavenger hunt is the VIP access to restaurants and other amenities. Issy made us a reservation the day I got my ID number.
That’s one of the only reasons we’re following a host to a table right now.
After wandering Atalantia and doing endless research on our phones for over two hours, we are no closer to cracking the third riddle. We were all beginning to get cranky and tired, and the leaderboard hadn’t moved in almost half an hour, so I agreed not to miss our reservation.
Clearly, this clue was a doozy.
I figured we can eat and regroup, and hopefully by then, I’ll have come up with the answer. Or Mason will.
What I did not agree to was ignoring the leaderboard.
Even though nothing has changed, I watch it like a hawk as we cross the dining room.
A translucent dome arches overhead, and sunlight slices through it like gems, the layer of glass the only shield between us and the hundreds of fish and other aquatic life that dart about the blue, blue water.
“It seems…uncouth to have a seafood restaurant surrounded by so many fish,” I point out.
Tess tilts her head so it angles up like mine. “Right?” Her mahogany eyes are the size of globes. “It’s like, ‘Behold, fish, your destiny.’?”
“But it’s so pretty.” Issy presses a finger to a nearby tank, and a yellow-and-white fish races forward to kiss the glass.
We’re led to a booth in the corner that’s surrounded by water on two sides.
It’s one of the best spots in the whole restaurant, but my stomach curdles.
Booths are not always fat friendly, especially somewhere like this where they’re fixed to the wall and don’t move.
In my head, I perform some plus-size geometry.
How much space between the table and the back of the booth?
Is that space wider than me? By how much?
There are few things more painfully embarrassing than not fitting somewhere.
I had enough of that on Squirt’s Wicked Whirl.
Before I even sit down, I’m collecting excuses for why we need a different table.
Anything to keep Tess and Issy from asking too many questions or making me explain myself.
My muscles are so rigid as I slide in, they’re ready to crack in half.
I have to fight the urge to shrink myself by sucking in my gut and lifting my shoulders.
The surface is cold from all the AC, and my skin prickles as though every person in the place is scrutinizing me.
It’s such a relief when the table’s edge only grazes my stomach that I almost burst into tears.
Issy flaps open her menu with a swift flick of her wrist, dragging my attention back to my friends. “If you both don’t order seafood, I’m disowning you. Every year this place ends up on at least three ‘best of’ lists.”
I push my menu aside with a grin. “Oh wise one, please tell us what to order.”
Issy’s face lights up. “Oh my God, seriously?”
“Yes, please.” Tess lets out a dramatic sigh. “My brain’s too tired to make a choice right now.”
Issy claps her hands. “Eek! I feel like Gordon Ramsay or something.”
Tapping her nose with her perfectly polished index finger, she surveys us, then cuts her eyes back to the menu.
She studies its contents like her decisions will have global implications.
“Tess, you enjoy some spice, so the shrimp Mozambique. And, Lia…” She pauses.
“The backyard duo, because I’ve seen you eat scallops and shrimp and I know how picky you are about seafood. ”
“Works for me.” My stomach growls in agreement, and we laugh.
“Their sweet and spicy cauliflower appetizer is supp—” Issy starts, but Tess immediately talks over her. “Hold up. This entrée is forty bucks.” Her cheeks have turned bright red.
“I know, but it’s supposed to be one of their best dishes,” Issy notes.
“That kind of cash would buy all three of us dinner at home.”
“But we’re not at home. We’re on vacation.” Issy’s voice has a little bit of an edge to it. “The point is to have some fun and splurge.”
Tess’s eyes narrow. “It’s just food. It’s not like we can take it home as a souvenir.” She picks up the menu and gives it a cursory glance. “I’m getting the crab cake appetizer.”
Issy shrugs stiffly. “Suit yourself. I’m getting the lobster mac and cheese.
And yes, I know it doesn’t have a price on the menu.
” In Issy’s mind, a really good meal is more than worth the cost. For her eighteenth birthday, her mom told her she could have whatever she wanted, and she chose dinner at a five-star restaurant in NYC.
Thankfully, the server appears, defusing the tension between them. Issy orders for us, then rattles off a bunch of appetizers too. “My treat,” she insists after the server leaves.
We settle into a normal rhythm again once we have our drinks.
Issy frets about how she’s going to admit to her followers that the fruit sushi they wanted her to try was, as she puts it, “less than delectable,” and Tess waxes poetic about Atalantia’s most popular roller coaster, which somehow manages to go underwater.
“It’s obviously enclosed so you don’t drown, but you’re getting sprayed with water the whole time, and the cars slow down in the tunnels so you can see the battle between the humans and the krakens happening all around you. The POV video was epic.”
“I refuse to watch those,” Issy says. “It kills the whole surprise. Like reading the back cover of a book before you jump in.”
“Except if you did that, you could probably avoid all those sobfests you end up reading by accident because you thought they were rom-coms,” I point out.
“Those books should come presoaked with tears as a warning, not with cute illustrated covers.”
“I think the back of the book is the warning.”
Issy knows she can’t fight with me there, so she takes a sip from her straw as she smothers a grin.
A few minutes later, our appetizers arrive. It takes two runners from the kitchen to drop off all the plates.
“Good lord, Is,” Tess mutters, “did you order for three or three hundred?”
Issy already has a fork in her hand. “The portions aren’t that big.” She segments one of the marinated cauliflowers in front of her into smaller pieces. “Plus, who knows when I’ll ever eat here again. I want to try as much as I can.” She pushes a small dish of fried clams toward Tess. “Dig in!”
Tess and I don’t need any more encouragement than that to fill our plates.
My phone buzzes on the table as I’m eating.
Mason
You’re still at clue three on the board. What happened?
(11:38 AM)
I pull up the leaderboard to see that Mason is on the same clue. Only three more people have cleared them all for the day, so there are still plenty of spots open.
Lia
We haven’t been able to figure it out.
(11:41 AM)
You either?
(11:42 AM)
Mason
I just got it. I was waiting for you.
(11:43 AM)
Lia
Why??
(11:44 AM)
Mason
We’re in this together.
(11:45 AM)
I know you’re having a girls’ day but can you come to Neptune’s Launch quick to scan the clue?
(11:46 AM)
Lia
We’re having lunch at Neptune’s Bounty. I’ll be there as soon as we’re done.
(11:48 AM)
My stomach somersaults. I thought the clue was super challenging, but it must not be if Mason figured it out so easily. It’s not as if he’s deep into the parks and their secrets. There has to be something obvious that I’m missing.
Or maybe my never having been here before is more of a weakness than I thought.
I shove my phone in my pocket and stab at a fried clam. For a second, I wasn’t stressing about the contest, but now the pressure is back, pushing like a strong hand against my ribs.
“Still no luck on the clue, huh?” Tess asks. She doesn’t give me a chance to answer before adding, “At least we won’t starve as we wander around all afternoon while you figure it out.” She smiles at me to signal she’s teasing, but my hackles still rise.
“I’m sorry this contest is such a burden,” I mumble.
Her smile falters. “That’s not what I meant.”
“Okay,” I say. I know I should drop it, but I’m tired and stressed and I can’t help it. “What did you mean, then?”
She shakes her head. “It just feels like you’re treating this week as if it’s the be-all and end-all.”
“Isn’t it?” I just told them that if I win the contest I’m going to come back to Fableland. For once, there’s something I want, but it can only happen if I win that money.
“No.” Tess’s throat bobs as she swallows hard. “You don’t need this contest. You can change things anytime you like. You just have to do something.”
I cross my arms and slouch back in the booth. I can’t believe the things coming out of Tess’s mouth. Does she even hear herself?
“The money—” I start.
“Tess—” Issy pipes up.
“Is, you know I’m right,” Tess says, her voice rising the way it always does when she’s challenged.
Then she turns to me: “That prize is just another excuse. Because if you don’t win, then you can rationalize why you haven’t changed anything.
We’ve watched you do this forever. All those times you’ve hid behind your parents, your job, your body.
” She waves her hand between her and Issy.
“We don’t want you to hide anymore, Lia. We both know you don’t need to.”
Blood shoots through my veins like bullets.
All this time, I thought my friends were doing their best to understand what it’s like for me, even if they couldn’t truly know what it is to live in my parents’ house or to live in my body.
But if Tess thinks things are that simple, then I guess I was really, really wrong.
I won’t dignify her comments about the contest with a response.
I’m not cowering behind the idea of winning this money.
I’m doing everything I can to make it a reality, to make my dreams about working here come true.
But what she said about using my body as an excuse, I can’t let that go. Not this time.
I push my plate away. “I’m not hiding, Tess.
I just know how people see me. Yesterday, while Mason and I were looking for the clues, some guys started making fun of me.
I tried to ignore them, the way I always do.
Do you realize how often people stare at me or make comments?
You probably don’t see it because I don’t react.
I don’t let it get to me. I don’t even tell you about it.
” I slide out of the booth and fish forty dollars from my pocket.
“One of those guys, he grabbed my ass. He was trying to put me back in my place. Remind me that, according to him, I should be hiding.” I grind my teeth. Tears bite at my eyes but I blink them away, my eyelashes fluttering wildly. I didn’t cry when it happened; I’m not crying now.
Issy mumbles, “Oh my God,” and a million emotions cross Tess’s face. So many that she can’t speak.
“So please don’t act like you know anything about what it’s like to be me or what I should be doing.” I throw my money on the table. I can’t stay here. Not right now. I need a break. Some time for the sting of Tess’s words to fade.
She wants me to do something. Well, here we go.
“I need some space,” I say. “I’m going to finish the clues for today on my own.” Then I walk away.
As I maneuver through the crowded restaurant, fighting back tears, staving off the urge to jam an elbow into the ribs of every person who rudely knocks into me, I reply to Mason.
Lia
I’m on my way.
(12:02 PM)